AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › CD Players & Dedicated Music Transports › "Official" Olive Thread Opus 4, Opus 6, Melody 2, Olive 2, Olive 4/ 4HD, 06HD
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

"Official" Olive Thread Opus 4, Opus 6, Melody 2, Olive 2, Olive 4/ 4HD, 06HD - Page 4

post #91 of 2404
1/28/09 at 2:16pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by David Meek View Post

I'm feeding the Opus4's digital output into the same standalone DAC (Musical Fidelity A3.24) that I ran my transport (Yamaha CDR-1000) into and I can safely say that I haven't noticed an audible difference when just playing a CD.

I'm willing to bet that your Marantz has better internal DACs than the Opus does - assuming you have been using the analog outputs on both.

David,

When I listened to the cd-player in both the Marantz and the Opus, they both were connected to my Cambridge DacMagic.
The difference was quite obvious. A friend who listened thought that Johnny Cash had caught a cold on the Opus.
Also twidling with the phase made a difference, but it did not come close to what the Marantz cd player produced.

Marc
Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #92 of 2404
1/28/09 at 9:20pm
Thanks for the info guys.

I did check the manual before posting and there was simply a mention that the web interface would be activated in a future release. I thought I remember reading in the other (lengthy) Olive thread that the web/Rondo interface URL was posted and was already active in a beta form, so I was hoping someone could post a few shots of that. I was curious if it looked more like the "old" web interface or more like the new interface on the internal screen. No big deal though.

My Thecus 5200Pro NAS has a UPnP / DLNA server built-in (licensed from a company name Mediabolic), so hopefully that would work though Mediabolic isn't specifically mentioned in the Olive manual.

I'd be using the Opus in the same manner as my Musica, which is strictly through the digital S/PDIF output into a TacT 2150XDM digital amp. The TacT's digital inputs can handle up to 24/192 2 channel PCM, so I was curious if the Opus can output the Reference Recordings HRx (176/24 WAV) and the Linn StudioMaster (up to 192/24 FLAC) files. At $45 and $32 a pop, respectively, it's probably not a chance I'd take without knowing since I'd have no other way to play them otherwise (plus it's more of an audiophile curiosity given none of the available titles really float my boat). I'll shoot an email to Olive sales to see if they can answer that question.
Reply
Reply
post #93 of 2404
1/29/09 at 6:24pm
I'm sorry if this has been answered before (and someone perhaps can direct me there), but could someone please tell me how, step by step, to move music from my PC onto my Opus No. 4? I would love to start importing CDs (and downloading files from HDTracks) on my PC and pushing them onto the Opus, but the directions in the User Manual (Section 5.2) are not helpful. This will be especially useful for the many CDs I have that aren't recognized by the Opus CD database (I have a lot of those). Thanks, folks!
Reply
Reply
post #94 of 2404
1/30/09 at 5:29am
Thread Starter 
The Rondo interface looks just like the screen on the Opus. However, it is difficult to navigate because it lacks the buttons, or the ability to do the alphabet jump. Coordination between the Rondo interface and the screen is also iffy. I usually end up using a combination of my laptop (Maestro and Rondo) and remote to control the unit.


Quote:
Originally Posted by nottlv View Post

Thanks for the info guys.

I did check the manual before posting and there was simply a mention that the web interface would be activated in a future release. I thought I remember reading in the other (lengthy) Olive thread that the web/Rondo interface URL was posted and was already active in a beta form, so I was hoping someone could post a few shots of that. I was curious if it looked more like the "old" web interface or more like the new interface on the internal screen. No big deal though.

My Thecus 5200Pro NAS has a UPnP / DLNA server built-in (licensed from a company name Mediabolic), so hopefully that would work though Mediabolic isn't specifically mentioned in the Olive manual.

I'd be using the Opus in the same manner as my Musica, which is strictly through the digital S/PDIF output into a TacT 2150XDM digital amp. The TacT's digital inputs can handle up to 24/192 2 channel PCM, so I was curious if the Opus can output the Reference Recordings HRx (176/24 WAV) and the Linn StudioMaster (up to 192/24 FLAC) files. At $45 and $32 a pop, respectively, it's probably not a chance I'd take without knowing since I'd have no other way to play them otherwise (plus it's more of an audiophile curiosity given none of the available titles really float my boat). I'll shoot an email to Olive sales to see if they can answer that question.
Reply
Reply
post #95 of 2404
1/30/09 at 5:35am
Thread Starter 
Assuming you are using Windows, all you need to do is go to Start -> Run and type in \\\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx (the xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx represents the IP address of the Opus). A window containing a folder named "import" should pop up. Open the import folder, and drag and drop the files into the folder.

If you don't know the IP address of the Opus, you can find it by selecting Settings -> Network Settings -> Network Information on the Opus.

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimInLoganSquare View Post

I'm sorry if this has been answered before (and someone perhaps can direct me there), but could someone please tell me how, step by step, to move music from my PC onto my Opus No. 4? I would love to start importing CDs (and downloading files from HDTracks) on my PC and pushing them onto the Opus, but the directions in the User Manual (Section 5.2) are not helpful. This will be especially useful for the many CDs I have that aren't recognized by the Opus CD database (I have a lot of those). Thanks, folks!
Reply
Reply
post #96 of 2404
1/30/09 at 1:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by JimInLoganSquare View Post

I'm sorry if this has been answered before (and someone perhaps can direct me there), but could someone please tell me how, step by step, to move music from my PC onto my Opus No. 4?

If you are using Linux, it's easier than with windows
At least, on my pc I open Local Network, next SMB services, choose smb://opus/, and after a while the Import folder pops up. Now I copy what I like to this folder.
I have given the hostname opus to the ip-address the Opus No 4 has.

The Opus manual says: currently access is limited to Windows pc's

Greetz
Marc
Reply
Reply
post #97 of 2404
1/30/09 at 4:31pm
Thread Starter 
Oh yeah, you Linux guys.... I outta... What version on Linux are you using?

An easier way to do it in Windows is to type the \\\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx in your Internet Explorer browser.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

If you are using Linux, it's easier than with windows
At least, on my pc I open Local Network, next SMB services, choose smb://opus/, and after a while the Import folder pops up. Now I copy what I like to this folder.
I have given the hostname opus to the ip-address the Opus No 4 has.

The Opus manual says: currently access is limited to Windows pc's

Greetz
Marc
Reply
Reply
post #98 of 2404
1/31/09 at 1:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

Oh yeah, you Linux guys.... I outta... What version on Linux are you using?

An easier way to do it in Windows is to type the \\\\xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx in your Internet Explorer browser.

Well, eh guys? I'm probably the only one.
For about 6 years I have been using Suse Linux, it started with version 8 and now I use version 11.1

For reasons obvious to me, I don't want any pc or gadget in our house to use Windows. Until now that's pretty easy.

But that's not ontopic.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #99 of 2404
1/31/09 at 2:43pm
Thanks for the tips; I was able to open the Import folder and start loading HDTracks albums onto the Opus. Chesky 96/24 recordings (in FLAC) sound wonderful through my new Cambridge/Azur DACMagic.
Reply
Reply
post #100 of 2404
2/1/09 at 11:29am
I am a former owner of an Olive Musica. It was my first foray into hard drive storage of music. I loved the concept but sold the unit because the drive was so noisy and there were many hardware glitches. I now want to start over but am unsure which road to take. I will take the digital out, run it through a Monarchy DIP and into an Integra 9.9 surround processor. My thought is that for $1300 I can get an iMac with a 500gig hard drive and optical digital output. The display is easily seen across the room and I could use my iPod touch for a remote.

Are there any advantages to the Opus 4 over the Mac system (other than it is smaller)?

Thanks,

Mark
Reply
Reply
post #101 of 2404
2/1/09 at 5:23pm
Mark, I'm still a big fan of my Opus4. I like it that for a few hundred bucks more than you are looking at, you get an extremely quiet, tera-byte capacity unit that requires very little maintenance, outputs HD over the digital out and (through my external DAC) gives me a great sound. If you are attaching it to a wireless router via Ethernet cable it's basically a fire-and-forget system. You can also use the iPod Touch to control the Opus4. My wife has one and it works very well using the Rondo interface.
Reply
Reply
post #102 of 2404
2/2/09 at 3:21am
Mark,

I don't know what a Mac can do, but I guess it won't surpass the Opus ability to cater for classical music. As my collection of cd's contains over 80% of so called classical music, I have chosen the Opus 4 to be able to delve into them.
It provides the componist name and work name, apart from the album name and artist(s), and that proves to be invaluable for this kind of music.
I know of several people that have chosen to rip & play the pc-way, and are wrestling with their classical albums to get them right, or have chosen to leave them alone.

So, if you have classical albums, there is no other option.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #103 of 2404
2/3/09 at 8:23am
Thread Starter 
The Opus 4 is using the new Seagate Pipeline hard drives which are a lot quieter than the drives from even just a few years ago. While not completely silent, I haven't noticed any hard drive noise from 6 to 8 feet away while listening to music. In fact, the only noise I ever notice is the initial spin up when the unit is first turned on.

Most of the software and hardware glitches have been either fixed or identified, and Olive plans to continually enhance the interface.

I have my Opus 4 running digital out into a Cambridge Audio DacMagic (new version), and it sounds great. For some reason using the coax rather than the optical out sounds better to me. Any differences could be in my head.

I can't really speak to the advantages/disadvantages of iMac versus Opus 4 since I know very little about the iMac.

Quote:
Originally Posted by edmiston View Post

I am a former owner of an Olive Musica. It was my first foray into hard drive storage of music. I loved the concept but sold the unit because the drive was so noisy and there were many hardware glitches. I now want to start over but am unsure which road to take. I will take the digital out, run it through a Monarchy DIP and into an Integra 9.9 surround processor. My thought is that for $1300 I can get an iMac with a 500gig hard drive and optical digital output. The display is easily seen across the room and I could use my iPod touch for a remote.

Are there any advantages to the Opus 4 over the Mac system (other than it is smaller)?

Thanks,

Mark
Reply
Reply
post #104 of 2404
2/3/09 at 8:31am
Thread Starter 
I've bought a number of the high resolution albums from HDTracks, and I highly recommend them.

http://www.hdtracks.com/index.php?fi...diophile_96khz

I've also joined the B&W Music Club, and have found it to be an excellent value. You are limited to the club choice for each month, but so far I haven't been disappointed. Just this month they released the album as 24 bit FLAC files (the also offer 16 bit FLAC and Apple Lossless). You can do a free 3 month trial membership if you are interested.

http://www.bowers-wilkins.com/display.aspx?infid=3550

Quote:
Originally Posted by JimInLoganSquare View Post

Thanks for the tips; I was able to open the Import folder and start loading HDTracks albums onto the Opus. Chesky 96/24 recordings (in FLAC) sound wonderful through my new Cambridge/Azur DACMagic.
Reply
Reply
post #105 of 2404
2/4/09 at 2:32am
Not to change the subject too much, I have a quick question. I am going to integrate my Opus 4 into my system, and also a Benchmark dac1 usb, and a Krell sacd mk3. I have a Kav 280p pre, and a SC-09 for ht. My question is should I put the Opus 4/dac before the pre, or direct after to the mono's ?? Will I lose or gain sound quality ?? Should I go balanced or coax ?? Any suggestions, or if someone has a similar combo, any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.....dg
Reply
Reply
post #106 of 2404
2/5/09 at 3:55am
Connect the digital out of the Opus to the Benchmark.
I expect the Benchmark to have a better DA conversion then the Opus
Reply
Reply
post #107 of 2404
2/5/09 at 8:03am
Thanks Roseval, that's what I was thinking also. It should be much improved sound.
Reply
Reply
post #108 of 2404
2/5/09 at 12:42pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

For some reason using the coax rather than the optical out sounds better to me. Any differences could be in my head.

Hi zbret, i have connected the Macdagic to the Opus with an optical wire. Could it be that the quality of either the optical cable or the coax cable is at stake here?
I don't want to start a topic about the differences of those cables, but I also don't want to buy a coax cable just to try yo hear a difference in sound, that I probably can't hear.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #109 of 2404
2/5/09 at 10:34pm
I really hate the new Maestro (except for being able to easily add songs to a playlist). Losing that scroll hurts.
Reply
Reply
post #110 of 2404
2/7/09 at 6:09am
Thread Starter 
I agree, and I told Olive as much. I think there are some major changes coming to the interface down the road. I'll check in with them next week and see what I can find out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by shamus View Post

I really hate the new Maestro (except for being able to easily add songs to a playlist). Losing that scroll hurts.
Reply
Reply
post #111 of 2404
2/7/09 at 6:13am
Thread Starter 
I was using a fairly high quality Monster optical and coax cables when comparing. Like I said, it could be in my head since digital is digital. To that end, I've read that spending money on really expensive digital cables is a waste since either they work or don't work, but at the same time, I have to believe there is some relevance to shielding and construction.

The only thing I can't account for is any possible differences of the digital outs of the Opus.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

Hi zbret, i have connected the Macdagic to the Opus with an optical wire. Could it be that the quality of either the optical cable or the coax cable is at stake here?
I don't want to start a topic about the differences of those cables, but I also don't want to buy a coax cable just to try yo hear a difference in sound, that I probably can't hear.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #112 of 2404
2/7/09 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

I agree, and I told Olive as much. I think there are some major changes coming to the interface down the road. I'll check in with them next week and see what I can find out.

I had asked them again about the multi-cd album bug, and could decipher from the answer that an update still will take some weaks waiting for us.

Meanwhile I don't agree. But blame that to my newness if you wish. I have never seen an older version.
But I think pressing a letter isn't such a bad thing. If that's what you are referring to.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #113 of 2404
2/7/09 at 6:58am
Thread Starter 
Marc,

I believe Shamus is talking about the ability to scroll through the entire list at once (which went away with this new version), rather than select a letter, scroll, select the next letter, scroll, etc.


Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

I had asked them again about the multi-cd album bug, and could decipher from the answer that an update still will take some weaks waiting for us.

Meanwhile I don't agree. But blame that to my newness if you wish. I have never seen an older version.
But I think pressing a letter isn't such a bad thing. If that's what you are referring to.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #114 of 2404
2/7/09 at 8:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

Marc,
I believe Shamus is talking about the ability to scroll through the entire list at once (which went away with this new version), rather than select a letter, scroll, select the next letter, scroll, etc.

Ok, but then what about the next and previous arrows you get? Is almost the same, I think.

Marc
Reply
Reply
post #115 of 2404
2/7/09 at 9:15am
Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

Ok, but then what about the next and previous arrows you get? Is almost the same, I think.

Marc

Scrolling was so much easier... actually both options should be there. I have a feeling it has something to do with being able to load a page faster when you have one letter of albums instead of a thousand albums.
The problem without the scroll is when you try to combine albums not on the same page. It can be done, but its a pain. Another problem is rearanging a favorite list... not fun.
Maestro was perfect IMO except for the only being able to add one song to a playlist part... which is fixed now.
Reply
Reply
post #116 of 2404
2/7/09 at 12:46pm
Shamus, that's pretty clear! I hope they fix it.

Marc
BTW: does anyone knows how to get the rondo interface on your pc? It's not in the manual.
Reply
Reply
post #117 of 2404
2/7/09 at 12:56pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

BTW: does anyone knows how to get the rondo interface on your pc? It's not in the manual.

Thats caus its a secret....

http://xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx:8163/olive_opus.php
Reply
Reply
post #118 of 2404
2/7/09 at 1:46pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mumsoft View Post

Hi zbret, i have connected the DACmagic to the Opus with an optical wire. Could it be that the quality of either the optical cable or the coax cable is at stake here?
I don't want to start a topic about the differences of those cables, but I also don't want to buy a coax cable just to try yo hear a difference in sound, that I probably can't hear.

Marc

I happen to notice this from time to time in various systems as well - coax works better, sometimes remarkably so. I did find that (gently!) cleaning the end of my optical cable with a dustless camera lens cleaning cloth improved the performance of one optical cable. It must have gotten dirty while left unprotected in a storage box. I suspect that some equipment's optical receptor lens may be dirty as well, but I'm not sure how you safely clean one of those. I would recommend taking a peek with a magnifying glass to see if your cable ends are dirty. I personally avoid the issue by using coax, or even better, AES/EBU wherever possible. :-)
Reply
Reply
post #119 of 2404
2/8/09 at 8:47am
Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

Like I said, it could be in my head since digital is digital......
The only thing I can't account for is any possible differences of the digital outs of the Opus.

Bits are bits.
An undeniable truth.
One bit is not more beautiful, better polished, etc than any other.
This argument is true but not right because it leaves the other half of digital audio, the time, out of the equation.
SPDIF is a hybrid protocol, the signal is send in bits but the sample rate is not send to the receiver. The sample rate is derived from the incoming bit stream. The accuracy of this stream is a matter of the quality of the clock of the sender. As no clock is perfect, there will always be some jitter.
In general Toslink compared with coax has a big advantage, as it is fibre, sender and receiver are completely electrically isolated. It also has a disadvantage, Its rise time is in general slower than coax so more input jitter might be the result.
The end result will depend on how well your external DAC rejects input jitter. Most DACs are not completely immune to input jitter.
So it is possible that the same bits sound different using coax or Toslink.

http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/
Reply
Reply
post #120 of 2404
2/9/09 at 2:42pm
Thread Starter 
"Next release should only be a question of days now" Didn't get into what it will entail beyond bug fixes.

Quote:
Originally Posted by zbrett View Post

I agree, and I told Olive as much. I think there are some major changes coming to the interface down the road. I'll check in with them next week and see what I can find out.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks

AVS › AVS Forum › Audio › CD Players & Dedicated Music Transports › "Official" Olive Thread Opus 4, Opus 6, Melody 2, Olive 2, Olive 4/ 4HD, 06HD