Audiophile Music Servers and a perspective from one publication.

**John72953** · 06-15-2012, 04:13 PM

I recently picked up an issue of UHF magazine, which is a small circulation magazine out of Montreal, but has a dedicated readership. Whilst reading their "Feedback" column I came upon this letter and response:

Question:

Are you planning to review any Olive products in the near future?

Reply:

No. We do not recommend buying commodity hard drives from high end audio companies. Olive, in our view, brings nothing to the table that cannot be done with the conventional computer gear you may already have.

This struck me as quite bold and matter of fact. Maybe they are right, maybe not. What's your take on this?

**jdandy2** · 06-15-2012, 05:16 PM

John.......As an Olive 04HD owner and a McIntosh MS750 owner, I think UHF magazine's view is narrow minded at best about music servers. Their comments sound like the mantra of the laptop and DAC group. I have no reason to bash those who embrace that route, and no agenda or ax to grind. To each their own. For me it is about having components that compliment the other gear in my audio rack and look like audio components. I don't want a desktop or laptop computer in my listening rooms. I appreciate having the music server wrapped up in a user friendly component that fits into my audio rack. I like the advantages of the dedicated music server's processor and the convenience of proprietary software without tweaking and adjusting various downloaded software perimeters necessary to stream audio via USB, not to mention sharing a computer's processor speed with all the other system operations going on in the background on a typical laptop. I like being able to control my servers via an iPad, iPod, or a networked computer, both wired and Wifi. No computer in the listening room also means no power supply cooling fan noise. The Olive 04HD is an excellent music server with 2TB of storage capacity, and operates dead silent. Listening to hi-res downloads from the 04HD hard drive is exceptionally good, and should be auditioned to be appreciated.

So, yes, I think UHF is a tad preoccupied with their chosen media, and do their readers a disservice by refusing to report on alternatives outside their anointed choices.

**Andre Marc** · 06-15-2012, 05:24 PM

What these guys are missing is that are there are boatloads of people who have no interest in interfacing
with a computer, know nothing about "USB DACs", Pure Music, FLAC, AIFF, or WAV, drivers, ASIO, WASAPI,etc, and just
want to be able rip and access their music collection in CD quality. Olive provides an excellent one box solution.

This product is not for the lunatics who debate round the clock about the sound of different hard drives, different operating systems, USB cables, Amarra versions, integer mode, or any other esoteric "computer audiophile" craziness.

**mep** · 06-15-2012, 06:04 PM

There are boatloads of digital lovers who are killing the music industry though. Spotify and Pandora are the two latest nails in the coffin. Digital people are moving to the stage where they don't feel they have to "own" any music and they will just stream compressed digital music and be quite happy. As I said before, digital has killed the recording business and bands can no longer make a living from selling their music. You have to tour now in order to make any money as a band. The paradigm has flipped.

**FrantzM** · 06-15-2012, 06:29 PM

Originally Posted by mep

There are boatloads of digital lovers who are killing the music industry though. Spotify and Pandora are the two latest nails in the coffin. Digital people are moving to the stage where they don't feel they have to "own" any music and they will just stream compressed digital music and be quite happy. As I said before, digital has killed the recording business and bands can no longer make a living from selling their music. You have to tour now in order to make any money as a band. The paradigm has flipped.

Before the recording industry took over the music industry that is what bands used to do ..play music ...tour to play music not sitting in a studio to make or patch up music ..
Paradigm change or return to the sources?

**Andre Marc** · 06-15-2012, 06:34 PM

????

I don't see the slightest correlation between your post and the OP.

Buyers of an Olive product, or for that matter of any sort of music server are not interested in ripping off artists or streaming mp3s.

Lack of desire to own music is a cultural thing, it has nothing to do with technology. Before the internet, CDs were were bootlegged all over Russia, China, and South America..even the streets of NYC, where you could get any brand new release for 5 bucks or less.

Originally Posted by mep

There are boatloads of digital lovers who are killing the music industry though. Spotify and Pandora are the two latest nails in the coffin. Digital people are moving to the stage where they don't feel they have to "own" any music and they will just stream compressed digital music and be quite happy. As I said before, digital has killed the recording business and bands can no longer make a living from selling their music. You have to tour now in order to make any money as a band. The paradigm has flipped.

**John72953** · 06-15-2012, 06:42 PM

In think we're getting a little off-topic here gentlemen! It has nothing to do with how content is obtained, but rather how it's delivered.

Personally, I don't stream music. I have my vinyl setup and my PC setup and have no intention on bridging the two. It's a personal preference that's all.

While I think the reply was rather 'out there', I don't necessarily disagree. I mean ...how much better can the sound from an Olive unit be as compared to say "Gary's Stupid Music Server"?

**jdandy2** · 06-15-2012, 06:47 PM

Originally Posted by mep

There are boatloads of digital lovers who are killing the music industry though. Spotify and Pandora are the two latest nails in the coffin. Digital people are moving to the stage where they don't feel they have to "own" any music and they will just stream compressed digital music and be quite happy. As I said before, digital has killed the recording business and bands can no longer make a living from selling their music. You have to tour now in order to make any money as a band. The paradigm has flipped.

Back in the day there was still free music coming into homes. It was called radio. You could listen all day, and all night without spending a dime. I remember buying new release vinyl albums for $2.99, and going to concerts to see Jefferson Airplane, Young Bloods, and Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company all in the same night at Filmore West in San Francisco. Admission was $6.00. You can hardly see a concert for less than 10 times that today. Plenty of live music concerts will cost you $150.00 a ticket or more , and that's not even the good seats. I agree, the paradigm has flipped. I'm still trying to figure out who's winning.

My apology for drifitng off the original topic.

**Andre Marc** · 06-15-2012, 07:23 PM

Let me be the first to say that I am one jealous bastard.

Youngbloods, Janis, and the Airplane on the same night?

I was born in the 68 and I have a very special connection with 60s rock.

Please don't tell me you saw Jimi and the Doors.

Originally Posted by jdandy2

Back in the day there was still free music coming into homes. It was called radio. You could listen all day, and all night without spending a dime. I remember buying new release vinyl albums for $2.99, and going to concerts to see Jefferson Airplane, Young Bloods, and Janis Joplin with Big Brother and the Holding Company all in the same night at Filmore West in San Francisco. Admission was $6.00. You can hardly see a concert for less than 10 times that today. Plenty of live music concerts will cost you $150.00 a ticket or more , and that's not even the good seats. I agree, the paradigm has flipped. I'm still trying to figure out who's winning.

My apologize for drifitng off the original topic.

**Andre Marc** · 06-15-2012, 07:27 PM

I think I said as much...mep's comment had nothing to do with the Olive.

Also note, again, that the sound of the Olive is not the question. It is a matter of interface, convenience,and over all feature set. No software, drivers, peripherals, O/S, or other such matters to deal with.

And BTW, the Olive sounds very good. It also can act as a streamer, a DAC, and has multi room capability.

Originally Posted by John72953

In think we're getting a little off-topic here gentlemen! It has nothing to do with how content is obtained, but rather how it's delivered.

Personally, I don't stream music. I have my vinyl setup and my PC setup and have no intention on bridging the two. It's a personal preference that's all.

While I think the reply was rather 'out there', I don't necessarily disagree. I mean ...how much better can the sound from an Olive unit be as compared to say "Gary's Stupid Music Server"?