Olive 4HD - like the idea

[matengawhat]

how long does it take to rip a cd to an uncompressed file - how many times does it read the disc to get a bit perfect copy - if you put a cd in that you haven't ripped does it tell you/do it automatically?

what does the computer software offer except gathering album artwork, can you connect directly to a computer to copy all your files or do you have to start again from scratch inserting cds?

is the internal dac the limiting factor in terms of sound quality?

bit like the arcam music server but properly specced! Any plans for an arcam update?

 

[matengawhat]

can anyone from the what hi fi team comment on the above if possible or is there anyway I can request a pdf manual / spec sheet or email me contact details for Olive

 

[Andrew Everard]

Clickety

 

[matengawhat]

thank you very much

 

[Anonymous]

How does this compare to the Naim HDX? Features and sound.

 

[matengawhat]

from reading the spec is there anyway to connect a squeezebox to this device to access the audio files to play in a second room?

 

[Andrew Everard]

We haven't done the comparison with the HDX, and it's our understanding that while the 4HD will stream music from a separate network attached storage device, it will only stream to Olive's own client units.

 

[Anonymous]

And given that I've already got a Uniti, perhaps I should consider the HDX instead of a CDP in my new system. Bit pricy though.

When you did your review, which amp did you use it with?

D

 

[Andrew Everard]

I wasn't involved in that review, but I am sure it was tested with our usual reference system

And I know Naim has been doing some work on using the HDX as a streaming source for the Uniti. Last time I was down in Salisbury, admittedly a few months back, there was a test-rig running with an HDX simultaneously feeding a stack of Unitis via network connections.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Andrew

Another amp to add to the list!

 

[matengawhat]

"And comparing the CD quality with that of Marantz's excellent CD6003 was interesting, too: there wasn't much in it, with the 4HD proving, at the least, an attentively rhythmic and expressive listen."

the marantz CD6003 is a £300 player so what is the limiting factor is it the 4hd as a transport and dac or just the dac - if you took the digital out to a dedicated dac would the sound improve

because if i buy one i will be dropping my cdp as long as this is upto the task - might keep the mf dac or look to buy an amp with it built in - thinking of best possible sound minimum number of boxs

 

[Andrew Everard]

matengawhat:if you took the digital out to a dedicated dac would the sound improve

Yes, quite possibly, provided you're saving the music as uncompressed files.

And if your next question is 'do I like the way it sounds?', I'm afraid you're on your own...

 

[matengawhat]

yeah would be uncompressed - won't ask your thoughts on the way it sounds but thoughts on its interface would be good - in the review you mentioned slow - slow as in patience or slow to the extent of annoying

 

[Andrew Everard]

As I said before, I wasn't involved in the testing.

 

[Anonymous]

Slow? Where does it mention that? Not being combative, honest - I want to know what you read that I didn't! There's nothing wrong with the Olive's digital-to-analogue conversion, by the by: it uses very decent Burr-Brown kit.

 

[matengawhat]

sorry maybe wasn't your review - oops

only question about dac was due to your comparison to the marantz thats all, i really like the idea and has a decent size hd thinking of swapping a few bits for it but want something thats as good as what i currently have and pref better!

 

[Anonymous]

No worries...

The Marantz comparison seemed fair enough to us on value grounds. It's a bit like when we test a seven-channel AV receiver with music: it'd be unreasonable to compare it to a stereo amp costing the same amount because, quite obviously, there's a lot more going on inside the receiver than the stereo amp. Better to compare it to a cheaper stereo amp to gauge how it stands up.

The Olive 4HD review process ran along similar lines. It costs £2150, but look at what you get for that that price: a 2TB NAS with ripping functionality (and remember, 1TB ripping NAS devices such as the musicM8 and RipNAS are both around £800), plus a digital preamp with digital inputs for other sources and good-quality 24-bit/192kHz DACs, plus a slick touchscreen user interface with support for an iPhone/Touch app, plus a CD player.

We reckoned that if you were dedicated and knowledgeable enough, you could probably put together a selection of separates kit for around £2000 that would deliver everything the Olive can muster (whether said collection would be as slick is an entirely different question, and not relevant here). On that basis, it seemed sensible to listen using an affordable CD player, not a high-end one.

That's not trying to do the Olive down, you understand: it's trying to be fair to it.

 

[matengawhat]

i think thats perfectly fair and the product suits my needs in terms of what its got going on in one box - hd great size, can prob just over half fill it with what i already own and room for my collection to keep growing, hate having to have computer on all the time and didn't want to take the nas route so have been patiently waiting, no fans the touch display very neat the fact in outputs all the display to a monitor/tv

i'm happy to buy an off board dac to boost that performance or keep the one i've already got mf dac v8 or buy an amp like the new cyrus with inbuilt dac to squeeze every last bit of performance out of it

i looked at some of the linn kit but wanted the cd player function in the same unit and only other i've noticed was the arcam and hd no where near big enough plus the fan noise and a couple of other really really expensive options

 

[Anonymous]

If you've not seen one yet, get yourself along to Bristol next week - it's on demo at the show, as we've posted elsewhere. I've reviewed Sooloos and I own Sonos, and the Olive is, for me, the best middle-ground between the two.

Must be said the only thing I don't particularly like about it is the etched lettering in the casework, but you might feel differently.

 

[matengawhat]

not seen one in the flesh yet - waiting to hear who is going to do the distribution for them and here i can get my hands on one - i can live with the case as will never see it in my rack/cabinet - like the fact they do it in black and silver leaves me with lots of options

just want to cut down my box count a little bit

i'm a long way from bristol - up in west yorkshire not sure could con the gf into a night away she would be so bored and i would constantly hear you're not getting one! There might also be prices on things and i'm still saying it was only a couple of hundred!

 

[Anonymous]

Ah. Well, fingers crossed there'll be good news on said distribution front while we're at Bristol: we'll keep you posted, obviously.

I know what you mean about the price thing, by the way.

 

[matengawhat]

whats the wedge front display like from a reflecting light point of view and being able to see whats playing from a little distance?

also can't find a pic of the remote is it stylish or just a lump of plastic

 

[Anonymous]

In our listening rooms (recessed halogen downlighters, but no windows) it wasn't a problem - high resolution, sharp, clear enough to be usable from more than two metres away. In a room with lots of windows and natural light.couldn't tell you, but let's put it like this. Remember those rubbish first-generation LCDs with no contrast and zero off-axis performance? It's not one of those. From from it.

 

[matengawhat]

cheers for the answers andy

 

[Anonymous]

Nae bother.