AudioCircle

Other Stuff => Archived Manufacturer Circles => Red Wine Audio => Topic started by: Vinnie R. on 28 Apr 2006, 11:58 am

Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 28 Apr 2006, 11:58 am
All,

I finished adding a link on my webpage for the NEW Olive Symphony and Musica music server mods:

http://www.redwineaudio.com/Olive.html

This is my very best digital source modification offering to date!  What it offers in terms of versatility and sonic prowess has totally exceeded my expectations.  :hyper:

I will have this unit at the VTV Expo in NJ next weekend (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=27072)...feeding the new Signature 30 amp.  I will be picking up the new, professionally designed enclosure for it today!  

Thanks for all your continued interest and support!
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 28 Apr 2006, 12:21 pm
Quote from: RichardS
Vinnie
Will you be offering digital-only mods also, or only the whole enchilada? And can the BNC jack be changed to RCA or AES/EBU for those of us without BNC connections on our DACs?
Things are getting interesting. This may tempt me to sell my Squeezebox....


Hi RichardS,

Due to the redesign of the power supply to run on SLA battery power, if I don't do the analog output and input mods, those sections will no longer work at all.  

So to answer your questions, I will only be offering the "whole enchilada" mods.

As for the digital output jack, I am only going to offer this as a 75-ohm BNC jack.  After going with 75-ohm BNC jacks and digital cables with 75-ohm BNC plugs for external dacs, I have really grown to dislike RCA jacks for digital connections.  If your external dac does not have a BNC input, here are my recommendations (in order from best to worst):

-- Consider having your dac modified with a 75-ohm BNC jack (I can most likely do this for you), and use a 75-ohm digital cable with 75-ohm BNC plugs on both ends.
-- Purchase a cable with a BNC plug on one end and a BNC-to-RCA adapter on the other end.  For example, http://www.redwineaudio.com/cables.html
-- Use a BNC male to RCA female adapter for your RCA digital cable.

I will not be offering an AES/EBU mod for the Olive.  The digital output section was designed around the S/PDIF standard and I am going to leave it this way.

Thank you for your post,
Title: Sitting on the fence
Post by: MttBsh on 28 Apr 2006, 08:42 pm
Vinnie,

Someone had to ask: In the final analysis, if faced with the choice of going with a modded SB3 or "whole enchilada" modded Olive Music server - without regards to price or feature/function - could you share your opinion as to which produces the best sound?

The time is quickly approaching for me to retire the trusted and true S7700 Sony I've use for years as a transport and step up to 2006, and I see the modded SB3 or Olive as my best choices right now.

Any thoughts you could share would be greatly appreciated!    

Matt
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Jon L on 28 Apr 2006, 08:51 pm
Great work, Vinnie.   Two Questions:

1)  Computers tend to hate losing power suddenly.  Is there any backup power in case the battery runs out during operation?

2)  It's a long shot, but is it possible to implement the SLA battery mod to a "regular" audio PC, at least to power certain portions like the pro soundcard?
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: philipp on 28 Apr 2006, 09:18 pm
Vinnie,
Is it easy to upgrade the hard drives in these? Is the interface IDE or SATA? It's strange that these systems cater to the Mac crowd but don't list Apple Lossless as a supported format.

Thanks for offering these upgrades! This may be my next digital source.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: lonewolfny42 on 29 Apr 2006, 03:47 am
Wow Vinnie !!! A new amp and a new digital source....nice !!! Looking forward to hearing them. 8)
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: davidada on 29 Apr 2006, 12:47 pm
My Olive Musica is on its way to the Maestro!!!!!
Title: Re: Sitting on the fence
Post by: Vinnie R. on 29 Apr 2006, 02:42 pm
Quote from: MttBsh
Someone had to ask: In the final analysis, if faced with the choice of going with a modded SB3 or "whole enchilada" modded Olive Music server - without regards to price or feature/function - could you share your opinion as to which produces the best sound?

Matt


Hi Matt,

Fully modded SB3 vs Fully modded Olive.... the Olive wins (both analog and digital output sound quality).  


Quote from: Jon L
1) Computers tend to hate losing power suddenly. Is there any backup power in case the battery runs out during operation?

2) It's a long shot, but is it possible to implement the SLA battery mod to a "regular" audio PC, at least to power certain portions like the pro soundcard?


Hi Jon,

1) There is no backup power supply, so it is important not to play your modded any longer than the 8 hour recommended play time between charges.  Even if the power was suddenly lost, I would think that all would survive.  I wouldn't make a habit of this, but I doubt the machine would die from this.  The Olive also comes with a "Recovery CD"

2) I'm sure it is possible, but just like in the Olive, it is a pain in the butt!  :roll:

Quote from: philipp
Is it easy to upgrade the hard drives in these? Is the interface IDE or SATA? It's strange that these systems cater to the Mac crowd but don't list Apple Lossless as a supported format.


Hi philipp,

This is a very good question!  :)

The Olive Symphony uses an 80GB Hitachi "Travelstar" hard drive (2.5").  The interface is ATA-6:
http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/5k80/5k80.htm

The Olive Musica uses a 160GB Samsung "Spinpoint" hard drive....ATA-7:
http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/SpinPointVSeries/HardDiskDrive_SpinPointVSeries_SV1604N.htm

Of course I can't help but wondering what would be the result if I replaced the hard drive with a larger one, powered up the unit with the Olive Recovery CD to reload the operating system (I've heard it was Linux-based) and see if it works.   :scratch:  :wink:

All that it would take to accept Apple Lossless would be a software change.  I heard they are not doing it because of some copyright nonsense...  :evil:

Quote from: lonewolfny42
Wow Vinnie !!! A new amp and a new digital source....nice !!! Looking forward to hearing them.  
Good luck !!!!


Thanks, Chris!  Looking foward to seeing you at VTV!


Hi David,

I'll let you know when it arrives.  I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions when you receive it back after the mods.


Thanks for all your interest!

Vinnie
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: arthurs on 29 Apr 2006, 03:05 pm
Any thoughts on the Opus Vinnie?
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 29 Apr 2006, 08:03 pm
Quote from: arthurs
Any thoughts on the Opus Vinnie?


Hi arthurs,

Besides reading the specs on their webpage, I have not investigated the new Opus.  Looks really good, but not cheap at $3K  :o
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: WilliamL on 30 Apr 2006, 03:43 pm
Yes,

The Opus interests me more than the others because of the incredible storage. Still, I think the Musica will hold about 400 CDs in lossless quality. Is that about right? Thats still inpressive and may fit my needs.

Cheers,
Bill
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: ZLS on 30 Apr 2006, 05:48 pm
According to the Olive Web Page the Musica holds 400 60 minute CD's.  Therefore if your average CD is 45 minutes, it will hold 625 CD's.


                                    ZLS
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 30 Apr 2006, 11:27 pm
Quote from: ZLS
According to the Olive Web Page the Musica holds 400 60 minute CD's.  Therefore if your average CD is 45 minutes, it will hold 625 CD's.
                                    ZLS

All,

The webpage says the Olive Musica will hold 450 60-min CDs recorded in FLAC.

So if your CDs are 45-min, it should hold 25% more... about 562 CDs.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: maxwalrath on 1 May 2006, 03:16 am
If a set amount of storage space can hold 180 minutes of music, it can hold 3 60 minute CD's or 4 45 minute CD's.

3:4 = 450:600 45 minute CD's :thankyou:
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 1 May 2006, 03:25 am
Quote from: maxwalrath
If a set amount of storage space can hold 180 minutes of music, it can hold 3 60 minute CD's or 4 45 minute CD's.

3:4 = 450:600 45 minute CD's :thankyou:


I think Max has it right!  Think about it in terms of how many minutes of playback it can store.  

Thanks, Max!

Quote from: Vinnie R.
Of course I can't help but wondering what would be the result if I replaced the hard drive with a larger one, powered up the unit with the Olive Recovery CD to reload the operating system (I've heard it was Linux-based) and see if it works.  


Speaking of HD storage, I'm surprised my comments above haven't generated a little more buzz here  :o   :wink:
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: maxwalrath on 1 May 2006, 03:30 am
I'm just glad I got to use that emoticon...
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Gordy on 1 May 2006, 03:48 am
Quote from: Vinnie R.
Speaking of HD storage, I'm surprised my comments above haven't generated a little more buzz here  :o   :wink:


I noticed it with great interest  8)  I think 400G's is about what I'd like to see to get extremely interested!   I'm waiting to hear from the surgeon to see if the transplant was successful and if this would make it possible for additional and/or back up HD's...
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: brj on 1 May 2006, 04:20 am
Quote from: Vinnie R.
Speaking of HD storage, I'm surprised my comments above haven't generated a little more buzz here  :o   :wink:

The 160 GB drive is the largest 2.5" hard drive currently available.  Is there really room to mount a 3.5" drive in a sufficiently cooled, sound isolated manner?

I haven't heard any of the Olive units, but based on what I've read, I really like their approach.  The fact that someone is offering mods is only an added benefit, and I think it is a fantastic move!

My biggest reservation regarding the Olive units - regardless of current hard drive offerings - is that they do not yet offer standard, economical storage expansion options or backup capabilities.  A larger substitute hard drive installed inside the unit is a good start, but doesn't fully address these concerns.  If Olive's offerings were just a bit more open and flexible in terms of storage, I think they could attract an even bigger following, even among those that have the ability to build their own quiet media PCs.

(Of course, Olive needs to watch their pricing too, as I suspect that a Mac Mini hooked up to a good external DAC via USB will give them a real run for their money in terms of price/performance.  You may lose the small, integrated display and one-box form factor, but you retain the ease of use while gaining a great deal of flexibility.)
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: bhobba on 1 May 2006, 05:38 am
Just a question for Vinni - out of curiosity any reason a BG was used for the output cap rather than say an auricap?

BTW very tempted to get one once certain financial issues resolved.

Thanks
Bill
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 1 May 2006, 08:01 am
Hi Guys,

My allergy medication is causing me severe sleeplessness, so I decided to jump back onto audiocircle at 3am.   :o   I'm almost up to 1,000 posts!

BTW, interesting discussion...thanks  :)

Quote from: brj
Is there really room to mount a 3.5" drive in a sufficiently cooled, sound isolated manner?


Hi brj,

The Olive Musica's 160GB drive is a 3.5" drive.  As for cooling, that doesn't seem to be an issue (there is no vents on the top cover and the drive does not really get that warm).  

Regarding your biggest reservation, I see your point.  I would be soooo nice if Olive simply allowed you to connect your external USB hard drive to the USB port on the back....an easy way to do a backup and to store more music.  I think their sales would dramatically increase by allowing for this.  I think all that is required for this to happen is a software change on their end  :roll: .  They are suppposedly coming out with an add on external hard drive.  This would be fine as long as it isn't priced much higher than other drives on the market.  

Quote from: bhobba
Just a question for Vinni - out of curiosity any reason a BG was used for the output cap rather than say an auricap?


Hi bhobba,

Good question.  Here are the reasons:

1) I required a cap with large enough uF's to avoid low freq. rolloff, AND...
2) I required a cap that was small enough to fit and would allow for easier direct soldering from the tiny surface mount pads on the board to the RCA jacks.  The small body of the BG cap and being able to solder these caps as described above also avoids wireless noise issues (I bumped into that problem when modding the SB3s with the Auricaps).

The BG NX-Hi-Q caps sound very good in this circuit.  I am more than happy with the results... I'm getting the warmth of a good NOS dac, but with superb tranparency.  I've comparisons with the modded analog output vs. the battery powered Monica 2 dac and I much prefer the modded Olive.  Blacker background (the cleanest sounding source I've ever heard...period!), better dynamics, much more open and transparent sounding, yet still retains that magical midrange warmth that I love about the Monica 2 (and other NOS dacs).  As I mentioned before, I have no desire to run an external dac..
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: konut on 1 May 2006, 10:58 am
Do all the Olive units use the same DAC chip? What's the brand and model #?
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Paul_Bui on 2 May 2006, 06:03 am
Vinnie,

If you can replace the existing, relatively small HD with larger affordable ones (currently external 300GB can be had for $150, 550GB $250, internal HD of comparable capacity should be lower in price), there will be many Musica and Symphony units flowing from Olive to RWA.

The Audio In feature is one nice feature that I find very beneficial to most music lovers, who have collected a number of SACDs and other recordings on tapes and vinyl.  With an Olive music server, one can easily transfer those non-Redbook formats to HD, then enjoy and preserve the music.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 2 May 2006, 02:01 pm
Quote from: konut
Do all the Olive units use the same DAC chip? What's the brand and model #?


Hi konut,

I know the Symphony and Musica use the same dac chip... it is built into the Analog Devices SoundMAX CODEC.  The Symphony/Musica are pretty much identical units except for the hard drive being bigger in the Musica.

Hi Paul,

I bought a 320GB drive last night to try and replace the 160GB drive in davidada's Musica.  He just needs to mail me the Musica Recovery CD.  I HOPE I can simply run the full recovery and load the operating system to the new drive and it will boot up like a fresh out of the box unit...but with 320GB.  

Something tells me that there is addional data that needs to be installed on the HD that they don't put on the recovery CD.  It can't be that easy  :roll:   I'll keep you posted...

Regarding the analog input, we'll have a really nice Vinyl setup at VTV and I plan to record some records to the hard drive.  
 8)
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Paul_Bui on 2 May 2006, 03:59 pm
Thanks and good luck with your efforts, Vinnie.  We look forward to hearing good news of your success.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: WilliamL on 2 May 2006, 08:22 pm
Yes,

Keep us posted. I will most likely get one of these units. Its just when I decide to pony up for it. If we could get a bigger HD I think lots more would be sold.  :P

What about the audio quality of the most expensive unit. Is it much better than the Musica?

Cheers,
Bill
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Loftprojection on 3 May 2006, 01:00 am
Vinnie, if you tested it, would you mind sharing your evaluation of the headphone out on the unit?  I suspect it must be a very cheap headphone out like we find on a lot of receivers and integrated but hey, maybe not!  Also I assume there is a volume control for the headphone out?

Last question, I assume considering the extent of your mod that there would be no warranty after?

Many thanks.  And by the way, congrats on this mod, it looks pretty exciting, hopefully it sounds as good as it looks!  haha
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 3 May 2006, 12:05 pm
Quote from: Bill Laurent
What about the audio quality of the most expensive unit. Is it much better than the Musica?


Hi Bill,

I have not heard the Olive Opus.  

Quote from: Loftprojection
Last question, I assume considering the extent of your mod that there would be no warranty after?



Hi Loftprojection,

Yes, modding another manufacturer's equipment voids that manufacturer's warranty. I warranty all my mod work, but for non-mod related problems (e.g. the CD drive dies), I do not cover this. However, I can still do the repair....parts and labor charge would apply. This goes for all products that I mod (iPods, Squeezeboxes, Teacs, etc)....I can repair them.

There is a volume control for the headphone output, and the headphone output sounds pretty darn good, but I haven't evaluated it as critically as the line out.  I will do this soon enough and share the results.


All,

Looks like the Musica that I am modding for davidada uses this 160GB Seagate drive: http://www.seagate.com/support/disc/manuals/ata/useries9_pm.pdf

This drive sucks more power than the 80GB Laptop drive in my Symphony.  I'm letting it run today to determine max play time between charges...

I have my 320GB drive waiting to try out as soon as his recovery CD is shipped to me (should be here today!).
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: WilliamL on 3 May 2006, 02:09 pm
This is getting good! Great info. Keep us posted.  :)

Cheers,
Bill
Title: This is what this hobby is all about!!!
Post by: kbuzz3 on 3 May 2006, 02:28 pm
Love these types of developments. Ive had my eye on this player for a while now that vinnie has got his hands on it, things should get very interesting.

One hand youve got your single driver set retro movement and the other the SOTA digital front end. NOw thats what i like...
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: WilliamL on 3 May 2006, 05:36 pm
I just spoke to Olive. There was a software release that just came out TODAY that will let you play and save from an external HD via USB.

This is good. Very very good!!!!

 :wink:

Bill
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: brj on 3 May 2006, 05:53 pm
Quote from: Bill Laurent
I just spoke to Olive. There was a software release that just came out TODAY that will let you play and save from an external HD via USB.

Thanks for the info, Bill!

USB is a start... any chance they mentioned support of these abilities over Ethernet?  Network storage and backup are what I'd really like to see.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 3 May 2006, 05:55 pm
Quote from: Bill Laurent
I just spoke to Olive. There was a software release that just came out TODAY that will let you play and save from an external HD via USB.

This is good. Very very good!!!!

 :wink:

Bill


Hi Bill,

Are you talking about any USB external hard drive, or one that you must purchase from Olive?  And you can back up music and store music for playback?  

SAY IT IS SO!  :hyper:

This would be a very smart move on their part and I know their sales would really zoom if they offered this ability!

I tried to update the software on my Olive (it connects wirelessly to the Olive database) and it said I already have the latest SW (Ver 2.2 PRO).  Once they post it so I can download it, I let you all know.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: WilliamL on 3 May 2006, 07:15 pm
Yes,

This is what I "thought" I heard. I must say that the sales rep was a little uninformed, he had to go get answers--although he was very helpful and nice. Somebody may want to take a few minutes and call them toll-free to verify this as well.  8)

I also asked how I would move files from the Musica to Opus if I ever upgraded and he said that a networked sollution was available. I am a little busy and distracted at work so I may have missed something.
Title: WELL I'LL BE DARNED!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 4 May 2006, 01:29 pm
All,

VERY GOOD NEWS!

I spoke with Olive yesterday.  

The newest software version (2.2 PRO, which I already put on my Olive a few weeks ago) allows you to connect an external USB Drive!!!  :dance:

I tried it with my 300GB Seagate USB drive (filled with .flac files) and it WORKS!  As I type this, I am playing .flac files off of my Seagate drive plugged directly into my Olive Symphony.  :mrgreen:

You can also back up your Olive's internal hard drive with the external USB drive.

They also mentioned that they are working with Apple on allowing the playback of Apple Lossless files... this is coming soon!  This will allow me to plug in my iPod stuffed with Apple Lossless files to the Olive as well.

I also tried to install a 3.5" 320GB internal HD into the Musica and it did't take.  I installed the new drive and ran the Recovery CD to load the operating system, but it won't boot.  I'm sure there is a way to do it (and I will investigate this soon), but now that we can connect an external USB drive directly to the Olive if we need more storage, I'm happy!  :D

This is getting very interesting....
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: zybar on 4 May 2006, 01:45 pm
Great news Vinnie.

Is it possible to connect multiple drives or access a NAS device?

George
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 4 May 2006, 02:06 pm
Quote from: zybar
Great news Vinnie.

Is it possible to connect multiple drives or access a NAS device?

George


Hi George,

There are 2 USB ports on the back.  I connected my 60GB iPod to one port and my 300GB Seagate to the other and it recognized both of them at the same time, so I'm sure it can handle two USB drives.

As for a NAS device, I'm not sure.  It has a built-in 4-port Ethernet hub on the back, so I wonder if these can be used for a NAS device.  

Via the wireless connection, I am able to connect to my PC (more .flac files) with no problem, so I would think that it can access NAS.  This needs to be looked into...
Title: Re: WELL I'LL BE DARNED!
Post by: Loftprojection on 4 May 2006, 02:32 pm
Quote from: Vinnie R.
The newest software version (2.2 PRO, which I already put on my Olive a few weeks ago) allows you to connect an external USB Drive!!!  :dance:


Interesting, so basically now the only "real" difference between the Musica/Symphony and the Opus is sound quality.  Would be really interesting to have a contest between your "modded" Symphony and the stock Opus!  :D
Title: Re: WELL I'LL BE DARNED!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 5 May 2006, 01:51 am
Quote from: Loftprojection

Interesting, so basically now the only "real" difference between the Musica/Symphony and the Opus is sound quality.  Would be really interesting to have a contest between your "modded" Symphony and the stock Opus!  :D


Yeah....and price  :roll:

If anyone has the Olive Opus and wants to bring it to VTV in NJ this weekend (see: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=27072)
to do a shootout with the modded Olive, come on down!   :P

Cheers!
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 8 May 2006, 07:19 pm
Quote from: Loftprojection
Vinnie, if you tested it, would you mind sharing your evaluation of the headphone out on the unit? I suspect it must be a very cheap headphone out like we find on a lot of receivers and integrated but hey, maybe not! Also I assume there is a volume control for the headphone out?


Hi Loftprojection,

I tried the headphone output with AKG K1000 headphones and it didn't drive them to a loud enough level for my tastes.  The K1000s generally need a headphone amp with some good power, so this isn't the best test of the Olive's headphone output.  The sound that I did get was clean and smooth, but the volume was maxed out and not loud enough.

It would be nice to be able to try it with some Senn 650s or something like that.  I'll see what I can do about getting a pair...

Yes, there is a built in volume control for the headphone output.

Best,

Vinnie
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Loftprojection on 9 May 2006, 01:48 am
Quote from: Vinnie R.
Hi Loftprojection,

I tried the headphone output with AKG K1000 headphones and it didn't drive them to a loud enough level for my tastes.  The K1000s generally need a headphone amp with some good power, so this isn't the best test of the Olive's headphone output.  The sound that I did get was clean and smooth, but the volume was maxed out and not loud enough.

It would be nice to be able to try it with some Senn 650s or something like that.  I'll see what I can do about getting a pair...

Yes, there is a built in volume control for the headphone output.

Best,

Vinnie


Hey thanks Vinnie but man, you are not fair with this poor little Olive!  :lol:  I mean, K1000, jezzz, you can't drive those without a very powerfull amp.  I personally have AudioTechnica W1000, those are extremely easy to drive and will sound very well with any quality headphone out.   If you do find a more "regular" headphone, would be nice to know how the Olive headphone out compares with the Squeezebox headphone out!  I know, I'm starting to test your patience!  haha  Thanks much, your mods are certainly very interesting and I might let myself be tempted by one of them soon!  :wink:   Cheers.

Ho, and by the way, if you do some "headphone" testing, I will post your results on the head-fi forum, the guys there will go nuts, I'm sure you already have lots of them as your customers...
Title: First listening RWA Olive
Post by: davidada on 9 May 2006, 03:28 pm
Well, I think I am the first test customer of Vinnies for the Olive mods, as always Vinnies work is first class, the unit also feels much more substantial due to the huge internal battery and sound deadening materials.
Enough of that, I know you allwant to know how it sounds.
I already have the RWA squeeze box with latest mods whichin itself was an excellent sounding system which bettered any previous source and I have had very very good sources ie Meridian and Audiomecca drives as well as a variety of Dac's , Bel Canto 2, modded zhalou( the best so far) etc.
My tastes in Music are generally Jazz and Rock and some alternative.
My altime torture test disk is Miles Davis Kind of Blue, the horns will make your ears bleed if not done right.
Ok, first impressions were of a very smooth rich sound almost tubey-but not rolled off at all.
Lots of fine detail but with a deep warm underlayer, especially vocals just sounded so human and analog sounding. The match is perfect with my Clari-T mono's which are quite forward and could be a tough to strident on certain tracks.
I sat my wife down in the sweet spot and although she does not do critical listening I asked for her impression. She said every instrument now seemed to be more separate and dynamic as wellas wider spaced side to side and in depth.
I agree- the best source I have had in my system period
Bravo Vinnie
Title: Re: First listening RWA Olive
Post by: Jon L on 9 May 2006, 05:03 pm
Quote from: davidada
Well, I think I am the first test customer of Vinnies for the Olive mods, as always Vinnies work is first class, the unit also feels much more substantial due to the huge internal battery and sound deadening materials.
Enough of that, I know you allwant to know how it sounds.
I already have the RWA squeeze box with latest mods whichin itself was an excellent sounding system which bettered any previous source and I have had very very good sources ie Meridian and Audiomecca drives as well as a variety of Da ...


Which Zhalou DAC (1.3?) with which mods do you have, and could you compare Zhalou vs. Olive sound signatures more?  

I've been thinking about picking up the Zhalou 2.0 just for the heck of it..
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 10 May 2006, 11:54 am
Quote from: Loftprojection
and by the way, if you do some "headphone" testing, I will post your results on the head-fi forum, the guys there will go nuts, I'm sure you already have lots of them as your customers...


Hi Loftprojection,

Yes, the iMod is HUGE over at head-fi!  I don't think they know about the modded Olive yet.  :wink:   And yes, the K1000s are definitely not a fair test.  I would have been floored if they were well-driven using the Olive's headphone stage.  I will have to try something different and report back soon...


Quote from: davidada
Ok, first impressions were of a very smooth rich sound almost tubey-but not rolled off at all.
Lots of fine detail but with a deep warm underlayer, especially vocals just sounded so human and analog sounding.

I agree- the best source I have had in my system period
Bravo Vinnie


Hi davidada,

Wow, sounds like you like it!  :P   And it barely has any burn-in time on it!
Many thanks for posting your impressions and giving some examples of other CDPs and dacs that you've used in your system.  

Please keep us posted after you put more hours of use on it.... it WILL get even better!  

Cheers!
Title: Re: First listening RWA Olive
Post by: Paul_Bui on 10 May 2006, 02:24 pm
Quote from: davidada
Well, I think I am the first test customer of Vinnies for the Olive mods, as always Vinnies work is first class, the unit also feels much more substantial due to the huge internal battery and sound deadening materials.
Enough of that, I know you allwant to know how it sounds.
I already have the RWA squeeze box with latest mods whichin itself was an excellent sounding system which bettered any previous source and I have had very very good sources ie Meridian and Audiomecca drives as well as a variety of Da ...


Could you tell which do you have modded, Musica or Symphony?
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: davidada on 10 May 2006, 02:52 pm
Hi It was the Musica with the 160 gig drive, one of the thing that I like best about this system is its non-reliance on a PC. I have been in the process of minimalzing my system, for some time and this allowed me to remove the SB2 and power supply a preamp, a dac and the whole Mac front end along with various inteconnects and power cords. So what I have now is the RWA Olive and ClariT's thats it! off the grid
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Gordy on 10 May 2006, 03:15 pm
I made the two hour trip up to the VTV Show on Saturday afternoon in a near record two and a half hours... and no, it wasn't the scenic tour.  In general I thought the rooms were better sounding than at the Denver show and it was also much easier to get a prime seat and to speak with the various reps, designers and dealers.  My main reason for attending was to see and hear the Olive machine for myself, so not much time was spent elsewhere.  Probably a mistake, but I was on a fairly tight schedule  :(

Being a true dinasaur (thanks Louis  :D  ) when it comes to techy things like computers and SB's, my questions were all pretty basic. With the storage issues now covered and a (very) little hands on experience, I'm pumped!  I'll be purchasing a Symphony unit, due to the much longer battery run time, and an outboard drive just as soon as possible. If this dinasaur can make the transition to apeman, I'll have it off to Vinnie for the full conversion.

The sound, oh yeah!  What can I say, hotel rooms suck.  Despite that and the ambient sound generator just outside the Omega/RWA room... The system sounded fantastic!  The combo of Vinnie's new amp and Louis's 8" hemps were much more detailed in the bass and possibly went deeper too... the top end sounded more refined to these ears too, all this compared to what I remember of the Denver show.  At one point we (notice I'm taking partial credit here?) recorded one of Louis's Satchmo 45's onto the Olive and did a nearly synch'd comparison... most impressive!  A far truer transfer than what I've heard compared to my brother's vinyl archiving on cdr.  Bravo guys!!!!

In speaking with Louis I picked up on a few of his trade secrets, so if anyone is interested in learning the details of the new three week full immersion coffee smoker treatment he's now using on all his drivers just pm me  :wink:
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: mr_bill on 10 May 2006, 06:21 pm
Quote from: davidada
Hi It was the Musica with the 160 gig drive, one of the thing that I like best about this system is its non-reliance on a PC. I have been in the process of minimalzing my system, for some time and this allowed me to remove the SB2 and power supply a preamp, a dac and the whole Mac front end along with various inteconnects and power cords. So what I have now is the RWA Olive and ClariT's thats it! off the grid


What do you use for the volume control with this simple system?
Is their a volume control on the Olive?
Thanks,
bill
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: davidada on 10 May 2006, 07:10 pm
Hi Yes, the Olive has a built in digital volume control with a remote
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: mr_bill on 10 May 2006, 11:58 pm
I didn't know the Olive units had a volume control.  Thanks for the news.  Is it a high quality volume control - do you notice deterioration?


Vinnnie, have you used the Olive with volume control direct to amplifiers?


Thanks
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: tubesguy on 11 May 2006, 08:46 pm
Gordy, or others with hands-on experience, could you give us some more info on the vinyl recording process? Does the Olive use some software that automatically breaks up the recording into individual tracks, or do you have to do that manually?

If I could relatively painlessly archive my vinyl collection, this thing becomes quite attractive.  I could sell off the SB3, the new Zhaolu DAC, the Alesis recorder, and the preamp, and have a nice one-box solution. Hmm ... TIA - Pat
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 12 May 2006, 12:03 am
Hi Guys,

Quote from: davidada
one of the thing that I like best about this system is its non-reliance on a PC. I have been in the process of minimalzing my system, for some time and this allowed me to remove the SB2 and power supply a preamp, a dac and the whole Mac front end along with various inteconnects and power cords. So what I have now is the RWA Olive and ClariT's thats it! off the grid


Hi David,

That is a sweet little setup using the modded Olive's analog output with built-in volume control to feed directly into the custom Clari-T monoblock power amps!  8)

Quote from: Gordy
My main reason for attending was to see and hear the Olive machine for myself, so not much time was spent elsewhere.

Despite that and the ambient sound generator just outside the Omega/RWA room... The system sounded fantastic!

At one point we (notice I'm taking partial credit here?) recorded one of Louis's Satchmo 45's onto the Olive and did a nearly synch'd comparison... most impressive! A far truer transfer than what I've heard compared to my brother's vinyl archiving on cdr. Bravo guys!!!!



Hey Gordy,

It was great to see you again and thanks for making seeing our room a top priority!  We tried out best to make the best of the room situation, and yeah, that was a lot of fun archiving from vinyl to hard drive (which could then be burned to CD with the built in CD burner).  I modded the analog input as well as the analog output, and it really does a clean job.  I actually like hearing the little pops and clicks of the vinyl when playing back off the hard drive!  :mrgreen:    Thanks again for stopping by!

Quote from: mr_bill
I didn't know the Olive units had a volume control. Thanks for the news. Is it a high quality volume control - do you notice deterioration?

Vinnnie, have you used the Olive with volume control direct to amplifiers?


Hi mr_bill,

The built-in volume control is done digitally before the dac section and it sounds very clean.  I have used the modded Olive directly into my Clari-T and Signature 30 and this combo "off-the-grid" redefines the term "black background."  Davidada is also using his modded Olive into his Clari-T monoblock amps...

Quote from: tubesguy
could you give us some more info on the vinyl recording process? Does the Olive use some software that automatically breaks up the recording into individual tracks, or do you have to do that manually?


Hi tubesguy,

Great question!  The answer is BOTH.  You can set it to automatically detect the gap between tracks and create a new track, or you can do it manually.  Another great feature is the option to "auto level set."  You hook up your source to the analog input, press a button, and let it play for a minute and it will automatically adjust the input gain to give you the best dynamic range w/o clipping.  You can also adjust this manually and goose the gain if you want to make a Britney Spears style recording with maxed levels and no dynamic range  :lol:

The Olive is a lot of fun and does almost everything...all in one enclosure.  

BTW, I just picked up a 160GB SeaGate USB drive for $99.00 at Best Buy.  The input is 12Vdc so you know what I'll be doing.  :wink:
It is a quiet drive and doesn't take up much space.  Here's the link if anyone is interested:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7441832&type=product&id=1124432398244

You can also go the 400GB route for $200 more:
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7714967&type=product&id=1138086736825

Best regards,
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Gordy on 12 May 2006, 02:13 am
Hi Tubeguy,

I didn't do the actual recording, but Vinnie did say that the Olive automatically recognizes the individual vinyl tracks so they can be selected for playback.   You will have to manually type in album/song title info of course....  HTH!!!
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: woodsyi on 12 May 2006, 02:44 am
Quote
Being a true dinasaur (thanks Louis  ) when it comes to techy things like computers and SB's, my questions were all pretty basic. With the storage issues now covered and a (very) little hands on experience, I'm pumped! I'll be purchasing a Symphony unit, due to the much longer battery run time, and an outboard drive just as soon as possible. If this dinasaur can make the transition to apeman, I'll have it off to Vinnie for the full conversion.


So, Gordy.  That's what you been up to -- looking for easy way to rip your CDs! :lol: I would like to hear it after you have had some time with it.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Gordy on 12 May 2006, 02:56 am
Yeah, having no opposable thumbs is a real bummer... but that SB shootout we did has ruined me and I think the Olive / one box is a great solution for Dino and I.
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Levi on 12 May 2006, 03:00 am
Hey Gordy, Long time no see!

Here is your next source.  It is so versatile and easy to use.
(http://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=6728)
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: tubesguy on 12 May 2006, 05:17 pm
Thanks for the info, guys.  I'd like to actually get going on the vinyl collection.  It's been slow going with the Alesis, in part because I have to record in real time (obviously), then go back and listen again to insert track breaks, then burn to a CD, a process which is quite lengthy, and then take the CD and add that to my iTunes collection on the computer.

If I do the Olive solution, I realize that I'll have to convert to FLAC, about which I know next to nothing.  One nice thing that I've noticed about iTunes and GracenotesDB is that I can make that CD on the Alesis and Gracenotes can recognize the resulting collection of tracks, even with at least slightly different timing than the original vinyl and, I assume, the commercial CD, and give me artist and song info, automatically.  I probably have about 500 or so albums that I can archive, and the thought of entering individual song titles for them is a little daunting.  Does the Olive/FLAC system have the ability to search a database for matches and automatically enter info?

Thanks again for the responses - Pat
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Levi on 12 May 2006, 05:55 pm
Yes.  On most popular Albums and If you have the Olive connected to the internet.  You can also connect an external USB HDD to increase storage capacity.

Quote from: tubesguy
Thanks for the info, guys.  I'd like to actually get going on the vinyl collection.  It's been slow going with the Alesis, in part because I have to record in real time (obviously), then go back and listen again to insert track breaks, then burn to a CD, a process which is quite lengthy, and then take the CD and add that to my iTunes collection on the computer.

If I do the Olive solution, I realize that I'll have to convert to FLAC, about which I know next to nothing.  One nice thing that I've noticed ab ...
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: tubesguy on 12 May 2006, 06:11 pm
Hmm, now where is that credit card?   :wink:
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 12 May 2006, 06:12 pm
Quote from: tubesguy
If I do the Olive solution, I realize that I'll have to convert to FLAC ...


Hi tubesguy,

You don't have to use FLAC if you don't want to.  You can use .wav files and other files types as well.  You don't need to know how to rip to flac because the Olive does this for you automatically.  You simply tell it to rip to the file type that you want (e.g. FLAC) and when you import the music to the hard drive, it does all the conversion to FLAC automatically.

As for all the features, it is probably worthwhile to download the .pdf owner's manual to get an idea how it works, what it can do, etc.

http://www.olive.us/downloads/manual_symphony_musica.pdf

Yes, it is 52 pages long, but if you check out the table of contents (pages 9 and 10) you can jump to the sections that are of most interest to you.

Sections 3.4.1 through 3.4.6 discuss recording from an external source (e.g. from vinyl).

Best regards,
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: tubesguy on 12 May 2006, 07:00 pm
Thanks Vinnie -

I actually meant that I'd have to try to convert the library that I've already created in iTunes to FLAC.  I know there are utilities for doing conversions of one lossless compression method to another, so I'll check into that.

The owner's manual answered most of questions, including the most important:  Is this thing the way to go?  Looks like it to me.  I've liked the SB, but the user interface is not so hot.

Now I've just got to save up the $649 to send to you.  :)  - Pat
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 12 May 2006, 07:13 pm
Quote from: tubesguy
Thanks Vinnie -

I actually meant that I'd have to try to convert the library that I've already created in iTunes to FLAC.  


Are you using Apple Lossless files in iTunes?  Olive is supposed to issue a SW update that will allow for the playing of Apple Lossless....once they get permission from big bad Apple (I heard it is in the works).

You should be able to wirelessly stream these files to the Olive and import them into the Olive's hard drive...

Best,

Vinnie
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 16 May 2006, 10:08 pm
All,

Olive Media Product just recently began to branch out to the retailer market.  

I am in the process of being a reseller for Olive music servers, so they can be purchased from me and modified in a "one-stop-shopping" fashion!  :)


Other Olive news:

They are in the process of updating their SW to allow control from a PDA (ex. nokia).  This would allow you to see all your music and access all your music without having to get up.  Who needs exercise anyway?  :weights:
Title: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: Vinnie R. on 19 May 2006, 12:26 pm
Here is a new option that I am offering:

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=28159.msg250903#250903
Title: RWA Modified Olive Musica--Bigger is Better
Post by: ZLS on 28 May 2006, 12:05 am
:D   I am the proud owner of the second RWA modified Olive product.  I have the Musica (160 GB)  I have just recieved my unit and while the unit is certainly not broken in there are certain truths that are self evident.  The immediate first impression is that the sound is larger than the RWA modified SB2 that I was using.  By larger I mean both wider and deeper.  For lack of a better word  the sound is just fuller.  The soundstage deapth is extroidinary and instrument placement is readily apparent.  All the detail is there and what is very important to me there is no loss of PRAT.  
    In as much as I have posted on this forum that using the SB2 along with a Dual Mono Clari-T with Paper in Oil caps had given me rhe best sound I had in my 35 years of being an Audiophile; I do not take it lightly when I say the RWA Musica provides appreciably better sound.  
    The customer support I have recieved from Vinnie is nothing less than exemplary.  
    The RWA Olive modifications are approximately 3x as expensive as the SB modifications.  Whether or not a person feels that the sound is 3x better is up to them.  That it is better is beyond dispute; as for myself I feel that it is clearly worth it.  

                                        ZLS
Title: Re: RWA Modified Olive Musica--Bigger is Better
Post by: Vinnie R. on 31 May 2006, 03:43 pm
Quote from: ZLS
:D   I am the proud owner of the second RWA modified Olive product.  I have the Musica (160 GB)  I have just recieved my unit and while the unit is certainly not broken in there are certain truths that are self evident.  The immediate first impression is that the sound is larger than the RWA modified SB2 that I was using.  By larger I mean both wider and deeper.  For lack of a better word  the sound is just fuller.  The soundstage deapth is extroidinary and instrument placement is readily apparent.  All the ...


Hi ZLS,

Thanks for your post!

I am very glad to hear that you are enjoying your  modded Olive Musica and find it to be worth the cost.  After 200+ hours, please report back as I know you are going find it even better once the output caps break-in.  

I have to agree with your comparison to the modded SB.  The modded Olive is my very best digital source offering to date (for both analog and digital outputs).  The digital output is also fantastic, but if you are happy with the modded analog output stage of the Olive, there is no reason to bother with an external dac   8)

Thanks again,
Title: Re: Olive Symphony and Musica all-battery mods are here!
Post by: ceirj1879 on 27 Mar 2019, 10:24 pm
Hi everybody
I have Olive musica device, it worked great about last 10 years and I enjoyed my music until last sunday. Something went wrong with the electric system in my house. After shutdown my Olive musica device doesn't starting. I moved several times for last 10 years and I think I lost the recovery cd. Could you help me in this case? I need the recovery CD for my Olive musica. Can I buy it somewhere or download somewhere. Please help me. Thanks before