Olive Musica and Clari-T system

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #20 on:** 7 Apr 2006, 03:48 pm »

All,

I've been in contact with a custom Clari-T customer who is interested in the Olive Musica and mentioned that he'd love for me to install a Clari-T in the Olive. There is definitely room in there to do so. The Olive has a built in remote volume control for its analog output, so this could definitely be a nice little package and would make for a one-piece system.

What do you guys think?

Thanks,

JLM · « **Reply #21 on:** 9 Apr 2006, 12:37 am »

Sounds good Vinnie, but wouldn't that void the warranty? Who would repair it? Could the battery be external and user replaceable (without this it would have to be shipped annually, which can't be good for the CD and HD)?

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #22 on:** 10 Apr 2006, 02:08 am »

Quote from: JLM

Sounds good Vinnie, but wouldn't that void the warranty? Who would repair it? Could the battery be external and user replaceable (without this it would have to be shipped annually, which can't be good for the CD and HD)?

Hi JLM,

Yes, in almost all cases modding another manufacturer's equipment voids that manufacturer's warranty. I warranty 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

As for the battery, I'd prefer to keep it internal, but also user replaceable (I would need to have something like a clamping bracket machined that could be removed to quickly and easily replace the battery....I will be doing for all my future products).

I have a customer who will be sending me an Olive Musica for a custom Clari-T installation. More details will follow.....this is all new and exciting stuff!

WilliamL · « **Reply #23 on:** 10 Apr 2006, 02:17 am »

Vin,

I may be interested in purchasing something like what you mentioned with the Olive Mod. I am intrigued by this player!

Cheers,
Bill

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #24 on:** 12 Apr 2006, 11:29 pm »

Quote from: Bill Laurent

Vin,

I may be interested in purchasing something like what you mentioned with the Olive Mod. I am intrigued by this player!

Cheers,
Bill

Hi Bill,

I'm definitely looking into it and will hopefully have some more info soon....

Best,

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Apr 2006, 02:03 pm »

All,

Well I did it.... I have my Olive completely running on SLA battery power and am blown away with it! Super black background, warmer tone and very transparent...I need to bring this to VTV in NJ for others to check out, especially feeding into the new Signature 30 battery amp feeding the Omega Super Hemps!

I had to mod the analog output stage to make this work and I still have other mods up my sleeve.

So here we have a music server (built-in CPU, hard drive, digital and analog outs, etc) completely off the grid, and it also has a built in CD drive (it is actually a CD-RW drive), so here is that battery powered transport that I've been talkin' 'bout!

The digital output is very impressive and I haven't even modded it yet...

The battery is mounted internally, but the biggest that I can fit is 10Ah. It seems to really freebase the juice....I'm only getting around 5 to 6 hours

I have a customer who will send me his once I finalize the mods on mine, and he also wants his Clari-T installed in there as well (the Olive has a built-in remote volume control that sounds quite good!). This will make for a really nice all-in-one unit.

Will post more about this soon...

legalalien · « **Reply #26 on:** 20 Apr 2006, 02:44 am »

Been away awhile (family issues) anyway I've been considering the Musica in an audio only system. I would love to pair it with a modded CLARI-T (or is it the REALI-T), the one with the built in Monica DAC and I am really intrigued by the new Omega XRS! I really favor simplicity and this seems about as simple as it gets. However I NEED remote volume control, Vin you mentioned that the Musica had a pretty good volume control built in. Would it be better to not add a volume control on the CLARI-T/REALI-T and just use the one in the Musica or can you add a remote controlled volume to the amp? Also it says that the built in DAC has a reclocking device built in, would this be similar to what the Monarchy DIP does? The Monarchy has been intriguing to me as it claims to reduce jitter which leads to another question, is jitter an issue on the Musica as it plays music from a hard drive? And lastly, are you talking about putting all of this stuff(including the Monica DAC) into an existing Musica for the ultimate in simplicity! How would pricing compare? Vin?

m_l · « **Reply #27 on:** 20 Apr 2006, 01:46 pm »

Vinnie,

Great news and good work as always. Keep us posted.

Mike

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #28 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 01:22 am »

Hi Guys,

I have been putting in many late hours the last few weeks on modding my Olive Symphony.

It is completey running on battery power and I am getting up to 8 hours of playback between charges

I have implemented mods to the analog output, analog input, digital output, headphone output, and power supply board. The power supply board has been heavily modded to accept 12Vdc power, and has been really beefed up!

I still want to play with vibration damping tweaks...

What is really special about this unit is that it IS an all-battery transport, but sooooo much more! Not only can you play CDs via the built-in CD drive (which is very smooth and quiet), but you can also rip directly to the built-in hard drive and then play back from the hard drive. No need to interface with a computer.... this IS the computer (built-in IBM PowerPC processor). Once music is ripped to the hard drive, it can also be burned onto CD-R. CD drive playback, ripping, HD playback, CD burning....it is all now done with very clean battery power feeding everything! Even the higher bit-rate internet radio stations are sounding good

As I've mentioned before, the board layout is as clean as I've ever seen in a music server, using all surface mount techology. This is also a fanless unit and runs very quietly, so it belongs in an audio rig.

I'll be posting lots of details of the mods soon. They have been very labor intensive and tedious (I do love the challenge though), but I must say now that the results have been most impressive and in a whole new class! I will definitely bring this unit to the VTV show!

Hi legalalien,

Nice to see you back here on audiocircle!

Quote

I really favor simplicity and this seems about as simple as it gets.

When it comes to computer-based audio, this is a very simple solution. Insert CD, press the RECORD button, and it rips the music to the hard drive. The names of the artist, album, songs, etc are all automatically filled in. The user interface is really slick....kind of like the iPod interface.

Quote

Vin you mentioned that the Musica had a pretty good volume control built in. Would it be better to not add a volume control on the CLARI-T/REALI-T and just use the one in the Musica or can you add a remote controlled volume to the amp?

Yes, the built-in volume control is implemented digitally (before the dac...which is made by Analog Device, Inc.) and is very clean sounding. If the Olive was to be your only source, it probably makes sense to go with a Clari-T power amp (w/o volume control) and use the built-in volume of the Olive. This is what rrgordon2006 is using (as he metions at the start of this thread). In the case of using a Clari-T integrated amp (more than one input), you'll need the volume control built into the Clari-T for the other sources if they don't have one.

Quote

is jitter an issue on the Musica as it plays music from a hard drive?

I have not measured the jitter, but John Atkinson did so in a Stereophile review of the Symphony and stated:

Quote from: JA

The Olive offered very good rejection of word-clock jitter, whether playing back hard-drive files or CDs...

For whatever that is worth, right?

Quote

And lastly, are you talking about putting all of this stuff(including the Monica DAC) into an existing Musica for the ultimate in simplicity!

I will be offering extensive mods to the Symphony and Musica, but am not planning on installing another dac inside. I really like the sound of the modded Olive's analog output and I believe that many will agree that it is really something special. For those who want to use their own external dac, I have tweaked the digital output as well (still tweaking and listening to this part).

I have a customer who would like to see a Clari-T built into his soon to be modded Musica. This can be done!

As it is now, the battery fits *inside* of the Olive and will be user replaceable. I had to install a bracket to hold the battery in place. Once I post pictures, you'll see how slick this has been implemented. You simply open the cover, disconnect the two wires from the battery, and pull out the battery to remove it. It fits like a glove and once the top cover is installed, the battery is nice and snug.

Initial testing shows that it can play up to 8 hours max between charges. Adding a built-in Clari-T board will probably reduce the max play time by an hour (still need to test). I would hope that 7 to 8 hours is enough play time for most people. In order to play longer, I'd need to use an even bigger SLA battery and externally mount it (in another enclosure), and this would take away from the beauty of the one-piece solution, eh?

Thanks for all your interest. More details are coming soon....

Best regards,

ZLS · « **Reply #29 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 05:02 am »

Hi Vinnie,

With the oil in paper caps that are going into the new 30 Watt Amp, how does that interact with the smoothness of the Olive Player.
Also will it be required to rerip all your music into the Olive player?
What screen do you use to select your music?

Just when I think that I am getting out, you pull me back in

ZLS

davidada · « **Reply #30 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 12:37 pm »

Quote from: ZLS

Hi Vinnie,

With the oil in paper caps that are going into the new 30 Watt Amp, how does that interact with the smoothness of the Olive Player.
Also will it be required to rerip all your music into the Olive player?
What screen do you use to select your music?

Just when I think that I am getting out, you pull me back in

ZLS

As long as your files are wav or flac you can export them to the Olive, no luck if it is in Apple lossless

davidada · « **Reply #31 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 12:40 pm »

Hi,
As long as the files are wav or flac you can export then to the Olive, if you have Apple lossless then it is no go, it will also play these files from the network without them being exported.

BobC · « **Reply #32 on:** 25 Apr 2006, 02:42 pm »

I think I saw USB jacks on the back. Can't you simply connect an external hard drive for more storage? Will it read from multiple drives?

Thanks!

davidada · « **Reply #33 on:** 26 Apr 2006, 08:43 pm »

Hi, Yes you can (eventually) hook up a hard drive for back up, but it has to an Olive specified HD, coming soon

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #34 on:** 26 Apr 2006, 08:46 pm »

All,

Pictures have been taken and will be posted soon (hopefully tonight). This modded unit sounds FANTASTIC! I have lots to post about this one!

I'll be back soon..

WilliamL · « **Reply #35 on:** 26 Apr 2006, 09:01 pm »

Vinnie,

Looking forward to hearing more about this. Such a product would solve a lot of needs for those of us that just don't want to deal with a PC based system. I don't have enough time to tinker. Just want the simplest and best sounding path.

Cheers,
Bill

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #36 on:** 27 Apr 2006, 12:47 am »

Quote from: Vinnie R.

All,

Pictures have been taken and will be posted soon (hopefully tonight). This modded unit sounds FANTASTIC! I have lots to post about this one!

I'll be back soon..

Pictures of the modded Symphony are now posted!
http://www.redwineaudio.com/mods.html

I'll try my best to list all the details tonight and tomorrow....lots to talk about with this one!

WilliamL · « **Reply #37 on:** 27 Apr 2006, 11:12 pm »

Vinnie,

Looks really really good. Will this sound good without having to worry about an external DAC. Also, my biggest concern is the Olive Warranty being voided. What about the Olive Preload option--you would do the mods after Olive preloaded it I assume???

I need a little more convincing, but I think that the Musica would be the ultimate for me...for a long long time. A true music server with little hassle--awesome!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #38 on:** 28 Apr 2006, 01:53 am »

Quote from: Bill Laurent

Vinnie,

Looks really really good. Will this sound good without having to worry about an external DAC. Also, my biggest concern is the Olive Warranty being voided. What about the Olive Preload option--you would do the mods after Olive preloaded it I assume???

I need a little more convincing, but I think that the Musica would be the ultimate for me...for a long long time. A true music server with little hassle--awesome!

Hi Bill,

Thanks for your interest.

The sound quality of the modded analog output stage is so good that I really have lost interest in the idea of using an external dac with it. I'm just feeding it directly into the Signature 30 prototype and its getting really hard to get out of my chair

There are a couple of AC members who have contacted me about modding their Olive Musica. The first one is scheduled to arrive next week. Once it is finished and returned, I hope to receive feedback. I will also have my modded Symphony at the VTV show in NJ on May 6th and 7th. Can you make it there?

Yes, feel free to have your Olive Preloaded before the mod. The contents of the hard drive are not touched during the mod process.

As for the Olive Warranty, you will void the warranty with any manufacturer when you open their unit and especially if you have it modded. I warranty all my modification work, but if something else fails (e.g. the CD drive) it will need to be serviced out of warranty (by me or Olive).

Best regards,

Vinnie

RichardS · « **Reply #39 on:** 28 Apr 2006, 02:03 am »

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....