Transporter or Olive: convince me

Tim S · « **on:** 4 Sep 2006, 12:37 pm »

Ok, I've decided I'm buying one of these. Question is which. Here are my pro/con lists based on features which is all I can do since I don't think anyone has heard the Transporter yet.

Transporter
Pros: 1. links to Pandora 2. might replace pre-amp 3. If I order now, comes with Squeezebox.
Cons: 1. Pricier than the Olive Musica though price is almost the same if I then buy a Sonata 2. No cd player in unit so I have to keep that box for occasional use.

Olive
Well, just flip the other ones.

Anyone want to take a stab at convincing me which way to go? I'm leaning towards the Transporter at this point.

Tim

PhilNYC · « **Reply #1 on:** 4 Sep 2006, 01:53 pm »

If you're going to use it in a system that integrates with your video/cable system, the digital-in on the Transporter lets you use the digital-out of your set-top box (and other sources), so you can use the internal DAC for other devices...

(disclaimer: Am a SlimDevices reseller)...

Tim S · « **Reply #2 on:** 4 Sep 2006, 03:25 pm »

This is a music only system, well the one the transporter is going into. So that doesn't help me much unfortunately. Thanks for trying!

The squeezebox is going in an HT/background music system.

Tim

zybar · « **Reply #3 on:** 4 Sep 2006, 04:08 pm »

I would go with a full blown modified SB2 or SB3 + Ultimate II PS from Bolder Cable.

Based on my experience and from what data is available about the other products, I believe Wayne's combo will outperform the other two choices and will be cheaper to boot.

George

jhm731 · « **Reply #4 on:** 4 Sep 2006, 04:58 pm »

If you still need to spin CDs, I would go with the Olive Musica and have it upgraded by mauimods.com.

ehart · « **Reply #5 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 04:22 am »

I spent a lot of time on the squeezebox vs. Olive choice, and went with the latter.

Olive has an analog in and allows recording from tape and vinyl (this was huge for me)
Olive doesn't require involvement of your computer unless you want it (also big)

On the other hand, Slim Devices has a *great* online community supporting it. Just tons of scripts and enhancements all the time. The "open source" thing really does add value. Check out the forums at slimdevices.com if you haven't already.

Finally, I would consider doing the Musica rather than the Opus, or the Squeezebox rather than the Transporter. My idea is to do an external DAC. Given the limited choices and all the other factors that come into this decision, the likelihood that the Opus or the Transporter will have the perfect internal DAC for you is kind of slim. If you don't put that extra money into the box upfront, you'll have it leftover for DACs later.

Cordially,

Eric

lonewolfny42 · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 04:30 am »

ehart :

Quote

Olive has an analog in and allows recording from tape and vinyl (this was huge for me)

Have you tried this yet ? Thanks....

MauiMods · « **Reply #7 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 05:18 am »

If I had it my way, I would take a Sonus remote, A Musica with a Northstar drive and crystal upsampler, with slimserver, piped in to a TacT.

JLM · « **Reply #8 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 10:01 am »

If you're not a gearhead the dependance on the PC can be a nightmare.

Yes there's a support group out there, but in my experience they can't help get you up and running unless they come to your house with tools and supplies or at least can spend an hour on the phone with you. Instead it is very fustrating when folks keep writing that "it's not so hard" or "I'm sure you'll figure it out".

Part of my problem was use of a wireless network in the house that included kids and a sometimes overly helpful wife when network problems arose.

I'll be selling my RWA SB3 and probably go all the way back to CDs.

Greg Erskine · « **Reply #9 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 10:40 am »

Hi JLM,

You raise some very good points. I feel the same about modern business telephone systems. Why can't I just ring a phone and just talk to someone in real time.

I have only just decided to go down the squeezebox route even though I have over 20 years IT/networking experience. I have tried to keep my computers at home very simple, but it's is a sign of the times, things are changing very quickly, all my friends have had wireless networks in their home for years.

Networking with modern computers is very straight forward and easy, but if you have a problem, people telling you that fact is of no comfort.

I can understand your frustration and sympathise.

Anyway, I hope I don't have any problems when my wireless router and squeezebox arrives in the next couple of days.

regards
Greg

woodsyi · « **Reply #10 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 12:07 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 5 Sep 2006, 10:01 am

If you're not a gearhead the dependance on the PC can be a nightmare.

Yes there's a support group out there, but in my experience they can't help get you up and running unless they come to your house with tools and supplies or at least can spend an hour on the phone with you. Instead it is very fustrating when folks keep writing that "it's not so hard" or "I'm sure you'll figure it out".

Part of my problem was use of a wireless network in the house that included kids and a sometimes overly helpful wife when network problems arose.

I'll be selling my RWA SB3 and probably go all the way back to CDs.

Get a Infrant NAS and install your slimserver on it. You don't have to have your PC on at all to access all your music. My NAS is connected to a generic wireless router that came with my FIOS TV/Data service 2 floors away and my SB2 works fine.

Tim S · « **Reply #11 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 12:25 pm »

Thanks for all the comments. I ended up spending some time yesterday playing with Slimsqueeze and that turns out to be the greatest marketing gimmick Slimdevices could ask for. Actually being able to play with all the cool functionality before buying is very nice. I think it has convinced me to go the Slimdevices route. I do like the open source approach which allows for someone to do something like that Nokia 770 skin (that's another $400 I'll probably get suckered into parting with

). I used to be a Network Admin and while I'm happy as can be that I no longer am, it does give me the skills to deal with the PC issues. So that part doesn't bother me. The suggestions about going for a SB and upgrades over the Transporter are what I have to ponder now.

BTW, I was looking into storage options. Do people find that the external USB drives have fast enough transfer rates to work for holding the music files? I like the portability of them and they seem to be pretty cheap. I like even better the idea of the NAS but that may be more than I want to spend at the moment.

Tim

zybar · « **Reply #12 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 12:43 pm »

Tim,

No issues using external drives over firewire or usb with Slimserver software.

I also used an old P II computer with no issues. Only thing that stunk on the P II was the amount of time it took to rip and compress into FLAC the music.

George

zybar · « **Reply #13 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 12:56 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 5 Sep 2006, 10:01 am

If you're not a gearhead the dependance on the PC can be a nightmare.

Yes there's a support group out there, but in my experience they can't help get you up and running unless they come to your house with tools and supplies or at least can spend an hour on the phone with you. Instead it is very fustrating when folks keep writing that "it's not so hard" or "I'm sure you'll figure it out".

Part of my problem was use of a wireless network in the house that included kids and a sometimes overly helpful wife when network problems arose.

I'll be selling my RWA SB3 and probably go all the way back to CDs.

Don't blame the Squeeze Box if you are having wireless network issues. That's like saying your tv stinks when the satellite is out.

If you can walk through simple steps, the SB IS easy to use and configure.

But to each their own...

George

mcgsxr · « **Reply #14 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 01:39 pm »

My brother, who bought my stock SB3 off me when I moved to a fully modded one by Bolder, parks his entire collection on a 300g external HD. No problem with streaming for him.

PhilNYC · « **Reply #15 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 01:42 pm »

I run my Slimserver on a 4 year old eMac with an external hard drive connected via Firewire with no problems. Had some wireless networking instability with my SB2 early on, but updates to the firmware a year or so ago seems to have corrected those issues.

JLM · « **Reply #16 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 04:23 pm »

George,

Not trying to blame SB for my computer woes, but their product does require entry into the PC world. I agree, in and of itself, it's a well designed product from a company that listens to it's customers.

BTW at one point I ended up buying (the proper) ethernet cable to eliminate part of the wireless network dependancy.

woodsyi,

I looked up "Infrant NAS" and barely know what I'm even looking at. How do you get the CD data into this? How much does it cost? An Olive looks much simplier.

woodsyi · « **Reply #17 on:** 5 Sep 2006, 05:32 pm »

Quote from: JLM on 5 Sep 2006, 04:23 pm

woodsyi,

I looked up "Infrant NAS" and barely know what I'm even looking at. How do you get the CD data into this? How much does it cost? An Olive looks much simpler.

Olive is much simpler. But this gets you much more storage. This would be a good deal if you are looking for 1.2 TB or so of disk space. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833329006R You can also use it for other files like video and pictures. A NAS is just like any other drive on your PC -- only it's connected via a LAN cable. Once it is installed it appears in your "Network Place." You can designate it as your "drive" to hold all your ripped CDs. An Infrant unit comes with it's own itsy bitsy OS where you can load the slimserver -- you do this on you PC through a FrontView (like configuring a modem) management. Then you just configure your SB2 to this destination and you are all set. RAID5 also gives you security for your data. Since it's connected to your home wireless network through an always on router, you can access it from any other device on your network.

BTW, I have no more computer savvy than a typical 43 yr old enduser without any specific training. I just read instruction and follow. I did not even know what a NAS was until 6 months ago. It also took me a full day to install a Plextor drive on my PC and configure EAC to rip CD's. SB2 only took 30 minutes to set up.

ehart · « **Reply #18 on:** 6 Sep 2006, 04:16 am »

My Olive Musica (250 gb) has 135 albums on it (FLAC lossless compression) and reports that it is 80% empty, so I epxect that I will get 500 or more albums on it. I can add USB-attached drive as well.

JLM, if that's enough storage for you, based on your questions, you may want to consider the Olive. It is easy.

LoneWolf -- yes, I've done analog recording. It's not as simple as ripping CDs (which is literally just a matter of inserting the disc and waiting for it to pop out). It's a multi-step process. I have to consult the documentation when I do it. After recording, you go through and confirm that the tracks are divided in the right place, and after importing, go into a web browser and "name" the tracks (if you want them named). I don't suppose it's any worse than any other recording system, and probably better than most. I don't have to move my turntable and pre-amp to my computer and hook them up (huge) . It's a beautiful thing to have the Musica inserted in the stereo cabinet instead. It autodetects track gaps (at least, initial guess) and recording level.

In terms of sound quality - I notice a slight loss of "presence". I would compare it to a good tape deck without any tape hiss. I'm not sure how much of this has to do with the input of the Musica, and how much has to do with the output. I hope to get some of this back with the addition of an external DAC, but havenot done so yet.

For those wondering, Red Wine Audio will not modify just the analog input, they do the whole mod only. Also, the Opus has the same analog input as the Musica.

ehart · « **Reply #19 on:** 6 Sep 2006, 04:17 am »

p.s. I wonder if anyone has compared Olive FLAC or WAV rips done right on the box with separate EAC rips copied to the Olive? Both formats must of course be played off the Olive to have the test make sense.