NEW REVIEW... RWA modified Olive Musica

Vinnie R. · « **on:** 18 Oct 2006, 01:08 pm »

This one was posted last night:

http://www.dagogo.com/RedWine-OliveMusica.html

Quote

As a digital hard drive-based transport, it bettered anything I have heard in
my system, including CD drives with retail prices in excess of $6,000.

Regarding the analog outputs:

Quote

The modded unit was a significant improvement over the stock unit; quite frankly, I was taken aback by how much better it was. The Red Wine
modifications gave the music much of which had been missing, namely presence, texture, energy and a pleasant tonal balance.

Special thanks to Larry Borden and Dagogo for the review!

ZLS · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Oct 2006, 01:32 pm »

Late last night as I listened to my RWA modified Olive Musica playing s set of music that I programed myself, I was transported to that state of Sonic Bliss that we all search for. The true magic of Vinnie's modifications and the use of a battery supply vs. the electrical grid is not just the quiet. It is the evenness of the power supply allows the music to flow unimpeded. The music becomes what the artist and composer intended, a living organic entity whose subtle nuances are finally revealed in all their glory.

Yea, I like it a lot!

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Oct 2006, 06:22 pm »

Quote from: ZLS on 18 Oct 2006, 01:32 pm

The music becomes what the artist and composer intended, a living organic entity whose subtle nuances are finally revealed in all their glory.

Yea, I like it a lot!

Thanks, ZLS! I use my modded Symphony every day and have no desire to go with an external dac. One thing is for sure...you need to put the burn-in on those Black Gate caps (200+ hours), but they do a great job in this circuit and when they are cooked-in, they really gel

For those who can't live without their external dac, the modded Olive is the best sounding transport that I have ever heard.

Cheers!

Vinnie

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #3 on:** 31 Oct 2006, 01:38 pm »

Quote from: tvad4 on 31 Oct 2006, 01:26 pm

Technical question: What cable does one use to connect the Red Wine Olive to a DAC considering the Red Wine Olive uses a BNC connection? This would seem to require a custom cable, i.e. BNC to RCA.

Hi tvad4,

Ideally, the external dac you'd be using would have a 75-ohm BNC input jack (or one installed), but unfortunately many use non 75-ohm RCA jacks.

For best results, the 75-ohm spdif output circuit of your transport wil use a 75-ohm output jack (75-ohm BNC), your digital cable will be a true 75-ohm cable with 75-ohm BNCs on both ends, and your external dac will use a true 75-ohm input jack (75-ohm BNC, like the Ack dAck and others). This way, the entire spdif digital signal path will be impedance matched.

For those who have an external dac that uses an RCA digital input, I can make a 75-ohm BNC to BNC cable (with BNC to RCA adapter on one end)...any length under 3 meters for $50.00.

Or you can use an RCA to RCA digital cable and use something like this (only $1.50):

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=090-400

Best regards,

Vinnie

TF1216 · « **Reply #4 on:** 31 Oct 2006, 01:42 pm »

One can try this place:

http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/digital-audio/index.htm

Paul_Bui · « **Reply #5 on:** 31 Oct 2006, 02:08 pm »

Congratulations, Vinnie!

Regarding the BNC/RCA S/PDIF cables, I was recently able to get custom BNC to RCA digital link from Home Grown Audio (Veritas) and Neo Tech cables (NEDV-2001). They are both made of silver and excellent sounding.

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #6 on:** 2 Nov 2006, 03:56 pm »

All,

I just got my Nokia 770 today!

I hope to find time to try it out later on tonight. I'll report back soon...

Vinnie

bgavinski · « **Reply #7 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 01:41 am »

Vinnie,

I got the 770 about a week ago and, as I'm sure you will find, it works like a dream as a remote for the Olive. But it does so much more!! Mine disappeared very quickly when my spouse found out she could sit outside on the deck, play soduku, monitor her emails, listen to streamed music (internet radio or from the Olive) and browse the web on a truly excellent screen all at the same time. I had to buy second one for myself.

BTW, I have managed to get most of the bugs out of the TwonkyMusic server-Olive client relationship. the net results is seamless streaming of lossless flac files to the Olive over my network. This means I don't have to worry about the size limitations of the Olive hard drive (I have the 80GB Symphony). I can definitely recommend this setup (almost as highly as the 770 and your and Louis' hardware

)

BG

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #8 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 02:08 am »

Hi BG,

heh... I am typing this from my new nokia 770 !

I also am listening to music and controlling my Olive.

Works great... life is pretty damn good right now!

_ Vinnie

Berndt · « **Reply #9 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 03:59 am »

man, I've been sitting on the fence about these mods but every time my 50$ TT sounds better than my 1400$ musica I think I should throw more $$$ at my TT rig...

but then I mix my usability factor in and tossing another 650$ at my musica feels right... aa

John Casler · « **Reply #10 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 05:15 am »

Quote from: Berndt on 3 Nov 2006, 03:59 am

man, I've been sitting on the fence about these mods but every time my 50$ TT sounds better than my 1400$ musica I think I should throw more $$$ at my TT rig...
but then I mix my usability factor in and tossing another 650$ at my musica feels right... aa

Cool thing is, you can "import" the cuts from the TT and play them "ALL" on the "modded" MUSICA.

(best of both worlds)

Berndt · « **Reply #11 on:** 3 Nov 2006, 05:26 am »

John, you always find the upside...

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #12 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 01:50 am »

Hi guys,

I've spent some more time with the Nokia 770. Here are some observations:

-- It is smaller than I thought it would be. The pics online make it seem bigger, but it is quite small.

-- The display is very crisp, and you can use a zoom feature to make text larger for easier viewing.

-- The adjustable brightness is a nice feature, as I do like to listen at night with the lights dimmed down

-- I believe the CPU is 250Mhz. It would be nice if it was faster. It can be a little slow at times when browsing content on the Olive. With my laptop, it is quite a bit faster. This is probably my only complaint so far.

Keep in mind I was going from artist to artist and playing with all the settings in a hasty fashion because I was in "test it out" mode. I am normally not such a spaz!

-- I have not yet tried connecting the Nokia directly to the Olive (bypassing a wireless network). It might be faster doing it this way. I'll try it out over the weekend.

-- The Rondo software is laid-out very well. Navigating, editing, etc. is very intuitive. This link give you an idea what it feels like:
http://www.olive.us/p_bin/?cid=control&action=flash

-- Browsing the web it fun, but again, it could be a little faster.

-- No real keyboard, so you need to tap the keys on the touch screen with the stylus if you want do typing.

I still am learning all the features and I have limited time to spend playing with it, but it was easy to figure out how to use it with my Olive.

Just thought I'd share my findings so far...

-Vinnie

jrebman · « **Reply #13 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 03:49 am »

Quote from: Vinnie R. on 4 Nov 2006, 01:50 am

-- It is smaller than I thought it would be. The pics online make it seem bigger, but it is quite small.

-- The display is very crisp, and you can use a zoom feature to make text larger for easier viewing.

-- The adjustable brightness is a nice feature, as I do like to listen at night with the lights dimmed down

-- I believe the CPU is 250Mhz. It would be nice if it was faster. It can be a little slow at times when browsing content on the Olive. With my laptop, it is quite a bit faster. This is probably my only complaint so far.

Vinnie,

I wonder how this compares to this:

http://www.oqo.com

I have one of these and run my screen reader on it with a full-blown version of XP Pro, and once I get my SB3 and slimserver setup, I may just have this sitting next to me on the couch and use it for controlling the system, selecting tunes, etc. Hoping it will also eventually work with the Olive software too.

BTW, never got any calls back from Matt at Olive despite leaving several messages.

Still a little nervous about going with the Olive until I know the interface will work -- right now slimserver is a known quantity.

-- Jim

bgavinski · « **Reply #14 on:** 4 Nov 2006, 06:37 am »

Hi Vinnie,

Here is a thought regarding the 770: My machine arrived a week ago but did not have the latest verion of the operating system on it. When I updated to the OS 2006 version (which came out in June) everything was much faster. I think you can check under "device" in the control panel. The update is very easy to do with the USB cable and a Windows machine. (see http://www.nokiausa.com/support/phones/softwareupdate/1,8461,770,00.html).

Good luck

BG

Vinnie R. · « **Reply #15 on:** 6 Nov 2006, 02:51 pm »

Quote from: bgavinski on 4 Nov 2006, 06:37 am

Hi Vinnie,

Here is a thought regarding the 770: My machine arrived a week ago but did not have the latest verion of the operating system on it. When I updated to the OS 2006 version (which came out in June) everything was much faster. I think you can check under "device" in the control panel. The update is very easy to do with the USB cable and a Windows machine. (see http://www.nokiausa.com/support/phones/softwareupdate/1,8461,770,00.html).

Good luck

BG

Hi BG,

Thanks for the info... I'm going to check that out!

Vinnie

ehart · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Nov 2006, 10:06 pm »

Jrebman,

I don't have an OQO, but I don't see why it wouldn't work fine with the Olive. Your OQO runs XP and IE, and that combination works fine with Olive. Don't see why it would be any different for you.

- Eric

jrebman · « **Reply #17 on:** 11 Nov 2006, 11:54 pm »

Quote from: ehart on 11 Nov 2006, 10:06 pm

Jrebman,

I don't have an OQO, but I don't see why it wouldn't work fine with the Olive. Your OQO runs XP and IE, and that combination works fine with Olive. Don't see why it would be any different for you.

- Eric

Eric,

Thanks, and I should be a bit more clear about my concern. It's not necessarily about the hardware platform as much as it is about the web interface itself. I'm blind and use a screen reader to access my computer and as good as screen readers nowadays, there are still plenty of applications and web interfaces they don't work so well with, especially web interfaces with lots of inaccessible dynamic content. A good deal of dynamic content is workable but poorly implemented javascript, flash, etc. are not accessible, and right now almost anything built with DHTML is not workable.

I have tried some half dozen or so times now to reach the folks at Olive and they never respond to my "call me now" submissions, or even now, to my direct calls to people who I ask for by name and leave messages for.

Beginning to wonder what the Transporter mods and interface might look like

.

It would be really great if they had a live, online demo page where I could test the interface with a unit they have running in house, and I can't imagine that would take all that much to setup, but first thing is they need to call and answer some basic questions.

Thanks for your reply -- I'll try to be more specific next time,

Jim

ehart · « **Reply #18 on:** 12 Nov 2006, 03:40 am »

Hi Jrebman,

Now I get it. What time zone are you in? I can arrange for you to demo my unit pretty easily over the Internet. I am on East Coast US time, you could call me tonight (Saturday night) until about 11:30pm my time, or tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. Next week during the week would probably not work out for me.

802-863-3846.

I agree that the Olive folks need to work on their communications skills, though I do get answers from them eventually (takes about a week).

- Eric

jrebman · « **Reply #19 on:** 12 Nov 2006, 01:18 pm »

Quote from: ehart on 12 Nov 2006, 03:40 am

Now I get it. What time zone are you in? I can arrange for you to demo my unit pretty easily over the Internet. I am on East Coast US time, you could call me tonight (Saturday night) until about 11:30pm my time, or tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon. Next week during the week would probably not work out for me.

Eric,

That's a really genrous offer -- sorry I didn't get this until this morning. I'm on Mountain time (Colorado) and I'll try to call this afternoon but right now I'm just heading out to produce a annual bluegrass event I do for the community here and I probably won't be back until about 2:00 or so my time.

I'll give you a try then, and if that doesn't work, we'll figure something else out.

Thanks so much,

Jim