Olive 4HD Music Server

[Vincent Kars]

First, you got the essence of this box right. It is indeed a PC disguised as a piece of audio gear. Unfortunately, you overlooked the consequence, how does this PC behaves?

This unit is supposes to be used as a music server.
You rip your CD’s, add downloads, etc.
This is your audio collection, this is the tool you use to maintain your collection

The box might breaks down or dropped or stolen or one day you want to move to another music server, in other words can you get your collection out of this box?
Does it have a backup option (probably)
Can you make a backup over the home network (maybe)?
Can you use this backup to populate another machine (often not)?

The only way to browse your collection is by the tags.
What database is used?
What is the quality of the tagging?
If the tagging fails (it does as looking up a CD is guesswork) can you manually edit it?

All these boxes works fine if you load a couple of CD’s.
What happens if you have a +20.000 tracks collection?
Often these boxes crack under load.

Crucial aspects and none of them are covered in your review.
You tested it as if it is a kind of CD player with a fancy display.
None of these PC aspects are covered in your review.
I do think this is a serious flaw because this box is going to be your platform to maintain your collection.
A good review should cover all this aspects and not focus on sound quality only.

Some minor details.
I doubt if the Olive is the vanguard.
Olive made their living by selling rebadged Hifidelios in the USA until Hermstedt went bankrupt.
This forces them to developed their own box.
There are more music servers available. Some have a far more refined in interface (Sooloos) , some put far more emphasizes on the sound quality (Bladelius).
I do think the Olive is a nice entry level system.

Imerge: probably not the media server of choice as the company went out of business
http://hcc.techradar.com/blogs/team-...-boss-01-07-10

[adventuresinhifiaudio.com]

First, you got the essence of this box right. It is indeed a PC disguised as a piece of audio gear. Unfortunately, you overlooked the consequence, how does this PC behaves?

This unit is supposes to be used as a music server.
You rip your CD’s, add downloads, etc.
This is your audio collection, this is the tool you use to maintain your collection

The box might breaks down or dropped or stolen or one day you want to move to another music server, in other words can you get your collection out of this box?
Does it have a backup option (probably)
Can you make a backup over the home network (maybe)?
Can you use this backup to populate another machine (often not)?

The only way to browse your collection is by the tags.
What database is used?
What is the quality of the tagging?
If the tagging fails (it does as looking up a CD is guesswork) can you manually edit it?

All these boxes works fine if you load a couple of CD’s.
What happens if you have a +20.000 tracks collection?
Often these boxes crack under load.

Crucial aspects and none of them are covered in your review.
You tested it as if it is a kind of CD player with a fancy display.
None of these PC aspects are covered in your review.
I do think this is a serious flaw because this box is going to be your platform to maintain your collection.
A good review should cover all this aspects and not focus on sound quality only.

Some minor details.
I doubt if the Olive is the vanguard.
Olive made their living by selling rebadged Hifidelios in the USA until Hermstedt went bankrupt.
This forces them to developed their own box.
There are more music servers available. Some have a far more refined in interface (Sooloos) , some put far more emphasizes on the sound quality (Bladelius).
I do think the Olive is a nice entry level system.

Imerge: probably not the media server of choice as the company went out of business
http://hcc.techradar.com/blogs/team-...-boss-01-07-10

These are all excellent questions but I am not able to answer the majority of them for you as the review is a subjective one and is thus mainly interested in how the unit sounds. I have now stated at the beginning of the review that it is as such and not an in depth technical review.

I have addressed some of the information omissions which I left out as I felt the review was becoming a little information heavy. However in retrospect I now feel as you have drawn my attention to the issues of backup and data management to reinstate that material to the review as omitting it was probably a mistake.

I was not aware that Imerge had gone bust, so again I have edited my review to reflect that point. When I worked in the trade a few years ago Imerge was the server of choice in the multi-room installs the company I worked for undertook.

I too view the Olive as an entry level almost mass market product and in that respect I do think it is in the vanguard.

I appreciate the comments about Sooloos and Bladelius but as I prefer to write about what I know and have direct experience of I wont mention those types of products in a review just in case I get something wrong.

An opportunity to spend some time with an Olive 4HD was presented to me well over a month ago and in the interests of trying to bring more information about how it sounds I undertook the review. Many of the online reviews and printed ones have been very vague about this aspect and in some cases I feel have not gone into the sort of depth I think reviews need.

I am aware of the lack of technical depth in the review but as AIHFA is a subjective title I feel I have presented as detailed a review as I could in that respect.


Thank you for your comments.

Regards Neil

[Vincent Kars]

I highly appreciate the way you deal with my critique

Being a former owner of the Hifidelio it was an easy job to point out a couple of problems with these boxes as I was confronted with all of them.
It is also obvious that at the time I bought the unit I was totally blank to computer based audio and didn’t ask the right questions.
I paid the price and I don’t regret as it showed me the way.
But is was a rather expensive lesson, paying E 1700,- for a under performing Linux box with a crappy sound card.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HiFidelio/intro.htm

Turntables, cassette decks, CDP, I had them all but none matches the comfort of PC based audio. An excellent interface (I’m a J River fan boy) is part of the fun.

Sound quality wise (I appreciate you tested this aspect) there is a problem.
PC’s are noisy, not only mechanical but also electrical.
I prefer a sound isolation between PC and DAC
- outboard DAC
- electrical isolation
- asynchronous protocol

Maybe one day you have the opportunity to review the boxes mentioned here: http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/PC.htm

[adventuresinhifiaudio.com]

I highly appreciate the way you deal with my critique

Being a former owner of the Hifidelio it was an easy job to point out a couple of problems with these boxes as I was confronted with all of them.
It is also obvious that at the time I bought the unit I was totally blank to computer based audio and didn’t ask the right questions.
I paid the price and I don’t regret as it showed me the way.
But is was a rather expensive lesson, paying E 1700,- for a under performing Linux box with a crappy sound card.
http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HiFidelio/intro.htm

Turntables, cassette decks, CDP, I had them all but none matches the comfort of PC based audio. An excellent interface (I’m a J River fan boy) is part of the fun.

Sound quality wise (I appreciate you tested this aspect) there is a problem.
PC’s are noisy, not only mechanical but also electrical.
I prefer a sound isolation between PC and DAC
- outboard DAC
- electrical isolation
- asynchronous protocol

Maybe one day you have the opportunity to review the boxes mentioned here: http://thewelltemperedcomputer.com/HW/PC.htm

No problem Vincent thank you for the feedback and I am glad you are pleased with my response.

Your last comments are interesting and may well explain the poor sound when using the analogue outputs.


Regards Neil

[Vincent Kars]

Your last comments are interesting and may well explain the poor sound when using the analogue outputs.

Maybe this is an interesting link: http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/etv.mpl?forum=pcaudio
What you do with cables and isolators, they do with PC components

[Gazjam]

I am with Marco on this and I'm from an IT background !!

I do not want to mix the PC and my main HiFi.

I would like to be able to browse and play all my flac files and get rid of the cd player but I do not want to have to boot up a pc each time, nor stream via a ps3/xbox or need a tv / pc monitor. What I would like is a cd player type box with a usb input for the hard disk, memory sticks etc. Maybe a built in drive, pref solid state, and a nice reasonable size lcd display on said box to select tracks and show what is playing. All for a sensible price.

I don't mind ripping CD's via PC using eac or bet

Try a Logitech Transporter...with the Modright Valve output stage....

[Ali Tait]

Yes,very good I've been told.A cheaper alternative is the Touch with a good dac,and a Guruplug to run SC on.I'm still waiting for mine to turn up.

[Stratmangler]

Neil (DSDL)

Just had a skim through your review - I'm going to have a proper read later, and then I'll make proper comment.
However, if you're publishing reviews, you need to use correct spellings, and this

have to activate this function via the general settings menu) the display on the front of the Olive HD looses its image but stayed on, as a patch of light. Interestingly the touch screen will still allow touch operation even though it is devoid of any image.

is incorrect.

The word is loses.

[Spectral Morn]

Neil (DSDL)

Just had a skim through your review - I'm going to have a proper read later, and then I'll make proper comment.
However, if you're publishing reviews, you need to use correct spellings, and this

is incorrect.

The word is loses.

Thanks for spotting the typo....


Regards D S D L

[Stratmangler]

Thanks for spotting the typo....


Regards D S D L

You're welcome

It's a commonly made error http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6954