Olive O3HD Music Server from engadget.com

[klipschfan]

Olive Media finally goes 'affordable' with sexy $999 O3HD music server

Posted Sep 15th 2010 12:00AM by Darren Murph

We'll hand it to 'em -- Olive Media sure knows how to design a music server. For the niche crowd out there wishing to blow big bucks on a not-at-all-multifaceted jukebox, the company has just introduced its first "affordable" HD music server, the O3HD. It's designed after the OH4D, which retailed for a buck under two large when it debuted last November. This guy, on the other hand, is listed for the low, low price of $999, and it's pretty obvious to see which corner was cut the most. The aforesaid 4HD packed a 2TB HDD, and while Olive isn't saying how large (or small, as it were) the hard drive is in the O3HD, it's built to hold just 1500 CDs versus 6000 in the 4HD. Ideally, you'd rip all of your discs directly to the system, where it would store them as FLAC (lossless) files and then pump them out over the 24-bit DAC. There's also a color touchpanel on the front, support for internet radio and a gratis iPhone / iPad controller app, just so you know. She's on sale starting today should you find yourself with copious amounts of disposable income. Show full PR text
Olive Introduces First HD Music Server Under $1,000.

New Olive O3HD brings simplicity and convenience to digital music, eliminates PC.
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - September 15th, 2010

Leading HD Music Server manufacturer Olive Media Inc. today announced the Olive O3HD music
server for home stereo systems. Based on the award-winning Olive O4HD, which Sound + Vision
Magazine calls "a revolutionary step for the music server category,"¹ the O3HD brings the best blend of simplicity and quality. Now, music lovers can enjoy their digital music collection at home at a price point well below other comparable solutions. Designed as a hassle-free, standalone solution, the O3HD requires no software installation, networking setup or virus protection. It features a dedicated storage and color touchscreen navigation, allowing you to store and access your complete music collection right at your stereo system. A 24-bit/192 kHz DAC delivers your music with superior sound quality. All this comes at a breakthrough price of just $999.

"Olive wants music lovers to enjoy the convenience of digital music without having to sacrifice audio quality," said Dr. Oliver Bergmann, co-founder and CEO of Olive. "The new Olive O3HD is the first dedicated music server with full HD capability to sell for only $999. Now more people can enjoy this outstanding music experience than ever before."

Music lovers also no longer need to worry about the headaches that are inherent with most digital
audio solutions that stream music from a PC, Mac or NAS. The new Olive O3HD stores your music
collection right at your stereo system, so networking problems are a concern of the past. The 24-bit DAC with 192 kHz up-sampling delivers your music in a quality that has never been heard before on a product in this price category. Olive even has a free mobile application that will turn your iPhone™ or iPad™ into an Olive remote control.

Additional highlights of the new Olive O3HD include:
Color Touchscreen Simplicity: Once the O3HD is plugged into your home stereo system, you can
easily start navigating through your entire music collection using Olive's revolutionary touchscreen technology. The intuitive user interface allows you to conveniently browse your music collection, create playlists of your favorite tracks, or search specific music. An innovative album cover view sorts all your albums with a flick of your finger.

Ample Music Storage: Designed for music lovers with large music collections, the O3HD stores up to 1,500 CDs or 5,000 HD songs in a box no bigger than a standard CD player. To ease the transition, Olive offers a convenient CD Loading Service to load your entire music collection on your O3HD for instant enjoyment. Olive uploads the first hundred of your CDs for free.
HD Sound Meets Luxury Design: The new O3HD stores and plays music with lossless compression
(FLAC) to deliver an amazing sound quality far greater than MP3 files. It supports playback of 24-bit HD music tracks, featuring a premium 24-bit DAC with 192kHz up-sampling for superior sound quality. The O3HDʼs beautiful design has been optimized for sonic performance, featuring fan-less cooling and ultra-quiet hard drives with multi-layer cushioning.

Over 3,000 Radio Stations: Olive World Radio delivers instant access to the best internet radio
stations from around the world. All stations are hand-selected and groomed by Olive to deliver
accurate station information, allowing you to quickly browse and find stations with a wide range of search criteria. The internet radio comes free on all Olive HD Music Servers and Multi-Room Players.

Free Apple® iPhone/iPad™ Remote Control App: The Olive App turns your iPhone/iPad into a
touchscreen remote control. Conveniently browse your music collection, create playlists or access
different rooms, all from the comfort of your couch.
PRICING AND AVAILABILITY

The Olive O3HD Music Server is available in the US directly from Olive (www.olive.us;
1.877.296.5483) for US$999. Olive is available worldwide through a network of authorized distributors.

[PHC1]

I think I just found a source component for my son's system.

[Still-One]

I am in the process of redoing HD TV system going from my old Sony XBR 65" HD to a Panasonic 65" plasma. I will also be inserting a Marantz MM-8003 and AV7005 and SonoS unit. This new Olive would be the perfect piece to add and round out that system.

[gtubes]

This price point will be huge I bet, amazing.

[JT3]

Such a hot product I can't get on the webpage?

Nice price, for sure.

[jdandy]

JT3.......It seems their server is down. Perhaps overwhelmed, who knows.

[KahunaCanuck]

I luv my 4HD!

Is it me or is that engadget write up a little negative???

[Still-One]

I just went to the Olive site and from a quick look I see you do lose a few capabilities versus the 4HD.
500GB vs 2TB drive
No built in wireless networking.
No digital output for an external DAC.

This is why I would look at it for a secondary system rather than a 4HD which is great for a primary system.

[klipschfan]

Originally Posted by Still-One

I just went to the Olive site and from a quick look I see you do lose a few capabilities versus the 4HD.
500GB vs 2TB drive
No built in wireless networking.
No digital output for an external DAC.

This is why I would look at it for a secondary system rather than a 4HD which is great for a primary system.

This would take care of networking-
WNCE2001

Am using one for the MS750 and it works great!.

USB port on the back of the Olive-input or output? Might be able to use a USB DAC.

Can't get around the storage capacity.

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by klipschfan

This would take care of networking-
WNCE2001

Am using one for the MS750 and it works great!.

USB port on the back of the Olive-input or output? Might be able to use a USB DAC.

Can't get around the storage capacity.

Agree it is easy to get around the wireless issue. I use a short wire and a Airport Express to connect my MS-300 to my wireless network.

I believe the USB connection is only for system upgrades and not a digital putput.