Is the formally known as Meridian Sooloos THAT much better than Apple iTunes?

[howiebrou]

I love how we still call it Sooloos!

[mjt5282]

> Feature face off!

most of the features I'll discuss below depend on identifying and using correct AMG metadata, including genre, sub-genre, pick albums & pick tracks. Positives of Sooloos imply albums have been correctly identified during the import phase. I have a < 2,000 album collection, eclectic mixture of Jazz, Rock, Classical, etc.

Genius vs Swim

I find genius auto generated playlists very useful on my iPod in my car, I never use it at home, (Have Sooloos & Sonos plus Apple TVs). Swim is very, very useful because you can swim in the AMG pick albums or randomly play pick tracks (as chosen by AMG and/or edited by the user). You can Swim in focuses (All Jazz, 21st Century Classical (subgenres) ).

Smart Playlists vs Focus

iTunes smart playlists are very capable but I rarely use them in practice, Sooloos Focus allows me to drill down to what I want to listen to, again, thanks to the quality of the metadata.

Gracenote vs AMG

I have found Gracenote (Itunes) genre information unreliable, metadata not as complete or detailed as Sooloos' AMG data. sooloos imports also usually include detailed credits, labels, release dates.

Airplay vs SpeakerLink

these technologies are not comparable. I use airplay to mirror iPad's and iPhones onto big TV's through Apple TV. Speakerlink is mostly used to connect processors to newer DSP speakers . it is a 1 cable replacement of the older M. Cabling that provides 2 channels of audio plus a control protocol that works over cat5e cable.

In Summary, the benefits of sooloos multiply if you have a large collection of eclectic music. It was designed by & for music lovers with large numbers of CDs. The Control GUI is a joy to look at and use to choose the music to play.

[Kingsrule]

Sooloos will always be Sooloos for most of us...!!!

[o0OBillO0o]

Originally Posted by mjt5282

> Feature face off!

most of the features I'll discuss below depend on identifying and using correct AMG metadata, including genre, sub-genre, pick albums & pick tracks. Positives of Sooloos imply albums have been correctly identified during the import phase. I have a < 2,000 album collection, eclectic mixture of Jazz, Rock, Classical, etc.

Genius vs Swim

I find genius auto generated playlists very useful on my iPod in my car, I never use it at home, (Have Sooloos & Sonos plus Apple TVs). Swim is very, very useful because you can swim in the AMG pick albums or randomly play pick tracks (as chosen by AMG and/or edited by the user). You can Swim in focuses (All Jazz, 21st Century Classical (subgenres) ).

Great response! I have painstakingly imported thousands of CDs via iTunes & PhileAudio (Mac OS) & ensured I had the right Metadata, yet it still seems lacking. Plus I have the tens of thousands of tracks I'm "borrowing" from back when I was in college.

I've used every tag/metadata cleaner/organizer for the Mac OS & I have it down to a science. Still, I would much rather use a MORE reliable Metadata system.

Moreover, Apple's Genius feature only works for select tracks (mostly stuff on their store)

I have over 15,000 Songs I enjoy every single one of them. I just need a better way to organize & play them. I am now of the thought that I need to go test a "Meridian Digital System" out. Sounds like it's worth the money.

...now that I discovered the Meridian "Easy Button" of Music products, I am also fascinated by the rest of their product line. C'mon now- just an ethernet cable to hook it all together! ha!

[joeinid]

Will the Sooloos system continue under the Meridan name? It's not going away as a music playback system, correct?

[Victor]

Originally Posted by joeinid

Will the Sooloos system continue under the Meridan name? It's not going away as a music playback system, correct?

Correct, just the Sooloos name is going away.

[o0OBillO0o]

Originally Posted by o0OBillO0o

Great response! I have painstakingly imported thousands of CDs via iTunes & PhileAudio (Mac OS) & ensured I had the right Metadata, yet it still seems lacking. Plus I have the tens of thousands of tracks I'm "borrowing" from back when I was in college.

I've used every tag/metadata cleaner/organizer for the Mac OS & I have it down to a science. Still, I would much rather use a MORE reliable Metadata system.

Moreover, Apple's Genius feature only works for select tracks (mostly stuff on their store)

I have over 15,000 Songs I enjoy every single one of them. I just need a better way to organize & play them. I am now of the thought that I need to go test a "Meridian Digital System" out. Sounds like it's worth the money.

...now that I discovered the Meridian "Easy Button" of Music products, I am also fascinated by the rest of their product line. C'mon now- just an ethernet cable to hook it all together! ha!

It's funny when I read this from earlier this year and now I feel like I had the right idea all along.

I'll will bring my Airport Express and iPad to my not-so-local Meridian Dealer to do a show down.

[howiebrou]

Originally Posted by o0OBillO0o

It's funny when I read this from earlier this year and now I feel like I had the right idea all along.

I'll will bring my Airport Express and iPad to my not-so-local Meridian Dealer to do a show down.

Get ready to be converted!

[Victor]

Originally Posted by o0OBillO0o

I'll will bring my Airport Express and iPad to my not-so-local Meridian Dealer to do a show down.

Many salesmen at dealers don't fully understand the features on a Sooloos system. So do all the research you can before you go, to make sure You get the most out of your show down. Have you seen this thread from when I first got my Sooloos:
http://www.audioaficionado.org/merid...w-sooloos.html

After using my Sooloos for over 2 years I still love it and think it has the best user interface out there. I have a large music collection, my favorite feature is "focusing" on rated albums. Every album has a rating from 1-5 stars (which you can edit). By focusing" on 5 star albums you quickly get a list of all your favorite albums that is MUCH easier to go through than looking at your entire collection. If you want a larger selection of your favorites you can "focus" on 4 star or higher albums. I don't think any other server out there has this feature.

[o0OBillO0o]

Victor, of course I read your thread! I have done a search on all your posts here on AA. Very informative and thank you so much for sharing. I would have never been overcome with interest if had not read your posts regarding the Sooloos.

Great advice. Most dealers may not know about their Sooloos or Meridian products. I am gonna walk into the store with such overwhelming excitement that I am going to freak them all out!

I have rated all my iTunes music and making a smart playlist that has 4 star or higher albums or songs is a filter that iTunes supports. The real test is how easy it makes to listen and "focus" to all my music.

Still, the battle ground will be Focus vs Smart playlists and Swim vs Genius.

Now that you got me going, It may be worth bringing my iMac to compare to the Control 15

Should be easy, I have my orginal box, my Time Capsule (router), iPad, Airport express and AppleTV that all should take less than 10 minutes to set up when I make my appointment.

The other factor is a full Meridian (Source to speakers) vs Sooloos source, DAC, PRE, AMP, and Speakers.