Music servers

These are stationary iPod's.

They are called music servers as most of them support multi room so can act as a server for other players but all of them are able of direct playback.
The idea is nice; you have 1 box which does it all.

Comfort is the name of this game.

It has the look and feel of conventional audio equipment. Connect it to your amplifier just like a CD player and there you are. Some brands even stresses that they are NOT a computer.


What do you get?
Well, a computer running Linux or Windows with some proprietary software to manage your music collection and in general a very small display and a sound card. A computer in disguise.

 

These are the internals of a Meridian - Sooloos Source:One

From left to right:

Price  €3,600.00


A silent PC combined with a high quality sound card or an outboard DAC will probably:

But you do have to do your own homework.

Buying a music server means a couple of engineers has done your homework.

A great comfort but, yes, engineers need payment too.

 

If you go this in general a bit expensive way there are a couple of things you better check.
The music server is your tool to store and maintain your collection.
Beside sound quality, you should also check the ease of use.

 

 

I'd personally not write out a blank cheque to so-called audiophile music servers; nor their rationale as a species. I view them as generally overpriced, more or less kludgy and suffering compromised graphic user interfaces. For every big-screen Sooloos done right there's an Olive with a squinty window. For me an iMac, MacMini + iPad remote or equivalent Windows/Linux system generally offer better functionality for significantly less coin.

Srajan Ebaen

Arcus DAR 300

Specs  
Frequency response  20 Hz - 20 kHz
Distortion factor  < 0,002 %
Channel separation  > 102 dB
Signal-to-noise  > 103 dB
Audio inputs analogue  1 x stereo cinch
Audio outputs analogue  1 x stereo cinch
Audio inputs digital  SPDIF (coaxial and toslink)
Input sample rate  WAV: 8 - 48 kHz
Audio outputs digital  SPDIF
Video outputs  VGA
Weight 15 kg
Dimensions inc. feet’s  44 x 8,8 x 38 cm
Power supply  110 / 230 Volt
Disc drive  CD/DVD-Drive
Used memory  Audio formatted memory with damped suspension
Memory size  160 GB, 500 GB, 750 GB
Backup function  Yes
Cooling  Heat pipe System without fan
Networking wired Ethernet  10/100 m/bits
Networking wireless  By USB-stick
Encryption  Following Rules
Other ports  USB 2.0
Finishes  Silver, black
Technology platform  Linux
Supported media  CD, CD-R/RW, DVD (only playback)
Audio support  MP3 (32 kBit/s - 320 kBit/s), WAV, FLAC
Supported formats  TCP/IP, UPnP AV, DHCP, AutoIP
Supported data systems  FAT, FAT 32

 

AudioNec Music Server STV3 € 11.000,-

Totally silent, fanless music oriented media server, no hard drive, no noise and extremely fast access

Automatic optimized distortion free ripping with multi read error correction

Maximum sampling frequency: 192 KHz

AES/EBU and S/PDIF digital output

Clock generator with extremely low jitter Signal to noise ratio on digital output: 117 db

Storage capacity: 512 Gb (SSD)

Extension until 2.4 Tb. 32 Tb xcan be reached with external storage unit

Size: width: 43cm, Height: 17cm Depth: 43cm

Weight: 25 Kg

User friendly interface available in 7 languages.

Touch sensitive universal Remote Control delivered as standard.

 

OS: Win7

STV3 € 11.000,- (no DAC, digital out only)

SDV3 € 19.200,- (with DAC)

 

Remote control € 930,- (19" touch screen)


Bladelius Design Group £4,850.00

Bladelius

Bladelius Design Group is offering a totally new replay system. The Embla offers a silent playback system without any moving mechanical parts when playing from the built-in flash memory. The Embla is built from the ground up as a high performance audio playback system.

Unlike computer based playback products the Embla is based on our proprietary audio DSP design, allowing complete control over the timing and reading of the discs. The Embla is designed as a true audiophile unit from the ground up and it's not a modified computer that can copy discs. Not only is the Embla a playback system but it also includes an analog preamplifier, a world class DA-converter based on our reference CD-player, the Gondul M. The DA-converter also carries a switchable digital filter with analog behavior. Insert a CD and you have the option to play directly from the disc like a standard CD-player or you can store the disc on the internal flash

 

Specs EMBLA
Distortion < 0.001%
Data rate 32 bit/192kHz
Digital inputs

1 AES/EBU

1 RCA

1 TosLink

2 USB

1 RJ45

1 Bluetooth

Analog inputs

1 pair balanced

2 pairs unbalanced

Digital outputs

1 AES/EBU

1 RCA

1 TosLink

Analog outputs

1 pair balanced

2 pairs unbalanced

Control

Touch screen

Remote

Weight 12 kg
Dimensions 440×445×125 mm (W×D×H)

 

 

 

Beosound 5 € 4820

An elegant remote connects to a 500 GB box running XP embedded.

 

Boulder 1021 Disk Player € 24.900

 

  • FORMATS: CD, MP3, WAV, FLAC, Ogg, AIFF & others
  • DATA RATE: Up to 24 Bit / 192 kHz
  • ANALOG OUTPUT: 2 pairs 3-pin Bal, Adaptable to Unbalanced
  • DIGITAL OUTPUT: 3-pin AES, Adaptable to SPDIF
  • VOLUME: 80 dB range in 1.0 dB steps
  • DISPLAY: 640x480 VGA 15-pin connector
  • INTERNET: RG45 Ethernet connector

Certon Integrita £2950

 

  • Security: RAID level 5 – intelligent data protection (a hard disk may fail and the data integrity is maintained)
  • Capacity: 5 internal hard disks*, 2.5 TB, 5TB or 10TB total /1.5TB, 3TB or 6TB usable / *including 1 hot spare
  • Hard drives: SATA-II AV hard drives certified for 24/7 continuous operation
  • Fans: None
  • File types: Including 192khz/24bit, AAC, ALAC, FLAC, M4A, MP3, MP4, WAV, WMA
  • Connectivity: 1 x Gigabit Ethernet, 2 x USB 3.0, 1 x eSATA
  • Network: TCP/IP
  • Management: Integrita Control Centre via web browser
  • Media server: iTunes, DLNA
  • Size: 425w x 370d x 140h (mm)
  • Weight: 11.3kg
  • Power supply: Fanless, 84% efficient, filtered against harmonic ripple
  • Power requirement: 60W 100-240V; 50/60Hz
  • Guarantee: 2 years

Cocktail Audio X10 € 299

2 TB + € 100

CD Player Type Slot loading
Format
CD, CD-DA, CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R/RW

MP3, FLAC, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, PCM,
PLS, M3U
Amplifier Output 30W+30W @1KHz, 8Ohm, 1% THD
Headphone 100mW+100mW @1KHz, 16Ohm, 0.1% THD
Line out 2Vrms @1KHz, 0.1% THD
   
Display 3.5" color-TFT LCD
Input
Line(AUX)-in (recording)
output
Line-out,speaker,headphone, SPDIF(Optical out)
Connectivity Netzwerk
Wired Ethernet(10/100) LAN
Wireless (Optional) 801.11b/g/n WiFi USB Dongle
USB Host X 2ea High speed 2.0 Host port
Target X 1ea High speed 2.0 Target für PC
Audio formats MP3, FLAC, WAV, WMA, M4A, AAC, Ogg Virbis, PCM, Playlist(PLS, M3U)
HD Type 8,9 cm (3.5") SATA(1/2) (*up to 2 Terabytes)
File system NTFS/FAT32
Language
deutsch, englisch, französisch, koreanisch, spanisch, russisch, portugiesisch, türkisch, griechisch, tschechisch, hebräisch
Power
AC adapter(24V/3.5A)
Dimensions
18(W) X 9.8(H) X 14.7(D) cm

 

Cary MS-1 USD 2,500

Drive Mechanism

24x Slot-loading disc drive for music loading

Hard Drive 1 Terabyte SATA
Formats .flac, mp3, .ogg, .wav, .m4a, .wv
Digital Outputs USB 2.0
Digital Output Rate 24 bit 96 kHz Max
Ports USB, Ethernet
Power Input 100-240VAC, 50-60 Hz, auto-switching
Power Consumption ~30 Watts
Weight 8 lbs
Dimensions 3.25" H x 11 " W x 12.5 " D

 

fan-less mini-PCIE motherboard running Linux

Cary MS-1 Server Revealed on AudioAsylum

 

Colorado vNet - Vibe

IP-based digital distributed audio system.

Colorado old model Vibe was a hard disk player. The new model is a true server solution.

The Color Touch screen includes a Class D amplifier.

 

Network: ethernet

6 independently- controlled streams

500/750 GB HD

 

 

Escient Digital Media Managers

Network: ethernet

160 - 750 GB HD

Supported Audio Formats:
ENCODE: MP3, FLAC
DECODE: PCM, MP3, FLAC, WMA, AAC

Streams: 4 (probably proprietary format)

Internet database: Gracenote


Hifidelio Wireless Music Center €1249,00 (160 GB)

Yes, you can connect it with a cat 5 cable to.

Network: ethernet/ Wi-Fi

80 / 160 GB HD

OS: Linux

Player software: Hermstedt

 

Streaming: UPnP AV(Twonky Vision)

 

Recording

  • MP3 and MP3 VBR
  • RAW data formats: AIFF, PCM, WAV
  • FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)

Supported sampling rate for recording: 44.100 Hz

 

Playback and Multi-room streaming

  • MP3 and MP3 VBR
  • RAW data formats: AIFF, PCM, WAV
  • OGG/Vorbis
  • FLAC (Free Lossless Audio Codec)
  • AAC (MPEG4)

Supported sampling rate for playback: 44.100 Hz

 

Analog out: RCA

Digital out: SPDIF

 

The single source where you can find everything about the Hifidelio: Hifidelio-User.de

Don't worry about the German, most of them are pretty good in English.

My personal experience: The Rough Guide to the Hifedelio

Hush DigiFi H-DF200

  • Bit perfect ripping with AMG lookup for Artwork and Extended Data such as Performer, Composer
  • You Control how much Music you can Store
  • Add more NAS drives and DigiFi rips to them for unlimited storage
  • You Control what Formats you want to Rip to and Play
  • DigiFi prefers WAV but transcodes any existing music to the best format your players support.
  • DigiFi transcodes hi-def audio files for ROKU and SONOS
     
    Technical Specification

  • XP embedded
  • 2 Terabytes of Local Storage (1TB Mirrored)
  • Full Size 19” Silent Fanless Case by Hush
  • Powered by the award-winning DigiFi software
  • Supports up to 24bit 192kHz WAV, WMA inc lossless), MP3, FLAC, AAC.
  • Rips (bit perfect), encodes, stores in WAV, FLAC*, WMA and MP3 locally and on connected NAS Drives.
  • Creates global playlists across the whole music library for playout through streaming players including Linn DS, Sonos® and other (supported) UPnP players
  • Locally plays out single stereo stream for monitoring
  • Utilise a push technology for rapidly changing data to maximise synchronisation across multiple interfaces
     

Loewe Reference media center

Part of the Reference line including electrostatic speakers, subwoofer and a 52-inch LCD TV

 

Formats

  • Playable disks: DVD-Video, DVD+R/RW, DVD-R/RW (Video Mode), Audio CD, CD-R/RW, CD+R/RW
  • Playable formats: CD-DA, FLAC (lossless Audio), WMA, MP3, AAC, WAV, PCM

RAID operation for data security

Database: Gracenotes

 

Connectors

  • Antenna FM
  • Audio analogue L/R In/Out
  • Audio analogue Out ( 5.1 channel output)
  • Audio digital In/Out
  • Component Video Out (cinch)/ Composite Video Out
  • HDMI In/Out
  • Headphones
  • LAN
  • RS 232 (RJ12)
  • USB 2.0
  • WLAN
  • iPod/iPhone Dock

McIntosh music server € 6660

Escient in a McIntosh kilt

 

Music Vault Pearl $1799

Media player: Media Monkey

Fan less power supply and fan less processor

2 TB of storage and a 60 GB Solid State Drive for the operating system.

Output Network / USB / SPDIF / HDMI , no onboard DAC.

 

Naim HDX Hard Disk player

Software: DigiFi

OS: Windows XP Embedded

 

Nuforce Music Server MSR-1 (Sonata Edition) € 2250,-

  • Audio output – Zone 1 Audio RCA, Zone 2 Audio RCA
  • S/PDIF output – 44.1 – 96kHz Coaxial 75-ohm output RCA
  • Video output – 15-pin DB Sub-15 (VGA) output
  • 500GB 2.5” quiet, low power consumption hard disk
  • USB – 4 ports
  • Network – RJ-45 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet
  • Standard ports – PS/2 style Mouse, Keyboard, RS-232
  • Power: External 90-240VAC, 12Vdc input
  • Power consumption: 45W
  • Operating Temperature - 0 to 55 degree C (Ambient)
  • Nominal temperature:  36 to 40 degree C
  • Chassis is made of high-grade anodized brushed aluminum to reduce audio resonance
  • Noise level:  < 25dBA
  • Dimensions: 2.35”H x 8.5”W x 15”D Weight: 7 lbs.

Remote control and/or touch screen (not included).

Player software: JRiver.

Olive OHD3 $ 999.-

olive_prod_img
Hard Drive
  • Ultra-quiet 500GB AV hard drive
  • Cushioned in 4 layers of noise cancelling padding

Analog output: 1x RCA

Digittal output: none

Supported Audio Formats

  • Bit rate: 16-bit, 20-bit, 24-bit
  • Sampling Frequency: 10kHz up to 200kHz
  • WAV, FLAC, MP3 (128 and 320 kbit/s), AAC (128 kbit/s)
Networking: 1x Wired Gigabit Ethernet
Other Ports: 1 x USB 1.1/2.0

 

A must read tread on AV Science

A user forum

 

Remember, also, that Olive backups, when they do work, are encoded in a proprietary format that only an Olive device can use. So, if your Olive hard disc crashes, you must apply to Olive for repair or your music will be lost.
AV Science Forum

 

This turned out to be untrue, it are tar files so WinZip can read them.

However, though you have your music back you still miss the title and album names.

Anyway, it remains an example of the problems users will encounter when buying these type of boxes.

See How to read the Olive backups.

Pathos Musiteca £5950.00

  • Proprietary user-friendly interface with 16/9 touch screen
  • Built-in CD drive for music ripping
  • 1 TB hard drive
  • State-of-the-art D/A converter, the same of the acclaimed Endorphin™ CD player
  • USB input for importing either lossless or Mp3 files
  • LAN connection for downloading track info and cover arts

 

Pinnacle Audio Folio £2,399.00 (250 GB) - £2,799.00 (750 GB)

 

Audio   System  
Bit Depth 24-bit Storage Options 2x250GB, 2x500GB, 2x750GB (RAID 1)
Sampling Rate 96kHz Power On < 30 Seconds
Frequency Response 22Hz-22kHz,-0.4,-0.4dB Power Off < 10 Seconds
Dynamic Range 104dB (A-weighted) (D/A)
100.4dB (A-weighted) (A/D)
Power Consumption < 40W (Max)
THD < 0.002% Supply Voltage 120/230 VAC 60Hz/50Hz
Audio Formats Wav
FLAC (lossless)
MP3
Ogg Vorbis
Control Wireless touch screen control
Wired Ethernet (direct commands and web control)
Serial Port
Integration libraries

 

The Antenaeum (£4,500) is technically identical but has storage up to 1.5 TB (Raid 1).

QAT MS5 5,900 USD

Musisc server with 7" touch screen remote.

TEAC CD drive.

● Built-in 1TB capacity 3.5-inch Seagate Enterprise hard drive for music data storage;
(Storing up to 2000 music CDs by using FLAC lossless format); connection with
other storage tools via USB interface.

● Proprietary operating system, fully remote-controllable.

● Supported audio formats: PCM, WAV, APE, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, M4A, MP3, AAC, Ogg
Vorbis and future formats via software upgrade.

● Supports internet radio.

● Supports 192 KHz/32 Bit master formats and playback music with excellent results.

● Asynchronous Sample Rate Converter: Analog-Devices AD1896 chip converts
44.1KHz/16Bit digital music up to 192 KHz/24Bit, thus improving performance.

● DAC: Balanced DAC circuitry, 2 Analog-Devices AD1955(192KHz/24Bit)chips
supporting SACD’s DSD decoding.

● Full Balanced output with proprietary full discrete OP amplifiers consisting of FET and
Bipolar devices. Very high slew rate with high drive capability.

● Aluminum, fan-less chassis design.

● Analog outputs: RCA, XLR

● Digital outputs: RCA, USB

● Digital inputs: USB, RJ45

● Network connection: RJ45

● WDH: 425×370×265(mm)

Qsonic

$ 5995- 7795

  • Full compliment of digital outputs; (x2 S/PDIF (RCA + BNC), x1 AES/EBU, x1 Optical Toslink)
  • Add a second discrete output via USB Audio Device (DAC)
  • 1TB or 2TB storage capacity options
  • 15", 17" or 19" touchscreen controller options
  • Support for RS232/TCPIP based 3rd party integration (e.g. Creston/AMX/Control 4, etc)
  • Based on Qsonix award winning Q210 platform and world class touchscreen user interface.
  • Complete output stage circuit design and performance optimization by Wadia Digital
  • Support for high bandwidth audio data rates (up to 24bit 192kHz)

Resolution Audio Cantata music center €5.800

  • slot-loading compact disc drive
  • USB up to 96kHz / 24-bit using asynchronous mode
  • Ethernet link for iTunes and UPnP libraries
  • S/PDIF inputs (AES/EBU, RCA, Toslink)
  • iPhone/iPod Touch remote control
  • XLR and RCA outputs, fixed or variable

OS: Linux

Request

The S.Series ($ 18,500) no longer exist, they went multimedia at a more affordable price tag.

SOtM sMS-1000 US$2,999.00

  • Easy control of music playback with a free Android app and free iTouch/iPhone/iPad app.
  • Automatically rip CDs and DVDs that are inserted in the DVD drive to the hard drive.
  • Automatically tags all music files from online music database.
  • Automatically downloads the CD cover art.
  • Automatic sharing of file to SMB (Microsoft) file shares.
  • DLNA support - for Windows 7 media player and other DLNA compliant players.
  • Good support for Sonos, Logitech, and Linn music players.
  • USB output
    tX-USB USB port for audio output
    USB audio class 2.0 support
    USB power on/off

  • Coaxial output
    Output impedance : 75Ω
    Minimum output voltage : 0.5 Vpp
    Sampling rate : 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz, 192KHz
    Bit-depth : 16bit~24bit, PCM

  • Optical output
    Maximum data rate : 12.8Mbps(NRZ code)
    Output power range: -21dBm ~ -15dBm
    Peak emission wavelength : 650nm
    Sampling Rate : 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz, 192KHz
    Bit-depth : 16bit~24bit, PCM

  • AES/EBU output
    Output impedance : 110Ω
    Minimum output voltage : 2 Vpp
    Sampling Rate : 44.1KHz, 48KHz, 88.2KHz, 96KHz, 176.4KHz, 192KHz
    Bit-depth : 16bit~24bit, PCM

  • Analog output
    32bit/192KHz DAC chip
    Balanced output voltage : 1.9Vrms
    Unbalanced output voltage : 0.85 Vrms
    THD+N : 0.002% > @ 1KHz
    Output band width : -3dB@100KHz

 

Sooloos € 12.000

A nice optical illusion. If you stare hard at this picture for 5 minutes you see a fat control at the right.

Sooloos has become part of Meridian. This deprived us of the girl, not of the price tag.

 

The Memory Player US$7,950.00 (transport only)

The Memory Player

The Memory Player + DAC US$9,890.00

The Memory Player 64 Select - US$24,850.00

192 khz Analog Output

192 khz Digital Output

192 GB Click-and-Play SSD Library

2 TB Archival Library (for music backup)

The Memory Player System Bundle (Copier, Player, High Resolution Audio Copier, Opera Browser)

Direct to DAC

CD Burner

High Resolution Digital Recorder

Upsampler

Teflon Capacitors in power supplies and DAC outputs

Trigon Chronolog $9,495

CD/DVD player/ripper

Formats:

wav, mp3, flac, cdda, nsv, m4a, aac, strm, pls, rm, mpa, wma, ogg, mp2, m3u, mod, amf, 669, dmf, dsm, far, gdm, imf, it, m15, med, okt, s3m, stm, sfx, ult, uni, xm, sid, ac3, dts, cue, aif, aiff, wpl, ape, mac, mpc, mp+, mpp, shn, zip, rar, wv, nsf, spc, gym, adplug, adx, dsp, adp, ymf, ast, afc, hps, xsp


HD: 120GB SDD

OS: Linux

Protocol: UPnP

Networking: 1GB LAN Ethernet/WLAN-WiFi interface

Graphical user interface using touch-WEB portal

Bit rate and frequency display
Automatic updates via the Internet


Output: RCAs/XLR and HDMI/DVI

Wyred4Sound Music Server US$ 1,999.00

  • Wireless control
  • Supports 24 bit 192 kHz files
  • Coaxial, Toslink, I²S outputs
  • Automatically copies CDs using built-in drive
  • Network file uploading
  • 1TB of on-board storage
  • Internet Radio
  • 3rd party apps such as Pandora®, MOG and more
  • Interfaces with Sonos Zone Players
  • Back-up the hard drive contents with one click
  • Fan less
  • Low power consumption
  • Supports AAC, APE, AIFF, Apple Lossless, Monkey's Audio, FLAC, QuickTime, MP3, MPEG-4, Musepack Ogg Vorbis, MPEG-4 SLS / HD-AAC, WAV, Windows Media, WMA Lossless, WMA Pro, Wavpack