Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Sooloos high-end digital music player

I am quite surprised that, although digital music players are popular on this forum, no one has mentioned the Sooloos.

Some weeks ago at a Brussels Hifi show, I saw this unit and it seemed very well build, both software and hardware. It looks like the 'Kaleidescape' of music players.






It's pretty pricy though, a complete set consisting of a player, touchscreen and storage will start at around $12.000,-

more info: www.sooloos.com

I'll be giving the Sooloos a try shortly - next week. I've already played around with it a bit.

While it is true that it's a) expensive and b) single purpose (unlike a typical PC) it - like the Kaleidescape - has an incredible UI and just works. It is absolutely lightening fast and very intuitive - really usable by all the family.

I believe the latest issue of TAS magazine has a review - which might be worth checking out for the details on functionality etc.

The majority value of these (K, Sooloos) solutions is obviously in the software/UI. To that end, I'd much prefer it if they offered a solution - obviously at lower cost - that provided just the touch-screen/drive, CPU/controller (with digital out only option) and the ability to store/retrieve from a generic NAS. Yes there will be some customers who don't want to deal with a seperate NAS but I suspect there are very many more who would.

Ideally Sooloos would also support >16/44 & multichannel. I guess this may be possible in the (distant?) future (via winner/successor of BR / HD-DVD?) if the copyright issues can be resolved.

What I'd really like for now is simply the ability to store and play back 24/96 copies I'v made of certain cherished LPs. Will be following up to see if this is possible.

Anyway, if anyone has any questions that they'd like answered re the Sooloos let me know and I'll try to revert.

Paul.

If your gonna have huge hardware like that you might as well use a PC/Mac directly.

Also it looks like the screen and storage are in the same unit. One important idea of SB and Sonos is to seperate the "Storage Noise" from the audio system. The noise the storage will generate will drown out the noise floor of a 24/96 recording.

George,
The 17" touch-screen and drive (for ripping - using Linux EAC) are in a single chassis - something you'd presumably put adjacent to the listening position.

The storage comes in 2 chassis (for primary & backup disks/stores) and the player/source is a third identical chassis.

The storage boxes are really quiet (as quiet as a 800?) but appear to get fairly hot.

If you try the UI - like with the Kaleidescape - it'll be immediately obvious why it is a step beyond SB & even Sonos. Whether it justifies the price obviously depends...

Paul.

Someone somewhere must be working on a software package that provides a sexy UI like that that will run on MS/X and some sort of server package, maybe MS home server. I am ok with the unit above and paying for the software, but the prices of the hardware are just too much to swallow. With the cost of data storage dropping by the day. I am building a personal 25TB media storage stack and it will be run on MS Home Server. To get 25TB of storage from either of these two companies would just kill you!

Does Sooloos or KA disclose what sort of data transmission speeds they get? Assuming they use repackaged off the shelf computer hardware, any idea what sort? ESata with port multipliers, multi-lane connectors, fiber or something else?

SlimServer has an album art view that looks similar. I used to use it with a tablet PC (IE in kiosk mode) before I moved to Sonos, and someone wrote a skin that's pixel perfect for the Nokia N800 internet tablet/PDA.

Keep in mind that these servers are not intended for this audience (although some of us own them). I have a Kaleidescape and will be taking in the new Escient Vision (if/when they bring it to market) to go with my Escient MX-531 music server. These servers are for the "custom" market. While they do provide nice audio/video signals, I still keep my G91 (soon to be G92) and Marantz DV9600 around for critical listening/viewing.

The servers are great for whole home music or managing your DVD collection. With whole home music being piped throughout your home via a 45-60wpc amp and played at relatively low(er) listening levels, it doesn't need to be audiophile.

As for ambient noise, the Kscape is very noisy (fans) and doesn't belong in your room. The Escient is quieter than my CATV DVR (by 50%).


BTW, I'm supposed to see our rep for the Sooloos products and will report back my findings.

The Sooloos is very quiet because the only thing you need in the listening room is the Control (display) and that is dead silent.

Kal

This units looks fairly tight. They are going way out of their way in the product brochure to stress their "audiophile" ways. I guess if you plug the digital source box into a decent D/A, and assuming your dealing with a lossless/WAV file, we must be getting close. I like the fact that it's fan less. While the spinning HD's will introduce some degree of jitter, this system looks pretty nice. I think Naimnet just got some competition!

I would love to hear from anyone who has demoed this platform. What does the $12k price get you. My one complaint already is that your forced to get this aluminum touchscreen statement piece. It better integrate into Crestron, Netstreams, etc...

Man, this thing has been fairly delayed! Look at the date on this Engadget link, Oct of 06!

The full details on the system Click here.

The full details on the system Click here.

I'm impressed with what I see in this but I have the K system for movies and music and already have my own Crestrons.

Best regards,
Jerry