Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming QNAP software

Hi Ian,

Thanks for the info.

When I killed my TS-251 I had three options: Buy a totally new, latest spec, multi-bay QNAP (and hope it would accept my pair of original HDDs) - or find a s/h 251 (in any condition) and transplant it's motherboard into my chassis (which takes about 5 minutes and undoing 7screws) - or find a s/h TwinStore and go fully Sooloos.

The first and third options didn't work due to cost and/or availability so I luckily found a slightly battered but working 251.,,,so I don't have the benefit of the latest gen Quad-core Intel CPU but it does have a Dual-core Intel® Celeron™ 2.41GHz (up to 2.58GHz) - and having now ramped up the QNAP memory from 4Gb to 8Gb (@1600), I think there's plenty of resources available for Sooloos to run (and Plex too).

However, having got this up and running properly last night for the first time (with restored plugin), the initial issue was that both the C10 and the QNAP plugin were set to be "Core" - so for simplicitys sake, I just used the touch screen to set the C10 as Core and see how it goes...but I do realise that it might be better on the QNAP...so hopefully I can switch that around once everything is "bedded in".

I can get to the Control:Web interface on the C10, via my PC, without issue and that is correctly shown in the PCs browser URL bar as "192.168.1.201/webclient/WebClient.html".

The QNAP is using port 81 for the "web interface" in the QNAP settings.

Just to be clear, the error occurs when clicking on the Sooloos icon in the QNAP AppCenter when viewed from a browser...and when clicked on, it opens a new browser window but in the URL bar is just showing the URL as "/webclient/WebClient.html". So it looks to me that the Sooloos plugin doesn't know the IP address of the Core - and there's no way of setting that on the QNAP....unless this is supposed to happen automagically?

But it could well be that as my Core is the C10, and not the QNAP, then this could be why it's failing and displaying an error.

I have watched (and owned) Meridian products for many years - they went from being a pretty good amplifier manufacturer (101/103/103D/105), to then embracing CD (MCD/MCD Pro - using rebadged, re-engineered Philips chassis) and to then realise that they should be going a bit more upmarket...in the same way that Linn and Naim also started selling more expensive and better made hardware, so Meridian brought out the 207CD/pre-amp, and then the rest of the 200 Series. After that came the 500 Series which cost even more. Then came the 600 Series.

This was all at a time when economies were booming and there was a market for this sort of product, as the people who bought into Meridian in the early days, wanted something better and would upgrade and were prepared to pay for it.

So the whole idea of Meridian trying to become a high end brand and at high end prices is not lost on me...and seeing the external build quality of the Sooloos does make it look and feel very much "top end" and so it would be expected that dealers would have greater involvement with customers purchases - in the same way that Ferrari and Mclaren have with their customers.

I totally "buy" this as being commensurate with a high end product...though Meridian have shot themselves in the foot completely, by discontinuing all direct support for Sooloos...which I think is clearly down to their management having a "fit" about the founders of Sooloos walking away.

The one thing you should never do is to make customers who've paid a premium for their products, feel that they have been "cut off". And with Bob Stuart leaving too, and Allen Boothroyd passing recently, there is not much left for Meridian to do...unless they can find a "digital guru/designer/engineer", who can lead them on to better things....plus they need a new "industrial designer" to give their new products (should they make any) a bit of flair.

regards
Tom