Hector.......Thanks for the enthusiastic nudge. One of the reasons I haven't moved off square one yet is I have three music servers already, one MS750 and two Olive 04HD's. They are all serving me well without issues. Yes, I would like a more streamlined method for controlling the servers. I get a taste of it with my laptop feeding the Esoteric K-03 via USB using JRiver Remote. It is slick. Then there is the advantage of a multiple hard drive NAS with disc mirroring. That would be nice, but with the present music server group I own and use it dampens my motivation to add another. That doesn't mean I am not interested in the Silenzio. The high praise from users says it all.

Ivan was in your near-identical position... now look!

No worries! Looking forward to your input!

Enjoy your new toy! :music:

I am in the same boat as you Dan......mind you I have a few minor quibbles which I could get over once I heard it I am sure.......a small thing, but for the asking price of the slienzio...... I really don't like the very plain Jane look of it( at least label it with the name Slienzo) again a small thing , but something none the less.

The other thing is that it's not a "All in one box solution" I hate the idea of having separate hard drives somewhere ......but of course like anything else in the audio world that's a "convenience" first usually is lacking in other areas .......after all look at the issues Olive had with their all-in ones. .........I guess at the end of the day I just have to get over it and move forward if I was to buy one.

Michael.......I understand your points. The generic look of the Silenzio case comes from the fact that it is a Streacom FC5 fanless PC chassis designed for multiple uses. It is a slim all aluminum case with a 10mm face plate. endpcnoise.com/parts/case-streacom-fc5

I imagine that Emile could have the face plate custom silk screened or CNC milled with the Silenzio logo and some nomenclature for Power and USB slots, but that would certainly increase the price of the product. My guess is the Silenzio network music servers are handbuilt one at a time upon order. I doubt Emile is sitting on a warehouse full of Silenzio's ready to ship, so his scale of production costs control his investment in raw parts, and that would include any added cost for things like silk screening the front panel. I agree with you that such a distinction would make the Silenzio appear more professional, plus have the advantage of identification and name recognition should there ever come a time you wished to sell it.

Like you, I like one box solutions for audio components. That is what drew me to the Olive 04HD music server. Both of my 04HD's continue to operate trouble free and sound very good. My biggest grip with the Olive 04HD is the antiquated user interface and lack of cover art on the index pages. Beyond that, the 04HD is convenient with its 2TB internal hard drive, internal transport for ripping, WiFi connectivity for iPad remote control with the Olive app, and playback of high-res files up to 24/192 without issue. A plus for those without an external DAC, the 04HD has an internal DAC plus a single coaxial digital input to the DAC for use with another digital component if needed The concept is good but the user interface is marginal.

I imagine the Silenzio could be configured with an internal 2TB or larger hard drive if ordered that way. I am not certain if the Silenzio has WiFi connectivity for wireless remote control with a dedicated app. As I understand it, the Silenzio uses JRiver Media Center on the computer along with JRiver Remote, although I think an Ethernet connection to the Silenzio is necessary for that to work. Emile can confirm these comments.

Having an external NAS has some advantages, one being multiple hard drives operating in a RAID configuration that allows mirroring of the primary drive so that you always have redundancy should one drive fail. Having a NAS allows access to your files from multiple network connected devices. There is also the fact that no hard drive in the Silenzio case helps keep operating temperature lower and eliminates noise.

There are a number of things to consider when making a music server decision, particularly when you are already using another music server like the Olive 04HD. If I were making my first music server purchase, the Silenzio would be at the top of the list, but since I am cruising along just fine with the music servers I have the decision to make a change becomes more difficult. Your post leads me to believe you are having similar thoughts.

Thanks, Dan, for articulating what I was thinking. You are very correct on many aspects of your above post. Silkscreening or etching the chassis would be costly and provide no sonic benefit. Yes, I have thought about it; and I came to the conclusion that it just isn't justified at present time.

You are also correct that Silenzio is bespoke - there is no warehouse or roughshod factory in China that pumps these out for me to sit on inventory. Each one is assembled by me and fully tested prior to shipment (including the NAS to ensure that the hard drives are fully sector checked).

Silenzio has had WiFi since Gen2, and Gen3 comes with an IR Remote for use when you have a display. Otherwise, there are a myriad of ways to accomplish administrative tasks headless and playback headless (VNC and JRemote, respectively, for example). WiFi and Ethernet sound identical; being on the hardwire gives you speed. Lots. More. Speed. Also stability if your WiFi isn't entirely... robust.

As to your internal vs. external storage debate - having network based storage far outweighs internal storage from a usage standpoint to a servicing standpoint - not to mention cost. Yes, if you really want an internal 2TB or 4TB SSD - I'll do it - but it comes with substantial costs versus a NAS. And you lose redundancy, hot-swap, end-user servicing, easy sharing over a network and scalability. There are rare instances where it is absolutely necessary (and one AA'er has such a Silenzio which is currently traveling long distances to its new owner), such as having no network, WiFi, or internet connectivity.

Hope this helps.

-E

I have been using JRiver in my work computer for years. I have an RME sound card that has very little jitter over AES and I have spend many many hours tweaking JRiver to get it working well. I have always wondered if the SilenZio could make it sound better, but I have not bought a SilenZio yet.

For anyone that does not like tweaking I think the SilenZio makes a lot of sense! I had wanted to use one with video 4K a few years ago, but I think I was pushing the envelope a bit and did not take the plunge. Hopefully I will have time to figure this all out and I may still go with a SilenZio some day. I have not yet decided on which video streaming solution I want to use. JRiver does a good job, but right now I am using an Ordroid C2 with Plex instead of my Dune.

The fact that SilenZio can run Roon with Tidal I think is a huge selling feature!

I have been using Roon at home for the past year and have been slowly replacing my Sonos zones through out the house with Raspberry Pi 3 units. I think the IQ Audio Pi-DigiAMP+ sounds much better than the HiFiBerry Amp+ and I think I even prefer it over my Sonos Connect:Amp. I have not determined if I like the IQ Audio Pi-Digi+ or the HiFi Digi+ more. I would love to get a Bryston as an endpoint for the home theater in the future. The SilenZio could easily run my Roon core connected to my QNAP NAS' that hold my music and movies. Using JRiver you can do a use the Oppo as a DLNA renderer.