SilenZio en mi casa...
 

Hello all.
My SilenZio by Audio By E is here. I have been anticipating with a slobbering mouth. I is replacing my Mac Mini as my music server.
Emile put a very decent "starter" package that includes a 6TB N.A.S. unit from Synology. Both the SilenZio and the NAS arrived at the same time.

These are some of my first impressions...

Packaging/shipping was excellent:

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this thing is solid. It is a beautiful all aluminum box, that fits my taste to a tee. It's looks are a great exercise in classy minimalism. Sleek lines and thick surfaces co-mingle to provide a sense of functional design that looks all business, yet leaves no fancy add ons/gimmicks to be desired:

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I had anticipated it's arrival with a WW Platinum Starlight USB cable (x2), a Recovery USB reclocker, and a set of Stillpoints Ultra Minis...

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I also added a WW Silver Electra PC and have WW Silver Starlight HDMI and Supernova Toslink cables coming.

The SilenZion looks right at home, IMHO:

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I was able to efficiently hide the Recovery nicely tucked above the box, hardly visible from the listening position:

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Once connected, I contacted Emile for my first trip around the SilenZio. Emile is one cool sir. Everything that has been said about -E- on this site is absolutely true. AAMOF one of the selling points for me was the personalized customer service -E- is known for. Could not have been a better experience. E walked me through the process hand in hand so to speak. He has the patience I only dream of having. Granted, this ability to stay calm during my storms is only a reflection of E's mastering of the science behind didital music.

After a few hiccups (all courtesy of yours truly, of course) my old files are up and running on JRiver MC22. I am still getting acclimated with a slightly different process for playing my files, but I can tell it will be rather soon when I will be able to run things smoothly and as second nature.

I control JRiver both on the SilenZio through a wireless keyboard and mouse, and remotely with an iPad and iPhone. These handheld applications work great (JRemote).

The next big step is learning to rip CD's. We will work on that as soon as I have had enough playing time with the new hardware/software.

For now, I will tell you this. THE QUALITY OF SOUND IS JUST UNREAL. When I first listened to some tracks, the number one attraction was how dead silent the SilenZio is, both the hardware and the musical background. It's black, deep black.

So far, I have played material very familiar to me. My also recently acquired Bryston Model T's are shining in their delivery of really sharp, clean highs and mids. Piano and guitar are way, way more detailed. More than they ever were through the Apple system.

In my short experience, it seems like the higher the resolution the better the performance. This was not the case with my Mini, where the was no true difference to my ears was between MP3 and the rest. I mean that 44KHz, 96KHz and 192KHz sounded the same to me. With the SilenZio however, I am able to appreciate the value of a 192KHz or 96KHz track vs an MP3 one. Maybe not the difference between 192 or 96, but certainly the earlier.

So far, my intentions are to have SilenZio input my digital files into my C52 via USB, my MCD500 via Toslink (for headphone listening) and for giggles, the SP-3 two channel delivery via HDMI.

I am hoping in the next few weeks to months I will be able to listen to all inputs and create a ranking of preference.

Thank you Emile for your absolutely dedicated customer assistance. I'm afraid we're not done yet, so please don't give up on me!

Thank you Ivan for all the cables (WW) and tweaks (Stillpoints), plus all the Bryston gear so far (Model T, TC-1, SP-3, and BHA-1).

And thank you all of you AAers who have given your input and impressions on the SilenZio and E. I echo your experience.

Happy listening!

If you can find better aftermarket service from any other manufacturer, I'd eat my hat. Emile is incredible. Wouldn't even consider a different product.

Hector... Congrats! Nicely done. :ok:

Nice write up Hector, and welcome to the SilenZio family!! I have two of them :)

http://www.topagentnetwork.com/wp-co...ds/Number4.jpg

Here :)

Feeling a little inadequate with one.

Rofl!

Thanks all, this thing is really nice:banana:

Thank you for the very kind words, Hector.

Helping you get closer to digital perfection has been a pleasure.

Onwards and upwards, amigo!

Hector, HUGE congrats! As to ripping CDs, after the first 4 or 5, you could do them in your sleep. I just did 10 a day while I watched TV. On a football Saturday I could knock out 30! Congrats again. :)

Hector.......Where are CD's ripped from, your computer transport or the transport in the SilenZio? Where is the software for the bit-perfect rips loaded?

He already had a significant existing library.

I'll be training him on the archive-grade rip from Silenzio soon.

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
Where can I get info about this streamer?

-E-
The post before yours. Private message him. You will not regret it. Open architecture, bit perfect, seamless.

E.......I assume your post is addressing my questions, although I am not certain. So the bit-perfect ripping software resides on the SilenZio? Does this mean that all CD rips must use the SilenZio transport to take advantage of the bit-perfect archive to the hard drive? Is the ripping software dBpoweramp CD Ripper or some other software like Exact Audio Copy?

We are using Exact Audio Copy on SilenZio, unless something's changed in the last few weeks. I don't believe it is transport dependent; we just rely on E to build in the best transport!

EAC. On Silenzio.

The transport is not the secret sauce for the archive-grade rip; the software is. Either EAC or XLD on MacOS are the only two, and both require some tweaking to get it done right. Por ejemplo: some clients have added a separate tower-type computer with many BD-drives to rip multiple discs at once. Those are your typical full-size tray-load type mechanisms. The Silenzio has a slot-load drive; entirely different animal, same result when configured properly.

Aka "Archivio"!!! It is a CD/DVD eating machine... I ripped through my CD collection in 20% of the time it would have taken by doing 7 at a time. Now it is a high powered home PC streamer and all around computer par excellence.

All from the hands of -E-

I would be interested to hear what your experience is when using the Toslink on the MCD500. Have you only used it for headphone listening? Did you compare it to the USB input on your C52 trough your speakers?

Just curious since my only DAC is the MCD500 and no USB input available.

Thanks

Grande Hector and grande E. What a widely accepted solution the SilenZio has become!

Busy week at work. I will do more listening during the weekend (I hope[emoji15])...

You should be next[emoji3]

Congratulations, Hector!!!

Welcome to the Age of Quality Digital Music!

Indeed!!

More Silenzio questions.

> Does the Silenzio still use Windows 7 or is Windows 10 now the operating system?
> Does the Silenzio remain connected to the Internet, and if so does it require Internet security software to protect from virus attacks, etc.?
> Does the Silenzio control the NAS hard drives to shut down when not being accessed?

Gen 3 is on Win10 Pro.

Yes. You can install whatever you'd like, but it is "low-risk" since your outbound connectivity is typically to very trusted sources; the stock Windows Defender is usually more than adequate.

No. That is set within the NAS OS, which I set at 1 hr unless client requests a different (or no) hibernate time.

E.......Thank you for the quick response. My interest is growing.

Your interest should be rock... peaked. Your interest should be peaked. ;)

Dan, I am under the impression you like Sonos very much. I do too. With the Silenzio, I get to listen to superb quality when I want to sit down and enjoy some critical listening, but at the same time I kept and use Sonos for my background music (while in the kitchen, outside by the pool, etc) in the same system. Best of both worlds:banana:
With the set up you have, specially your recording studio, I cannot imagine the amount of benefits you will get from SilenZio, and how good it will sound :thumbs:

Happy Listening

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.