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Originally Posted by Volks
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.
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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.