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Or you can buy a Mac
Description: Web-enabled, hard-disk-based, multizone digital music-distribution system consisting of the Tunboks file server, PCI Musik Machine soundcard, Intersekt control center, and Oktal multichannel D/A converter. Control software: XiVA-Link v.5.13/11LP, licensed from iMerge. Music storage: 248 hours uncompressed 16-bit/44.1kHz CD data as standard, expandable to 1380 hours. Optional MP3 compression at 192kbps, 160kbps, and 128kbps increases storage time proportionally. Digital inputs: 1 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Tunboks), 8 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Oktal), 8 S/PDIF on RCA (Oktal). Digital outputs: 8 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Tunboks), 1 AES/EBU on RJ-45 (Oktal), 1 S/PDIF on RCA (Oktal). Analog inputs: 1 pair single-ended on RCA (Oktal), 8 pairs single-ended on RCA (Intersekt). Analog input impedance: 15k ohms. Analog input sensitivity: switchable among 500mV, 1V, 2V, and 4V RMS (Oktal). Analog outputs: 8 pairs single-ended on RCA (Oktal), 8 pairs single-ended on RCA (Intersekt). Maximum analog output level: 2.0V RMS. Analog output impedance: 200 ohms.
Dimensions: Tunboks: 19" (482mm) W by 7" (177mm) H by 19.9" (505mm) D, weight 26-44 lbs (12-20kg). Oktal, Intersekt: 19" (482mm) W by 3.5" (89mm) H by 14" (355mm) D, weight 11 lbs (5kg).
Finishes: Black, silver.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: Tunboks: 629892, "Assembled, Tested, Packed by David Gourley." Oktal: 628987, "Assembled, Tested, Packed by Anne Wilson."
Price: $20,000 complete system; includes custom installation from Knekt Kivor-qualified custom-installation company or specialist dealer. Tunboks and Oktal also configurable for single-system use. Approximate number of dealers: 130, 106 of which are qualified to install Knekt systems.
Manufacturer: Linn Products Ltd., Floors Road, Waterfoot, Glasgow G76 0EP, Scotland, UK. Tel: (44) (0)141 307-7777. Fax: (44) (0)141 644-4262. Web: www.linn.co.uk . US distributor: Linn Products Inc., 8787 Perimeter Park Boulevard, Jacksonville, FL 32216. Tel: (904) 645-5242. Fax: (904) 645-7275. Web: www.linninc.com .
... that you can run the SeeDeClip4 multiuser music server on a regular, noisy PC in the spare room and access and/or control the music using any modern gadget like a Chromebook, tablet, iPad etc.
This makes the choice of client easy - there's lots of cheap alternatives and an iPad can be hooked up to Toslink using an Apple TV or Airport Express etc.
The free version does a lot more than you'd think, it's a complete home audio solution.
A little late to the table(!), but thanks for an excellent, well-balanced review.
I was the systems architect of the Imerge SoundServer, which was rebadged (with some enhancements) as Linn's Kivor. I also designed the XiVA-Link communications protocol, and worked with Linn's Alan Clark (designer of the iconic Sondek CD12) on the S/PDIF hardware and drivers: Alan did most of the hardware work; I assisted in some of the FPGA firmware, and write the drivers.
I can confirm the accuracy of just about everything reported here. During 2000, both SoundServer and Kivor were going through a series of rapid evolutions. Towards the end of 2001, the products were settling down.
I'm a little surprised that they were reported as being MP3-only, though. One of the key selling points for audiophiles was that both products were able to rip and play uncompressed audio. This is why SoundServer (and, I believe, Kivor) came with up to 1.1 TB of storage - a massive amount at the time - configured as eleven 100 GB drives. It ran hot and heavy (and, yes, a bit noisy), but had enough elbow room to accommodate a lot of raw audio.
It was true that we only had one genre allocated to a track or album. This was partly because of the limited information we received from Gracenote. I always felt that having more than one genre per item in the database would be a good thing, but I was over-ruled. Apart from anything else, it would have made genre-based searches substantially slower, for a bunch of technical reasons it's not worth going into here. I think that if we'd done it today, we'd have used a noSQL database such as MongoDB or Couchbase, so we could have had the flexibility to enhance with additional fields such as user-assigned genres or arbitrary tags.
Anyway, thanks again. Great memories, revisiting that part of my career!
Jon