Source:One
For this review, I used the single-zone Source:One. The company also makes the Source:Five, a five-zone version for…
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If Sooloos comes up with new software for your system, the Store-Twinstore automatically downloads it. First it waits for four consecutive hours of downtime, after which the Store grabs the new files and distributes them to each Sooloos device, which then automatically reboots itself. I was awake one night when this happened (we'd been watching a long movie); it was a bit unnerving to see the bright screen come alive in the dark and reboot on its own.
ControlPC is not just for editing metadata; it's also handy for exporting parts of your library to another hard drive, an iPod, or a mix CD, as well as for controlling the Sooloos system and setting up playlists in multiple zones, if you have them. But it turns out there's an even better way to remote control a Sooloos system, and you don't even need Microsoft.
One drawback of the Sooloos system as delivered that struck me right away was its lack of a remote control. It has no IR or RF capability, though you can network Sooloos gear with home automation systems such as AMX. But adding…
If you hit Home at the bottom right of the screen, you can then tap Settings. That's where you name your zones and set such things as the crossfade time between tracks, volume levels, sleep mode, etc. If you get stumped, you can hit Help at any point; a contextual screen comes up with details about your current settings and what you might want to try.
I've only scratched the surface of how you can find and sort albums within the Sooloos system. At first, without a manual, I was a little mystified about how it all worked—but within a few days I'd created strategies to deal with…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Hard-drive–based networked music system. Source:One: system controller with 24-bit/192kHz converters, two-channel analog and digital outputs, 4-port Ethernet switch. Store: Twinstore hard-drive, mirrored storage for contents of +2000 CDs. Control:One: 17" LCD touchscreen display/interface and CD drive.
Dimensions: Control:One: 18" (460mm) W by 13.6" (350mm) H by 7.3" (185mm) D. Weight: 23.6 lbs (10.7kg). Source:One, Store (each): 17" (435mm) W by 2.75" (70mm) H by 14.6" (375mm) D. Weight: 12.8 lbs (5.8kg).
Serial Numbers Of Units Reviewed: Not…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: Benchmark DAC1 USB, Apple Intel Mac mini running OS10.5.3 & (via Parallels) Windows XP, Apple Powerbook 17" G4 running OS10.5.3 & iTunes 7, Denon DVD-2910 universal player.
Preamplifiers: Lexicon MC-12, Integra DTC-9.8.
Power Amplifiers: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan Prodigy.
Cables: Digital: XLO. Interconnect & Speaker: Kimber Kable. USB: Benchmark.
Accessories: Dedicated 20-amp AC line for monoblocks, separate dedicated 15-amp lines for digital & analog components.—Jon Iverson
Sidebar 3: Ensemble DAC & Hard Drive
Critics of Sooloos often complain about how much the hardware costs, pointing out that similarly endowed off-the-shelf computer components retail for far less than a complete Sooloos system. Leaving aside the facts that you can get the brilliant Sooloos touchscreen interface and software only with Sooloos products, and that their gear is beautifully built and dead easy to set up, some in this age of cheaper-faster-better would rather trade refinement for a few grand in the pocket.
While I was listening to the Source:One-Store…
Sidebar 4: Kalman Rubinson On The Sound Of Sooloos
I never thought I would ever use, let alone review, a digital music server. I've resisted the entire category for four reasons:
1) My computer is never in my listening room.
2) I have neither the time nor the patience to rip my large collection of CDs.
3) I'm skeptical of recovering all the sound quality on those discs.
4) How could I easily access what I want when I want it?
Which means I've pretty much ignored music servers and the Stereophile reviews of such products, including even the high-end Linn Klimax DS…
Sidebar 5: Measurements
Of the three components that comprise the Sooloos system, it is the Source:One that outputs the audio signal. I measured the sample that had been auditioned by Kalman Rubinson; confusingly, although this identified itself to the system as a two-channel, single-zone Source:One, its front panel was labeled Source:Five, which I understand is a multizone version.
Internally, the relatively large chassis is populated with a switching power supply, an Ethernet network card, and an industrial single-board PC, into which are plugged a RAM daughterboard and a PCI…
Jon Iverson wrote about the Sooloos Control 10 in October 2009 (Vol.32 No.10):
Stereophile published an extensive review of the Sooloos Music Server System in the September 2008 issue, and it subsequently became our "Product of the Year" for 2008. But many readers chafed at the system's price of about $13,000, and made sport of comparing the feature and hardware list of the Sooloos system with cheaper off-the-shelf components and freeware. You can't blame them, really. Who wants to be told that the only way to accomplish what Sooloos has done costs not hundreds of dollars, but thousands…
Not that many years ago, it seems, every sound crew in Hollywood and around the world recorded production sound using a compact, open-reel analog tape recorder made by Nagra. The first iteration of the Swiss-made machine appeared in the early 1950s. Shortly thereafter, with the addition of an inaudible recorded tone that allowed easy syncing to picture, the Nagra recorder became the industry standard, and remained so through the 1980s. To this day, Nagra's line of audio products retains the look of those early recorders.
Nagra concentrated on recorders until the introduction of…