CardinalFang Wrote: > It was the cost comparison I was trying to underline since someone said > he hadn't seen a comparable product. The Opus can actually access > networked music via iTunes, but yes you are buying a redundant disk if > you already have a library. For most new starters with networked music, > they won't have that and then the cost comparison is valid. With the > Opus you get a product similar to the Transporter, but with a hard disk > thrown in for local storage.
A couple of counter-points: - A newbie to networked music systems is probably more attracked to the SB than either the Transporter or Opus. Then they build up their library of music, and when they are ready for higher performance, they don't want to spend the money on a unit with a built-in hard drive. - The success of the Apple iPod probably means that there are tons of people out there with existing libraries of music stored on a PC already. Again, a built-in hard drive is not attractive to those people. > I think the Transporter comes out well in the comparison as a > accomplished media player (assuming it does sound fantastic), but badly > in terms of showroom appeal and total cost of set-up. The Opus is a > complete solution in one box, the Transporter requires an additional PC > or NAS and installing SlimServer. Well, the Opus is also $1000+ more expensive, and most people who are looking into this kind of stuff already own a PC. Getting a 400GB hard drive only costs around $300 these days, so the overall cost of setup for those already owning a PC is less than the Opus. > Most audiophiles will not be up to setting up Linux on a cheap box, so > this could add seriously to the cost of ownership and is a significant > barrier to selling a system unless dealers offer a complete package and > installation. How much for a top end silent system, wireless router and > RAID array for an audiophile new to networked music who will want the > best? I'll agree that for someone without a computer, the Transporter ends up being more costly. But since you can only buy an Olive Opus online, I suspect that not many people who are considering Olives don't have a computer already. :-) I'll go even further to claim that anyone who doesn't have a computer today is probably not the type of person who is going to be considering either one of these devices (or even a Squeezebox for that matter). > Slim are in new territory where dealer installation and equipment loans > are common and products like Sonos and Olive have the edge in perceived > ease of selling and maintenance. Dealers may well go the easy route and > recommend Olive rather than have to employ their own IT professionals > to untangle customer installations or support ReadyNAS. > > Paul Possibly...although I haven't found many people who think installing Slimserver on a computer and connecting a SB to their network is complicated at all, and the Transporter should be identical in set-up. -- PhilNYC Sonic Spirits Inc. http://www.sonicspirits.com ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PhilNYC's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=837 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=25773 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list [email protected] http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
