Any updated eta on when it will be released?
Interested too when is it going to be releasedā¦seems delayed for quite awahile
I noticed PS published info for the Octave player on their website
Initial thoughts?
Iām curious. I wonder if it will work with Roon? Pricing? Will it eliminate the Matrix Spdif thread? Lol
1 Like
Its an alternative to Roon, is my understanding.
There will be no interplay between the two.
PSA is swinging for the fences with this endeavor.
1 Like
Sure, 76% of Darkoās respondents have less than 1TB of music. But, is that the exact same audience that would likely buy an Octave setup? Not likely. I would guess that the type of people that would buy an Octave setup are the type of people that would be more likely to have large local libraries.
A 4TB spinner would be a better choice than a 1TB SSD. In fact, I would go so far as to say that offering only a 1TB SSD option is a really bad ideaā¦
1 Like
Not sure if thatās a good idea. I was just looking at Innuos and even they can run as a Roon endpoint or core. Not sure how well it integrates but at least itās an option.
I agree. The DSf files take up a lot more space than Flac. Optional storage upgrades a must IMO.
As this topic has been previously extensively discussed we know no final decision as to internal storage has been made, there may be some choices offered to consumers, and the unit will address both external USB directly attached drives as well as pull music off of a NAS.
From the website:
āThe player also features Ethernet, WiFi, a bit-perfect ripper, and a 1tB solid-state storage drive, all housed in a beautiful PerfectWave chassis.ā
FYI.
[Source: Octave Music Player | PS Audio]
Yes, good info. The webpage continues:
āOn its rear panel, find a nice helping of isolated USB 3.0 inputs allowing users to connect as much external hard drive storage as they need, as well as a dedicated USB 3.0 backup port providing automatic backup services through your connected external storage.ā
ā¦and people here are just expressing opinionsā¦
Yes, and I am just offering reality and providing information. 
Auralic have this setup as their G2. Interestingly they say sonically itās still better to use an external nas than embed an internal ssd or hd. They say an internal hd is poor sonically due to vibrations setup by the spinning platter.
2 Likes
I recently ordered an Aurender A10 Network player with a 4TB spinning drive. Iāll try it both ways, with music on the drive, and NAS. With Aurender, the spinning drive loads the music on an SSD cache.
Thanks for offering your thoughts on the NAS.
1 Like
I use an Innuos device and use Roon. I also have just over 1TB of stored music. I chose 4TB as the storage option. My unit Zen Mk3 cost Ā£2,000 (add 30% for $). A dcS Bridge costs about Ā£4,000 and is considered pretty state of the art and is Roon Ready. I also have an 8TB SSD QNAP that cost Ā£1,500 that is a perfect partner for dCS Bridge, if I had one. The Octave server will be about Ā£5,000 or Ā£6,000. So, never mind your brand preferences, the Octave will be coming in at a price point at which potential customers are probably not expecting any significant limitations of storage or functionality, and Roon is pretty standard these days. Itās not like it costs much, in fact I think the software is free to manufacturers, itās the development time and processing power needed. Even my Bluesound has it, and those units start at $500.
Innuos offer Roon, but you donāt have to use it. The will imminently offer their own uPnP streaming system. They further addressed the SATA vibration issue from Mk2 to Mk3 by doubling the RAM to 8gb so the disc is not spinning during playback. There is also mechanical isolation. That makes the SATA version a lot cheaper than the SSD version and is why I bought it. Innuos also appreciated the popularity of usb in particular with DSD users and designed a very good usb reclocker for their $10k Statement unit, which they then decided to sell as a separate unit, called the Phoenix reclocker. I also used Auralic for a long time and for them the software was the best part.
All Iām trying to illustrate is that, given how far audio servers and streamers have come in the last 15 years, how so many problems have been solved and many companies have excellent software, there really is no mystery as to the feature list and options that Octave could or should have, depending on its price point. Servers and streamers are now old hat, with a wide range of products ranging from $500 to almost $50,000 (does anyone here have the Taiko SGM Extreme?).
There are some people who will buy it just because of the badge on the front, but servers and streamers really are a lot to do with ticking boxes with regard to functionality and features. Itās not like people go to an audio dealer and compare different streamers like they do speakers or amplifiers.
1 Like
Steven, I had the opportunity to audition and play around with Bluesound Vault 2i server, ripper. Itās a server, ripper, streamer, pre amp, worth BluOS and excellent compatibility with any smart device and computer system, comes for EUR 1200 and has 2 TB storage.
Maybe a huge group of high enders might pull up their nose for such āmainstreamā system.
But the sound systems connected were:
- NAD C658 with C 268 and ATC SM19 speakers
- NAD M33 with Audiovector R6 ArretƩ speakers
Both systems with Room Correction not even configured sounded very good with the Blue Sound / BluOS system. These were no cheap systems at all.
Looking at the cost/SQ ratio, and Knowing that BluOS comes from the Slim Devices/Logitech Media Service/NAD group with a long history and probably the original idea of high quality multi room streaming with a huge user group and raving reviews, helps putting the complete Octave US$ 6500 / 1 TB discussion to bed for me.
MQA seems to become the new Master / high res standard to which many audiophile brands including the brand new EUR 16000 Luxman reference D-10X SACD DAC.
Hans Beekhuyzen ranks MQA quality above ālosslessā DSD an PCM format. I trust he knows a thing or two about digital playback as he is one of the very early adaptors of such systems.
Speaking just for myselfā¦Iām planning to buy the Octave player as a replacement for my current laptop running JRiver, going USB (via LAN Rover) to my DSD. I donāt stream (yet), and prefer to own my music right now. My library is over 1 TB, but I donāt care about internal storage, and am fine with using an external USB drive. I donāt care about Roonā¦never used it, and donāt have any plans to try it. The SW app for JRMC (Gizmo) isnāt exactly āfeature richā, but it does the job letting me scroll through my library and select what I want to play. A better SW UI will be much appreciated, but itās a distant second to sound quality.
I care about having the best sounding source component for playing digital files in my system. I care about only needing a single cable, in this case I2S, to connect that source to my DAC. I care about not having to buy 2 or 3 additional āboxesā, each needing a $500 external power supply, and another expensive cable, to get optimal performance.
I might be the only person that looks at the Octave player from this perspectiveā¦but I doubt it. PS Audio probably wonāt sell enough Octaveās to pay for a helicopter pad on Paulās yacht, but Iām confident that there will be reasonable audience for such a product.
4 Likes
I, too, have seen manufacturers state external storage sounds better than built in storage, including an SSD. They opine HDDs vibrate and SSDs are electrically noisy.
I have compared internal storage and external on the same streamer/server and have not heard any difference.
I am surprised with those who state they would not consider a streamer/server with 1TB internal memory. It is trivial to attach external USB drives and they are inexpensive. A 2TB Western Digital Passport external USB drive is $65; 5TB, $115. I have used these drives for years, inexpensive, silent, reliable.
We all have our biases, rational or not. But I suggest not getting hung-up on the amount of internal storage a given server/streamer offers given how easy it is to attach drives. All streamers/servers of which I am aware also will work with a NAS. Many also provide for adding internal drives or installing a larger internal drive.
Given how many reviews, both professional and hobbyist, which compare the sound of streamers I expect plenty of people have made comparisons at their dealer.
4 Likes
Needs 3TB
Easy to implement given product still in Beta.
Could be a fail point if PSA donāt do this imo.
The āPlug n Playā customers that Octave is targeting wont want to faff about with external USB drives.
My Perspective: I ran a business making music servers mid 2010ās, glowing hifi magazine reviews here in the UK n such.
1TB will be a perceived sticking point, for no other reason it makes PSA look as though they are cheaping out.
Hopefully,
passing on some useful info for the PS Audio think tank, from someone whoās been there.
Love my PS Audio gear and happy to be part of the Family.
1 Like