Olive MUSICA CD Player/Music Server

A hi-fi component for the computer age

The MUSICA is a fantastic but imperfect piece of transitional technology. The front-panel interface and instruction manual leave much to be desired. The variable analog stereo output could directly feed a power amp, but the remote’s volume up/down function is slow to respond, and won’t go to zero. There’s no front-panel control for headphone output. For my purposes, the MUSICA’s Internet radio feature was useless, because it uses the Shoutcast portal for the most popular stations. Streaming Sirius satellite radio requires password log-in, not possible using the MUSICA.

Those are minor shortcomings compared to all the MUSICA does right. As this issue went to press, Olive had just announced the OPUS, a heavyweight big brother to the MUSICA, with audiophile-quality circuitry and construction, a 400GB hard drive, and improved functionality. I can’t wait to take it for a test drive.