Summary

ReQuest Multimedia's Nitro music server is a hard drive-based audio player worthy of a prominent spot in any high-end audio rack or home theater. It does everything that you could want an audio player to do and it looks good doing it.

 

With a highly evolved interface, advanced control options, and CD quality audio, the Nitro Pro should help the late-adopters appreciate the benefits of truly digital music, and satisfy those on the bleeding edge of technology.

 

If you're one of the lucky consumers that can justify the $2500 price tag of the Nitro Pro music server, we recommend the product without hesitation.

Full Review

Introduction

 

If you consider yourself an audiophile and still think that MP3s will never replace your CD collection, your reasoning may be based on two arguments. One; that compressed audio quality isn't as good as the original CD and two; that none of the devices on the market would look good with your audio equipment.

 

The truth is, most people can't tell the difference between CD audio and a properly encoded, quality MP3 file. With hard drive prices constantly going down and storage capacities going up exponentially, you don't even have to be limited to compressed audio or small file sizes. And while many manufacturers are developing home digital audio players or networked media devices that don't adhere to the standard component-width form factor, one company has been making high-end, rack-sized digital audio players for several years.

 

That company is ReQuest Multimedia, and their products are known in the custom installation business as the devices that tie in the world of hard drive-based digital music with high-end audiophile equipment. Based in upstate New York, ReQuest Multimedia was started in 1998 by two college buddies that wanted to develop an MP3 player that would be at home in a rack full of high-end audio equipment.

 

ReQuest's entry-level product is the AudioReQuest Nitro Compressed Audio Server system, a 2u rack-mounted or free-standing, hard drive-based digital audio player. Priced at around $2,500, the Nitro may not be for everyone, but it just might be the device that makes believers out of the Luddites still holding on to their CD players.

 

The Nitro Pro's minimalist exterior looks at home in an audio rack full of high-end equipment.

Features and Design

 

ReQuest's approach to a networked media player is a bit different from the other products we have reviewed. In fact, the Nitro Audio Server doesn't even need to be networked since all of its music is stored on an internal hard drive. The network comes into play when you want to upload music to the server, download song and album information from the internet, and even sync your music between different devices.

 

The AudioRequest Nitro is a 19-inch rack-mountable digital audio player that can store hundreds of CDs worth of music and play it all through your stereo or home-theater system. Its unassuming black metal enclosure makes the Nitro look at home in your audio rack, or free-standing with the rack-ears removed and included rubber feet applied. The aluminum front faceplate features a four-line by 20-character yellow-on-black LCD display, a CD tray, power and eject buttons, and two LED lights; one for power and one that indicates status.

 

While the front of the Nitro presents a minimalist look, it's the inside and back where all the magic happens. Inside the Nitro is a specialized Pentium III computer with 128MB of RAM which provides plenty of horsepower for the system. It also has a standard CD ROM drive and a removable hard drive, which helps simplify upgrades and installs, and makes transporting the device safer. There are actually two versions of the Nitro, a “Pro” version, which is the subject of this review, and a “Zone” version, which also has a hard drive but does not have a CD ROM. Zones can be used to mirror the music on the Pro units, and extend your Nitro network to different locations in your home, or even to remote locations over the internet.

 

The rear panel of the Nitro includes all of the connectors you would need for your home theater or stereo system. For audio connections, the Nitro has a left and right analog RCA output, a digital coax and a digital optical output. Like other networked media devices we've reviewed, the Nitro also connects to your TV so you can utilize an on-screen interface. Video connections include a VGA out, composite out, component video, and S-Video. Since the Nitro is based on a computer, it also has the normal PC interfaces such as two USB ports, a 10/100 Ethernet port, an IEEE 1394/Firewire port, a PS2 keyboard port, and a serial port. Most of these interfaces are not used, but a PS2 or USB keyboard can be used to edit music information.

 

The Nitro's rear panel has all of the analog and digital connections you could need.

 

ReQuest includes two IR remote controls with the Nitro Pro — one a full-sized remote with an alphanumeric keypad, function buttons, and complete audio controls; and one credit card-sized remote that can be used only to control the playback of music.

 

Besides interfacing with PCs, Macintosh and Linux computers on your network, AudioReQuest units are also designed to work with home control systems from manufacturers such as Crestron and AMX. According to ReQuest Multimedia, many dealers sell entire home systems with the AudioRequest and the company's VideoRequest video servers as the centerpiece.

Setup and Configuration

 

Since ReQuest caters to the custom installation market, installation is usually done by the reseller in conjunction with other audio and video components. However, it doesn't take a professional to install or configure the Nitro. The Nitro is shipped in a well-protected box with the hard drive removed. Besides plugging in the normal audio and video cables, the only other requirement is to slide the removable hard drive into its caddy, and lock it into place with the included key.

 

Once powered up, the Nitro Pro Media Server takes less than a minute to start up and be ready to play music. Since it is based on a computer it does require that boot time, but there's no reason why you can't leave it on all the time. In fact, it's designed to stay on all the time, with the actual power button being hidden behind the aluminum faceplate. The included remote controls have a power button that puts the device in more of a standby mode, turning off the audio and video. The Nitro has two 80mm fans that spin slow enough to not be too loud, but they do produce a slight noise. The server is not completely silent like other networked media devices we've seen, but the fan noise is only noticeable from a few inches away from the unit.

 

There are two ways that you can get music onto the Nitro Music Server; transfer your music to the Nitro Pro over your network; or rip your CDs directly to the hard drive via the Nitro's CD ROM drive. Be aware though, if you have a large collection of CDs, converting them all to MP3 format can be quite time consuming. ReQuest and its dealers also provide CD ripping services, so that you don't have to do all the work yourself.

 

Since the Nitro only comes with hard drive sizes of 40GB or 60GB, all of your music must be in MP3 format and must be compressed. “Only” is a relative term though, since ReQuest estimates tat you can fit about 300 CDs-worth of 320Kbps MP3 files on the 40GB model and 450 on the 60GB model. ReQuest sells two other lines of music servers, the Fusion and Terra models, which offer much larger hard drive capacities — up to 900GB - and the option of using uncompressed WAV files or the lossless FLAC format.

 

By default, the Nitro Pro is set up to automatically rip and encode CDs when they are put into the CD tray. This makes for quick work while converting your entire collection and makes it easy to rip new CDs after you buy them. When a CD is inserted into the tray, the Nitro Pro will access the internet and retrieve CD information including a complete ID3 tag, and it will try to find album art too. Album art (usually the front cover of the CD) can be downloaded and viewed onscreen while playing and browsing music. ReQuest offers the option of encoding CDs anywhere from 64Kbps to 320Kbps, and one option for variable bit rate (VBR) encoding. By default, the unit is set to encode at 320Kbps, which is so close to CD quality that most people can't tell the difference. Ripping and encoding a CD should take about eight minutes or less for an average CD. The first CD we encoded with the Nitro Pro was Bad Religion's “Stranger Than Fiction”. It took almost exactly eight minutes for the Nitro to rip and encode the 15 songs, as well as download and resize album art for the disc. We were impressed at the speed in which the Nitro encoded, but if you do the math, you'll realize that encoding 300 CDs - a conservative estimate of what the 40GB model can handle -  may take you upwards of 40 hours.

 

You can also transfer music to (and from) the Nitro Pro via any computer network that can see Samba shares. This means PCs, Macs, and Linux computers can browse the Nitro's music collection, upload new albums, and even play music streamed from the Nitro. One great thing about uploading music to the Nitro Pro is that it handles it just like it would a regular CD and it goes out to the internet to retrieve ID3 tag information. If your MP3s are mis-tagged or don't all follow the same naming convention, the Nitro will fix them. In all of our testing, we could not find a commercially available CD that the Nitro couldn't name, and it had no problem renaming mis-tagged MP3s. Browsing your network shares, you locate the “Upload” folder on your Nitro and drag and drop music there. Folders that store your CDs and encoded music are protected so you can't accidentally delete the music. The unit also allows you to transfer WAV files to the upload folder, and it will automatically encode them to MP3s as well.

 

Although the CD player is primarily used to encode your music to MP3 format, it also acts as a regular CD player, allowing you to listen to audio discs without having to encode them.

Usage and Navigation

 

While the Nitro Pro is comprised of fairly basic computer components, it's the software that really separates this product from other such devices. ReQuest's development team has spent years refining the system and it works just like we would want such a device to work.

 

One of the most important criterions we use to judge the quality of networked media devices on is the speed at which they change songs. The way we see it, since you're in-effect replacing a CD player, the device better perform as good as or better than a CD player. Some devices, like the Linksys Wireless Media Adapter and the Apple Airport Express have failed this test miserably while others, like the Slim Devices Squeezebox and the Gateway Connected DVD Player have bested the performance and response time of CD players. ReQuest Multimedia's Nitro Pro falls into the later category, with an almost instantaneous response time.

 

Navigation of the Nitro's menu system is intuitive and fast. There is virtually no learning curve to using the device; another plus that makes it a good option for those that have resisted the change. Much like software media players, the Nitro player supports “skins” that allow you to change the look and layout of the display. The default skin is a clean-looking aqua blue, white and black design with clear fonts that are readable from any realistic distance you may be from your TV.

 

The main navigation on the default skin is separated into three sections: the top contains current song information and album art; the bottom left is the top level menu that lets you browse by artist, song, albums, genres, playlists, and more; and the bottom right shows the actual songs in the playlists or albums. Using the up, down, left, and right buttons on either remote will get you where you need to go. You can also use the larger remote to find songs by number or letter. For instance, if you are browsing artists and you want to jump to the “M's”, simply hit the “M” button on the large remote and it will go to that section.

While playing a song the onscreen display shows the current song name, the artist info and other ID3 information from the CD, the album art, a level indicator visualizer, the time elapsed, remaining, and total for the song, and the next song in the queue.

 

The same controls you'd find on any other audio player are present in the Nitro's remotes and on-screen navigation. Songs can be fast-forwarded or rewound at 5-second intervals and the pause and play buttons respond instantaneously.

 

Control the Nitro with a Java remote (PC, Mac and Pocket PC), IR remotes, or control systems.

 

As mentioned earlier, the Nitro also supports keyboard navigation, and the company provides a printable overlay for wireless keyboards such as the Gyration RF keyboard. However, in our usage, we never encountered a situation where we would have needed a keyboard.

 

Anything that can be done on the Nitro Pro with a keyboard or the remote controls can also be accomplished with a web browser and/or ReQuest's included Java software applications. The Nitro has a built-in web server that allows you to configure the system, view your music, rename files and ID3 tags, upload album art, and even play music on your Nitro Pro from any computer on your network.

 

ReQuest Multimedia's Java Remote application runs on PCs and Macs, and they even have a version for Pocket PCs. The Java Remote allows you to control the playback of your music on one or more AudioReQuest units on your network, as well as search for music, create and edit playlists and ID3 tag information, upload album art, and pretty much anything else you can do with the device. The Java Remote is useful for general control of the unit and is similar to the control system found on Crestron home automation panels. The web application is useful for remote streaming of music, playlist management and overall system configuration. We were told that the company is looking to move towards a one-for-all application that combines the best of both applications.

 

As mentioned earlier, the Nitro Pro also features a character LCD display. The display isn't particularly bright and can't be seen from a distance of more than about 10 feet, but all music navigation can be controlled while viewing the LCD. This feature was a big plus for us, as many networked media devices force you to have to use your TV to navigate. The display looks like any other CD or receiver display you may have in your audio rack, again making the unit look at home with your equipment.

Audio Quality

 

The big question that any audiophile may have is “how does it sound?” We tested the AudioRequest Nitro Pro using both analog and digital connections to two different digital receivers and the sound was excellent. At 320kbps, there was just no difference between an MP3 and the same song played directly from a CD. And at bitrates of 192kbps and up it was hard for most listeners to tell a difference. This is on par with what we expected.

 

Song transitions featured a short gap just like with a CD player. Some users may want a mixing transition and we'd like to see ReQuest implement that into future releases. Every once in a while we noticed a slight hiccup when changing from the middle of one song to another song. This did not happen all of the time and was nothing like the long pause or chopped off introduction that occurred with the Apple AirPort Express. Though it was of little consequence, it was something that we noticed a few times.

 

Advanced Features

 

We mentioned in the last section that the Nitro Pro can stream music over the internet. This is useful if you wish to listen to your music collection at work or a remote location with high-speed internet access. The system takes advantage of the flexibility of the internet, allowing owners to mirror their music between a “master” AudioReQuest unit and its “zone” units anywhere on their own network or on the internet.

 

Nitro's web server allows for configuration, playlist management and even streaming of your music.

 

The system also includes a “screensaver” feature that presents a slideshow of digital images on your screen when invoked. ReQuest includes a number of pre-loaded images and you can upload your own images to the server as well. Unfortunately, the screensaver only comes on after a user-definable period of inactivity while you are listening to music and can not be manually started. This seems like the next logical step, especially since many lower-end networked media devices offer some kind of image playback, and we were told that such a feature is currently in the works.

 

Because the Nitro is based on fairly standard PC hardware, it is easily updated and the company provides free firmware upgrades via the internet or CDs.

 

What's not to Like?

 

We were hard-pressed to find anything about the AudioRequest Nitro that we didn't like. Everything works as it should, looks good, and sounds great. Besides our hope for a way to view images in a slideshow, there are very few suggestions we'd offer to improve the Nitro.

 

We mentioned to the company that the “queue” option could be improved and they said they are investigating an update. At present, when you “queue” a song it adds it to the end of the current queue. Other applications such as Winamp and Apple's iTunes provide a function that allows you to queue a specific song to be the next song played. ReQuest will hopefully soon support such a feature.

 

Deleting songs, albums, and artists is not exactly easy to accomplish with the Nitro. This may be a good thing in the sense that you won't accidentally delete music, but sometimes you may want to get rid of some songs, albums, or artists, for instance to add a higher quality recording. The Java Remote appears to give the option to delete music, but each time we tried, the deleted information came back. This feature does, however, work as intended with the infrared remote.

 

We'd also like to see ReQuest offer a computer-based backup solution. If you spend 40 or more hours encoding your CD collection, you'll want to ensure that the data is backed up incase of a hard drive failure on the Nitro. ReQuest's system now only automatically mirrors the Nitro's data on other “Zone” units. An application that does this on networked computers would be a welcome update.

 

Our only other complaint was a matter of aesthetics. As many other consumer electronics and computers have lately, the Nitro Pro features a bright blue LED for the power indicator. We found the LED to be too bright and distracting most of the time. It can partially light up a room when it is dark and can be annoying if the unit is sitting in close proximity to the TV.

We Know What You're Thinking

 

A good number of you are probably thinking “$2,500! I can build a better MP3 player for much cheaper!” Perhaps you are right, but then again, if you're thinking that, you probably aren't part of ReQuest's target audience. AudioReQuest units are geared towards more affluent music lovers — people with high-end audio equipment and a lot of CDs; people with home automation or control systems; people with multiple residences.

 

But the home-built solution isn't as easy as some of you may think. The Nitro is built with an industrial single board computer in the Mini-ITX form factor. It supports a socket 370 processor, SDRAM and a regular hard drive and CD Rom. With this somewhat off-the-shelf hardware are a number of enhancements including the LCD screen, the software that drives the LCD, digital audio connections, component video connections, and remote control support.

 

However, it's the operating system which has been developed and improved over several years that really makes the Nitro worth its cost. The Nitro runs on a customized version of QNX, but we've heard rumors that ReQuest is looking into an updated Linux solution. It is the automated features and user-friendly front end that really makes the Audio ReQuest software so powerful. The software automatically encodes CDs when they are inserted into the tray. It works with a long list of automation and control devices. It features a web server that syncs and broadcasts music over the internet. It works with PCs and Macs as well as Pocket PCs. It supports analog and digital video and audio outputs. It organizes music automatically and downloads song information and album art, and much, much more.

 

Nitro's TV display is easy to use and easy to read at distances.

 

Sure someone with above average hardware and software knowledge could build something similar for less, but we think the features, support, and quality build of the Nitro is on par with the unit's price. We do, however, question the economies of scale when comparing the prices between the 40GB and 60GB models. An additional 20GB doesn't warrant a $500 price difference in our opinion.

 

Conclusion

 

ReQuest Multimedia's Nitro music server is a hard drive-based audio player worthy of a prominent spot in any high-end audio rack or home theater. It does everything that you could want an audio player to do and it looks good doing it.

 

With a highly evolved interface, advanced control options, and CD quality audio, the Nitro Pro should help the late-adopters appreciate the benefits of truly digital music, and satisfy those on the bleeding edge of technology.

 

If you're one of the lucky consumers that can justify the $2500 price tag of the Nitro Pro music server, we recommend the product without hesitation.

Specs

Advanced Music Server

• Instantly access music by Genre, Artist, Album, and Song Title.
• Build custom playlists for simplified access to your collection.
• Store up to 450 albums at highest quality 320Kbps MP3.
• Store up to 1000 albums at standard quality 128Kbps MP3.

Fail-safe Multi Source Design

• Add Nitro Zones for unlimited multi-source access to the collection.
• Each Nitro Zone automatically backs up the collection via NetSync
• Features QuickSwap chassis with removable ARQ OS drives.

Integration and Control

• Compatible with industry leading control systems.
• Built-in TV interface for standalone and modulated IR systems.
• ARQConnect protocol for Serial and Ethernet control.
• Keypad friendly QuickPlay commands: NEXT GENRE and DIRECT Playlist Access.

Future-Proof Design

• ARQ OS Firmware updates available online or via CD-ROM.

Multi-Location Capability

• NetSync ARQ Nitros over the Internet using ARQLink.
• Works over standard DHCP broadband, no static IP required.
• QuickSwap drives can transport music to locations without Internet Access.

Network Control Features

• Access AudioReQuest from anywhere via ARQLink secure Internet login.
• Java Remote turns any PC or Mac into a powerful 2-way interface.
• MyARQ Webserver lets you search and manage playlists on any web browser.
• Listen to music on ARQ from any PC via streaming or Internet radio broadcast.
• ARQPocket software available for full 2-way wireless control on PocketPC.
• Advanced Integration Protocol (IR/Video, Serial, Ethernet)

Interoperability

• AudioReQuest products integrate seamlessly with control systems such as Crestron,AMX, ELAN, CorAccess, NetStreams, Niles, Xantech, Lutron, and Pronto.
• ARQConnect provides full control for any system via Infrared (IR)/Video, Serial RS-232, and Ethernet.
• ARQIP developed and tested sample programs for all major control systems.

Interfaces

• TV Interface with IR remote control. 
• PC and Mac Java Remote control and music transfer.
• ARQConnect Advanced Integration Protocol.
• MyARQ Web browser interface.
• Built-In Front Black LCD Display (PRO Only).

CD Lookup

• During the process of recording (also known as encoding) from a CD, AudioReQuest will identify the CD from its internal database of more than one million albums.
• If networked, AudioReQuest will automatically look up the CD track listing (artist, album, and song title)
  using the latest data available on the Internet.

Other Specifications

• Dimensions: 17” (L) x 14.5” (W) x 3.5” (H)
• Weight: 17 lbs. (7.7kg)
• Rack Space: 2RU (rack units)
• Finish: Black Brushed Metal Only
• Music Formats Supported: CD Audio, MP3, MP3 CD-RW.
• S/PDIF and Toslink Optical Digital output
• VGA, S-Video, and Composite Video output
• NSTC and PAL TV modes
• Wireless RF keyboard support
• Firmware update through the Internet or CD-ROM

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