Digital Trends

At times, it helps to have curious friends with deep pockets. After reading about the Olive Symphony, I was salivating to try it. But at $899 ($1099 for the Musica with a 160GB hard drive), it was well beyond my limited budget. However, a friend of mine with adventurous spirit and money invested in one, and while staying with him, I persuaded him to let me test drive the machine.

As the name implies, it's aimed at classical music fans who want to fully embrace the digital age. However, it works for everyone, whether your tastes are for Wagner or Weezer,. Standing as a piece of hi-fi equipment, it's the kind of thing music aficionados put together in their minds during long, sleepless nights. From playing CDs to ripping and burning them, to hooking up with your portable player, the Symphony can do it all—and more. Granted, it's not the first piece of stereo equipment with a hard drive (80 GB on the Symphony), it's undoubtedly the best and easiest to use, packed into a single component that will look right at home with the rest of your stereo equipment.