How easy was it to start to use? Not easy but I was motivated - it cost about $4,000 on ebay for a new Concerto, Tuner, Docking Station and some in ceiling speakers for six rooms, so I wasn't going to let it sit in the box. It required running Cat 5 (internet cables) through the house and a technician to install it (it requires a laptop with Nuvo software on it to complete - so no DIY instillation) which at least left me with the peace of mind that it should work when they left.
What makes it rock? It does what it says on the tin, meaning it distributes audio beautifully around your home. The faceplates I have, and I have the older ones shown in the picture above, look great on the wall. The faceplates are non-obtrusive to Nemo's decor and adds a little futurism to the overall feel of the house. The system is very easy to use once it is up and running without a lot of bells and whistles.
What sucks? The only ability to navigate through music is with arrows. If you have a lot of music on your iPod (I have about 30GB) the only way to get to a song you want is to stand by the wall with your finger resting on a direction - that's not ideal - making playlists gets around this annoyance but also isn't ideal. I believe the new faceplates may get around this issue, but I don't have them. I may buy one or two to try, but they're expensive and will probably need a technician to upgrade the systems's firmware to recognize them. If I do, I will update this post. The docking station has stopped working. It's four years old, and I bought it new on ebay (no guarantees on quality) so I can't complain, but I'll probably need a new one and a technician to come get the system to accept it - pain in the arse.
What would I do if I was buying again today? I'd buy the concerto again, with some minor changes; I would get the updated faceplates if they allow for easier navigation. I wouldn't buy Nuvo's speakers - they do distributed audio very well, they do speakers to fill a gap in their product line (IMO). They're not terrible, but I have Architech speakers in my TV room and the same music sounds deeper, more rounded with better low end sound. They were more expensive, but in this case, you get what you pay for. All in all though, a very good system that does what it says it's going to.
