Anyone use the Squeezebox?

[j_garcia]

Is it any good? What's the range?

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_overview.html

 

[jaxvon]

Did you see the review?

 

[Mr. Lamb Fries]

A sales man at circut city told me about something called a leap frog. sounds like they serve the same purpose.
I think the price is a little high for its sole application. You can get an inexpensive sound card for your pc (if it doesnt already have one) and hook it up through that...OR...I would get a cheap computer (If you wait for the deals, you can pick up a cheap e machine at comp usa for the same price after rebates) and hook up my external hard drive (almost 300 gigs of just music) to it for storage. Run a wireless router and youve got something much better. I know it costs more but all this stuff costs more. its a matter of getting the best bang for your buck.

 

[j_garcia]

Did you see the review?

Didn't mention anything about range. I'd expect it is similar to any 802.11 wireless router.

you can get an inexpensive sound card for your pc (if it doesnt already have one) and hook it up through that...

In most cases, as with mine, the PC is not in the same room as my HT.

Their site says you can practically use the Squeezebox AS a wireless router...meaning you don't need an extra PC, but if you have one, theoretically (from what it sounds like) you could connect via the Squeezebox. I can also build a little PC for less than the price of an e-machine, even on discount.

I'm asking about this because this is becoming more of a common question from my customers, and at this price point, this guy seems to pretty much cover all bases.

I'm actually not a fan of streamed music, because (as the review notes) even at higher bitrates, compressed digital audio loses some fidelity. If I really like a particular band or few songs, I'd prefer to own the CD, SACD, DVD-A, etc... most of the time.

 

[sleepysurf]

I'm actually not a fan of streamed music, because (as the review notes) even at higher bitrates, compressed digital audio loses some fidelity. If I really like a particular band or few songs, I'd prefer to own the CD, SACD, DVD-A, etc... most of the time.

Streaming LOSSY formats indeed loses fidelity, and is not acceptable for a higher-end system. However streaming LOSSLESS formats (I use FLAC, which is natively supported by the Squeezebox2), provides BIT-PERFECT sound, with EXTREMELY low jitter, which equals or exceeds the most expensive CD transports. See the Squeezebox2 discussions at Audio Asylum, Audio Circle, or even the Slimdevices Audiophile section.

IMHO (and many others) the Squeezebox2 is leaps and bounds ahead of all competing products.

 

[j_garcia]

Thanks for the info. I doubt most of the people who have been asking are looking to stream lossless, and most are asking because they already have a library of stuff they somehow got onto their computer (and also assuming they are mostly lower bitrate stuff) possibly due to owning an IPOD or similar, that they just want to have mostly playing as background music. We're not necessarily talking audiophiles here, just people who've already got audio files on a PC somewhere else in the house.

 

[Audioholics]

Almost all the emails I got about the Squeezebox2 were asking about how it sounds with FLAC since it has a Burr-Brown DAC. One of its best potential uses is as a replacement to your CD player.

It's 802.11g and it has very good range - not to mention a cool Ethernet bridge on the back.