| Article Index |
|---|
| Logitech Squeezebox Network Music Player Review |
| Page 2 - Slimserver Software |
| Page 3 - The Squeezebox Unit |
| Page 4 - Networking Features |
| Page 5 - Conclusion |
| All Pages |
The Squeezebox is a strange name for a device to stream audio files over a network, and
while we still haven’t figured out what the name means, we are very impressed at the device itself, despite what is a fairly hefty price tag.
So what is the Squeezebox?
The Squeezebox was designed and built by company called Slim Devices, a company that specialised in easy to use network devices for streaming music, and has very recently been acquired (bought-out) by Logitech, so what you used to be able to buy as a Slim Devices Squeezebox, is now a Logitech Squeezebox.
That’s all well and good, but what is the Squeezebox?? Well the Squeezebox is a device that streams music files of all sorts from your PC or server and allow you to play it on your home Hi-Fi setup, wherever it is in the house.
The Squeezebox requires an application/server program called ‘SlimServer’ to be loaded on a PC on your network which the Squeezebox then connects to. Within SlimServer you can organise your playlists in a similar fashion to iTunes and other similar programs, or load pre-existing playlists created by Winamp or Media Player (supports .m3u, .pls, .cue, .asx and .wpl playlists), but we’ll go into more detail on the SlimServer program later on in the review.
The Squeezebox is designed to connect to your Home Theatre or Hi-Fi system, and as such it has all the basic audio connection types you might require, including Analogue RCA stereo, SPDIF Optical + Coaxial Digital connection, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. The digital audio conversion and processing is handled by a very high quality Hi-Fi 24-Bit Burr-Brown DAC and the sound quality, even out of the analogue ports is simply outstanding. Even though it’s converting from MP3s which can often be of questionable quality, the bass sounds are true and within expected levels, with the rest of the spectrum giving a very even output across the range. Some cheaper network audio streamers often over emphasise the bass or treble output to compensate for (or as a result of) substandard components. While true audiophiles may be able to find something wrong with the sound (they always can), I can’t fault it at all.
The SlimServer Software:
Before we get into the details and features of the Squeezebox itself, it’s important to understand the function of the SlimServer software, as everything revolves around it.
As mentioned before, the SlimServer software has to be installed on a PC on the network for the Squeezebox to function, preferably on a computer that will be remain turned on most of the time, such as a server. The system must also contain your music files and thankfully the system requirements are very low, so it can run on just about anything that’s capable of running Windows 2K or later. There are also versions available for MAC OSX and Linux, so it really will run on just about anything.
From within the SlimServer software, you can control everything to do with the Squeezebox, from the format in which it displays the title of the song currently playing, to graphical screensavers to the news feeds for its built-in RSS news ticker. You can even change more advanced settings for the Hi-Fi buffs out there, such as the pre-amp volume control, whether digital output volume is variable or constant and whether or not the Squeezebox will switch off its audio ports when you put it to sleep (this avoids the pops or noise in the speakers that can happen when you turn off audio hardware). There are almost too many options, but these only appear when you start digging through the menus a bit, getting a basic setup going is child’s play, as it’s pretty much all pre-configured for you already, the software is just there for you to tweak any settings and of course to serve out the actual music files.
Not only can you configure all the options for the Squeezebox, you can also remotely control the Squeezebox as well, with basic power on/off, stop/play and volume controls. SlimServer can also control multiple Squeezeboxes simultaneously, so you can have multiple units running around your house or office all running in sync to each other. Unfortunately you can’t control them independently from one another with a single SlimServer, to do this you would need to install another copy of SlimServer on a different machine, the Squeezebox has the ability to let you choose which one you want to connect to if there are multiple servers.
The Squeezebox Unit:
When not powered on, the Squeezebox is just a smooth looking black box with a Logitech logo in the middle, but once it is powered on, everything comes to life with a Logitech and Squeezebox logo scrolling across the screen as a welcome, and if you’re turning it on for the first time it takes you straight into the setup menu. Here it will guide you effortlessly through connecting to a network whether it is wired or wireless and once that’s done and providing you’ve put a playlist in your SlimServer you’re up and running and can get on with the music. That’s what we’re all here for right? Well I’m not here to make ice cream!
The Squeezebox can play many different files types, including high bandwidth lossless formats.
The following files types are compatible
- MP3
- AAC
- WMA
- Ogg
- FLAC
- Apple Lossless
- WMA Lossless
- WAV music files
So while it’s not every file type out there, it’s certainly got the main bases covered. The Squeezebox can also connect to Internet music and radio streaming services, such as SHOUTcast and others if that strikes your fancy, it’s all very easy to accomplish just through the remote control and the main unit.
When the music is playing on the Squeezebox there are a range of visual options you can choose for the dot-matrix LED screen, including how the currently playing song is displayed (Artist, Title, Genre, Album etc...) as well as whether it displays a small VU Meter or spectrum analyser, or whether a spectrum analyser takes up the whole screen in the background. If basic text displays and VU meters bore you, then you can configure the Squeezebox to revert to a screensaver after a certain amount of inactivity from the remote control, the screensavers include – Snow which falls to form words, Analogue or digital VU meters, full screen spectrum analysers, the date and time or an RSS newsfeed ticker, all of which are configured through SlimServer.
If having thousands of songs at your fingertips is not enough for you, the Squeezebox even has an inbuilt game – Slimtris, a sideways version of Tetris which you play with the remote control. Playing the game won’t affect the playback of the music in anyway.
The Squeezebox can also serve as an alarm clock, and you have the ability to set the same alarm for everyday, or a different one for every day of the week. This would of course involve the rest of your stereo being left on, or on some sort of timer itself.
Networking Features:
The networking is a vital part of the Squeezebox’s functionality, as without it, it would just be a little black box sitting there doing nothing. The Squeezebox has a built-in 10/100 ethernet port, as well as 54mbps 802.11g wireless networking.
As is the case with most networking devices, the Ethernet is the simpler connection to setup, all you do is either specify an IP address or tell it to obtain one automatically (through DHCP) and you’re on the network. The Wireless is a little more involved, but really no more difficult, the Squeezebox will detect the available networks and ask which one you want to connect to. If a WPA security key is required you can input it with the remote control’s numeric keyboard (typing SMS style), after that you can either assign an IP address or obtain one automatically and you’re connected. Considering there is no external aerial, the wireless reception is excellent, just as good as my laptop PC.
The Squeezebox will find any SlimServers on your network automatically and you just choose which one to connect to if there’s more than one. When connecting over wireless you don’t have to worry about small dropouts which can often happen on wireless networks (it happens at our office a fair bit) as the Squeezebox has a rather large buffer to cater for such events, so the music will keep playing while it tries to reconnect, however the on-screen display will go off while disconnected, even with the music still playing.
The Squeezebox has the ability to turn on your PC through WOL (Wake On LAN) so long as your PC is setup to support it. When you power the Squeezebox on, it will send the WOL signal and wait for the PC to boot, and the SlimServer software can be configured to start as a service before you have to login to Windows, so even if your computer sits at the login screen after being woken, the SlimServer software will still be running.
Another networking feature which is a surprising inclusion is the ability for the Squeezebox to act as a wireless bridge. You can connect your XBOX, PS2 or other network capable device to the Squeezebox via an Ethernet cable and the Squeezebox will act as a wireless Ethernet bridge to join that device onto the network, a very cool feature, and not hard to setup.
Conclusion:
While the Squeezebox has a RRP of AU$499, you can find it selling online for around AU$370, and while that may seem expensive... well ok it IS expensive, when you take into consideration the connectivity options and the huge functionality this unit offers it’s actually not bad value. The problem is that most people who would want a unit like this won’t need or use a lot of the functions that have been built into the Squeezebox so they only serve to inflate the price.
This is a shame because it really is a brilliant little unit, the sound quality it delivers is outstanding and it really wouldn’t seem out of place working together with your home theatre setup. Even mid-high range gear like Marantz or Bang & Olufsen components would be well complimented by this unit, not just your basic Sony or other Jap brand name stuff. I think what Logitech need to do is introduce a cut down version of this player, that keeps the sound quality and wireless networking, but removes a lot of the extra functions that people who just want music aren’t going to need or use.
I’d highly recommend the Squeezebox to anyone after a digital music streamer, and are willing to pay the price for the quality it delivers.
OzHardware Rating – 9.5/10
This product can be purchased online at www.techbuy.com.au (Direct Link)
