Review of the Slimdevices SqueezeBox
Slimdevices latest consumer level network music device brings hi-fidelity to the masses. SlimDevices has been around for a number of years and has been one of the first companies to offer not just streaming music for the home, but hi quality streaming music. The company is founded by a group of audio enthusiasts that wanted nothing more than to be able to play music anywhere in their house and make it sound great. Their first line of products was the Squeezebox, a sub 300 dollar network attached music player that combinded hi quality audio with stylish design. What seperated this devices from others in the same space, was that the Squeezebox was one of the first to be aimed at the audiophile crowd with its hi end DAC processor. Now with version 3 they have stepped it up yet again. They redefined the look of the unit to something most people believe is stunning( us included ). They have further improved the internals making it the best sounding Squeezebox to date and they have updated the software that runs it.
One of the features that many people like is the server software. The Squeezebox is run by software called slimserver. This is a web based solution that you run on one of your home machines. It is written in perl and will run on just about any device( more on that later ).Slimserver is open source so anyone can tinker with it to their hearts content which has produced a lot of addons created by users.
There is a great community that has built up around the Squeezebox and has cheered Slimdevices on each step of the way. This is evident with a trip to their formus where it isn't uncommon to see the CEO responding to questions from users. To reward their loyal audiophiles they recently released the Transporter. This is a high end audio component geared solely at wealthy audiophile crowd, priced at $2000 this device is not for the masses.
One of the great features and why we love this solution over something like the Airport Express is the fact it has a remote control. With the Airport Express you have to have your laptop handy or a computer near by in order to change songs, change playlist ect. With the squeezebox you just grab the remote and browse your collection.
Granted scrolling through the menus on the tiny squeezebox screen will take some getting use to, but it is far superior to having to deal with the laptop solution. I can't tell you how many times I have been playing music over my Airport, selecting songs with my laptop and when I was done, closing the lid, only to put the machine to sleep and guess what....kill the stream. Now I know that is not a fault of the Airport, but to me, since I need to use a laptop and have to have it open and on makes it a no go for me.
The one downside of many of these solutions is the fact that you have to have a computer running somewhere hosting your mp3's. While this is also the case with Squeeezbox you have other options do to the fact that the server software is open source and works on so many platforms. You don't need a full fledge computer running to host your music. There a bunch of NAS devices that have the ability to add software to them. It usually isn't a trivial process of getting the Slimserver running, but it can be done.
The web based server software is robust and pretty snappy, but it has been showing its age. A quick glance at the forums and you will see that one of the most requested features is an updated 21st century re-write of the server software. The current software can be slow since it is written entirely in Perl and relies on your web browser. There are plenty of people who seem to be fine with the speed and the lack of flexibility with some aspects but I suspect they have just gotten use to it and have accepted it for what it is. With the recent purchase of SlimDevices by Logitech and the expanded resources now available to the team we may see a fresh go at the software, but I couldn't imagine we would see anything till at least the end of the year. One thing we here at NetworkingAudioVideo are hoping for is for the Harmony Remote to be able to work with the Squeezebox.
Another great feature that Slimdevices offers its customers is you can try before you buy. Unlike anyone else out there, you can download a hardware simulator and run it on your computer. The application has a software representation of the player and the remote. This will hook into the server that you also ownloaded for free and are running on a computer in your home. This will allow you to try out all the features of the Squeezebox and the server software so you are able to evaluate if this is something you want to invest in or not. The only real difference between the two( other then the price and being real and all ) is that the software only version is a bit slower then the real deal, so don't be turned off if you find the software emulated version to be to slow for your liking.
Here is a quick list of some of the features we like the most about the Squeezebox:
- Remote Control
- Can connect to Internet radio stations
- Can play just about any music format
- Open source server software accessible via the web
Very customer focused company - Great forums where you can get just about any question you have answered
- You can have multiple Squeezeboxs sync up together in your home
- Can scan and use your existing iTunes library
- Can install server software on a growing list of embedded devices
Some things we aren't so crazy about:
- Server software is old and is in need of a revamp
- Typing in long wireless passwords can be a pain via the remote
As you can see our list of things we don't like is pretty small :)
File Types that the device supports( from their website )
Lossless Formats (Apple Lossless, FLAC, WMA Lossless)
"Bit-perfect" CD audio streaming, with reduced storage and bandwidth usage.
Approximately 2:1 compression ratio
Uncompressed formats (AIFF, WAV, PCM)
Supports raw pass-through of uncompressed PCM audio formats
Digital passthrough to S/PDIF for DTS
Compressed formats (MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, MP2, MusePack, WMA)
MPEG decoding uses MAD software, widely regarded as the most accurate, most compatible MP3 decoder.
High accuracy 24-bit synthesis
Supports all MP3 data rates and sample rates, including VBR
May be streamed in PCM (raw), MP3 (transcoded), or FLAC (transcoded) formats
Sound Check and Replay Gain support for automatic volume control.
Some formats may require additional software installation (e.g. Quicktime), depending on platform.
Our SqueezeBox is in the mail and should arrive any day now. We will be sure to document every aspect of it and come back with a very in depth review. Stay tuned!
At Amazon.
Read More in: Audio Streaming | Reviews | Squeezebox
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Posted by David Ficocello at February 27, 2007 6:49 AM
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