Just in case anyone's interested... the folks at www.slimdevices.com have just released a new version of the Squeezebox (now version 3) and a new version of the slimserver software (6.2).

Electronics are much the same as the SB2 but the external appearance has been substantially improved. New software adds native WMA decoding in the box (on top of WAV, FLAC, MP3) and a bunch of other stuff.

Clickable link.

Great stuff.
I was actually going to post a question about such devices, as I am seriously considering buying one of these (I was close to buying Squeezebox 2, but this one does look better).

So, has anyone got a Squeezebox 2 (3 isn't out until Nov 1st) and if so what are your opinions on it?
What about rivals (in a similar price range)?, e.g. the Roku SoundBridge.

BTW I'm storing my CD collection as FLACs on my PC, so immediately the Squeezebox looks favourable.

All thoughts, opinions welcomed.

Thanks

Can I play my MPC/WavPack files with this? It doesn't mention this or APE2 tags on the web site and this is a major issue for me. Does it make a difference I run it on Windows or Solaris ?

If this thing can play my archive on Solaris I'm buying one soon...

I do, it's great. what specifically do you want to know about it? FLAC support is excellent (see my review). only the form factor, not the guts, are different between 2 and 3.

Josh

[ http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_faq.html#formats ] = supports musepack

[ http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_specs.html ] = supports solaris (with PERL)

it doesn't mention wavpack at all, and does not seem to support APEv1/2 tags



later

format support with squeezebox/slimserver is really in two parts, playback and metadata.

slimserver has a pretty cool facility for on-the-fly transcoding to formats the squeezebox supports natively (pcm, mp3, flac, wma). so to play wavpack, as long as you get a binary on your platform that can decode to pcm to stdout, you can hack it in.

but getting it to recognize the metadata so that it gets into the index so that you can search on it, I think that is trickier and requires hacking the slimserver code.

Josh

edit: typos

just an FYI, you can get the roku soundbridge m500 for super cheap right now ($99) using coupon code M50099 at roku's store.

hehe, cool, i was thinking of asking the exact question myself some time ago, and forgot completely about it (life moves pretty fast )
That device looks great and all i wanted to know is some first hand experience.
so, tnx for the topic

I've been playing with the slimserver software for a while. Installed it on my Buffalo Linkstation and recently I bought a SqueezeBox2 and it's just a great piece of harware. It has an analog audio out as well as a coax and optical digital out.

This company is very responsive to user requests and questions. They've just recently implemented replaygain support for MP3, flac and maybe other formats...
A user recently requested audio out attenuation for matching the output of the Squeezebox to their amp and it was litterally implemented the same day. Talk about fast response.

I've just recently bought a second Linkstation 300GB HG that I'm going to dedicate solely to mp3 playback using the SB2. I consider that to be a vote of confidence for slimdevices!

Daniel

Pretty much what peeps have said here really. So thanks to all who have replied. The SlimServer software appears to be a great thing too.
It's just reasurring to know that people have got it, they use, it does what is says it does and does it well (seemingly), and is actually highly recommended.

I do have a couple of questions:
(1) the website says you need a wireless router. Will a Wi-Fi PC card do? or will that mean the card can only be utilised for the Squeezebox devcie?
(2) I'd prefer the new look and would liek to get one of these. However, if I want one now (or Nov 1st) I'll have to order from their site. Seems easy, but just worried about UK customs crap. So, has anyone ordered into the UK and what sort of charge, if any, did they make (or UPS make)? e.g. it looks as if $300 will be about £165, which with 17.5% tax is gonna be about £193 - seem about right?

What would be the advantage of one of these devices over let's say an ipod docked in a portable amplifier/speaker system such as made by altec lansing?
(provided I do not care about lossless playback and have all my existing audio files compressed in a format understood by both solutions....)

The squeezebox would have the advantage that my entire collection will be accessible on it no matter where I am in the house, provided I have network connectivity. It follows that it has the disadvantage that I'm dependent on network bandwidth and indeed availability of the network.

As I understand it you need to have a server running all the time? So when I reboot my pc, no more music for all family members anywhere in the house...?

You've already had plenty of positive feedback, and I'd just like to add my voice to the crowd.

In my case, I decided that the Squeezebox2 is such a good device that I've sold the CD player and preamp. (Between them they brought in about 10 times what I paid for the Squeezebox). The SB2 now drives my ATC SCM100A active monitors directly. These are seriously high-end speakers, and the SB2's internal DAC really is good enough for them. I was contemplating getting something like a Benchmark DAC1, but to be honest the SB2 on its own is so good that I've got better things to spend my money on.

Another bonus is that I was also able to remove a rack of over 1000 CDs from the living room to free up some additional space. SWMBO is very pleased.


It seems to me that the Squeezebox is the only network music player that has thought about the needs of the audiophile. The guys at Slim Devices clearly know their stuff. In contrast, Roku have just announced that their latest player (M1001, replacing the M1000) will resample everything to 48kHz. Quite apart from the potential loss of sound quality from 44.1kHz sources, this will break things like DTS pass-through and HDCD capability. They must have been smoking something pretty strong when they made that decision.

Also if you look on the plugins page on the site it appears one or two places will mod the box for higher quality outputs and the like.

It shouldn't need a wireless router as it has a wired version with 10/100Mbps ethernet.

Thanks cliveb - some usual and interesting info there.

I know they have a wired one, but I need the wireless version (PC is upstairs from the lounge).

A word of warning: if you check out the forums at Slim Devices' website, you'll see a fair number of threads about dropouts in the sound. The common factor in all these is that wireless networking is in use. I use my Squeezebox wired, and it never misses a beat. I get the feeling that wireless is prone to interference, and while that's ok for data (which can be resent if missed), it doesn't seem great for streaming audio (notwithstanding the Squeezebox's 64MB buffer). Seems to me that if you can use wired, it's the best option.

mmmmm... that's not really practical for me in my house - I'm not moving the PC into the lounge (wife definitely wouldn't allow that ). I'll have a look at their forums for some more reading.

For anyone thinking of this type of hardware, also look into SONOS. Its a bit different approach, but worth a look. If I were to go with a similar unit, I would also get the Slim unit over any other.

I have the original squeezebox.

I run wirelessly and have occasional dropouts even though the player is 20 feet from the WAP (through a wall, though). I suspect I could eliminate them completely by changing the setup to use mp3.

OTOH, they are really just occasional.

We are VERY happy with it. Our CD's are now kept in storage once they're ripped.

The new version is 802.11g and will probably do better in this regard, especially if they increased the buffer size (kinda like the old antiskip portable cd players ). If I had some spare change laying around, I'd be SORELY tempted. Availability is only a couple of weeks away, and I'd go for the new one if I were in the market.

Mark

This has been discussed on the slim forums, and the consensus is that you are better off buying from one of the various UK distributors. Not a lot different in price, but easier if you need to return anything. Some of the distributors are busy pitching for business on the slim forums right now!

BTW, I have two SB2s and I think they're great...

On the wireless question, yes quite a few people have found this tricky. However a lot more have them working fine. Both of my SB2s are working well on wireless, the only problem being that the one in the kitchen gives up when I use the microwave!

The responsiveness from slim and the open source community is incredible, the functionality is mindboggling, the sound quality is excellent, I haven't lost a CD in months, I've been listening to more and more music .......

How good can it get?

Well, if you're handy you could run some CAT cable cleanly through the walls and such. I'm not talking about wiring up the whole house mind you, just one or two convenient runs can work out nicely. Perhaps one from your computer to the "interesting" part of your house, and then a wireless router to spread things out wirelessly from there?

As for me, I still like my old Turtle Beach Audiotron. Alas, the company retired the Audiotron even though it won many awards. SB2 looks great.

Bill

Ok, thanks. Do you or anyone know which companies will be selling the SB3 in the UK? I know that dabs & advancedmp3players do sell the SB2, but a heads-up on those that are gonna sell the SB3 would be useful to know.


I'm not currently Wi-Fi enabled, so I have no idea about how my house will affect it. There is a microwave in between the lounge and computer room, but it's only gonna affect it when it's on, afaik.


Yes, it does indeed seem a very good set-up over at Slim


mmmm, interesting idea actually. Might be able to do this without too much effort. Probably gonna just see how the house affects Wi-Fi once I get all the bits.

I guess if all else fails with the wireless option, it can always be wired.

Thanks guys.

You don't need a wireless router, just a wireless card. I have my SB2 connected directly to my laptop's internal wireless card via an Ad-Hoc network connection. A few things about that are: 1) As far as I know only WEP is allowed that way, no WPA 2) it's also 802.11b only

With my laptop and SB2 in the same room I have no dropouts whatsoever. BTW, my internet connection is wired.

I'd also have to say that their support is great, whether it's through email or their forum.



Edit:
I forgot to post this link of a review http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue21/squeezebox2.htm

I had a Squeezebox 1 back in the day, liked it but returned it because it had no FLAC support. The 3 looks much nicer and seems much more versatile.

However in the interim I've become addicted to Foobar2K -- is there any way to make the Squeezebox work with F2K instead of slimserver software?

probably. there is slimserver protocol documentation in the distribution.

Josh

2) it's also 802.11b only??? What, the SB2 only works with 802.11b with a wireless card? Surely that's not right???

Having looked at wireless routers over the past few days, it seems that they might be my best bet to help reduce the chances of dropouts. Perhaps one that has a directional antenna would be best --> so that it can be directed at the room that needs the connection. That makes sense right?

i have a squeezebox (had it since february) and can honestly say its one of the 2 or 3 best items i have ever purchased. it has changed my life, quite literally. here's how:

i had about 500 or so cds that were collecting dust and REALLY bothered me just looking at them taking up space on a spinner rack in my living room. i got wind of the squeezebox and put in place my project to rid myself of cd's for good. i had a pc that i keep running 24/7 anyway (pretty damn fast too as i used it for lan gaming). i went out and bought two 250 gig hard drives and ripped my entire library over the course of a month or so to apple lossless format using itunes. everything fit quite nicely on one of the hard drives, and i used the second hd as a redundant backup in case disaster struck. hooked up the squeezebox, ran slimserver and the rest is history. i have 6000+ songs available within a few seconds at my fingertips, and they are perfectly recorded and sound bit for bit as they do on the cd. i boxed up the cds' threw them in the attic, and destroyed my spin rack. i am the toast of the town when we have guests, and everyone is left speechless by it all. i like to play games with them like ask them to name 2 or 3 artists and within a few seconds i'll have a song by that artist up and running to their delight.

the only other testimony i can offer other than the above story is from my wife. throughout the entire process i was pretty much screamed at, with comments like this is ridiculous, it will never work, don't touch MY cd's, stop wasting your time, this is too expensive, stop hogging the pc, etc. once i got everything up and running she not only apologized and admitted it was the coolest damn thing she'd ever seen, but she brought me every one of her cd's to convert as well...

as for wireless vs. wired playback, for me it was easy since i have a nice wired ethernet connection in the living room. wired is also between $50 and $70 cheaper than the wireless version.

SlimServer is more than just a simple media file server and "protocol." The Squeezebox UI is almost entirely running on your system/PC as "SlimServer." Think of the Squeezebox as a kind of audio-centric dumb terminal.

This is different than what most similar media playback boxes do.

http://www.cooltopia.co.uk/ are taking advanced orders.

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/shop/a...s=squee&x=9&y=5

These guys supply it in the UK and I have bought MP3 players from them in the past and they are very good!

Ok, thanks guys. I guess I was a little quick in looking for UK retailers given that SB3 had only just been announced.

Perhaps veering slightly off-topic, but can anyone recommend some wireless routers that would be perhaps more suitable to the SB3 (I guess a strong signal that can be directed to the area where the SB3 will be sitting would be useful). I'm on Telewest cable and so I've seen some routers saying they're ADSL or Cable - I assume this is one or the other, or is it just the manufacturers' naming terminlogy not syncing up right??

As you will have been able to tell by now, I'm not well versed in Wi-Fi, but I'm slowly getting there.

I'm also on Telewest cable and have 2 wireless Squeezeboxes. I use a Netgear WGR614 wireless router that supports 802.11g and have had no problems with it.

If a router says ADSL then that means it has an integrated ADSL modem - so you don't want this type of router if you have cable. Telewest only support cable modems that they provide so you need a router that uses ethernet on the WAN side to connect to your cable modem. UK dealers may advertise this as "cable ready" router.

The Squeezebox has a measurement of received wireless strength. One of my Squeezeboxes is the other side of a thick wall from the router and is at about 80% while the other is in a bedroom upstairs and through several walls and is about 40% but I've had no problems with cut-offs.

I would also echo the comments made about how great a product the Squeezebox is. I'm visiting the Mac Expo in London tomorrow where they are exhibiting the Squeezebox 3 and the chances are I'll order a Squeezebox 3 as well to equip another room with music.

I'd also recommend a software application called Music Magic Mixer from www.predixis.com to go with the Squeezebox. Even with 1000's of tracks available from your remote control, it is still easy just to listen to the same stuff. Music Magic Mixer automatically generates playlists of "similar but different" music based upon the acoustic properties of a selected track and you can do this from the Squeezebox remote control or browser interface. I've found it an excellent way of highlighting music that I've forgotten or never really listened to.

One problem with the Squeezebox (+ iPod) is that the amount of money I've spent on CDs and downloads has increased massively since getting them as both products have made it so much easier to listen to music at home and on the go.

I know, I've been in the code a little bit. I didn't say it would be easy, my point was that depending on the foobar api it might be possible to write a proxy plugin to allow a squeezebox to play through foobar. it would be a lot of extra work to implement the exact same UI and everything else slimserver does (internet radio, plugins, etc) but not necessary to get basic playback working.

Josh

Sorry, I should've been more clear. If you connect directly to the Squeezebox via Ad-Hoc connection (No Router), then it's b only. But if you use a router, of course you can use g. I don't have a router so I have no choice regarding connection type.

I've never heard of this before. Did someone at Slim tell you this, or is this first hand experience? We use ad-hoc mode all the time for demos (with both Dell inspirons and powerbooks) and I'm pretty sure it always connects in .g mode.

Sean Adams
CEO, Slim Devices

i know that some (if not many) wireless G cards will only support B in Ad-hoc mode.

Hmm...While reading a bunch of articles trying to figure out how to set up a connection I thought I came across one saying that. Looking them up again, all I found is one saying that the IEEE 802.11 standard requires a maximum speed of at least 11 Mbps. Sort of a minimum maximum, I guess you'd call it. Faster speeds are possible, but not required. That's probably where I got the idea of Ad-Hoc being b only. BTW, I just tried setting my card to g only and for some reason I can't connect. It'll probably take some tinkering for me to get that right.

It's nice to see you posting here Sean, I have another username over in the Slim forums. It's great to see how involved you and the staff are over there. I hope that never changes!

Bug filed: http://bugs.slimdevices.com/show_bug.cgi?id=2436

Please add your email so you can automatically be notified of updates.



I'm definitely a forum junkie.

But for future reference, if you find a very specific bug or problem it will get noticed LOT a quicker on Slim's bugzilla (or our fora). Also I'm not sure if hydrogenaudio wants this sort of traffic, but we're happy to pop in if we can help.

I am also looking at adding a SB3. It is my understanding, however, that 1) the DAC in the SB3 is an upgraded Burr-Brown 24bit unit from the SB2, and 2) that the more vertical form of the SB3 coupled with the two internal antennaes it contains should effectively address earlier reported drop outs with the SB2. Are these understandings correct?

Not true. The hardware internals of the SB2 and SB3 are virtually identical. See Slim Devices wiki.


Sorry, can't help you there. My Squeezebox is a wired one. From comments I've seen on the Slim Devices forums, I get the impression that the only people who get dropout problems are using wireless: if you can go for a wired connection, it's the sure fire way of guaranteeing trouble free operation. Your best bet would be to ask this question on the Slim Devices forum.

Thanks for the response, the answers, and the link. The link and SlimSys' forums moved me well up my learning curve.

Just got my SB3 today with wireless 'g' router. I'll let you know how it goes. So exciting