Last month I wrote a comprehensive review of the Sonos Digital Music System. While the Sonos is an excellent piece of equipment, it is aimed at the high-end audio audience looking to control multiple rooms with the same device. Meanwhile, the Squeezebox by Slim Devices (a Logitech company) is priced at a reasonable $299 and well-suited for a single room audio setup.
What is it?
The Squeezebox is a powerful audio device harnessing the power of the Internet to deliver music from your own music collection, Internet radio stations and music services, like Pandora and Rhapsody, to your speakers. The Squeezebox is a remarkably small device at only 7.6"W x 3.7"H x 3.1"D. Unlike the Sonos which needs at least one Ethernet connection, the Squeezebox can subsist entirely on your wireless network. It was able to successfully connect to my WPA2-encrypted Wi-Fi network.
I love the fact that the Squeezebox is small enough to have multiple uses. Instead of just being part of your audio system, you could even have the Squeezebox on your desk and use it with headphones – an ideal setup for the college dorm life where many students resort to the use of headphones instead of roommate-angering speakers.
Initial Setup
Squeezebox setup is rather painless assuming you have a pre-existing amplifier and pair of speakers or amplified computer speakers. All you need to do is connect the Squeezebox to your speakers, plug it in and follow the connection wizard on the screen. There are outputs for headphone mini jack, analog RCA, digital optical and digital coax so you should be able to connect any type of audio system.
As I mentioned earlier, you can opt to utilize either an Ethernet connection or your Wi-Fi network. I chose the wireless method and am happy to report that the Squeezebox has had no issues accessing my wireless router 2 floors down. For those worried about distances, the Squeezebox can even tell you what your wireless connection strength is like.
Details
The highlight of the Squeezebox is a seductive green VFD bright enough to display everything from track information and RSS feeds as well as animations like digital and analog VU meters. Since you are heavily dependent upon the Squeezebox’s display, there are three different screen orientations (large 1-line, medium 2-line, and small 2-line) as well as several brightness settings.
Overall, I enjoyed the Sonos’ method of control via a large remote with a display rather than having to be close enough to the Squeezebox to read the display. But I can certainly live with the cheaper price of the Squeezebox.
Networks
SlimServer
There are two “networks” which the Squeezebox may connect to. One is the SlimServer and it involves installing software on your Windows/Mac/Linux box (yup, they support Linux!). SlimServer simply runs a local server on your machine so the Squeezebox can access your MP3, WMA, WAV, FLAC, AAC and Ogg music files. On my Mac, SlimServer was able to recognize my iTunes installation with ease and provide me access to my playlists on the Squeezebox.
(Sidenote: I did run into a slight issue where I had to open ports in the OS X firewall, but the Slim Devices FAQ had that covered.)
The SlimServer software goes the extra step and creates a local website that allows you to fully control the Squeezebox when it’s connected to the SlimServer.
The SlimServer network, also shown on the Squeezebox as Squeezebox Home, has several plugin features. After a while of not interacting with the Squeezebox, a screensaver of your choice may be activated. Currently you may choose from a date and time screensaver, music visualizer screensaver and RSS news ticker screensaver among others. You can also browse podcast directories such as PodcastAlley and Odeo.
SqueezeNetwork
The other network the Squeezebox can connect to is the SqueezeNetwork. While the SlimServer dealt with music files hosted on your computer, SqueezeNetwork primarily deals with Music on Demand services and Internet radio (although you can access Internet radio stations in both networks). Support for Pandora Radio, Rhapsody and Live Music Archive is included out of the box. Services like Rhapsody and Pandora do require a paid subscription after the trial period ends.
Not to be outdone by the SlimServer’s website, SqueezeNetwork has its own website that allows you to fully control the Squeezebox as well. Through the SqueezeNetwork site you can keep track of your MP3tunes, Rhapsody, Pandora, Live365, RadioIO and RadioTime accounts, control several Squeezeboxes, and play music from any Internet radio station or Music on Demand service on your Squeezebox.
While the website is extremely handy, it needs to be built out more and mature a bit. I found it a little annoying to browse the massive Rhapsody music guide with the way the SqueezeNetwork website was setup. For example, everything important seems to be on the bottom half of the site, below “the fold” and requires a lot of scrolling – small things like that ruin the experience. Fortunately, the website is only complementary and you need not rely on it for anything after setup. Everything that can be done through the SqueezeNetwork or SlimServer websites can be done through the remote control as well.
However, the site does make things like adjusting settings easier than traversing through lengthy menus on the Squeezebox.
Thoughts
So far I have covered the two things that comprise the Squeezebox experience – the SlimServer and SqueezeNetwork networks. One is dedicated to facilitating the access of your personal music collection through your audio system while the latter focuses on Music on Demand services to bring you any type of music you might fancy at that moment. However, you should keep in mind that the Squeezebox cannot play DRM-protected songs, such as those purchased on the iTunes store (not to be confused with the DRM-free iTunes Plus music).
So what about the audio quality? It’s great. While that may seem unjustifiable, especially over an online review, I can back that up with some technical details. The Squeezebox’s audio circuitry utilizes a 24-bit Burr-Brown (a Texas Instruments company) DAC, well-known for clean output and low distortion, for analog RCA output. While audio quality cannot be attributed solely to such a chip, it definitely helps that Slim Devices is using good silicon. Speaking of silicon, check out the Squeezebox’s PCB:
If you don’t buy the Squeezebox for its features, buy it for its amazing engineering. Everything it can do is from this compact, well-designed circuit board.
If you look closely at the top middle and top right sections of the board, you’ll see that the Squeezebox is wielding dual 802.11b/g Wi-Fi antennas. That’s good news if your wireless network doesn’t completely penetrate all regions of your house.
Worth It?
When I first received the Squeezebox my first impressions were pretty much as follows: “Damn, this is small!”, “Mmm, green VFD.”, “Wow, what can’t this do?”. Those sentiments remain after testing the Squeezebox for several weeks. It is the epitome of an affordable Internet-enabled music device.
I only came across a few things that weren’t up to snuff: the SqueezeNetwork website lacks functional usability and the Infrared remote control works but doesn’t “go beyond” like everything else about the Squeezebox (perhaps jump on the RF bandwagon and explore various button layouts and form factors?).
Other than that, the Squeezebox is spectacular for its $299 price tag, which can easily be justified if you spend a several hours per day listening to Internet radio/MOD services. Bottom line, the Squeezebox has an easy setup, support for Wi-Fi networks with WPA Personal, WPA2-AES and 64/128-bit WEP encryption as well as SlimServer software with support for Windows, Mac and Linux.
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great review paul. it’s got me interested in something like that, especially since it works with itunes. But it looks like it does not do .aac or other apple file formats – is that true?
http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_squeezebox.html?#formats
It can play pretty much anything as long as it’s not DRM’d.
I was able to run just about anything through it except, as mentioned, iTunes-protected AAC files (m4p).
Great review, definitely more reasonably priced than the Sonos system
Great review Paul! But for the price, you can also get an AppleTV. Which can do a whole lot more than just music. But then, for the time being, I’m guessing the Squeezebox does music better than AppleTV. How long till we see internet radio added to the AppleTV though?
Maybe never. Am I the only one noticing how the internet radio section of iTunes looks exactly the same as in version 1? Looks like Apple is not trying to push music from which they don’t earn money. Which is understandable, but still…
It is a very nice device, but even after reading this, I’m still glued on buying an Apple TV box.
Hi Paul. You should get your review added to their reviews page.
http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_reviews.html?
Also: what is the fee for using Pandora? that would be my primary use case, but I’m not sure I use it enough for a monthly fee. I like “one time costs” where possible.
@Andy – I think it is $3/month for Pandora but don’t take my word for it.
Great review Paul! Told ya you’d love the Squeezebox, I’m still gloating about it from a theoretical standpoint, as I’ve never touched one. Can’t wait till I have an excuse to get one though. Stuff in my place is all within close enough proximity that I don’t really NEED to have a wireless music system like this, and I can run cable from my LynxOne soundcard to my amp and get even better sound quality than that on the Squeezebox (which is apparently quite good). Keep up the good work, I think your last few reviews have been awesome.
nice review paul. I am struggling t understand its use for a college student though….. surely its cheaper and easier just to play everything through your mac? The only time you can use it without having the mac on is when your listening to internet radio.
You have the same setup of mac and dorm room like me…. just cant grasp why people would want it in that situ….. except for that its a great device i cn really see its purpose in a house.
Hey Paul, I’ve done a little searching, but can’t find the answer: do you know if you can still “thumb” music on Pandora via the squeezebox remote? Since it works with multiple services, not sure if they programmed-in this functionality. That would be a real leg-up over using a laptop, AppleTV, or other device that is not a true “hardware partner” to Pandora. Thanks.
@andy – yes, you can thumb up music. when a song is playing you just move to the right and it has the option there.
Thanks for the quick answer Paul! that’s great they included that functionality. The supported Sprint photos allow users to thumb music too, so your single Pandora account just keeps getting better and better.
I emailed Tim Westergren about Xbox 360 and PS3 support, and he said there are definitely plans, but it is a ways off. I think in the meantime, the Squeezebox fits the bill.
Hi Paul,
Once plugged in, can you use your stereo & it’s speakers just as you did before? No unplugging the device to hear as before?
My PC is upstairs – do you need to be viewing your monitor when using this to listen to music?
Have you found out if there is any subscription charge for Pandora with this device (as free to listen via PC)? If I subscribe to Rhapsody, I can use this at no extra charge through this device?
Does this offer CD quality sound?
Thanks for your help!
Bob
@Robert – no you don’t have to be next to your computer to play music.. that’s only for configuration and stuff. Yeah and you just need to hook it up to your speakers as you would with your ipod. Quality is dependent on the stream if it’s Internet radio (some stations do offer CD quality) or the quality of your own music if it is playing from that.
As for rhapsody, you’d just have to pay for rhapsody – using it via the squeezebox is free.
Hi Paul,
Thanks for your prompt response.
Once plugged in, can you use your stereo & it’s speakers just as you did before? No unplugging the device to hear as before? (I don’t have an ipod so I don’t know how that affects speaker use through a stereo receiver).
Have you found out if there is any subscription charge for Pandora with this device (as free to listen via PC)?
Thanks for your help!
Bob