Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best device for streaming audio, 29 Aug 2007
I ordered the squeezebox with some trepidation. I have previously owned the Philips Streamium (clunky software, and not fully Vista-compatible) and the Logitech Wireless DJ (looks great but really isn't a finished product) and neither really lived up to expectations. Squeezebox, however, is different.
As other reviewers have noted, the Squeezebox (it's now a logitech product and will come with a Logitech logo on it - rather than the SlimDevices logo shown in the pictures on this page) has the 'finished product' feel that the others lack.
Setup was really straightforward. First you download SlimServer from the web (which is fully Vista compatible) and it searches your hard drive for any music files. It indexes them in the same way as I-tunes automatically. The interface is web-driven and worked fine for me in IE7, Firefox 2 and Opera 9. Next you connect Squeezebox to your router (use an ethernet cable) and key in your wireless network settings. Squeezebox accepts WEP, WPA and WPA-2, which is much better than the Roku Soundbridge (for example). You use your remote control to enter the WPA key and you're away.
In use, Squeezebox is fast and straightforward. There are basically two separate programs in the firmware. One is the SlimServer, which you can use to play your music collection (it supports nearly all file formats), or to browse internet radio. You'll benefit from a Live365 passowrd (which you get from www.live365.com and is free), which you key in to the web at www.slimdevices.com. The web links to your own Squeezebox through a PIN. Live365 gives you access to 1000's of web radio programs (though to avoid adverts, you would need to buy a live365 subscription at around $50US). The second is the SqueezeNetwork, which lets you access the internet radio (Live 365, Pandora etc) and RSS newsfeeds with your PC switched off. Pandora is only available in the US, though....
Sound quality is excellent, and the display size can be varied to suit the short-sighted, or with some basic (but fun) visualisations. I've had no buffering problems or drop-outs at all on a standard home broadband connection.
Connections to your amp can be by RCA phono plug (the usual red-and-white cable) or by optical or coaxial audio cable.
All-in-all I'm very - VERY - pleased. If you're in the market for a streaming, audio-only device to connect to your HiFi, this is the one!
|
|
|
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Buy Buy Buy!!!, 2 Oct 2007
I have been searching for an audio streaming solution for some time and all the reviews of other options were very mixed, especially on multi function equipment which just seems to try to do too much. The Squeezbox works and works very well indeed. I set mine up in ten minutes, after reading the manual first (breaking the habit of a lifetime), no problems so far, sound quality is excellent considering where its coming from and I gave up Audiophile status in the 1980's. I am happy with what I hear, no dropouts, wireless is very reliable and the server software for the resource PC is very simple and effective. I was a bit concerned about being able to see the screen from across the room, but the display is superb and is easily visable at its largest setting from 10-12 feetaway. buy one today!!
|
|
|
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb wireless Internet radio !, 7 Sep 2007
Well, I agree with the majority of reviewers who report how good this is, and wonder if the solitary disappointed reviewer has got a bad example - the alternative explanation is too terrible to contemplate! I also am a hi fi buff, with several £000s of Linn etc high end separates in my regular sound system - and am VERY HAPPY with what the Squeezebox does. One thing I did notice is that the Squeezebox does not sound at all good played through my Linn amps (very muffled sound), so maybe there are incompatibilities with some specific systems?
My main use is for streaming Internet radio through my secondary hi fi system (a very nice little Denon micro setup), the installation worked fine, and the music quality is excellent. Try radioparadise.com for a superb eclectic mix of music from the 60s to the present, without adverts.
EVERYONE who has listened to this in my home has been impressed, and many are now considering buying one themselves .............
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|