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Media Servers Media Streamers Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music Streamer
Media Servers
| Squeezebox Duet Wireless Music Streamer |
| Written by John E. Johnson, Jr. | ||||||
| Sunday, 11 January 2009 17:00 | ||||||
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Conclusions We all would like to be able to play our CD collection in several rooms of our house, but rummaging through the pile of CDs is a pain, and they could be spread out in all those rooms and difficult to locate. A Media Server solves that problem, but dedicated units are very expensive. Using your PC to rip and store your CDs, along with an inexpensive wireless music streamer in the other rooms is the answer for those of us on a budget. The Squeezebox Duet is just such a product, is easy to set up, does have a bit of a learning curve, but the music plays and it sounds great. All at a fraction of the cost of a dedicated music server. UPDATE 11/16/09: I have had a Squeezebox Duet for more than a year. I had initial difficulties getting it connected to my network, and several months later, same thing. Tech support on the phone helped me through the process, but it was not easy. Lots of unplugging things, taking the battery out of the handset, etc. Comments (15)
Ripping and Tagging
written by Paul Hartman , January 13, 2009 With regards to your comment on a tagger being part of SqueezeCenter - I think this is of limited value if you do a diligent job of ripping/tagging at the onset. I prefer to use EAC which is widely acknowledged as one of the leading PC programs for this task. It pulls in the tags at the time the CD is ripped and you can easily check and edit the tags as required at that time. I agree that SqueezeCenter needs work on playlists and some other interface issues but overall this has to be one of the most versatile, relatively "inexpensive" ways to set up a music server with much expandability both in terms of number of rooms served and adding an external DAC for increased sound quality. With the open source platform of the SqueezeCenter software, there is a large community that supports this device with enhanced functionality. I do think that someone who is not comfortable with wireless networking and is not likely to spend time playing with the SqueezeCenter software will not get the most out of this system. But for those folks I guess there is always the megabuck Soolos system or other dedicated, high-end music servers that cost many thousands of dollars. Overall, I think this is a product that will continue to grow - thank you for your thoughtful interview.
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written by JEJ , January 13, 2009 The whole idea of having the tagger in the SqueezeCenter software is so that you don't have to use additional software to retag the album you just ripped with the correct title and artist. You have to open SqueezeCenter and rescan your music library to have the newly ripped CDs show up in the list. You might as well retag them there at the same time. Opening an additional program to do this is simply inefficient.
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written by ped , January 13, 2009 I believe you are missing Paul's point John. If you use a full featured ripper such as the free EAC, J. River's MediaJukebox or nearly free dbPoweramp and take care to set them up correctly, then the tagging is done properly when you rip the CD and if not, you can make corrections with the same programs. Also, the display on the SqeezeBox classic is VFD not LED :)
Squeezebox Tips
written by Greg Mahoney , January 13, 2009 This version of the Squeezebox can also be controlled as can previous versions of the squeezebox from a web browser. Make sure you set the computer that is acting as the server to a static IP address on your router. In my case the server is at Http://192.168.1.119:9000. I can then access and control any of my Squeezebox appliances through any web browser which includes my laptop, PDA or my iPhone by typing in that address in the browser. The SqueezeCenter software has a dropdown that allows you to select which of your squeezebox units that you are controlling and you can have multiple streams with different playlists. You can even experience how a squeezebox would work without even owning one by downloading the opensource SoftSqueeze software http://softsqueeze.sourceforge.net/ to your laptop ot desktop computer. This software will work with the software you download for any Squeezebox here: http://www.slimdevices.com/su_downloads.html. This way you can try out the experience on your laptop or PC. I would bet that the majority of people who try this out will buy a Squeezebox Duet or Classic for their audio system.
Interesting
written by NoStrings , January 14, 2009 Your review is spot on. I absolutely love the Duet, and haven't touched my high end CD player (no internal DAC) since installing it. I run it into my DAC, and didn't bother with a side by side comparison, but wouldn't have worried about it either way. I did find the software part of things a pain though. All you software geeks (and I mean that in an envious way) understand what to do, but us oldies need it to be simpler. I would love to do my music searches via an iTouch album cover kind of way. As you get older, there goes the eyesight, and it's just easier to see and recognize an album cover, rather than "words." I love the Duet's remote, but the iTouch would be much better with its larger and easy-to-view screen; especially, if it had the Apple album cover feature. Anyone willing to pass along how this might be done, including Secrets to Home Theater, would be awesome.
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written by JEJ , January 14, 2009 I am not missing the point at all. You seem to be missing the point. The tagging is done properly when it is ripped. The problem is that often, the title is not spelled correctly, or it has Japanese characters, or you just want to change the title to be easier to read on the handset. None of the programs you mentioned will correct these problems automatically. After ripping CDs, you have to open SqueezeCenter to rescan. Once rescanned, the new albums now show up in the list. The most efficient way of retagging is to do it then and there in that new list of albums.
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written by Dan , January 14, 2009 When I use EAC to rip my CD's, I see all of the tag metadata displayed *before* I actually start the ripping process. It is at this point I can correct any metadata errors that may exist. As such, once ripped, I never have a need to ever retag my files.
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written by ped , January 15, 2009 Thanks John, It would have been better form for me to ask for clarification of what you you wrote rather than making an assumption. Now that I understand where you are coming from I guess I can see where at least a basic tagger to correct the odd typo or genre would be beneficial. Taking the concept a bit further it would be nice and even more efficient if the ripper/manager was part of the package as well. @NoStrings, There are several interface applications available for the iPod Touch/Phone, some are free on the web, poke around the SlimDevices forum and some are available through the ITunes "App Store". I don't know them well enough to say if they already have the "CoverFlow" functionality but I'm sure they eventually will. For the times you may access Squeeze Center with a PC or laptop there is a nifty interface called "Moose" that provides a very slick coverflow-ish functionality as well as a very nice search feature. Check out the "3rd Party Plugins" section at the SlimDevices forum for that one.
Editing Tags in SqueezeCenter
written by Paul Hartman , January 18, 2009 John, I see your point. Being able to edit a "mistake" in the tagging within the SqueezeCenter program would be more convenient. The manual re-scan is a bit of a pain as well. I am a fan of an external DAC though...
Power Supply
written by Richard , February 06, 2009 Nobody has mentioned the benefits of a really good external power supply to replace the standard supplied one. This is a massive improvement in all areas of the sound spectrum but can be expensive. I bought mine from Paul Hynes Design at http://www.paulhynesdesign.com/ and it is just short of £200 but well worth it in a High End system with a decent external DAC. I wouldn't be without it.
Retracted Recommendation
written by sean , November 16, 2009 The author posted an update to his original review, stating that he has to "retract" his recommendation for the product. This was due to issues he had with configuration of the device in his wireless network. I just wanted to comment, providing an alternate point of view. I own two Logitech Squeezeboxes, and am a very satisfied customer. They consistently operate successfully on my wifi network, and I've never had to deal with configuration issues more complex than those typical of any wifi network. Because of the fact that it does involve integration into a wireless network, there is a certain amount of complexity that goes beyond what you might expect from other types of stereo equipment. But there are many people like myelf who successfully use Squeezeboxes in a wireless environment on a regular basis. Logitech Sqeezebox - highly recommended.
Retracted Recommendation
written by Bob , November 16, 2009 Read the thread cited by the reviewer. Does it really matter if someone does not have problems with un-named Squeezebox products? It is clear from the thread that the Duet is the problematic member of Squeezebox family. You simply do not have this level of issues with Squeezebox, Transporter or the Boom model. Logitech seems more focused on releasing new products than stabilizing existing products.
Squeezebox Duet - Outstanding Product
written by Eric , November 16, 2009 I've own several Squeezebox products, including the Duet. Squeezeboxes are outstanding hardware that work great, as advertised. As for the author's problems, it's really too bad he didn't post about his particular troubles in the forums. Many users would have been happy to help out. One more amazing feature that the prior poster did not mention. The entire Squeezebox lineup is upgradeable. Not only by Logitech, but by 3rd parties in the public domain too. So new features and additional capabilities are regularly added all the time - and for free. I 2nd the above poster - Squeezeboxes - highly recommended.
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written by JEJ , November 17, 2009 Out of all products made by all manufacturers, there will always be some consumers who like the product and have no problem. Windows Vista was almost universally condemned by everyone, including the press and users, because of myriad flaws. But, I know one person who told me he loves Vista and has never had a problem. No matter how lousy the product, someone out there will like it. The Slim Devices forum on the Duet - http://forums.slimdevices.com/...hp?t=59863 tells you what's going on with the Duet. The hardware is fine. But the software that drives the connectivity is a disaster. If you are lucky, it will work. But, after having gone through three situations where I had to contact tech support to get the connection back to working, and going around in circles unplugging the router, unplugging the Squeezebox receiver, taking the battery out of the handset, I realized this product just does not cut it in terms of usability. The connectivity software needs a major overhaul, but I suspect this will not happen. Highly unrecommended.
Duet works fine for me, but not without trouble
written by jeffbar , November 17, 2009 I've had the SD for almost a year and there were times I almost returned. Yet I bought a new N router (sends out stronger G signals) and Logitech ultimately improved the software to the point that it works fantastic for me now. I really have no problems anymore. That said, I understand why the reviewer retracted his recommendation. It's been a hassle at times, for sure. I am just glad I am not one of the people who experiences constant problems because it is a drag. Write comment
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