Squeezebox Wireless Network Music Player, Black

Other products by Squeezebox

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8.5 x 7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000BYCU9O
• Item model number: SDI-SBX3W-01-B
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #36,077 in Electronics (See Bestsellers in Electronics)

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  Electronics > Home Audio & Theater > Multiroom Digital Music Systems

• Date first available at Amazon.com: November 1, 2005

Product Description

Amazon.com Review
Deciding how to offer a review of the third-generation Squeezebox by Slim Devices without gushing forth a stream of typical market-speak accolades ("Incredible!" "Outstanding!" "A must-have for any music lover!") is not easy. And even more difficult, given all that Squeezebox has going for it, is deciding where to start describing the wealth of features this little box boasts.

Squeezebox gives you full control over your entire digital music library. And it couldn't be easier.

Stereo level meters are a nice touch. View larger.

All the connections you need are on the back. See detail.

From Digital Files to High Performance
Although the tools to convert CDs to digital files have become standard fare on nearly every computer, by comparison the tools needed to play those files on a high-performance sound system can be clunky, inconvenient, and downright frustrating to use. Until recently, our options have been either to drag expensive computers to the living room and wire them directly to our stereos, or to buy an expensive digital music player that we then need to continually plug and unplug.

Enter Squeezebox to save us from this hassle. After plugging this streamlined device into your stereo via a standard RCA cable, and taking all of five minutes to download software to your computer and configure Squeezebox to your wireless network (okay, maybe seven minutes if you're chewing gum at the same time), you can immediately start "pulling" music off your Mac or PC for full-sounding playback through your entertainment system. Imagine being able to keep your computer on your desk, and your digital player in your pocket, and still crank your digital music with abandon! It's really that simple: within a few minutes of unpacking the Squeezebox, your digital files are yours for the asking from the comfort of your couch. (Squeezebox is also offered in a "wired-only" model that connects directly to the Internet via an Ethernet cable.)

Once Squeezebox is set up, it immediately presents your music on its easy-to-read display by genre, artist, song, album and even year. With the help of a handy remote, you can scroll through just about every music file on your computer and play songs in whatever sequence you desire. As long as your digital files are in a single location (in your iTunes folder, for instance), Squeezebox will get them to you. Although your computer must be on in order to play your digital files, you don't necessarily have to start it up just to play your music. Squeezebox also gives you the option of using the remote to wake your PC or Mac from a "sleep" state remotely, adding to the system's ultimate ease of use.

Squeezebox offers lots of setup options.

A handy remote is included. View larger.

Squeezebox supports most popular formats, such as AAC (on Mac or Windows), and AIFF, FLAC, MP3, Ogg Vorbis, WAV or WMA (Windows only). The sound quality is limited only by how well you burned your CDs in the first place, and by the performance of your entertainment system.

Surely there must be a catch, you're probably thinking. In fact, there are a couple of glitches that beg for improvement in the next-generation model.

First, while you can create play lists for Squeezebox on your computer via the software's browser interface -- a somewhat clunky procedure --, or with the remote itself -- an easier, though still time-consuming process --, Squeezebox could not access the play lists we had already created in our iTunes player. According to the manufacturer, only iTunes users suffer from this problem; Squeezebox recognizes lists created in Windows Media and other popular players. The second issue has to do with encrypted files. Simply put, it can't play any files you purchase or download from an online store, such as the iTunes Music Store, that are protected. For those files, you'll have to continue to resort to the primitive plug-and-play method.

Internet Radio without a Computer
In addition to playing digital files, you can use Squeezebox to stream Internet radio straight into your living room without a computer. Squeezebox feeds directly from your wireless network to do this. With the Web interface, or via the remote, you can create a list of your favorite Internet radio stations for streaming. Squeezebox also comes loaded with several stations covering the full array of musical genres, from jazz and world music, to 70's pop and 90's electronica. For news junkies, Squeezebox can also stream your favorite RSS feeds across its aqua blue display.

About the size of a bedside digital alarm clock, Squeezebox can sit inconspicuously on any horizontal surface. The ports, all located on the back of the unit, include a mini headphone jack, RCA connections, a digital optical output and coax output, and an Ethernet connection. An extremely intuitive interface on Squeezebox lets you easily configure the display's text size, illumination, screen saver, and track information.

Until the day comes when affordable entertainment systems exist that offer seamless convergence of wireless Internet and digital technology with high-performance playback, Squeezebox will let you share your digital music loudly and clearly with just a few clicks of the remote.

Pros:

• A seamless way to stream digital music through entertainment systems
• Offers easy and remote access to all unencrypted digital music files on our computer
• Streams Internet radio through your receiver without a computer

Cons:

• Does not play encrypted music files from online digital services
• Does not recognize iTunes playlists
• Creating playlists can be time consuming

What's in the Box
Squeezebox Network Music Player, AC power adaptor (appropriate plug by region), user's manual, SlimServer software (requires download), custom infrared remote (2 AAA batteries included), and 6-foot gold plated RCA patch cord.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 52 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing Audiophile Sound..cool product features, February 9, 2006

By	Glass Audio lover "netgear customer" (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Why are audiophiles buzzing about this inexpensive product? It is the first mass consumer unit to sound as good as much more expensive audio products. I had it up and running with my wireless network in 15 minutes, and was simply stunned by how good it sounded playing my music on computer. Even the internet radio playing through this unit sounded better than any standard radio tuner. Read my experience at musicserver.blogspot.com

I have a huge investment in my current audio system (more than $20k). I read about the Squeezebox on one of the audiophile websites, and was intrigued by having all my music accessible on a computer, but with sound quality to match my high end CD player. After a month of living with the Squeezebox, I can confirm how good it sounds, how simple it is to set up, and how versatile it is. I have not turned on my $3000 CD transport in 2 weeks, and plan on selling it shortly.

I encourage anyone ready to set up a computer system to visit my blog at musicserver.blogspot.com to see how easy it was to set up your music collection on a computer.

For the 95% of people out there who don't understand or care about audiophile quality sound, don't worry. A stock Squeezebox playing your music stored on your computer will sound better than anything you can buy for any reasonable amount of money.

For the uninitiated, a Squeezebox is part of a system of storing your CD collection on computer, and you use the Squeezebox to access/browse your computerized music collection. You need a computer, of course, and to get the best sound quality, you need to rip your music using a high quality format, like WAV or Apple Lossless or FLAC. It works with computers running Windows, Linux or Apple operating systems, and it does not require an expensive computer. Many users are running it with a laptop! It connects to your computer either wirelessly (using built in wifi connection) or via an ethernet cable.

After a month of playing with this unit, I cannot see how I could ever go back to using a CD player. I love being able to tune in and listen to Internet radio stations without having my computer turned on. I bought another Squeezebox for the family home theater system; now my wife can play my collection without me having to worry about misplaced cd's or the kids scratching CD's!!

For hardcore audiophiles who are dubious about how an inexpensive box can compete with separates, read my blog. This box is the real deal, and when upgraded (and particularly when used with your favorite high end external DAC), it is awesome!!! If you don't have or don't want a external DAC, the Squeezebox can be modified by a number of companies to upgrade the existing DAC and produce sound quality to rival top high end players.

The audiophile press and internet gurus are abuzz about this product for good reason. I was pretty skeptical, but it was so cheap I figured I had little to lose. I am not one to gush about gear, but this box is just phenomenal!!! I've rediscovered my music.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars They sould all be this good, December 31, 2005

By	Pat Furrie (Deltona, FL) - See all my reviews

Fantastic.

That's the short story.

There are plenty of well-marketed but poorly designed consumer electronics out there, many from companies who often rely on their corporate size to impress users. But much of what they're selling is marginal when it comes down to it.

Not this time.

I've been on the prowl for some time, hunting for a networked media player to put in our living room, in order to leverage the large music database I have organized on our home "server." My wife really likes music in the house, and it had been a while since we had a reasonable means to play her collection. I'd done some searching through many electronics review sites, as well as Consumer Reports and user forums, trying to find some way to compare apples to oranges; most devices do different combinations of things, so it is tough to sort out what we would need.

Wired connectivity was contemplated, as I didn't want to put a burden on our household wireless network, which gets pretty busy with everyone in the family accessing our server's image library, scans folders, using print services, and automated backup tasks pushing loads of information over our 802.11g setup. Also, since our network is running WPA-PSK on the wireless, this would limit the number of media players if I opted to go wireless.

However... I wasn't sure where the player would eventually end up, and didn't want the trouble of running a new network wire down the walls. A check of media player capabilities turned up the Squeezebox 3 as a player which they claimed could handle WPA-PSK. Another media player, SoundBridge by Roku, was in the running up to that point, but it has no WPA-PSK, which is important for a secure home wireless network.

But I learned the Slim Device's Squeezebox has more unique features that made it a standout player, including its abilities to play more audio types and can act as a wireless network bridge. Never mind that, aesthetically, the Squeezebox is gorgeous.

After placing my online order for a wireless Squeezebox, I found that their SlimServer software is free to download, even if you don't have a Squeezebox, and was necessary for the Squeezebox to work. I wasn't thrilled about needing to run a separate application on the server. An email was sent to the tech people at Slim Devices, and a reply was sent quickly, and they assured me the SlimServer ap takes very little processor overhead. [Note: The SlimServer software is better than other player server software, because the volume control goes to 11, not just 10]

It also turns out someone out there has written "Softsqueeze," which acts as a Squeezebox emulator on a PC, and is free to boot. This allowed me to setup and test the SlimServer software prior to the Squeezebox arriving, including the setting up of a Christmas playlist for my wife.

The Squeezebox has no speakers, but has several types of audio output connectors, covering all the bases. I wanted a clean and stealthy install, while still sounding good but not breaking the budget. A set of Logitech X-230 powered PC speakers (a pair of stereo speakers and a subwoofer) were a good buy, and sound great in this configuration.

When the Squeezebox arrived a few days later, I managed to do the setup in short order, without even cracking open the manual (the hardest thing was entering our 63-character WPA pre-shared key).

Several minutes after that, I was smitten.

First, the sound: it is great.
Next, usability: great. Very responsive, quick music start-up, and extremely smart interface design.

The Squeezebox looks fantastic sitting on one of the end tables in the living room, with a subwoofer hidden behind the love seat in the corner of the room and small stereo speakers peaking out each side of the love seat. All anyone sees is the player itself.

Simple.

I appreciate being able to control all aspects of the player - including being able to turn it on - from my laptop computer anywhere in the house, through the SlimServer's web interface. I've installed a couple user-created plugins to the SlimServer which allow playing Real Audio streams to be transcoded and sent to the Squeezebox in real time. I tested the setup, and found CPU utilization on the server to be extremely small, and bandwidth usage on our network to be similarly efficient; in a week and a half of usage, we've had no incidents of playback problems, even though I'm often connecting to our server via remote desktop, and moving lots of files to and from the server, and multiple computers using our wireless network to access the Internet.

The Slim Devices Squeezebox 3 is easily one of the best electronics I've ever purchased, and next time won't hesitate to buy another.

Oh, and my wife loves it!

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A fine addtion to the home audio/theater system, February 19, 2006

By	petej (Auburn, CA USA) - See all my reviews

I have a new $200 Roku M1000, which is in a audio system, located in my garage and works and looks great. However, I needed another DAR for a system in the house, which I could read the display from across the room. I tried the D-Link DSM-320 (see my review), which I returned. For $300 the Squeezebox v3 Wireless fit the bill. The unit has a solid feeling, looks terrific in my home theater system and I can easily read the display from across the room (A+). The 802.11g WEP setup and configuration was a snap (A+). Installing the SlimServer server software setup was easy (A+). Usablity of the software and remote (A+) is intuitive, making navigation by album or artist or folder or playlist fast and easy. Plays WMA, MP3 files perfectly, including controlling the current selection or setting a playlist using a web browser and the SlimServer.