slimdevice squeezebox

[rasavage4]

I was wondering if anybody has used the slim device squeezebox wireless media player and if so what they thought of it, particularly if they had any thoughts on sound quality. Thanks

[skonopa]

I don't have the Squeezebox itself, but I have a simliar type device, the ROKU SoundBridge. I have the M1000 version. The only difference between the various versions are the size/type of the display. Other than that, they are functionally identical.

As for the sound quality. It sounds pretty darn good. Now, granted, it depends on the quality of the files you are streaming. For high bit-rate files, or even better, lossless files, it sounds about as good as playing the CD itself.

If you have a large collection of music on a PC, as well listening to internet radio, these types of device are pretty nice, and relatively inexpensive. The networking part can be a hassle to setup, especially if you don't already have a home network. Fortunatly, in my case, the ROKU SoundBridge setup was pretty straigtforward.

I plan on taking a spare tower I got in the basement, stick as many large capacity harddrives as I can fit in it, and setup that up as a server, with just enough OS on it to boot up and run the SlimServer program, as well as iTunes and the MS MediaConnect. A nice way to put all my music and organize it together in one place.

[rasavage4]

Thanks for the input. I've looked into the roku too and both seem like good devices. Its not that I have alot of music on my PC, but more that I really like a big selection for random. Right now I have a 200 disc changer and while thats pretty good I have alot more cd's that I'd like to include. My biggest concern was the loss of quality, which you have abated. Thanks!

R.

[dblue]

I use the Turtlebeach Audiotron. It is the best device I've seen for pure audio. It will stream MP3's WMA's and WAV files, and if you have an HDCD encoded cd's, if you rip them as WAVs the HDCD decoding carries over to your receiver (My HK AVR 525 has HDCD decoding).

What makes it better than all-in-one media centers is that it buffers songs, so that if you play the album as a whole, there is no unwanted pause between tracks. With MP3's, you get a slight click while the decoder switches over to a new file, but with WAVs, it's seamless.