The internal DAC is not very impressive but using an external DAC, the tiny box shines, capable of playing 24bit/48KHz files without transcoding. Neither is capable of being more than what they are, a clever transistor radio, nor do they pretend to be. The controller communicates wirelessly and can control not just the Duet but also other players on the network – also the software players.īoth Boom and Radio sound nice but certainly nothing more. It bears some resemblance with the now discontinued CR100 from Sonos, with touch-wheel and color display, albeit in a slightly more compact form for one-hand operation. As a remote, however, the controller is rather good. Quite clever but not exactly mindboggingly useful. The Duet comes with a special remote control that itself can be used as a player, hence the name. The DAC in the Transporter can cleverly be used for other digital devices as well, turning it into a DAC itself. The difference between the Transporter and the other two players is primarily in the use of high grade components in the Transporter and balanced analogue connections. They must be attached to a hifi system via either a line-out or digitally via a separate DAC or connected to a digital input on an amplifier that has its own DAC. The Transporter, the Touch and the Duet are all unamplified players. ![]() Ogg Vorbis, to Boom or Radio, and even set the level of compression per device. So to save on network bandwidth and reduce the risk of drop-outs, you can have the server transmit MP3s or some other compressed format, e.g. On a note aside, the server software can be set up to transcode files per player. This has only one speaker but instead boasts a nice color display and can be easily set up as a clock radio in the bedroom with snooze button and all. The Radio can be equipped with an optional battery making it truly portable. It does, however, require a constant power supply. The Boom comes with built-in stereo speakers and a control panel nicely centered between them with a big, friendly knob and a miniscule remote with a magnet on it, letting it stick ever so neatly onto the top of the player. When wiring is possible, however, it is definitely the way to go. ![]() But wiring a portable player is rather daft. The wireless receiver in the Squeezeboxes appears to be rather intolerant, causing them to drop out on occasion or losing network connectivity altogether. Īll Squeezeboxes can be connected wirelessly or via ethernet. And talking of the latter the iPeng app we use there is a fully functional media player itself. Remote controls is a combination of Duets, software players, web pages and apps on Android and iPod. Our setup consists of Duets connected to regular hifi systems in living room and study, and a Boom for the library, software players covering the rest. Incidentally after Logitech bought Ultimate Ears, the Squeezebox products are now rebranded UE Squeezebox. Even the player software is open source, letting you turn any old Linux or Windows PC into a remote-controllable media player fully equal to any other Squeezebox player on our network. The software is open source and there is a small but highly enthusiastic community surrounding it. This server software is not absolutely necessary but required to get the fullest from the media players. Central to Squeezebox is a server which collates music libraries and serves them on the network, converting files on the fly if necessary transcoding. The Squeezebox family began as a simple media server in 2000 and today spans from the audiophile Transporter to self-contained semi-portables Boom and Radio. Certainly not in determining differences in oxidization levels of copper in cables affecting capacitance or any other such controversy. We want good sound but don’t get nerdy about it. Not high-end audiophile extravaganza nor the iPod dock in your kid’s room. All from the point of view of standard hifi. Sound quality is either god or bad, perhaps with an added adverb if quality is really good or really bad. It is bound to fail not having a common reference. I will refrain from trying to put words on subjective listening impressions sound stages and vibrant timbres and whatnot. Do these matter or are they basically just three flavors of the same thing? But how do they compare? They all have their little quirks and shortcomings. Scottish Simpleaudio does not yet have audio synchronisation but is promised to get it. Following the latter definition seriously narrows the field of contestants, leaving only Logitech Squeezebox and Sonos, at least within our financial limits. One thing is the ability to stream music from one central location and play it in more than one room, another is to actually play in sync if playing the same track in more than one location. Multiroom streamers, depending on multiroom definition, are few and far between.
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