Buying Logitech Squeezebox touch in india

[Kevian]

TheSeeker,

If you are firmly determined to buy an SBT, It all depends on your patience levels whether to buy it on amazon or waiiiiiiitttttttt for SBT sale on HFV.

Good Luck,
Kevian

Added Later: My SBT purchase was not a blind one. I lugged my amp to Pandu's place and tested it with both external DAC (MHDT Havana) and Touch itself. Found very little difference and then I asked my friend in US to order one. So I'd recommend you to first give it a Suno session before you buy. I've gone through this thread too before I took the plunge.

 

[TheSeeker]

TheSeeker,

If you are firmly determined to buy an SBT, It all depends on your patience levels whether to buy it on amazon or waiiiiiiitttttttt for SBT sale on HFV.

Good Luck,
Kevian

Added Later: My SBT purchase was not a blind one. I lugged my amp to Pandu's place and tested it with both external DAC (MHDT Havana) and Touch itself. Found very little difference and then I asked my friend in US to order one. So I'd recommend you to first give it a Suno session before you buy. I've gone through this thread too before I took the plunge.

i probably have this as the ONLY option as a good (am no audiophile ) music-player at this price-range, and i have no other source too as of now. moreover, the prices of SBT on amazon are fluctuating quite a lot. just today in the morning it was 4 dollars less than yersterday's price, but now its increased by a dollar. so i may have to act quick. i had a thought why not to wait till 14th of feb. may be that time the price could drop. but not sure about that



UPDATE - am thinking of jumping onto the 14th feb bandwagon. may be the price would drop down further by then

 

[abracher9]

Got my used SBT from a fellow forum member, used for a week. Fantastic in terms of convenience(No need to get up and change CDs frequently). Using with analogue out at present and SQ is good- almost as good, maybe better than Marantz CDP. SQ with USB drive is definitely better than WiFi streaming.

 

[TheSeeker]

Got my used SBT from a fellow forum member, used for a week. Fantastic in terms of convenience(No need to get up and change CDs frequently). Using with analogue out at present and SQ is good- almost as good, maybe better than Marantz CDP. SQ with USB drive is definitely better than WiFi streaming.

thanks for that feedback ! my order is pending with amazon. should be done within some time. eager to lay my hands on it :licklips:

 

[Cnu]

Got my used SBT from a fellow forum member, used for a week. Fantastic in terms of convenience(No need to get up and change CDs frequently). Using with analogue out at present and SQ is good- almost as good, maybe better than Marantz CDP. SQ with USB drive is definitely better than WiFi streaming.

which marantz cdp model ?

 

[GOLLUM]

Seeker,

I finally got the SBTouch a couple of months ago from US and I am very happy with it.

I use it on a Windows 7 dual core with the default Logitech Media Server.Storage was an external HDD earlier (now from the inbuilt hard disk ). No change in SQ.

I was on wi-fi earlier then hooked it up on ethernet (I used a Cat6e RJ45 cable suppossedly one of the better ones? ) , the diff was instant, the sound was more punchier, more detail and etc.. (bottom line is ethernet connectivity is recommended..)

I have also used the foll SQ mod soundcheck's - SB Touch Toolbox 3.0 to enhance the sound quality and this qualifies as a "nice to have".

I have a Norge 2060 / Millenium speakers so only use the analog outputs. Dont think I will plan on buying a DAC as I dont need to as of now.

The FLAC's sound amazing as expected but the surprise has been the Internet Radio (esp 256 kbps streams and above) which sound fantastic. I have never heard mp3's sound as good as this.

To summarize ease of use , good sound, dynamic playlists (audio cd's burned as flac)
offer a win-win combination over the traditional CDP model.

To be honest I have only heard a Marantz cdp and none of the other higher end stuff which gets written over here so cant help you decide if it beats the exotic audiophile stuff.

But its more than a bang for the buck if it matters.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Congratulations, and welcome to the possibility of many happy hours of fiddling, as well as many happy hours of listening. I'm sure you'll be over on the Squeezebox community forum checking out the fiddling potential

I was on wi-fi earlier then hooked it up on ethernet (I used a Cat6e RJ45 cable suppossedly one of the better ones? ) , the diff was instant, the sound was more punchier, more detail and etc.. (bottom line is ethernet connectivity is recommended..)

Hmmm... Network is network, and at this level it really is all data. Just ones and zeros. One cable cannot sound different to another, and wifi should sound the same as wired. I'm keeping that second point as a 'should,' though: the wired is a lot faster, and it's not impossible that the wireless device might cause some interference. Shouldn't, though: Squeezeboxes are designed to be wireless...

If I was Able to Cable,
I Wouldn't be Squeezing

 

[Gerry_the_Merry]

Abracher. Have you tried Ethernet?

 

[TheSeeker]

Seeker,

I finally got the SBTouch a couple of months ago from US and I am very happy with it.

I use it on a Windows 7 dual core with the default Logitech Media Server.Storage was an external HDD earlier (now from the inbuilt hard disk ). No change in SQ.

I was on wi-fi earlier then hooked it up on ethernet (I used a Cat6e RJ45 cable suppossedly one of the better ones? ) , the diff was instant, the sound was more punchier, more detail and etc.. (bottom line is ethernet connectivity is recommended..)

I have also used the foll SQ mod soundcheck's - SB Touch Toolbox 3.0 to enhance the sound quality and this qualifies as a "nice to have".

I have a Norge 2060 / Millenium speakers so only use the analog outputs. Dont think I will plan on buying a DAC as I dont need to as of now.

The FLAC's sound amazing as expected but the surprise has been the Internet Radio (esp 256 kbps streams and above) which sound fantastic. I have never heard mp3's sound as good as this.

To summarize ease of use , good sound, dynamic playlists (audio cd's burned as flac)
offer a win-win combination over the traditional CDP model.

To be honest I have only heard a Marantz cdp and none of the other higher end stuff which gets written over here so cant help you decide if it beats the exotic audiophile stuff.

But its more than a bang for the buck if it matters.

your feedback is much appreciated. the statement in bold (followed by your confession too ), is significant

 

[abracher9]

@Gerry the Merry Not yet, but will do today.

 

[abracher9]

which marantz cdp model ?

Marantz CD5003

 

[dazoy]

I was on wi-fi earlier then hooked it up on ethernet (I used a Cat6e RJ45 cable suppossedly one of the better ones? ) , the diff was instant, the sound was more punchier, more detail and etc.. (bottom line is ethernet connectivity is recommended..)

How would ethernet change the music quality? Even a flac or wav file can easily be transported on b or g wireless network.

I have squeezebox player in the kitchen and the sound quality is as good as it would be if it was connected to the squeezebox server by 1GB LAN cable.

In the end its all 1's and 0's that get transported.....There is no special encoding/decoding that happens in the cables or wireless networks.....


Cheers,

Saurabh

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

It cannot affect the sound quality, so long as the data is being delivered fast enough. If it is not (and this will happen with internet sources sometimes) then I would expect complete dropouts (probably with display saying "buffering") and not any degradation of sound.

I stand to be corrected, but I think that squeezeboxes still only support the slower wifi protocols, not the very much faster n protocol. I guess that the designers must consider those speeds to be ample, even for uncompressed audio.

 

[abracher9]

Heard output using ethernet cable from computer to Squeezebox, analogue out. Don't know why, but it does sound better that way...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Do your photos look better when viewed over a wired connection?

 

[GOLLUM]

Sorry was out for quite a while and hence the delay.

I agree its all one and zeros end of the day but ethernet does make a difference in the sound. My device is barely 10-12 feet away from my g router ( in line of sight and no obstructions) and I never experienced buffering so no wifi issues to begin with.

On a diff note I also have a WDTV live, primarily meant for video but which can play audio too . No change observed in either wi-fi or ethernet SQ when I hooked it up . Both were lousy...

I also noticed a substantial diff when using MX interconnects (the gold plated ones - dont recolllect the name now , will provide if req. , got it for around 500 rs from Lamington Road.)

My 2 cents worth maybe and just maybe Squeezebox accepts the ethernet data as is while fiddles around with the wifi incoming thus thinning it out.

This is obviously my logical figment of imagination (running wild... )...

Even though its been a while since I had the squeezebox and thought it now resembles a brick(mods take out all GUI and overheads) ... stilll loving it...

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

It's all 1s and 0s --- plus a percentage of overhead involved in the networking process itself.

It's all digital data --- but it is not all music data.

Do your photos look better when viewed over a wired connection?

Well, movies would have been a fairer comparison. The amount of time it takes to put one photograph on a network-device screen could be greatly increased, but we'd still get the photograph. So long as the network is able to deliver, the sound cannot be different. If it is, especially if it is "lousy" then this is not a case of one method sounding better than another, it is a case of something's wrong. That can happen.

 

[andy78]

Guys I'm a noob when it comes to audio etc. Was contemplating getting this from Dubai through a friend. Could somebody tell me features of this hands on.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The basis of the Logitech Squeezeboxes is a method to connect your PC, by wireless network, to your hifi, thus to play music. This can be expanded to a multi-room/multi-unit system. This is all the original squeezeboxes do. It is all my Duet does. I bought it simply and solely because I could no longer run cables between hifi and pc, otherwise, I'd have stuck with cables! About the only thing it adds to cables, for me, is the remote control.

The Squeezebox Touch has added the capability of a locally-connected external hard disk, thus turning it into a media server. It's the current favourite model of the forum, and you can read many accounts of it by members.

A good answer to your question might be, What do you want it for? That way, you can get answers as to whether or not it would meet your needs.

 

[navin advani]

How would ethernet change the music quality? Even a flac or wav file can easily be transported on b or g wireless network.

I have squeezebox player in the kitchen

What is the kitchen squeeze box connected to? Source? Speakers?

It cannot affect the sound quality, so long as the data is being delivered fast enough. .

Like me many forget that this is digital. Cables don't affect digital like they do analogue.

The basis of the Logitech Squeezeboxes is a method to connect your PC, by wireless network, to your hifi, thus to play music..

Can SBT connect to a AVR wirelessly with no PC involved? Are modern AVR equipped with Wifi?