rydhun
New Member
My impressions of Squeezebox Duet, after a week of usage
I bought a Squeezebox Duet a few days back and this post captures a few of my observations over the last 1 week of using it, and learning from various internet forums. Disclaimer: These are my personal observations though, arising from my own first hand experience, your mileage may vary.
Thanks to heliumflight & santhol2 for patiently answering my pre-purchase queries over PM.
The need:
- - -
After Worldspace went out of business, I was looking for a standalone device that would allow me to explore different genres of music. Our usage with Wordspace was around 12 hours a day. FM stations didn't meet the need since they play mostly popular music and have too many commercial breaks. I did try options like using the browser on Nintendo Wii to play Internet radio but the experience was not satisfactory, there were quite frequent breakages & Out of memory errors.
Other candidates considered (Pre-purchase):
- - -
1. SB Classic Squeezebox Classic
Pros:
2. SB Touch Logitech Squeezebox Touch
Pros:
3. Myine IR001 WiFi internet Radio Amazon.com: Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor: Electronics
Pros:
4. Pre-purchase analysis for the Squeezebox Duet http://www.logitechsqueezebox.com/products/squeezebox-duet.html:
Pros:
Sourcing, Shipping & Pricing:
- - -
Amazon/JR->Borderlinx->Me
$330 (Base price)+$10(US shipping)->$100(International shipping, Customs duties, India VAT)->$440 (Total price)
3 days (local US shipping)->5 days(international shipping)->8 days(end to end)
In-the-Box:
- - -
Set-up:
- - -
Base setup: Norge 1000 Gold Amplifier, Wharfedale 9.5, Netgear WGR614 v4 WiFi router, Airtel 4Mbps connection, Dell Inspiron running Windows XP, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
High-level Architecture:
- - -
Version: Firmware version 7.5.0 r8673 (mentioned as some things could change with upgrades)
Now, if I'm a user, would I really need to know the architecture of the product? Not really. But I think with this device, it's important to understand a high-level picture of how it works, otherwise you could get frustrated.
There are 4 pieces to the complete Squeezebox experience:
A. Hardware & Software that decodes streams, does the conversion to analog and is hooked up to your amplifier.
B. A hardware & software unit that presents you a choice of pre-programmed streams, and instructs (A) to play a stream
C. A server that serves something. This something is not just music content, but surprise surprise ... also the actual menus that you see on B. Some presets are also stored on the server (example: Favorites). The server also lets you monitor and control playback (near) real-time*
D. The actual end server serving music content
*You can switch channels while sitting in office & freak out your wife
Incase of SB Duet:
A is the receiver
B is the Controller
C is Squeezebox Server running on your computer OR Mysqueezebox.com server on the internet
D is Squeezebox server running on your computer when playing content on your PC, and an independent server if playing an internet stream (Example: if you're playing BBC Asia stream, it would be served by BBC server)
In case of Classic, the display unit would serve as both A & B, and IR remote will help you navigate menus and make choices
The key interface points in the architecture:
A<->C<->B When content is chosen for playing
B<->C & A<->C Control data for monitoring & web-based control
A<->D Music stream
Some very Important points:
- - -
Functionality I haven't explored yet:
To summarize:
Post-purchase analysis for the Squeezebox Duet:
- - -
Pros:
Based on my experience, I would rate the Duet a 7 on 10. If the mysqueezebox.com connectivity issues get resolved, I would rate it 9 on 10 (I hate to switch on my computer for playing internet radio). I hope this review helps those who're considering Squeezebox, in making an informed choice.
There are lots of pictures around, but I'm attaching some I clicked.
Cheers!
I bought a Squeezebox Duet a few days back and this post captures a few of my observations over the last 1 week of using it, and learning from various internet forums. Disclaimer: These are my personal observations though, arising from my own first hand experience, your mileage may vary.
Thanks to heliumflight & santhol2 for patiently answering my pre-purchase queries over PM.
The need:
- - -
After Worldspace went out of business, I was looking for a standalone device that would allow me to explore different genres of music. Our usage with Wordspace was around 12 hours a day. FM stations didn't meet the need since they play mostly popular music and have too many commercial breaks. I did try options like using the browser on Nintendo Wii to play Internet radio but the experience was not satisfactory, there were quite frequent breakages & Out of memory errors.
Other candidates considered (Pre-purchase):
- - -
1. SB Classic Squeezebox Classic
Pros:
- Nice display
- Good DAC
- Analog & Digital Outs
- Available in India
- Remote is IR
- Logitech US site Logitech Squeezebox Product Overview doesn't show it in list of products so looks like it's getting phased out by new new model Touch
2. SB Touch Logitech Squeezebox Touch
Pros:
- Has all benefits of Classic plus Touch screen
- Remote is IR
- My hands are not so compatible with Touch devices
- Not available in India, so you lose warranty
3. Myine IR001 WiFi internet Radio Amazon.com: Myine Electronics IR001 WiFi Internet Radio Adaptor: Electronics
Pros:
- Cheaper
- Decent reviews
- UI not that good
- SB Radio can be had in a similar price band
- Not available in India, so you lose warranty
4. Pre-purchase analysis for the Squeezebox Duet http://www.logitechsqueezebox.com/products/squeezebox-duet.html:
Pros:
- Wireless controller, doesn't require line of sight
- Works with multiple SB devices
- Rich Controller UI
- Wish the Receiver had a display
- Not available in India, so you lose warranty
Sourcing, Shipping & Pricing:
- - -
Amazon/JR->Borderlinx->Me
$330 (Base price)+$10(US shipping)->$100(International shipping, Customs duties, India VAT)->$440 (Total price)
3 days (local US shipping)->5 days(international shipping)->8 days(end to end)
In-the-Box:
- - -
- SB Receiver: smallish box with a single Wireless-logo LED on the front which lights up in different colors depending on status. Back has analog & Digital outputs, an ethernet port, and a 9V power input.
- Controller: this is a LCD screen remote that can control multiple receivers
- 9V Adapter for the Receiver: this is universal voltage (100-240V, 50-60Hz), and comes with a thin slide-in plate for US-style plug that snaps into the adapter. Would assume that if you buy a unit in India, it would come with a India-plug slide-in plate.
- Charging cradle for the Controller: this is also universal voltage (100-240V, 50-60Hz), and also comes with a thin slide-in plate for US-style plug that snaps into the adapter.
- Gold plated analog stereo cable
- Headphone (female) to Stereo Analog (male) cable: also gold plated, can be used for connecting headphones
- Lithium-ion battery for controller
- Quick start guide
- Some promotional leaflets from Rhapsody & Last.fm
Set-up:
- - -
Base setup: Norge 1000 Gold Amplifier, Wharfedale 9.5, Netgear WGR614 v4 WiFi router, Airtel 4Mbps connection, Dell Inspiron running Windows XP, Kaspersky Internet Security 2010
- Connect Receiver to Amplifier using the Analog cable
- Insert battery into Controller, and power it on.
- I use MAC Address-based Access Control List (ACL) on my router so I had to first disable it to enable the devices to come onboard.
- On Controller, choose the WiFi network to connect to.
- On Controller, list of SB devices on network is displayed. The receiver is displayed with last 8 digits of Mac address. This could be useful if you have multiple SB devices.
- Signup for an account on mysqueezebox.com. Punch in the userid & password created online, on the Controller. Refresh the page on computer and it immediately shows details of your receiver.
--At this point, you start to see pre-programmed menus on your controller and you can play internet radio stations - Download & install Squeezebox Server on the machine. I did need to whitelist the server application in my Antivirus while installing it; it was being tagged as a High risk application probably because it was opening server ports. It builds its directory from commonly used music locations and iTunes. From controller, attempt to connect to Squeezebox server, it discovers your machine and you can connect to it. Once you're connected, you can see iPod-style menus to browse and play your music collection, with a touch scroller.
- Add MAC addresses to ACL list and re-enable ACLs on WiFi router.
High-level Architecture:
- - -
Version: Firmware version 7.5.0 r8673 (mentioned as some things could change with upgrades)
Now, if I'm a user, would I really need to know the architecture of the product? Not really. But I think with this device, it's important to understand a high-level picture of how it works, otherwise you could get frustrated.
There are 4 pieces to the complete Squeezebox experience:
A. Hardware & Software that decodes streams, does the conversion to analog and is hooked up to your amplifier.
B. A hardware & software unit that presents you a choice of pre-programmed streams, and instructs (A) to play a stream
C. A server that serves something. This something is not just music content, but surprise surprise ... also the actual menus that you see on B. Some presets are also stored on the server (example: Favorites). The server also lets you monitor and control playback (near) real-time*
D. The actual end server serving music content
*You can switch channels while sitting in office & freak out your wife
Incase of SB Duet:
A is the receiver
B is the Controller
C is Squeezebox Server running on your computer OR Mysqueezebox.com server on the internet
D is Squeezebox server running on your computer when playing content on your PC, and an independent server if playing an internet stream (Example: if you're playing BBC Asia stream, it would be served by BBC server)
In case of Classic, the display unit would serve as both A & B, and IR remote will help you navigate menus and make choices
The key interface points in the architecture:
A<->C<->B When content is chosen for playing
B<->C & A<->C Control data for monitoring & web-based control
A<->D Music stream
Some very Important points:
- Either one of the server IS required to use the Duet. If you want to play internet radio, and the internet server happens to be busy, you will not be able to run. At this point, you can bring up the server on your computer, connect to it and play Internet radio OR Local content.
- The internet server being unavailable is NOT a theoretical scenario. There are 3 Mysqueezebox server farms in the world: one in California US, another in Virginia US and the third one in Germany. The two US servers service US devices, and the Germany server services the whole of Europe, Asia, Australia etc. The server you connect to is chosen based on your IP, and though the menu provides a way to switch the choice if you know the IPs, it doesn't work. The load on the Germany server has been increasing since the last few months (Ref: Latest News on Connectivity Issues with MySqueezebox.com, Radio, and Duet - Squeezebox : Community : Forums and New servers being added to European MySqueezebox.com Datacenter 11-12 February 2010 - Squeezebox : Community : Forums) causing capacity issues, and it's often unreachable during Europe busy hours and weekends. From my personal experience, I've been unable to connect to the server 3 out of the 6 days I've been using the Duet. So, I had to start my computer and use my local server in order to use the Duet. Depending on how you look at it, you can either see this as a severe limitation, or be grateful that the Local server workaround exists. Considering that the Sea link issue (Be Prepared for Slow Internet Connection in India for the next few days [Undersea Cable Repair]) also exists right now, I'm waiting for it to be fixed before I can be sure that mysqueezebox server is ACTUALLY overloaded
- If B<->C/A<->C connection above is lost due to server becoming unavailable, the playback doesn't get disrupted, but you'll have to reconnect to a server if you attempt to change the channel, or navigate through the menus, or even change the volume
- - -
- Since menus can be served by two different servers, one of which is online & another one local (on your computer), the Controller menu contents look a little different between the two. I've not been able to pinpoint what is different though, apart from #2. There is a third menu view when you're not connected to any server.
- Since Favorites are maintained on the server you're using, you could end up having one set of favorites on the internet server, and another one on your local server. This could cause some confusion till you understand all of it and go ... Aha! There is a sync option available on Local server configuration, but I've not used it and frankly, I don't intend to.
- The default configuration on the Controller is "Screen always ON", and some feedback/click sounds on navigation and selection. With these settings, the controller battery full-charge runs out in 1-2 hours and you have to keep charging it. But changing some screen settings & disabling click sounds, I was able to cross 24 hours on a full charge.
- Controller does support WEP-key based WiFi networks
- So far, I've not observed the sluggish wake-up & menu navigation issues that have been mentioned in Amazon reviews. But, knowing that menus are served by the server, I think it could've been related to server issues. I do see on their forums that there were some server issues reported and later fixed in Jan/Feb 2010. For me, it either connects and works flawlessly, or doesn't connect at all/drops server connection (at which point I have to start my local server)
- The audio quality is great for 128kbps stations, for lower bitrates there's quite a lot of jitter. The audio quality is noticeably clearer than Worldspace, when playing 128kbps streams
- There are loads of internet radio stations pre-programmed and can be browsed by Genre, Popularity, Geographical location etc. The BBC music stations are also pre-programmed. Custom URLs can be added to Favorites menu, incase a stream isn't there in the Menus.
- There are options to search content by providing search text.
- For subscribers of dedicated sites like live365 etc., there are options to add the site plugin as an App. This creates a separate submenu for the site inside "My Apps" and provides more specialized menus, site presets and support for premium services. I think (not sure) live365 also support Artist search. There are plugins available for live365, mediafly, facebook etc.
- There is a bug in the current firmware due to which the "Add to Favorites" option doesn't appear in the context menu while playing an internet radio station. However, there is a workaround available.
- There is no breakage for most stations, which I think can be attributed to the buffering in SB. There are some internet problems going on due to the SEA-ME-WE 4 issue (Be Prepared for Slow Internet Connection in India for the next few days [Undersea Cable Repair]). Internet browsing is affected for me but SB still plays fine.
- Seconds to buffer before playback is configurable (3 to 30 secs), you can set this higher if you experience stutter
- While playing internet radio, Song & Artist info is displayed, so you can discover & buy new music
- Internet usage is a few hundred MBs (varied between 100 and 350 for me) per day, if you play for 7-12 hours a day.
Functionality I haven't explored yet:
- Using digital out on Receiver
- Playing local content on PC (played 1-2 MP3, but not thoroughly tested)
- Alarms
To summarize:
Post-purchase analysis for the Squeezebox Duet:
- - -
Pros:
- Wireless controller, doesn't require line of sight
- Works with multiple SB devices
- Rich Controller UI
- Comes pre-programmed with a nice range of stations
- Delightful experience if Mysqueezebox server is available
- Receiver is really compact
- Setup is a breeze
- Good internet radio performance
- Wish the Receiver had a display
- Not available in India, so you lose warranty
- Dependency on mysqueezebox server availability
- Online server availability is unreliable, and the local server is required in that case, so it technically doesn't remain a standalone device
- Li-ion battery runs out fast with screen always-on
- Two sets of menus and favorites are confusing
Based on my experience, I would rate the Duet a 7 on 10. If the mysqueezebox.com connectivity issues get resolved, I would rate it 9 on 10 (I hate to switch on my computer for playing internet radio). I hope this review helps those who're considering Squeezebox, in making an informed choice.
There are lots of pictures around, but I'm attaching some I clicked.
Cheers!