Sq Box Classic story

[GeorgeO]

Folks

I have had a SB Classic working since 2007, and I loved it. About 6-7 weeks ago, as I may have mentioned in an earlier thread here, it suddenly packed up. The remote was fine, the power supply was fine, outputting power@ 5 vdc, the main unit had a problem, and the SMT components were too densely packed to do any local repairs. We opened it out, checked and gave up!

Anyway, when I went to the US in mid May, I took it along with me and when I contacted the good folks at Logitech to ask what I should do, they had no hesitation in asking me to ship it across, freight prepaid through UPS and a replacement has just reached my son in NY!

I had a possible option of getting a Duet at half price, but decided to go for the Touch instead-since I already have a Duet, and people like Thad have been posting here that the Touch is better. Anyway, I expect it to reach me early next month.

Very prompt and extremely responsive customer support!

 

[akhil7j]

In US, they do replacement quickly. My friend bought Samsung Galaxy S and was using custom firmware (which means the warranty was gone). After few months, his phone got a little scratch on the screen and that started bugging him. He flashed the original firmware and went to Service center and said, the phone isnt working properly. It lags and sometimes reboots automatically.

Samsung replaced the phone immediately without even checking what he is giving them.

In India, I bought an Antec PC Cabinet online from theitdepot and they sent me old, broken, scratched Cabinet with no accessories to install components in it. After fighting, i got the new one but again few HDD cushions are missing. Again reported them and now they will send the cushions so that i can mount the HDDs.

I don't know when India will have honesty and trust.

 

[TaureanBull]

Congrats George! I am sure you will love SB Touch more than the classic.

 

[Kevian]

In US, they do replacement quickly. My friend bought Samsung Galaxy S and was using custom firmware (which means the warranty was gone). After few months, his phone got a little scratch on the screen and that started bugging him. He flashed the original firmware and went to Service center and said, the phone isnt working properly. It lags and sometimes reboots automatically.

Samsung replaced the phone immediately without even checking what he is giving them.

Your friend atleast flashed stock ROM onto SGS. I gave LG O2X back with custom ROM on it. LG Service center folks had no idea if it was custom or stock ROM on the phone. Got the full refund after 1 full day of tugga war at LG Service center. I think what matters is LG, Samsung etc are MNCs and phorin(amriki, uropi, jaapaani, koriyayi, ) by origin. Their reputation matters to them if not all but atleast most. No idea about theitdepot.com.

Touch is floating at 15.5K on Amazon including shipping and customs to India. hummm

 

[ajay124]

Coincidence George. I was discussing the SB Touch with my wife a few minutes back. I had bought her a SB Boom on her last birthday. I was more interested in getting a Touch from abroad but she wanted an independent unit, so we opted for the Boom. But today we have both come around to the conclusion that a Touch would have been better

Do you think Logitech India would do the needful? Take back the Boom and give us a Touch with x amount of cash. I don't think the Touch is available in India at the moment. But if there is a trade in option at any point of time, we may opt for it.

A couple of days ago, my neice had come visiting. We hooked up her 160 GB iPod Classic directly to my amp, using a basic 3.5 to 2 RCA. The music was all heavy metal, not to my taste at all but the sound quality was pretty good. Music on her iPod was on Apple Lossless files, which may be the reason that it was sounding so good. Do you think the SB touch connected directly to my amp using single ended RCA would be better than the iPod. By 'directly' what I meant is, that there is no dac in the chain.

 

[akhil7j]

No idea about theitdepot.com.

theitdepot.com - Desi

 

[anm]

when dishonest Indians return scratched and used stuff, it comes to be sold back to Indians by dishonest dealers

In US, they do replacement quickly. My friend bought Samsung Galaxy S and was using custom firmware (which means the warranty was gone). After few months, his phone got a little scratch on the screen and that started bugging him. He flashed the original firmware and went to Service center and said, the phone isnt working properly. It lags and sometimes reboots automatically.

Samsung replaced the phone immediately without even checking what he is giving them.

In India, I bought an Antec PC Cabinet online from theitdepot and they sent me old, broken, scratched Cabinet with no accessories to install components in it. After fighting, i got the new one but again few HDD cushions are missing. Again reported them and now they will send the cushions so that i can mount the HDDs.

I don't know when India will have honesty and trust.

 

[denom]

Coincidence George. I was discussing the SB Touch with my wife a few minutes back. I had bought her a SB Boom on her last birthday. I was more interested in getting a Touch from abroad but she wanted an independent unit, so we opted for the Boom. But today we have both come around to the conclusion that a Touch would have been better

Do you think Logitech India would do the needful? Take back the Boom and give us a Touch with x amount of cash. I don't think the Touch is available in India at the moment. But if there is a trade in option at any point of time, we may opt for it.

A couple of days ago, my neice had come visiting. We hooked up her 160 GB iPod Classic directly to my amp, using a basic 3.5 to 2 RCA. The music was all heavy metal, not to my taste at all but the sound quality was pretty good. Music on her iPod was on Apple Lossless files, which may be the reason that it was sounding so good. Do you think the SB touch connected directly to my amp using single ended RCA would be better than the iPod. By 'directly' what I meant is, that there is no dac in the chain.

So glad that even girls are into Heavy Metal now BTW, can you randomly remember a couple of the bands that were part of her collection??? Or maybe all the music barring your chosen genres sounds like Heavy Metal to you??? Just Curious Ajay

 

[ajay124]

So glad that even girls are into Heavy Metal now BTW, can you randomly remember a couple of the bands that were part of her collection??? Or maybe all the music barring your chosen genres sounds like Heavy Metal to you??? Just Curious Ajay

I too was surprised. Because it was heavy metal and not Justin Bieber. And because the format was lossless and not M pee 3. One of the bands was Megadeath, but that's the only one I had heard of

 

[GeorgeO]

Ajay

I dont think the people here will do what Logitech did in the US-part of it is the sheer volume of business there, which is of an order of magnitude higher compared to India, part of it is the general trust level at which they operate. Again, this is my personal observation, having been to the US many times.

The Touch,Duet and Classic are a bit different from the Boom, I think.

 

[denom]

I too was surprised. Because it was heavy metal and not Justin Bieber. And because the format was lossless and not M pee 3. One of the bands was Megadeath, but that's the only one I had heard of

Sorry George for going OT!!!

Thanks for the info Ajay So glad she does not listen to that JB Megadeth eh?? Good taste I say:lol: Ajay how did the Heavy Metal sound on your rig??? Very intrigued to hear from you on this.

 

[vasishta.sushant]

Seeing so much of praise, I guess I am goign ahead with the SB Touch purchase.

And yes I've experienced great customer service from logitech. Had this Harmony 650 with me, which I bought from ebay hong kong. It went bad and I was offered a replacement. Had to get it carted to India from the US using shop and ship but at least I got the replacement. And all that after I told them that I bought it from Hong Kong and that I was using that one in India

These guys sure know how to please a customer.

 

[vivek.saikia]

I too was surprised. Because it was heavy metal and not Justin Bieber. And because the format was lossless and not M pee 3. One of the bands was Megadeath, but that's the only one I had heard of

May be you can direct her to this forum. She's a rare case. hyeah:
But seriously, I have never come across any "audiophile female". Even my wife thinks that her Nokia earphone and my Koss Porta Pro sounds the same It hurts:sad:

 

[baijuxavior]

Even my wife thinks that her Nokia earphone and my Koss Porta Pro sounds the same It hurts:sad:

hyeah:hyeah:hyeah:

 

[ajay124]

May be you can direct her to this forum. She's a rare case. hyeah:
But seriously, I have never come across any "audiophile female". Even my wife thinks that her Nokia earphone and my Koss Porta Pro sounds the same It hurts:sad:

I am lucky that way. My wife listens to the same music as I do. At the moment, Phil Ochs. Eventually I am planning to sell each and every album of rock music I have in my collection. Phil Ochs has made most of them redundant for me. No singer/songwriter measures up to the heartbreaking and poignant beauty of Phil's words and voice.

Same tastes in books, cinema and travelling too. She has slowly come around to appreciating my hifi obsession.

Denom
The sound, as the teeny boppers are fond of saying, was awesome!

Specific question.

Which would be better,iPod Classic 160GB or SB Touch. Hooked up with a Cyrus 6VS2 amp and small two way floor standers or stand mounts? Room size 10x12 feet. No budget for a Dac at the moment. Budget for iPod or SB Touch 15K. The speakers still have to be located and bought. Used Totem/Sonus Faber/Proac anyone?

Sorry George. For taking your thread off the road!

 

[TaureanBull]

Specific question.

Which would be better,iPod Classic 160GB or SB Touch. Hooked up with a Cyrus 6VS2 amp and small two way floor standers or stand mounts? Room size 10x12 feet. No budget for a Dac at the moment. Budget for iPod or SB Touch 15K. The speakers still have to be located and bought. Used Totem/Sonus Faber/Proac anyone?

They belong to different league. The advantage of SB touch would be that its inbuilt DAC beats all DACs upto $500. So you would need a DAC only if you want to go overboard else it suffices. You can hook USB HDD or use laptop to stream. With SB touch you would have a remote to control it for iPod once you hook it then you have to move up and down.

Advantage of iPod is that it has a reasonable storage space. Although 160GB for FLACs is not too much. . Second advantage is that its portable (inbuilt battery). In case you want to use from room to room or in car then its useful.

15K is less for SB touch by probably 2-3k unless you get it from UK through someone. May have to increase the budget a bit.

 

[vasishta.sushant]

The advantage of SB touch would be that its inbuilt DAC beats all DACs upto $500. So you would need a DAC only if you want to go overboard else it suffices.

That would be quite a tough statement and I wouldn't really believe that. Even a 150USD HRT Streamer betters the device's output. (People are using it)

I sure would say that the device is little wonder but from the reviews I have understood that additional DAC infuses even more vitality to this already kick ass stuff.

I think I am going to buy it within couple of months.

 

[vivek.saikia]

A thought of a complete revamp of my stereo setup was haunting me all these days. Initially I was thinking about a laptop based system with a decent DAC paired with a decent speaker. But as soon as I made up my mind, along came this Logitech Squeezebox touch. The statements like "The advantage of SB touch would be that its inbuilt DAC beats all DACs upto $500" really sways me off my track. Now my complete plan is revamped!

Coming to the original intent of this thread, I too had a very good experience with online shopping in UK. I had bought a Shure earphone from amazon which I loved to hate. Without getting into the nitty gritties, I would say that the sound was not as per my liking. I went ahead mailing Shure about the lack of good SQ and asked them to check if the earphone serial number was genuine at all. To my surprise, they replied me back asking me to send them back the earphone and they will pay for the shipping. I did as I was told. After two days, they sent me another earphone which was twice as costly as the previous ones and I had to pay nothing! This was such a great gestures from the company.
Similar thing happened to me in India as well. i had ordered a 3 way RCA switch from eBay. They seller shipped the product but the courier company goofed up somewhere and as a result the product didn't reached me by the deadline. I asked the seller about the product and he called me up that he will immediately send me another parcel. After two days I received two parcels of the same stuff. Consequently both the parcels finally reached me. I called up the eBay seller and told him that I have received the previous parcel as well so I will return him one parcel, to which he said that I need not send it to him as I will have to pay an amount for shipping. I insisted that I can transfer an amount for the second parcel as well even though I need only one RCA switch. But the seller very politely said that you can keep both! I was very touched by this generous gesture. He definitely deserved that five star rating which I gave him. On a side note, I still have that extra RCA switch with me. if anyone needs it then he can collect it from me for free or I can ship it if you are willing to pay for the shipping.
The length of the post got lengthier than intended.

 

[TaureanBull]

That would be quite a tough statement and I wouldn't really believe that. Even a 150USD HRT Streamer betters the device's output. (People are using it)

I wont contradict you. Everyone has an opinion and preference thats why so many options exist. I can refer to so many other reviews and forums which would corroborate my statement. There is a discussion in the DAC V/S SB thread.

http://www.hifivision.com/media-streaming-players/18442-squeezebox-v-s-dac-discusssion.html

I remember bluu mentioning improvement in SB quality with a DAC but that costed $1000 or so. In nut shell, for eg, what I am saying is that if someone wants to use DACMAGIC with SB then he is wasting money. SB beats DACMAGIC and all other DACs in the price range. Infact, this is one of the reasons why SB Touch is so popular. I am not saying that the SB sound quality can not be improved upon. But then one has to go to a much higher level. The inbuilt DAC would satisfy the most,I can vouch for that.

In any case, iPod DAC is no match to SB.

I just mentioned my personal experience here. No hard feelings. My suggestion would be to go for SB and then if some one still feels there is a need then one can try and add a DAC.

 

[ajay124]

They belong to different league. The advantage of SB touch would be that its inbuilt DAC beats all DACs upto $500. So you would need a DAC only if you want to go overboard else it suffices. You can hook USB HDD or use laptop to stream. With SB touch you would have a remote to control it for iPod once you hook it then you have to move up and down.

Advantage of iPod is that it has a reasonable storage space. Although 160GB for FLACs is not too much. . Second advantage is that its portable (inbuilt battery). In case you want to use from room to room or in car then its useful.

15K is less for SB touch by probably 2-3k unless you get it from UK through someone. May have to increase the budget a bit.

Thanks TB. I would like to refine my question further:

Which streaming device - an SB Touch/iPod Classic/Sonos/any other, in the sub 20K range has the best Dac?

I can store the music on my iMac also, although the iPod seems more handy. But my primary concern is to buy a streaming device which gives good SQ. I don't want to spend money on an additional Dac after buying that device.

From your earlier reply it seems that the SB has a much better Dac than the iPod Classic. Even the SB Boom we have has a very good dac. The SQ is very good when I stream music from a PC, although for some reason it fails to connect with Leopard/Mac OS.

The Boom has in built speakers and headphone out/sub out. I had read on the SB forum that the headphone out can be connected to an amp. I tried once, a little fearfully, as I was scared I would damage the pre amp. Mercifully no damage, but the line out does not work with my amp. The headphone out build seems to be different from the build of a line out which can be connected to an amplifier.