Logitech Slim Devices Squeezebox (white)

A veteran in the digital audio receiver category, Slim Devices launched its third-generation Squeezebox in November 2005. Like other digital audio receivers, it connects to your home stereo and uses your wireless network to stream audio from the Internet and network-connected PCs. However, since its debut, the latest Squeezebox--easily the company's best-looking and most full-featured unit to date--has undergone a series of upgrades (downloadable for free via Slim's Web site) that have made a great product even better. New features include tight integration with Slim Device's SqueezeNetwork portal, expanded Internet radio capabilities, and support for two key premium audio services: Rhapsody, Real Networks' online jukebox that offers access to thousands of songs for a flat monthly fee, and Pandora, a clever service that creates custom stations based on your preferences. Only the Squeezebox's relatively high price of $300--or $250 for the wired version--and its absence of support for DRM-protected audio files (those you buy at online stores such as Apple's and MTV's ) are stumbling blocks.

The third-generation Squeezebox is far more attractive than previous Slim Devices models--past incarnations include the 2005 second-generation version, the 2003 first-generation Squeezebox, and the company's trailblazing 2001 product, the SLIMP3--and some may even find it more fashionable than its closest competitor, the Roku SoundBridge M1000. Measuring in at 3.7 inches high, 7.6 wide, and 3.1 deep (including the unit's U-shaped metal foot stand), the Squeezebox has a sleek, vertically oriented design. Its body consists of a silver-metallic lower half, accented with black or iPod-esque white side and rear panels. The unit has a bright 320x32-pixel vacuum-fluorescent display capable of showing two lines of aqua-colored text.

The 30-button remote control provides a bit more direct access to features than you'd get with the simpler 18-button remote of the Roku SoundBridge, but it still manages to keep things intuitive with a four-way keypad for menu navigation, as well as play, rewind, forward, and pause buttons. Because the remote has volume controls, the Squeezebox is suitable for connection directly to powered PC-style multimedia speakers. The Size button enlarges the unit's front-panel text enough that it's readable from a distance of approximately 15 feet.

The Squeezebox has every possible audio jack and networking connection you might need.

The Squeezebox has every sort of jack and connection you'd want in a networked audio device. In addition to the requisite power connector, the back panel includes a headphone minijack (which can double for powered speakers, as listed above), analog audio RCA stereo outputs (red and white), optical and coaxial digital audio outputs, and an Ethernet port for wired networks. On the wireless front, the unit supports 802.11g, though it's backward compatible with older 802.11b Wi-Fi networks, and WPA/WPA2 encryption in addition to WEP. While neither feature necessarily boosts the Squeezebox's performance, they'll prevent users from dumbing down their wireless networks to slower speeds and less secure encryption--both of which need to be done with most competing products. The Squeezebox can also double as a wireless bridge if you connect a device to its Ethernet port--a nice addition for power users, and something we haven't seen in any previous consumer networking product.

In terms of features, the Squeezebox has pretty much everything you'd want from an audio-only digital media receiver with one notable exception: It can't play copy-protected audio files. We don't expect non-Apple products to play songs purchased from Apple's iTunes Music Store--the company doesn't license its FairPlay digital rights management (DRM) to third parties, and only a handful of recent products have been able to sidestep the issue. But the inability to stream WMA DRM (PlaysForSure) files is less forgivable, seeing as it's widely available in many competing products, including the Roku SoundBridge. PlaysForSure support allows users to stream WMA songs purchased from such online music services as Napster, Urge, and Musicmatch. Thankfully, the Squeezebox supports a wide variety of open audio formats, so if your music collection consists of home-ripped music, you can be all but certain the Squeezebox will play it. Standard MP3s and nonprotected WMAs are good to go, as are uncompressed AIFF, WAV, and PCM formats, geek favorite Ogg Vorbis, and a trio of lossless formats: Apple Lossless, FLAC, and WMA Lossless.

To stream files from your PC with Squeezebox, the computer must be running the free SlimServer software. Using the device's remote or the SlimServer's Web browser-based user interface, you can navigate tracks by all the usual categories such as artist, title, genre, album, and playlist. The remote's Add button conveniently lets you create an on-the-fly track queue as well.

A new Slim Devices feature called SqueezeNetwork serves as the Squeezebox's conduit to online entertainment. To get started, you go online and sign up a for SqueezeNetwork account. You can then access Internet radio, alarm clock features, RSS newsfeeds that can be scrolled across the display, and more. All of the features made available through SqueezeNetwork function without turning on your PC. The hundreds of preprogrammed Internet radio stations include selections from Live365 and Shoutcast, and you can add further MP3, WMA, and OGG streams. Unlike the Roku SoundBridge Radio, the Squeezebox natively has only one alarm as opposed to two.

When it first appeared on the market, the Squeezebox offered compatibility with only the open formats listed above. However, thanks to some recent firmware updates (downloadable for free from Slim Devices' Web site), the Squeezebox now supports two worthwhile premium audio services that significantly enhance its appeal: Rhapsody and Pandora. The former service lets you customize a streaming playlists from a choice of hundreds of thousands of songs--everything from top 40 to more obscure subgenres such as "New Orleans blues" or "ska revival"--for just $10 a month. Pandora, meanwhile, is an always-on service that creates custom Internet radio stations for you based on criteria that you enter, such as an artist name or a song title. Although it doesn't offer the jukebox-style on-demand control over your music you'd get with the Rhapsody streaming service, Pandora is certainly compelling in its own right. We created several stations, including one based on the artist Ray Lynch and another based on the track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp." Even though the latter didn't actually have the acclaimed track from the Hustle and Flow soundtrack in its rotation, the selections were stylistically quite similar. Pandora is currently available free of charge for three months, but after that, you'll have to either deal with commercials or shell out $36 per year for a membership.

In terms of performance, the Squeezebox is a class act. The unit's Burr Brown digital-to-analog converter makes audio sound crisp, clear, and vibrant through the analog outputs, while the digital connections further provide ample flexibility for connecting the unit to just about any A/V receiver or speaker set, for instance. Wireless audio streaming performance was consistently smooth and hiccup-free.

In the final analysis, we really like the Squeezebox--especially with the addition of the Rhapsody and Pandora options--but our only hesitation is paying a 50 percent premium over the excellent $200 Roku SoundBridge M1000, which offers many of the same features, plus support for DRM-protected WMA files. That said, if you're willing to pay a bit extra for superior design, excellent sound quality, and a host of high-end features (better networking support, compatibility with lossless file formats), you'll find the Squeezebox well worth the money.

Ratings from 2 users How would you rate this product? Write your own review
• 7/10 Very good

  December 6, 2007

  by johnz57 (see profile)

  "Coolissimo but has glitches" Read more >>

• 9/10 Spectacular

  September 26, 2006

  by MJFGadget (see profile)

  "The Gizmo of my dreams!" Read more >>

• Write your own review See all 2 user opinions >>

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