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Logitech Squeezebox Boom

Reviewed by

John P. Falcone

on 09/10/2008

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PC-based audio files: Of course, many of us have a multigigabyte library of music sitting on our computer's hard drive--and the Squeezebox can access that as well, thanks to a near-universal file format compatibility: MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WMA Lossless, and Ogg Vorbis files can all be streamed without issue. There's one big exception, though: DRM. Songs purchased from the iTunes Store, Zune Store, or any service that uses the Windows Plays For Sure DRM scheme won't work on the Boom. At this point, that's not a huge knock against the Squeezebox, thanks to the fact that there are plenty of DRM-free music stores online--most notably, Amazon, eMusic, and some songs at the iTunes Store ("iTunes Plus").

You'd think that controlling access to that wide range of online and PC-based music sources would be a challenge, but Logitech's made things pretty simple. The Squeezebox can pull music from two separate (but related) server sources: SqueezeNetwork or SqueezeCenter. That's a lot of "Squeezes," to be sure, but the two choices have their advantages. Basically, run SqueezeNetwork if you only want access to online audio (no PC needed), or run SqueezeCenter if you want to access PC-based audio, plus anything you can get on SqueezeNetwork. (Each option is described in detail below.)

Both the SqueezeCenter and SqueezeNetwork interfaces can effectively be used as another "remote control" for any Squeezebox product on the network. Using the browser interface, you can set preferences on the Squeezebox from afar, as well as build playlists, access music services, and the like. That includes everything from setting the volume to modifying the tiniest details. Among the user-controllable settings: scrolling text options, display font sizes, active- and standby-display brightness, active and standby screensavers, and date and time display modes. You also get complete menu customizations: add or hide anything you want--elevate "podcasts" or "Rhapsody" to a main menu item, for instance, or remove them from the lists entirely.

The Squeezebox Boom also includes a few extras. Aside from the RSS newsreader, there's built-in support for environmental sounds (babbling brook, crickets, thunderstorm, waves hitting the beach) and alarm clock functions. Again, the alarms are highly customizable: you can set multiple alarms (we quit after four) to go off on any days of the week, to play any station preset, playlist, or environmental sound, at any preset volume--with or without fade-in.

We really liked accessing all those tweaks through the easy interface of our Web browser, but--to be sure--most of them are also accessible through the Squeezebox Boom's front-panel menu system. It also goes without saying that the Boom is firmware upgradeable, so additional functionality (and service compatibility) could always be added in the future.

It's also worth noting that the Squeezebox Boom can be controlled with the Squeezebox Controller. Now, you're probably not going to buy a $300 remote for a $300 product, but users who already have the remote as part of the Squeezebox Duet will enjoy the added value they'll get by being able to send music to the Boom as well.

SqueezeNetwork: All of the online music sources are aggregated under a single online location called SqueezeNetwork. Set up a free account (it takes about 30 seconds, and you don't need to give more than your e-mail address), and the SqueezeNetwork service provides a single location to coordinate everything--all of your account information for any of the premium online services to which you're subscribed. (The Squeezebox generates a unique PIN code during setup that you input to the SqueezeNetwork page, linking the two together.) The SqueezeNetwork home page is also where you add your Internet radio favorites and podcast RSS feeds (just cut and paste the appropriate URLs). You can even add text RSS feeds, for viewing Web clips on the Squeezebox Boom's screen (which can be set as the screensaver when the unit is powered down in standby mode).

In all, the SqueezeNetwork site provides a quick and easy way to pull together all of the online assets available on the Squeezebox Boom. Anything we added was instantly available on the Boom just a couple of seconds later. Moreover, because everything is accessed via the Web, effectively it's universally compatible, regardless of what browser you're using (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Opera, Safari, whatever) or from what sort of computer (Windows, Mac, Linux--or even a portable device, for that matter).

SqueezeCenter: If you need access to your local music files as well, download and install the latest version of the SqueezeCenter software. Previously known as "SlimServer," it's largely the same great software that's been developed by the Squeezebox community for years. Thanks to its open-source roots, the software is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux machines (it can even be installed on Netgear ReadyNAS drives). During installation, just point the software to the directories holding your music files and playlists, and the SqueezeCenter will make them available to your Squeezebox.

A few things we liked about the software: like the SqueezeNetwork site, the controls are all browser-based, and it's very noninvasive--it doesn't change any of your file preferences or make itself the default music player. In other words, it works in concert with your existing music management software--namely, iTunes, Windows Media Player, and Winamp--so any DRM-free music and playlists you add in those programs will be instantly available to the Squeezebox ,as well. As a result, iPod users can continue to use iTunes for their music management, and let SqueezeCenter do its thing in the background.

Previous versions of SqueezeCenter only provided access to local music files, so users who also wanted access to online sources would have to toggle over to the SqueezeCenter to do so by accessing the "music sources" menu option on the Boom. But as of SqueezeCenter 7.2, the software integrates all of the SqueezeNetwork options as well--as a result, the Squeezebox can "see" the totality of your local and online-music options simultaneously. It's yet another nice usability improvement, and removes one of the minor issues we had with earlier iterations of the Squeezebox.

Performance
Setting up the Squeezebox Boom was pretty simple: turn it on for the first time, and it guides you through a quick setup wizard. We had no trouble logging on to our Wi-Fi network and using the control knob to input our WPA2 password. Once you're on a network, the unit displays a five-digit PIN code (for linking the hardware to your SqueezeNetwork account).

Once the hardware is setup, you need to provide the Squeezebox with a music source. To do so, either set up the online account at SqueezeNetwork (for online music providers, Internet radio, or podcasts) or download and run the SqueezeCenter software on your computer (to access music on your hard drive, plus whatever services you've set up at SqueezeNetwork). As mentioned above, you can use either or both, and toggle between them at will.

Once the Boom had access to those servers--and we had configured SqueezeNetwork with our favorite Internet-radio stations, podcasts, and various account information, it was smooth sailing. We were able to dial up anything on our PC hard drive and Rhapsody account, and even make an on-the-fly playlist that mixes songs between both sources. Likewise, the full range of podcasts, music services (Pandora, Last.fm, Live365, etc.), and Internet-radio stations were available at the touch of a button. And because we've long given up on DRM music purchases, there was nothing in our music collection that the Squeezebox couldn't play.

As we've found on previous Squeezeboxes, streaming performance and network connectivity was flawless. On a wireless network located several rooms away, there were no discernible dropouts or stuttering when listening to either online- or PC-based music sources.

In terms of audio quality, the Boom was better than average. It's got a 30-watt digital amplifier, and a two-way speaker design--3-inch woofers flanked by 0.75-inch tweeters on each side. They did justice to the variety of music genres we auditioned--everything from Boston to Outkast to Dizzy Gillespie to some classical selections. The Boom can get pretty loud without distorting, and we liked that full bass and treble adjustments are available, as is a "Stereo XL" expander to provide a wider soundfield.

Again, if you want the very best sound from your digital audio, you'll probably want to get a Squeezebox Duet and connect it to an AV receiver with full-size speakers. And the classic "garbage-in, garbage-out" caveat of digital audio applies here as well--online radio stations below 128k are going to sound bad no matter what, and MP3s at higher bit rates will sound noticeably better. All in all--and not surprisingly--we'd rate the sound as somewhere in between Logitech's own Pure-Fi Elite and Pure-Fi Dream iPod speakers. That's quite good for a tabletop product of this size, and more than adequate for digital audio listening sessions.