# Squeezebox and/or other ideas



## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

Just curious if anyone has one and would like to comment on the sound quality. Ive been looking to add streaming/flac content to my bedroom setup and the squeezebox boom seems like a great option. My only question is how the speakers sound. Its not a large area, but I definitely dont want "bad" sound quality. Obviously they wont sound as good as a elt/x-ls/170 setup but just curious if anyone has experiences with one. For $200 they seem like a great value expect the sound quality seems up in the air imo. 

I have a panny xr55 receiver. The duet seems like a great choice but a bit expensive when its all said and done (amp, duet, and speakers). 

Is using an older squeezebox and active speakers a feasible option? I havent had any experience with the behringer or mstudio active speakers and reviews seem mixed. I have quite a few speakers already, Id prefer not going this route unless the positives outweight the negatives. 

Ideally something like a super budget Pioneer x-z9 would be awesome. It seems that most of the shelf systems compromise on the speakers and/or can't play with flac files. Any suggestions would be welcomed, thanks!


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## mike_p (Jan 28, 2007)

I've had my SB Boom for a couple of months, 2 surprises; much smaller, and sounds bigger/better than expected. The sound quality is much better than bad.


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## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

Michael Perry said:


> I've had my SB Boom for a couple of months, 2 surprises; much smaller, and sounds bigger/better than expected. The sound quality is much better than bad.


Thanks for your feedback. Do you mind me asking how big of an area it is being used in - living room, bedroom, kitchen, etc? Just curious how it sounds when turned up. I dont listen that loud, but just curious.I'll see if the local Best Buy has one to listen to. I really like how everything is integrated and the sb software seems to be a good bet.

Given a choice I'd like to use the SB's streaming capability and little amp paired with a set of bookshelf speakers for better sound. However, I realize its hard to do everything well and still keep costs down. 

I think down the road I could get a duet or v3 for the living room as well (currently using xbmc).


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## mike_p (Jan 28, 2007)

It's in my master bath, listen as I get ready for work. The room is 11' x15', plays pretty loud to be heard over the shower and still sounds good.


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## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

Michael Perry said:


> It's in my master bath, listen as I get ready for work. The room is 11' x15', plays pretty loud to be heard over the shower and still sounds good.


Thanks again!


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## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

Quick update - I ended up buying a squeezebox boom! 

I set it up and it sounds better than expected. The internet radio function is great, its nice to explore some different stations and have easy access to them. I haven't setup my all my flac files (maybe tonight) but I'm looking forward to it.

My main complaint is some of the stations have low bitates and have some background noise. Right now I'm looking to pick about 15-20 higher quality stations and basically stick to using those for the most part. 

Obviously this doesnt sound as nice as a bookshelf setup, but I'm very impressed with the compact size and bigger than suggested sound. The fact I can access all my music and have decent sound in an all in one package is nice. Im now considering adding a sd classic/v3 or duet for the living room. 

Btw these are on sale at Amazon for $170. If you have any questons, feel free to ask!


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## HAL (Sep 22, 2009)

Another idea for the living room setup would be the Squeezebox Touch that has replaced the SB Duet. I have the Touch and getting started integrating it into the main music setup. 

I have a SB Duet running the upstairs system and have great sound quality with an Onix A-120 MKII integrated and X-LS Classics with Ninja Master XO's.

Just a thought.


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## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

HAL said:


> Another idea for the living room setup would be the Squeezebox Touch that has replaced the SB Duet. I have the Touch and getting started integrating it into the main music setup.
> 
> I have a SB Duet running the upstairs system and have great sound quality with an Onix A-120 MKII integrated and X-LS Classics with Ninja Master XO's.
> 
> Just a thought.


Just saw this, thanks for the suggestion. 

Just curious what are the advantages to the Touch or the Duet? From your usage do you find any advantages/disadvantages to each? For my use the actual touch features don't seem that relevant, I think I'd rather have a remote unless I'm not understading the product correctly.


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## HAL (Sep 22, 2009)

The Duet has a handheld remote with display, where the Touch has a remote without display. It depends on how far away the unit is from the user. The display is much larger on the Touch than on the Duet remote. 

The Touch is supposed to have better sound quality than the Duet. Will get to compare them at some point, but not very soon. I have not even setup the Touch at this point, just been to busy. What I really like is being able to set them up near the audio setup with short audio cables. The external S/PDIF interface will be useful to me for adding an external DAC which I already have.

An upgrade path for better sound for each is a linear power supply instead of the switching supply that is sent with the units. This is what the DIY folks are doing over at AC and some other forums.


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## Bucketfoot (Mar 29, 2008)

Myself, I like that the Duet has the display right there on the remote. All of my equipment is behind my main seating area, so not having this would be a rather large pain in the @$$.


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## etcarroll (Mar 17, 2008)

Bucketfoot said:


> Myself, I like that the Duet has the display right there on the remote. All of my equipment is behind my main seating area, so not having this would be a rather large pain in the @$$.


+1 for Duet, and having display in your hand, as well as for linear power supply.


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## Interspy24 (Apr 22, 2009)

HAL said:


> The Duet has a handheld remote with display, where the Touch has a remote without display. It depends on how far away the unit is from the user. The display is much larger on the Touch than on the Duet remote.
> 
> The Touch is supposed to have better sound quality than the Duet. Will get to compare them at some point, but not very soon. I have not even setup the Touch at this point, just been to busy. What I really like is being able to set them up near the audio setup with short audio cables. The external S/PDIF interface will be useful to me for adding an external DAC which I already have.
> 
> An upgrade path for better sound for each is a linear power supply instead of the switching supply that is sent with the units. This is what the DIY folks are doing over at AC and some other forums.


Right, to "me" it would seem that the display on the remote would be easier. As you stated I guess i depends on your listening space and how far the unit it.

When you get some time, definitely compare them and tell us what you think. I'm curious to see if its an audible difference and/or you prefer one over the other, thanks.


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## InfernoSTi (Oct 31, 2010)

Doesn't it seem curious that Logitech specs the Touch as "24-bit/96Hz sample rate" but the Duet as "24-bit" only? That tells me the Touch has a superior audio function and will accommodate higher resolution files that the Duet won't. Their own marketing material says this about the Touch and Duet:

Touch:
You are a music lover and you want high fidelity sound and easy access to all your music. You are someone who has a personal music collection on an external USB drive. Supports sampling rates up to 24 bit / 96 kHz

Duet:
You are an entertainer, you love having friends over and listening to your favorite new music. But you don't want to have to go to the stereo every time you want to play a new track. You want music in every room of your home and you want to be able to control it from anywhere.

Clearly, the Touch is aimed at a higher fidelity market than the Duet, which is the entertainment/connivence/gadget market.

Just my two cents worth....

John


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