Squeezebox to do or not????
- Thread starter jtwrace
- Start date
Help Support MartinLogan Audio Owners Forum:
TomDac
former MLO owner/operator
If you have Wi-Fi on your computer network at home and alot of music files, I HIGHLY recommend the squeezebox!
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Absolutely recommended. I have 3 in my house, even using one for critical listening in my main system, via a Benchmark DAC. Streaming LOSSLESS files (e.g. FLAC or Apple lossless) paired with a quality DAC, you'll get mighty close to the best CD transports out there. To achieve the ultimate sound, I recommend upgrading to a linear PSU, and/or consider the Bolder or Red Wine Audio mods, or the newly released Slimdevices Transporter ($2000).
IMHO, once you go Squeezebox (or Transporter), just like ML's, there's NO going back! MUCH more info available at... http://forums.slimdevices.com
Only caveat, SlimDevices, the company, was recently acquired by Logitech, and the jury is still out re whether this bodes well for the product line.
IMHO, once you go Squeezebox (or Transporter), just like ML's, there's NO going back! MUCH more info available at... http://forums.slimdevices.com
Only caveat, SlimDevices, the company, was recently acquired by Logitech, and the jury is still out re whether this bodes well for the product line.
Last edited:
I highly recommend it. I don't think there is anything else around that can touch it for the $300 or so it costs. Once you have one you may want to download Exact Audio Copy (it's free) and start ripping to lossless FLAC. It takes some work on the PC to set it up but once you do it's a simple as it gets. I don't own an IPOD so I don't know how the Apple Lossless compares but I do know the FLAC file format works and sounds very good.
I think the sound of the SB3 will surprise you. It's also highly versatile. You can stream internet stereo to your system which is a nice feature(although sound quality of internet music is not so great). I had mine for a few months before I realized it had a headphone jack on the back panel.
The SB3 DAC is actually pretty good but a quality external DAC takes it to another level. My SB3 doesn't make me want to give up my CD player but I have no desire to give up my SB3 either. Eventually, I plan to upgrade to a Cary306 SACD or something along those lines that has a digital input so I can plug an SB3 into it and take advantage of the high-end DAC while still having a CD player.
SlimDevices has a good thing going with the Squeezebox. I just hope Logitech doesn't screw it up now that they own it.
I think the sound of the SB3 will surprise you. It's also highly versatile. You can stream internet stereo to your system which is a nice feature(although sound quality of internet music is not so great). I had mine for a few months before I realized it had a headphone jack on the back panel.
The SB3 DAC is actually pretty good but a quality external DAC takes it to another level. My SB3 doesn't make me want to give up my CD player but I have no desire to give up my SB3 either. Eventually, I plan to upgrade to a Cary306 SACD or something along those lines that has a digital input so I can plug an SB3 into it and take advantage of the high-end DAC while still having a CD player.
SlimDevices has a good thing going with the Squeezebox. I just hope Logitech doesn't screw it up now that they own it.
Joey_V
Well-known member
I recommend the SB3 for sure!!
Guys,
Question for y'all.... what do you guys think of the Transporter or going from the SB3 to a dedicated DAC like the Benchmark or Lavry?
Joey
Guys,
Question for y'all.... what do you guys think of the Transporter or going from the SB3 to a dedicated DAC like the Benchmark or Lavry?
Joey
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Linear PSU= Linear Power Supply Unit (to replace the stock "switching" power supply, which some feel degrades the Squeezebox sound)
Bolder, and Red Wine Audio, are both after-market "modders" who upgrade components, ostensibly taking their performance to the next level. Both have active forums at www.audiocircle.com
Last edited:
sleepysurf
Well-known member
That's the million-dollar (er, $2000) question! Some would argue the modded Squeezeboxes are as good, or even better. Unfortunately, not many side-by-side comparisons posted online, as yet.
The Transporter is certainly intriquing and has the potential to be well worth the $. I would give up my CD player and maybe even preamp if it does what I would expect it to for the $. I'd like to try one.
No word on the street yet? You know I saw a Transporter on Audiogoon yesterday going for $1550. It was a silver model. I wonder if it's still there?
No word on the street yet? You know I saw a Transporter on Audiogoon yesterday going for $1550. It was a silver model. I wonder if it's still there?
Joey_V
Well-known member
Joey_V
Well-known member
Great... I sent him an email.
Why oh why can I NOT control my fingers...??
Joey
Why oh why can I NOT control my fingers...??
Joey
socialxray
Well-known member
I have 2 Squeezebox3s and I love them! I do not use my CD player anymore. It is just so convienent to have my entire library at my finger tips without searching for CDs. I actually listen to a more music and with more variety because I do not have to find CDs anymore. Oh, and it sounds great too! This put the final nail in the coffin of my surround sound/hi-res experimentations and honestly I couldn't be happier. Less cost and less frustration.
The only problem is that there is a bit of a learning curve. You will have to learn a bit about tagging, ripping software, the SlimServer software, and music management software.
I use Foobar2000 for tagging, transcoding when necessary, and for music management. But, Media Monkey is better for newbies and you can also auto-tag your music from amazon.com. Both are free.
I use EAC for ripping and it is the best but not the fastest and that is because it makes mulitple passes to ensure data integrity. It will take some setting up. You will have to download 3rd party encoders and point EAC it to your these encoders. I control EAC using REACT which is just a configuration script that allows you to have multiple encoders and settings that you can use with EAC. It makes configuration changes to EAC a lot easier. I recommend LAME 3.97 for mp3 encoding and FLAC for lossless encoding. Again all of this is free.
Or you could just use iTunes for everything and point the SlimeServer to your iTunes music library. This is dirt simple but I do not use iTunes because it does not support FLAC nor does it use LAME (which is the best) for mp3 encoding and I do not like Apple's monopolistic business practices.
Avoid Microsoft because their music management software (Media Player 10 and earlier) is a steaming pile of confusion. It is no wonder Plays for Sure is getting beat in the marketplace.
Lastly the supplied remote isn't that great but my opinion is that you just can't lose with a Squeezebox.
The only problem is that there is a bit of a learning curve. You will have to learn a bit about tagging, ripping software, the SlimServer software, and music management software.
I use Foobar2000 for tagging, transcoding when necessary, and for music management. But, Media Monkey is better for newbies and you can also auto-tag your music from amazon.com. Both are free.
I use EAC for ripping and it is the best but not the fastest and that is because it makes mulitple passes to ensure data integrity. It will take some setting up. You will have to download 3rd party encoders and point EAC it to your these encoders. I control EAC using REACT which is just a configuration script that allows you to have multiple encoders and settings that you can use with EAC. It makes configuration changes to EAC a lot easier. I recommend LAME 3.97 for mp3 encoding and FLAC for lossless encoding. Again all of this is free.
Or you could just use iTunes for everything and point the SlimeServer to your iTunes music library. This is dirt simple but I do not use iTunes because it does not support FLAC nor does it use LAME (which is the best) for mp3 encoding and I do not like Apple's monopolistic business practices.
Avoid Microsoft because their music management software (Media Player 10 and earlier) is a steaming pile of confusion. It is no wonder Plays for Sure is getting beat in the marketplace.
Lastly the supplied remote isn't that great but my opinion is that you just can't lose with a Squeezebox.
Joey_V
Well-known member
sleepysurf
Well-known member
Phew.. saved myself some cash...
Joey
By my estimation, you're only left with monopoly money now!
Transporter vs Squeezebox for ML owners is worthy of its own thread.
jtwrace,
Did you get one yet? Here is another vote for Squeezebox. I bet you will be more than happy with its sound quality when playing your large collection of lossily compressed music. No PSU upgrades or even mods would be needed for that. Like others here I recommend lossless encoding in FLAC with EAC for best results, before any hardware mods. My stock Squeezebox (fed by a power conditioner) sounds much better than my Denon 2910 player. It cannot match my Arcam player but an external DAC will fix that eventually.
jtwrace,
Did you get one yet? Here is another vote for Squeezebox. I bet you will be more than happy with its sound quality when playing your large collection of lossily compressed music. No PSU upgrades or even mods would be needed for that. Like others here I recommend lossless encoding in FLAC with EAC for best results, before any hardware mods. My stock Squeezebox (fed by a power conditioner) sounds much better than my Denon 2910 player. It cannot match my Arcam player but an external DAC will fix that eventually.
