[jhelsas]

So, I was thinking about buying a squeezebox touch yesterday just to discover that they have been discontinued for quite some months now, and that logitech have no clear intention to make a new edition of it.
 
Thus, I would like to ask if anyone know of a squeezebox touch equivalent, on the most literal sense:
 
1) Some kind of interface so it can be used as a standalone (non-battery run) player. Please no i-device/android dependant for remote control.
 
2) optical/coax output, so it can be used with an external dac, is possible hi-res capability but I can live without it
 
3) usb/ethernet inputs so It can access an external HDD or a NAS for database, although an internal storage, even it not too big (16-32 GB) would be most welcome but can be forgoten if it lower the price
 
4) easy operation, and small footprint if possible
 
5) < US$ 300, at max < US$ 500 (I almost had a heart attack when I saw the SB touch for ~ US$ 800)
 
Do anyone know anything that fits the description above?

 

[ehlarson]

I was able to get a used SBT off ebay in pristine condition for $300.
 
Shop sharply and be patient.

 

[gooky]

Olive is coming out with the ONE.  http://www.indiegogo.com//OliveONE
 
A lot of Squeezebox users are involved over there.  Hopefully, it'll be a winner.

 

[wje]

I have (2) Squeezebox Classics, and one Touch.  I have them connected to 3 different systems in my home.  The Touch is great, but not so great when you're in your chair, 10 feet back listening to the regular music system with the speakers and sub.  Seeing the screen from that distance, can be tough.  In those situations, I use my Android tablet, with the Squeezebox app to navigate and control my music.  But, it is a great player, with great sound.  Also, with the Squeezebox devices, you can still use your own DAC, if you want to use something other than the built-in internal DAC.  The only fret that I have with the Squeezebox is that eventually, the server software will no longer be supported by future computer operating systems.  When that happens, I suspect the devices will be rendered useless.  I've been searching to a small degree to see if anything else is compatible and will operate the Squeezebox players as a server software for music, but I'm not having a whole lot of success.
 
While the Olive does look intriguing, it is still months away from delivery.  Hopefully, they meet those delivery dates, too.  As mentioned, though, keep looking for a Touch to appear on eBay, then hop on it.  Also, Amazon might have one of their marketplace sellers now and then, offer a used one for sale.
 
Best of luck!

 

[wje]

Here's one for $300 that just appeared in our forums less than 12 hours ago.
 
http://www.head-fi.org/t/646973/logitech-squeezebox-touch

 

[mcullinan]

I think it's the craziest thing Logitech ever did. They were easily the largest supplier of this type of solution. Id like to know what made them discontinue.

 

[wje]

Quote:

I think it's the craziest thing Logitech ever did. They were easily the largest supplier of this type of solution. Id like to know what made them discontinue.

 
For Logitech, it was probably a support nightmare.  The server software had to be compatible with about three versions (XP, vista, 7) of Windows.  Firewall ports had to be opened so that the music would stream properly.  If the player was too far away from the wireless router, it would buffer, and re-buffer a lot.  You had WEP and WPA software keys that had to be entered at the player level so it would connect to the network.  The software would tell you each time there was a new version of the software available.  People would perform the software update.  The update would then always set the player volume back to 50, from wherever (e.g. 100) it was before, so they wouldn't get the same volume level, etc. People wanted to stream more than music - but wanted videos like Apple TV, or even what Roku offers.  The ability to stream high-quality lossless music (e.g. FLAC files) was a niche market ... sort of for us "geeks" who could work through many of the issues to get the ultimate sound.
 
I think Logitech thought the product would be like their keyboard, mouse and computer speaker market.  They could move lots of products that were cheaply made in China and support was relatively minimal compared to the Squeezebox.  Plus, they brought over a number of people from SlimDevices upon purchase, but probably thought that their own people could eventually take control of that operation, and it probably proved harder than they ever imagined.
 
Granted, a lot of what I wrote is just speculation.  I do a fair bit of business analysis, and can see the issues, or what could be considered "cons" to a company such as Logitech.  Some even believe that the Ultimate Ears purchase will eventually mean that the UE label or brand will be completely killed off within a few years.  Again, look how UE catered to a relatively niche of people who didn't mind paying higher prices for better sound.  However, when Logitech buys the company out and wants to use the UE name on more generic products, they can lose their following ... especially if the products start to appear in Walmart.  Again, just a bit of speculation, but I'd bet behind it all, these are some of the reasons for the decisions they've made.

 

[eddiek997]

Sonos is a great alternative. They make a connect preamp, has a very good interface and all the streaming/NAS content you can eat.

 

[jhelsas]

Sorry for the delay in answering, and thanks for the replys.
 
About the offers in ebay, I know it's great, but I have the problem that I can't realy ship to where I live (Brasil), because either the seller don't wish to ship, and even if he or she does, I will probably have to pay between 80-120% of import tax on the moment it crosses the border, which would bump the price to ~ US$ 700. To avoid this, I would have to hope to find an offer during one of my trips, which isn't something that I can take for granted.
 
Besides, suposing that Logitech drops the support for SBT, wouldn't it still be possible to play music localy (from a HDD or a NAS conected directly to it?)
 
The olive one is a bit steeper than I would have planned before, but considering the other offers in their website, it's not so frightening as their other options.
 
Quote:

Sonos is a great alternative. They make a connect preamp, has a very good interface and all the streaming/NAS content you can eat.

 
I saw their website, but I didn't find anything that would fit my description. Which one are you talking about?

 

[eddiek997]

Quote:

I saw their website, but I didn't find anything that would fit my description. Which one are you talking about?

http://www.sonos.com/shop/products/connect
 
It acts as a Sonos player (using ios/android/pc/mac app) and is Preamp only - meaning you can connect it as usual to your dac/amp. WIll stream from NAS all the way upto 96/24 files including flac/wav etc.
 
Highly recommended SB Touch alternative

 

[sayh]

What about this, X10
http://www.cocktailaudio.com/overview.html

 

[jhelsas]

Quote:

What about this, X10
http://www.cocktailaudio.com/overview.html

Looks very nice, I wasn't expecting a speaker poweramp together, but alas, it seems interesting.
 
I just wanted to see the price, I'm not finding it.
 
Edit:
 
I've found a UK dealer with the price, it seems reasonable at 232 pounds for the features that it offers.
 
@ eddiek997
 
My problem is that to use it as a SBT equivalent, it need a smartphone or tablet app to control it. Since I have neither, buying a smartphone just to serve as a remote control sounds a waste of money. Do you know if an pc(windows or linux) would be able to control it remotely via wifi?

 

[eddiek997]

Yes, for sure Sonos also has a Mac/PC control option.
 

 

[thrand1]

I can't find anything stating that Sonos supports 96/24, but there is a post above suggesting they do? Looking at their supported audio formats page, Sonos supports "up to 1411 kbps" average bitrate which says to me 44.1/16 is the limit. Stock SBT did support 96/24 decoding (and I think would correctly downsample rates above that?) and with the Triode/EDO aftermarket mods would go even higher. So as long as someone doesn't need playback of "high res" files from HDTracks Sonos should work...

 

[wje]

Quote:

I can't find anything stating that Sonos supports 96/24, but there is a post above suggesting they do? Looking at their supported audio formats page, Sonos supports "up to 1411 kbps" average bitrate which says to me 44.1/16 is the limit. Stock SBT did support 96/24 decoding (and I think would correctly downsample rates above that?) and with the Triode/EDO aftermarket mods would go even higher. So as long as someone doesn't need playback of "high res" files from HDTracks Sonos should work...

 
In my case, I have always leaned more towards the Squeezebox products because of their better range of support ... well, up until the production on them stopped.  When it comes to the Sonos players, I've always found that the cost was usually a bit higher for their products.