[KenW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dimitris /img/forum/go_quote.gif Yes looks like the all black SB3 is more attractive. Oh well for $50 I can put up with the duo-color! Let us know what you think when you receive it.

Got my Squeezebox today. Yeah, paid the $50 more for black. Okay, okay, it's nuts but I LOVE the black. Still got the $20 discount so it wasn't so bad. Setup wasn't exactly as I'd planned due to some rather unforeseen complications with various parts of my rig and home network so bear with this long winded description of the journey.

Right off the bat, this little jewel was bigger and more solid than I anticipated. Setup didn't go exactly as I'd planned though. As I mentioned, I also was throwing a Slingbox into my home network and that was a bit more challenging than I figured. Completely forgot that I had the electrician put the different levels of my home on separate circuits which made locating the Slinglink contrary to my original plans as it uses the power lines to enhance connectability/signal. Once I got the IP, ports, firewalls, etc taken care of, I then turned my attention to the SB3. Setup went well with no hangups at all. Just another round of tweaking the IP, ports and such.

After it was all tied together, I connected the SB3 to my Opus 21 to give it a run. My personal preference is to max the volume/output on both the Opus and SB3 and control the listening volume via my amp. Unfortunately, my Opus would not allow me to go into the setup menu as per the manual. After pulling my hair out, I took tkams advice and shot an email off to Resolutions tech support. They were quick with the reply that they'd changed the buttons used to enter that setup menu recently and the manual hadn't been brought up to speed yet. Once I got that info, I took care of my volume preset and I was off and running.

The SB3 is one fine source to be sure, and I was very impressed by it running through the coax of the Opus. Honestly, it was much closer to the Opus spinning discs than I'd dared hope for! The convenience might keep listening to CD's relegated to critical listening sessions. Well, that might be an overstatement. The Opus is one mighty sweet source and for the first time, it has me seriously considering a sale of the 555ES and Stello. It's truly special for the money spent. The question/temptation I'm now facing is about modding this player. I'll probably spend a good bit of time really getting to know it, but I'm pretty sure that my curiousity will eventually get the best of me and the mods will come. Til then I can recommend the SB3/Opus with a great deal of enthusiasm. I see a couple more SB3's in my future. What a great little device. The hype is well deserved. Dimitris, you're gonna love it.

 

[immtbiker]

I am extremely happy with mine and haven't stopped using it.
I downloaded dBpoweramp and ripped a bunch of my CD's into .flac and tagged them through the CDRipper.

I have found that the S/Q going out through the optical port into my MicroDac then my preamp, is far superior than just using the analog outs of the SB3 and it's own internal dac. Apples and oranges.

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif I am extremely happy with mine and haven't stopped using it.

Time to bust out the soldering iron and build a suitable power supply for the Squeezebox!

 

[lextek]

How does the Squeezebox compare to the Apple Airport Express?

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Time to bust out the soldering iron and build a suitable power supply for the Squeezebox!

Perhaps a dual mono 33,000uf oil-in-paper plitron black gated valhalla wired beast for my $249 toy.

...or a $700 Bolder modded unit like this:

http://www.boldercables.com/servlet/Detail?no=372

 

[Dimitris]

I just came back from Ohio and I had the box waiting for me in my room.

I took it out of the box and plugged in on my speaker setup. Dial in password - check, IP settings - check, Select internet radio - check. Whole process took 5 mins just to put in the connection password.

I then tried to figure out Pandora and managed to set it up in another 5 min. I have it playing now and it sounds great! Its very late so I can't crank up the speakers to hear any details but for quiet nights it sounds perfect to me.

I suspect extended listening hours in the near future!

I haven't tried playing music from my computer yet but I will try tomorrow and I will keep you posted. So far I am very impressed with the easy setup (if i can do it then anyone can do it!) and the sound quality at low levels.

Btw what do you guys think of its size? When I looked at it on the site it looked like a bit bigger than an Ipod. When I took it out of the box I was like "wuao this thing is big!".

It has the same width more or less as my Pathos. I dont mind because it has a big screen and I can see it from across the room I was just surprised.

 

[howiebrou]

Does anyone know what the range of the squeezebox or transporter is? I want to get one for my computer in the basement and listen to it on my roof which is 3 storeys up. Is that a potential problem?

Also If i burn everything to an external USB HD, do I need to keep my Mac G5 on all the time or will the squeezebox turn it on (if so, how does that work??)

Cheers

howiebrou

 

[Grahame]

Quote:

Originally Posted by howiebrou /img/forum/go_quote.gif Does anyone know what the range of the squeezebox or transporter is? I want to get one for my computer in the basement and listen to it on my roof which is 3 storeys up. Is that a potential problem?

Short answer - It depends. Wireless is great in theory, in practice YMMV (Your Mileage May Vary). Can you get a signal on another wireless device in the desired location - e.g. a laptop?

The squeezebox has a signal strength indicator when working wirelessly
(Settings->Information->Player Information->Wireless Signal Strength) That can help in positioning + orientation to maximize signal strength.

There is also the Network Test Plugin that can give you an idea of the sustained throughput of your network - to see if it can transport all the bits needed for the music without causing dropouts.

If you can run some cat5 cable to where required, wired makes things a lot more robust than wireless. Wireless can be disrupted by things like Microwave Ovens (they make great jammers), 2.4GHz cordless phones, and other peoples wireless networks.

Lots more info on the slim devices wiki especially the Network Design and related pages

Quote:

Originally Posted by howiebrou /img/forum/go_quote.gif Also If i burn everything to an external USB HD, do I need to keep my Mac G5 on all the time or will the squeezebox turn it on (if so, how does that work??) Cheers howiebrou

Squeezebox supports something called "Wake on LAN". When you turn on your squeezebox it sends a "Magic Packet" to the machine running slimserver in an attempt to wake it. If your machine supports "Wake on LAN", then it is possible to make it sleep/hibernate, but wake it up when its ethernet port/LAN card gets a wake up "magic packet" addressed to it.
In order for this to work - the lan card must be powered/wired to the network. (Systems tend to turn off wireless connectivity when sleeping - hence they never get the wake-on-lan packet meant to wake them if they are only attached wirelessly)

The Wiki and Google are your friends for more info.

 

[howiebrou]

Thanks.

No. I can not get a wireless signal from the roof or even two floors below. But that is a 802.11b network. Hmmmm May be I need to wirelss router on the 3rd floor before I make a move

 

[stlblues]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not only that, but besides using it with my main speaker rig 80% of the time, I'd like to be able to pick it up and have it along my bedside rig and sit on my front step with it without needing to be tethered to an outlet. Not only with headphones directly out of the back, but also through the optical, a MicroDac, and any small amp. Thanks Dimi.

http://www.audiocircle.com/gallery/d...bum=1180&pos=0

I'm in the process of doing something similar: http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/i...?topic=38639.0

I have an Apogee Mini-Dac on the way, thanks to the guidance of the good people here.

 

[Gabe Logan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by n_maher /img/forum/go_quote.gif Time to bust out the soldering iron and build a suitable power supply for the Squeezebox!

I second that.I did my DIY linear power supply with some help at the squeezebox forums and to me it definetly improves audio quality especially in more detailed highs and a tighter bass.

 

[immtbiker]

Dimitris,
The SqueezeNetwork and Internet radio only broadcasts at 64 kbps (like a really cheap mp3). If you think it sounds good with that, then once you start playing your computer .flac files, it should sound almost identical to a good CD player, especially if you use an external DAC.


howiebrou,
I spoke to the Slim Devices representative at the National and he said, in reality, you should only expect about 50' of range...not normal wi-fi range. The Transporter, with it's 2 external antennas can probably double the range.

 

[Dimitris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif Dimitris, The SqueezeNetwork and Internet radio only broadcasts at 64 kbps (like a really cheap mp3). If you think it sounds good with that, then once you start playing your computer .flac files, it should sound almost identical to a good CD player, especially if you use an external DAC.

He he I know. I need to listen to it more carefully today. Yesterday I just managed to connect it and have it setup after a looong day. I will do some more critical auditioning and I will come back soon.

 

[howiebrou]

Quote:

Originally Posted by immtbiker /img/forum/go_quote.gif howiebrou, I spoke to the Slim Devices representative at the National and he said, in reality, you should only expect about 50' of range...not normal wi-fi range. The Transporter, with it's 2 external antennas can probably double the range.

Thank you! Now I have to re-evaluate my positioning of my routers....

I presume the Sonos is similarly handicapped?

 

[eyeteeth]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gabe Logan /img/forum/go_quote.gif I did my DIY linear power supply with some help at the squeezebox forums and to me it definetly improves audio quality especially in more detailed highs and a tighter bass.

The benefit of the better power supply is if using the squeezebox's DAC and not for using the SB as a transport?

I have to say I'm really enjoying my SB. I listen to more music now and access music which was neglected before. I'm really certain I listened more to music that was on shelves between my head and chest than between waist and ankles. The only downgrade are minor unimportant things like slower response time with the remote compared to a CD player. Rewind and fast forward through songs is pretty useless. No regrets.