Synchronized Digital Network Audio
A review of the Squeezebox2 Digital Music Player by Slim Devices, Inc.
By Arthur Whalem

Slim Devices has been creating external audio devices for playing music located on the computer and internet radio for quite a few years. Their first offering was the SLIMP3 model that plays compressed audio formats including MP3 computer files on a stereo. In late 2003, Slim Devices released the first Squeezebox model. Squeezebox #1 added WAV and AIFF support, built in wireless connectivity along with support for more audio formats and digital outputs. Squeezebox was a wonderful upgrade that brought AIFF music to the home theatre for the first time. Now, Slim Devices has taken the next step with the release of Squeezebox2.



Squeezebox2 Features
Squeezebox2 is a small 8.5"W x 1.9"H x 4.5"D box that allows you to play your digital audio files (located on your computer) and internet radio on a home theatre system, headphones or powered speakers. It includes a high fidelity 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC that provides clean output and low distortion. Squeezebox2 has a remote control that allows you to easily browse, search and play music or listen to internet radio stations. Squeezebox2 can accommodate multiple players for synchronized music playback in multiple rooms or each unit can play its own selections. It has 10/100 ethernet connections as well as 802.11g wireless capability. In fact, it also can serve as a wireless bridge for a playstation, Xbox, or other ethernet supported device of your choosing. Squeezebox2 has optical and coax digital connections along with RCA outputs and a standard 1/8" headphone jack. Audio formats supported include AIFF, WAV, PCM, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WMA Lossless, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, MP2, MusePack, and WMA. Squeezebox2 cannot play protected AAC music purchased from the Apple Music store, but you can burn protected AAC files to CD and reimport them with iTunes in one of the Squeezebox2 supported formats. As you can see Squeezebox2 provides a lot of options for playing computer audio on your home theatre or stereo.

What's New?
The new Squeezebox2 adds superior sound quality, an enhanced graphics display, a wonderful internet radio interface, 10/100 ethernet or wireless 802.11g that can also be used as a wireless bridge. Plus Squeezebox2 owners get access to the new free SqueezeNetwork that allows Squeezebox2 to access a growing list of audio and RSS services even without using your computer.

Superior sound quality - Squeezebox2 features a high fidelity 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC, legendary in the audiophile community for their clean output and ultra-low distortion characteristics. Digital optical, coax, and analog connectors allow you to plug into any home theater, stereo or amplified speakers. If you search the internet for "24-bit Burr-Brown" you will find audio products by Denon, Pioneer, Kenwood, Sony and more usually with a price tag over $500. The 24-bit Burr-Brown DAC is known for its quality. From my experience, music played through the Squeezebox2 DAC has a tight bass and a smooth open clarity. In my sound tests, music played though the Squeezebox2 using a PowerMac G5 2.0 Dual as the server was much cleaner and smoother than when using the PowerMac G5 optical out port to play the music.

Enhanced Graphics Display
While the original Squeezebox display is nice, it is limited to text and is not as easy to read from a distance. The new Squeezebox2 display is a beautiful high-resolution vacuum fluorescent display, that supports 320x32 grey scale pixels. This allows Squeezebox2 to display graphical animated images as well as larger more informative displays. The new bitmapped graphics, multiple fonts, animation, and images provide a much nicer visual experience while using Squeezebox2.

Internet Radio
The new SlimServer 6.0 software that powers the Squeezebox2 gives you a wide range of internet radio choices. There are thirty Slim Device internet radio channels that load into the Squeezebox2 with the push of a button. If this does not provide you with enough choices you can listen to thousands of internet radio stations from Live365, radioio.com or SHOUTcast internet radio with the Squeezebox2. The internet radio listening experience built into Squeezebox2 is very easy to use. No setup is required on the computer to start listening to internet radio. The display shows the artist and the title of the song currently playing. Using the remote you can also see the file format, bitrate of the recording and the radio url. Live365 internet radio requires free registration for Live365 use with Squeezebox2. Once you have registered you simply put your log in information into the SlimServer settings under Server Settings:Internet radio: Live365 Internet Radio. Close the server and all of the Live365 stations are available using the Squeezebox2 remote. Internet radio is easily accessible with Squeezebox2.

SqueezeNetwork
The new SqueezeNetwork allows you to use Squeezebox2 over the internet without even having a local computer turned on. You can play radio stations, Live Music Concerts (836), listen to natural sounds and view RSS news feeds from sources like BBC world news, CNET, NY Times, Slashdot, Yahoo News and more. A favorites channel is available so that you can add your favorite radio stations to it for easy access. The 26 natural sounds are very nice. These include babbling brook, crickets, hard rain and thunder, lapping waves, birds, ocean surf, rain outside, river, rooster crow, rural sounds, shore and seagulls, waves, wind and more. As I am writting this, it is 106 degrees outside and 83 indoors. I am playing the hard rain and thunder sound from the SqueezeNetwork and somehow it feels just a little cooler in this hot Arizona summer heat. The SqueezeNetwork also has a web interface that can be used to set up your preferences. You can see the screen options for the SqueezeNetwork below.



You can change your account, link players, modify your favorites channel, and setup new RSS feeds on-line for your SqueezeNetwork player with the screen above. When you modify your setiings the player is modified when it accesses the network. This is a very cool system.

The Server
You can download the Mac OS X server for Squeezebox2 which is called SlimServer. Once installed you can access it from within your Mac OS X system preferences. If you open your system preferences and select SlimServer you can set it to automatically launch at startup or when you log in. Pushing the start button allows the SlimServer to accept your setup commands and start playing your music using Squeezebox2.



Library Setup
SlimServer by default will use your iTunes folder as the location of digital audio for Squeezebox2 to play. However, you can select another folder instead. Using the Web Access button you can easily control and change preferences for your Slimserver.

Web interface
The SlimServer web interface is one of the things that makes Squeezebox2 so wonderful. You can use the web interface or the remote that comes with Squeezebox2 to browse genres, artists, albums and playlists you create. In addition, the search features in SlimServer are very easy to use.

Playlists and Internet Radio Stations
SlimServer allows the user to create playlists of their favorite songs. You can make playlists by song, album, artist, or genre. In addition, SlimServer automatically displays all of your iTunes music. You can navigate through your iTunes library using the Squeezebox2 remote without having to setup a single playlist. However, if you want to create a special playlist that includes only certain songs SlimServer can provide that service. Internet Radio stations are just as easy to access. Simply navigate to "Internet Radio" using the Squeezebox2 remote and select the radio station you want to play. It has never been so easy to play internet radio stations.

Remote Web access
Another cool feature Squeezebox2 has is the ability to access your playlists from a remote computer. This means no matter where you are, as long as you have access to the host computer you can control Squeezebox2. The Slimserver access url is: http://192.168.0.16:9000/ where the IP 192.168.0.16 is replaced with the IP address of your computer that is running SlimServer. This web page gives you access to the SlimServer remotely. From there you can view or change what is playing on Squeezebox2 as well as remove or add songs to any playlist. You can control just about every function of Slimserver without touching the host computer or the Squeezebox2 remote. http://192.168.0.16:9000/status.html (again replacing the IP 192.168.0.16 with your SlimServer host IP) will show you the status of the player, including the current song and playlist. You can even send a text message to the Squeezebox2 player without stopping the music or going to the host server. Send the SlimServer a URL of http://192.168.0.16:9000/status.m3u and it will download a text file containing a list of the current songs in the playlist along with path information to your computer.

Streaming with SlimServer
You can stream music from SlimServer using Softsqueeze on a Mac OS X computer, Windows PC or Linux system. Softsqueeze is a software music player that works with the Slimserver software. It complements the Squeezebox2 music player by allowing you to access your SlimServer music collection from a computer running Mac OS X or from a PC. Softsqueeze supports synchronization with Squeezebox2 players and remote streaming over the Internet using ssh tunneling. It has been developed in Java, and requires Java 1.5 to operate.



Softsqueeze allows you to turn any computer running Mac OS X into a software based Squeezebox music player. You can access the SlimServer music library Independently or while synchronized with other Squeezebox players. Softsqueeze allows you to easily access your music library over the internet.

Using Squeezebox2 with Airport
Setting up the Squeezebox2 with Airport requires you to know your Airport password in a hex equivalent format when using encryption. To learn what that is, open the AirPort Admin Utility. Select your base station from the list. Click Configure. When prompted, enter the password for your base station. Click the Password icon at the top of the window and copy down your equivalent password. You may also want to setup ethernet bridging if you are using both a wired network and a wireless network. Setting up the Squeezebox2 wirelessly is simple. Just start it up and select wireless. Next, put in the information requested. Squeezebox2 supports 64 bit WEP, 128 bit WEP, WPA Personal, and no password/no encryption. Original grey Airport owners will find that they are not supported while using encryption, as Squeezebox2 does not support 40 bit WEP. The Squeezebox2 in this review was tested wirelessly using an Airlink AR315W 802.11g wireless router. WPA personal was used as the encryption method. The Airlink AR315W 802.11g wireless router was setup to only accept "Trusted Clients" and the Squeezebox2 Mac Address was added to the list. The Squeezebox2 was able to establish a wireless connection within 5 seconds with a wireless signal strength of 93-100% within 10 feet of the Airlink AR315W in the same room. At a distance of 25 feet from the router, the wireless signal strength was 78-83% according to the Squeezebox2 built in signal strength display. At a distance of 70 feet the signal dropped to 58-60%. At 100 feet away with three rooms and one floor between the Squeezebox2 and the router the wireless signal strength dropped to 45%. Squeezebox2 was still able to play AIFF files. From my tests, keeping the wireless signal strength at 50% or higher will provide good sound quality. I was surprised how much better AIFF audio performed with Squeezebox2 wirelessly than with the original Squeezebox. The 802.11g connection built into Squeezebox2 really makes a difference.

Firewall
SlimServer requires router configuration to work past a firewall. You will need to open UDP port 3483 for communication between the Squeezebox2 player and the Slimserver computer. TCP port 9000 also needs to be open for access to the Slimserver web interface. Setting up a computer network without proper firewall protection is not recommended. Users that do so may experience outside pings of their SlimServer system or their computer.



Using Squeezebox2 with Mac mini
When you are listening to music it is nice to do it in a quiet room. If your computer will be in the same room with your music you may want to consider using a Mac mini. The Mac mini is very quiet and the 80GB model can provide quite a few music selections. If the Mac mini internal drive does not provide you with enough storage you can use a FireWire external drive with it. Using the Mac mini with SlimServer and Squeezebox2 uses less than 10% of the Mac mini 1.42GHz processor when playing AIFF audio and less than 1% when idle. I was able to run EyeTV 200, EyeHome and SlimServer all on the same Mac mini. Squeezebox2 and SlimServer work very well with Mac mini for powering a music library.

What about Air Tunes?
While the Apple AirPort Express with Air Tunes gets you started playing music on your home theatre, it does not have the fidelity, graphic display, remote control, access to SqueezeNetwork and the ease of use provided by a Squeezebox2 system. In my opinion, Air Tunes does not compare well to Squeezebox2. The ability to see what song is playing and control the music playback without having to use a computer is an important feature. Squeezebox2 was designed to do this well. If hi-fidelity and superior system integration into a home theatre are important characteristics in your decision to purchase an external computer audio device, you should look closely at the Squeezebox2 system.



Squeezebox2 System Requirements
Computer running Mac OS X 10.1.5 or higher.
Can also run on Windows, Linux, Solaris and BSD.
Audio files - AIFF, WAV, PCM, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WMA Lossless, MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, MP2, MusePack, and WMA are supported.
Internet connection for internet radio use.
External amp and speakers or headphones.

Pros
Beautiful fluorescent display.
Small size.
Synchronize multiple players for whole house audio.
Burr-Brown DAC provides superior sound quality.
Supports DTS Pass through.
Wireless bridge capability.
Supports many audio formats and internet radio.
Free SqueezeNetwork Services.
Comes with a full function remote control.
Has an alarm function.
Works wirelessly or wired.
Works with existing stereo or headphones.
Can stream audio over the internet.
Support for multiple players and servers.
Can browse or search your songs by genre, artist, or album.
Allows you to play and save playlists.
Open Source Plugin architecture.
Uses a computer web server for easy updating.

Cons
Cannot play AAC Protected music purchased at Apple Music Store without burning them to a CD-RW and then re-ripping them.


Squeezebox2 gets 5 AMUGs out of 5!
If you are looking for an elegant way to play MP3, Apple Lossless, AIFF and internet radio without dragging your computer over to the home theatre or stereo, Squeezebox2 is a wonderful solution. The beautiful 320x32 grey scale fluorescent display and the high fidelity Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC looks and sounds great with any home theatre. Squeezebox2 is a significant upgrade over the original Squeezebox. The new SqueezeNetwork is awesome and Squeezebox2 is the best external audio interface I have used. Right after this review was released Squeezebox2 added support for podcast playback. You can get Squeezebox2 for $279 or if you do not need wireless capability a wired only model is available for $199.

Slim Devices Special Offer - (Requires AMUG Membership)
AMUG Members can save $20 on the purchase of a Squeezebox2 when it is ordered from the Sim Devices web site. The Slim Devices coupon code can be found in the AMUG members only area. This discount will automatically show up in your basket if the code is inserted in the "Promotion Code" field of the order page. This offer is valid until the end of September 2005.

Contact Information:
Slim Devices, Inc.
958 San Leandro Ave, Suite 900
Mountain View, CA 94043 USA
650.210.9400
sales@slimdevices.com
support@slimdevices.com

Copyright 2005
Arizona Macintosh Users Group, Inc. (AMUG)
Visit AMUG at www.amug.org for computer news, resources, discounts and friends. JOIN AMUG!
Slim Devices has a few refurbished original Squeezebox units left in the Accessories section for $179. You can see the AMUG review of the original Squeezebox model here. However, we believe Squeezebox2 is definately worth the extra dollars.