Listening tests were not a huge issue with things like Internet radio and podcasts, it is with quality of the streaming and how well it streams large files. The Squeezebox Duet claims to be able to stream uncompressed files like AIFF, WAV, and PCM. The upside of these formats is that you could theoretically buy a surround album (or uncompressed two-channel PCM) from someplace like itrax.com and stream it to your home theater as long as your Squeezebox's receiver was connected digitally. That's pretty cool. To test this out, I uploaded the seminal Pixies album Doolittle in WAV format. Sure, it isn't the best recorded album in the world but I could at least determine any obvious loss of fidelity.

In my review of the Logitech Wireless DJ, I noted that there were occasional dropouts of audio even when streaming something as easy as Internet Radio. Streaming a WAV file I figured was near impossible (an album saved in WAV format will easily pass around 10MB/minute, or over 1.3 Mbps - roughly 13% of the total bandwidth of my 10Base-T network). On top of that, I don't have a single piece of music on my computer that is saved in anything more compressed that WMA Lossless (2:1 compression makes the files about half the size of WAVs). I was sure that there would be audio dropouts galore.

I sure was wrong.

In the weeks of the review period, I experienced exactly one dropout and I'm pretty sure that was related to a power fluctuation and not a problem with the Squeezebox Duet! I was literally floored. WAV files, WMA Lossless files all streamed without so much as a hiccup. There wasn't even a huge delay before the album started to play as one might expect if the Squeezebox was trying to build up a buffer. Internet Radio and Podcasts, of course, were solid as rocks. It got to the point that I stopped even thinking of the Duet as a streaming device - it seemed just a solid to me as a DVD or CD player.

And the sound? I was streaming The Blue Man Group's limited edition Las Vegas 4 Song Sampler (something I picked up while walking through the Venetian on day) and comparing it to the CD version. The streamed version was saved in WMA Lossless and didn't so much as hiccup during the test. I connected the Squeezebox Duet up via analogue outputs for the test. You can really tell that Logitech and SlimDevices really care about audio. The inclusion of the Wolfson DACs means that the audio output is at least as good as nearly any other CD player out there. My listening tests easily bore this out as the Blue Man Group sounded fantastic. The wonderful thing is that you have the option of using one of the digital outputs if you have a high end DAC or just like having all the digital to analogue conversion done by your receiver.

Conclusion

Logitech may have hosed themselves on this review. Had the interface been working correctly, this one could have easily scored 5's across the board. Unfortunately, with the interface problems, it's hard to say, "You've just GOT to get one of these." Still, what the Squeezebox Duet did correctly, it did amazingly. Streaming was so solid it was beyond belief. The remote was, for the most part, a joy to use and a real head-turner when guests were over. Once Logitech knocks out some of the software bugs and reorganizes their menus a bit, it will be easy to say this is a must-have for nearly anyone that is looking for a way to get audio content from their computer (or the Internet) into their home theater. I liken it to a great looking hotrod with a brand new high-performance engine and a steering wheel that keeps falling off. Sure, the potential is there but until you get that interface fixed, it just isn't going to be realized.

Editor's Note: As the product stands, we feel that we have no recourse but to give it the ratings we have. We plan on updating this review and the ratings as the interface issues are solved. We feel that the Squeezebox Duet has the potential to be one of the coolest products on the market, but in the current state we can't justify higher ratings. Check back here for additional updates and rating changes.

Update 1: After the review was completed but before publication, Logitech worked out the Favorites List problems on the SqueezeNetwork screen but not all the issues Tom found with the SqueezeCenter screens such as Albums and Artists not showing up and some of the problems with the Favorites List. We will continue to monitor this product and keep you informed.

Logitech Squeezebox Duet

$399.99

Logitech

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Fremont, CA 94555 USA
+1 510-795-8500
www.logitech.com

About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in personal peripherals, driving innovation in PC navigation, Internet communications, digital music, home-entertainment control, gaming and wireless devices. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company traded on the SWX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).