Duet Listening Tests and Conclusion
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
6505 Kaiser Dr.
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).
The Score Card
The scoring below is based on each piece of equipment doing the duty it is designed for. The numbers are weighed heavily with respect to the individual cost of each unit, thus giving a rating roughly equal to:
Performance × Price Factor/Value = Rating
Audioholics.com note: The ratings indicated below are based on subjective listening and objective testing of the product in question. The rating scale is based on performance/value ratio. If you notice better performing products in future reviews that have lower numbers in certain areas, be aware that the value factor is most likely the culprit. Other Audioholics reviewers may rate products solely based on performance, and each reviewer has his/her own system for ratings.
Audioholics Rating Scale
— Excellent
- — Very Good
- — Good
- — Fair
- — Poor
| Metric | Rating |
|---|---|
| Analogue Audio Performance | |
| Music Management | |
| Internet Radio Performance | |
| Streaming Media Performance | |
| System Stability | |
| Wireless Performance | |
| Build Quality | |
| Ergonomics & Usability | |
| Ease of Setup | |
| Features | |
| Remote Control | |
| Fit and Finish | |
| Performance | |
| Value |  |
The sound of the two devices is very different (if you have a decent piece of kit to tell it) so you have to carefully select what you connect it to.
After many hours of listening I've picked what I think best combination. My reference system consists of squeezebox duet connected optically to Audio Alchemy DAC-In-The-Box which connects directly into Parasound A21 power amp (the best preamp is no preamp) and a pair of NHT 2.5i. The sound is owesome. It's the best system I've ever had (and I've had a lot).
The second system in my study is squeezebox connected to Nakamichi IA-4 integrated amp and a pair of Monitor Audio RS-6. The sound is very good but not as good as with Parasound.
The Controller can control both squeezeboxes (separately or in sync) or you can control both system from any computer on your network via browser (I use Google Chrome).
I've never had ANY problem with both squeezeboxes. Both are connected via WIFI. Well there is one small issue when microwave oven is turned on for more than 4 minutes then the closest squeezebox rans out of cache and start to stutter.
Otherwise the squeezebox is perfect. It was perfect with initial releases of SlimServer, now it gives you more and more features with every new release.
The controller is a treat. I noticed I started to listen to the music more considering that any track of any CD in my collection now is just a click away. Now the actual CDs are stashed away in the box in the closet.
Great job Logitech (or SlimDevices)!
Thinking of going for the Transporter. It has the balanced outputs and think this alone will worth a try. Even if it's not better than the Duet it will look great on top of my Parasound.
Then the 2nd problem - no sound. Then I noticed the remote saying it was playing a song, with the little countdown timer, but it wouldn't play more than 30 seconds before it would start over again. If I changed the volume, it also started over at the beginning. I spent several more hours on this step, trying to figure out why there was no sound, and why the song wouldn't "play" more than 30 seconds.
I went on to Logitech's web page to post my problems. I typed in a very long list of my issues - and pressed submit. I got an error, the page had timed out, and everything I typed was gone! That was the final straw for me, I am returning this. Too bad - it looks very cool, and the people that managed to get it to work love it.
And for those of you thinking I may not be technically inclined, and possibly that was my issue - I'm a programmer, I set up encrypted WiFi all the time, I set all kinds of electronice devices up - usually with little or no issues. And I'm a web prgrammer - there was no reason for them to time out their web page and lose my problem description I spent so much time typing in. Logitech just gave a tiny brochure on how to set this up - so it should have taken no more than 10 minutes.
10010011;414471
Don't hold your breath. Logitech is well known for releasing buggy products, promising patches, then abandoning it after several failed attempts at bug fixes.
Like my MX5000 Cordless Desktop bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
I had been considering a Squeezebox. I did not know Logitech had bought them. I thank Audioholics for pointing this out, now I will avoid the Sqeezebox.
Logitech bought Slim Devices, but we retained virtually all (I think we lost one) the same developers that brought you the Squeezebox Classic and Transporter. That includes the founder and lead product tinkerer Sean Adams, and our Director of Engineering Dean Blackketter. With the additional funding Logitech has thrown behind us, we actually expanded our engineering ranks quite a bit by hiring some of our most prolific community developers.
I can't speak for how the keyboard guys release their software, but the main reason we acquired these guys was their expertise in the field. The Logitech "overloards" have not taken over, in fact we're having an affect on the rest of the company in terms of how the greater Logitech releases and tests their software and products with our whole open source thing.
Mike
__________________
Michael Valera
Online Communities Manager
Logitech Streaming Media Business Unit
slimdevices.com
