When listening to MP3s I always try to find a well-mixed album that was completed prior to the recent "louder is better" mastering trend that plagues our airwaves and CDs. Trisha Yearwood's The Song Remembers When is just such an album. If you haven't heard this album, it will make you a Nashville country fan in no time. This isn't your typical country twang, and just about everyone shows up to help out on these tracks (even Willie Nelsen plays guitar and does some backing vocals on "Hard Promises to Keep"). There are both soft and strong vocals and instrumentation includes a steel guitar, slide box, dobro, and the mandatory fiddle (that's a violin to you north-easterners) which stretches the range of these tunes beyond the typical instruments you may be used to hearing in less-produced country music.

For the listening session I sent coax S/PDIF output from the Squeezebox2 into an Emotiva DMC-1 which was driving a Rotel RMB-1095 amplifier . I queued up the CD from a Denon DVD-3910 , also using a coax digital output, and simultaneously started playback of the MP3 files. I was then able to more or less instantaneously switch back and forth between the MP3 and CD while the songs played in sync with each other.

There was excellent fidelity in the 320kbps MP3 tracks - for MP3. However, what I heard from the Squeezbox2 was more likely attributed to the faithful reproduction of what is, essentially a compressed and re-encoded format. The MP3s sounded a tad harsh and lacked the low-end punch and depth of the original CD recording. The CD also had a smoother sound with more spacious reverb on piano and vocals. The sound stage was also affected in that is was much narrower on the MP3 tracks.

Determined to learn more, I ripped the CD using the Ogg Vorbis CODEC at 320kbps and retried the listening session. While the low-end regained some of its punch, and the reverb sounded more natural, the vocals still lacked the clarity of the original.

What does this mean? In a nutshell it means that you really cannot easily evaluate the Squeezebox2 on audible performance unless you would like to simply listen and describe a lot of MP3 compression artifacts. Simply put, I will be writing an upcoming review comparing CODECs. For now, I simply recommend that people stay away from standard MP3 encoding, regardless of the bitrate, if they desire high fidelity playback of their music. For portable players it's a fantastic compromise. As for the Squeezebox 2, the fact that I could so clearly hear the differences in the MP3 tells me that it is an articulate player and is likely providing a very faithful reproduction of the source files. For the best fidelity, we recommend using the bit-accurate formats such as WAV, AIFF, or FLAC and allow the on-board Burr Brown DAC do its job.

Internet Radio
Internet radio was a blast to listen to. Whatever your preference, you can probably find it here. The bitrates vary, most are 64kbps or 128kbps, but all are entertaining and provide endless hours of enjoyment. I was hooked on CLUB 977 The 80's Channel (hey, it's just what I listened to growing up) but this is a 24kbps station and is not for those who want full frequency response. Still, many channels offered 128kbps solutions, enough that I felt my choices were anything but limited, especially compared to the relatively few pop/rock radio selections we have in Myrtle Beach. Quality was as good as I've heard, with the subwoofer getting some use on tracks and nothing detracting from the "fun" factor.

Conclusions and Overall Perceptions

The Squeezebox2 can be described in many ways, but the most important words are "open source". This device is developed so that the community can have some ownership through the development of plugins and software that can enhance the listening experience. The Squeezebox2 is a successful Digital Music Player in that it provides an ergonomic wireless solution to streaming music from your library to any room in your house. The implementation is solid and the software, barring a few nitpicks, is powerful and comprehensive. For $299, this system is hard to beat and presents a compelling solution for those looking to get their music collections streamed to a home theater system or separate room in the home.

Squeezebox2 Wireless Digital Music Player

MSRP $299 (wireless)
MSRP $249 (wired)

Slim Devices
958 San Leandro Avenue, Suite 400
Mountain View, CA 94043
(650) 210-9400

About Slim Devices
Founded in early 2000, Slim Devices specializes in low-cost, easy-to-use networked devices. Their unique combination of elegant hardware and Open Source software has built an active worldwide community of users and developers. Their first product, the SLIMP3 Networked Music Player, has received numerous rave reviews and awards since it was released in 2001.

Slim Devices continues to improve on their current products and develop new and exciting solutions for the home and office environments. In November of 2003, Slim Devices announced the next generation network music player, Squeezebox.