Slim Devices Squeezebox - Hi-Fi Product of the Decade for m!

Audiophile Realist -- Sat, 09/02/2006 - 14:37

Today I picked up my Squeezebox from UPS. I was going to wait a few days to use it, because I need an ethernet cable installed in my walls. I couldn't wait for the cable guy, so I snatched a 50ft cable I had and ran it through the house just for a tease.

I unpacked my Linksys router, installed it into my system and set up my network. Connected the Squeeze box via the ethernet cable, and voila! I'm in business.

So I grab a new CD I purchased and recently fell in love with (Neko Case) and placed it into my transport. Both the transport and Squeezebox are connected to my DAC via coax, and I had used EAC to rip the CD tracks to my PC. I cue them up at the same time, and switch inputs to compare the transport to the Squeezebox. Was there any difference in sound quality? Maybe, but I certainly couldn't say definitively which was which or which was better. If there was a difference, it was negligible.

I'll be ripping more high-end recordings over the next few days, but so far this is the hi-fi product of the decade for me. I'm able to instantly navigate my entire CD library from the listening chair via album, artist, genre, etc., I can program tracks from different CDs to cue up as a playlist. I kid you not - the convenience of navigation allows me to enjoy my music collection, and thus my hi-fi, so much more that it is embarrassing. $250 is all it took! Well, plus a wee bit of computer know-how. And... all at a sound quality that is certainly as good as I need it, or have heard it on my hi-fi.

I see no point in buying an Olive, Escient or other product, because I have the hard drive space already. Any interest in a $$$$$ player (not that I was ever interested, given my use of an external DAC) has all but evaporated. Well done Slim Devices!

WSLam -- Wed, 09/20/2006 - 05:08

Hi TAR,

While we digress on the MINI, we are in total agreement here. Slim Devices have two killer products on hand. SB3 and the new Transporter (hope to have mine soon).

As a digital transport, the SB3 is extremely good. I use the SB3 with a DCC2 SE DAC and the result is as good as any PCM setup I have listened to, with the convenience of computer based music system.

The analog out of the SB3 is definitely not up to standard though, at least not for any sort of critical listening, but with either a better power supply or better yet, a good DAC, the SB3 will be an amazing music gateway to your music collection.

Audiophile Realist -- Wed, 09/20/2006 - 16:11

Hi WSLam,

The squeezebox is indeed an awesome product. And to think that it only costs $250.00! My music tastes run extremely wide, and the variety makes it so difficult to keep tabs on the CDs I own. Browsing by Artwork is the best thing since sliced bread - I can scan so many CDs so quickly. I get the functionality of an MP3 player while playing FLAC files. As you point out, when used via the digital out, the sound really is outstanding.

The other thing I'm really starting to love is the internet radio. You get so much access to more music for free, and it is just awesome that you don't need your PC turned on to use it. Although the bit rate is low, I maintain that genius can be appreciated even at 128kb. When you consider the thousands of channels you now have access to, I'd say that the Squeezbox pays for itself. No where else are you going to get this much musical enjoyment for so little.

btw, are those Rowland amps in your rack? My first real experience with hi-fi were with these massive Rowland Research amplifiers. They got so hot that you could fry an egg on them :-) But the sound was pure delight.

Audiophile Realist -- Fri, 09/22/2006 - 04:43

WSlam,

The new server software is available, and it is a great improvement! A wee bit slower, but it does a whole lot more, especially when navigating via album cover.

WSLam -- Tue, 09/26/2006 - 13:33

I think you are going to want to check these out! =)
Hehee...

http://photos.lam.ws/gallery/1930618

Enjoy!

My advice. GET the Transporter ASAP. Even the Analog Out is amazingly good

Audiophile Realist -- Tue, 09/26/2006 - 17:57

Schaaaaaaweet!

The dual screen gets thumbs up, the remote is right on point, and the full size case is a step in the right direction. Overall it looks gorgeous. How does it sound out of its own DAC vs your outboard DAC?

WSLam -- Wed, 09/27/2006 - 00:47

The Transporter Analog Output is a real shocker. It is really good. I have the analog hook up to my DCC2 SE (preamp) vs Transporter Digital Out to DCC2 SE (DAC+Preamp) and frankly, for casual listening, there's really no difference. Sit down, listen and yes the DCCSE sounds richer and fuller. But the Transporter is a FEW classes above the SB3 Analog Output.

Audiophile Realist -- Wed, 09/27/2006 - 04:05

WSLam wrote:The Transporter Analog Output is a real shocker. It is really good. I have the analog hook up to my DCC2 SE (preamp) vs Transporter Digital Out to DCC2 SE (DAC+Preamp) and frankly, for casual listening, there's really no difference. Sit down, listen and yes the DCCSE sounds richer and fuller. But the Transporter is a FEW classes above the SB3 Analog Output.

How anout SB3 digital out vs Transporter digital out? Any difference?

WSLam -- Fri, 09/29/2006 - 05:16

Audiophile Realist wrote:WSLam wrote:The Transporter Analog Output is a real shocker. It is really good. I have the analog hook up to my DCC2 SE (preamp) vs Transporter Digital Out to DCC2 SE (DAC+Preamp) and frankly, for casual listening, there's really no difference. Sit down, listen and yes the DCCSE sounds richer and fuller. But the Transporter is a FEW classes above the SB3 Analog Output.

Forgive me, but my SB3 has been disconnected for quite some time! =P (since the Transporter arrived)

I will hook itup this weekend. Long weekend here,

PhilNYC -- Mon, 10/02/2006 - 13:12

Just got my Transporter this afternoon. Right out fo the box, it beats the SB2 hands down (with both the digital and analog outs). No sign of sibilence anywhere, whereas the SB2 in my system was a bit sibilent and had some grain/edge to it. Will report more after I put some significant hours on it:

Phil Lam
Sonic Spirits Inc.
http//www.sonicspirits.com

Audiophile Realist -- Mon, 10/02/2006 - 19:36

Any comments on how it compares to digital out on the SB3? Also, how is it against your transport on the top shelf?

PhilNYC -- Tue, 10/03/2006 - 06:25

Audiophile Realist wrote:Any comments on how it compares to digital out on the SB3? Also, how is it against your transport on the top shelf?

I wasn't going to make any detailed comments until it had some time to burn in, but here are some initial impressions:

- HANDS DOWN better than the SB2 in every respect (both digital and analog out). No harshness or digital grain, excellent frequency extension both high and low, deep soundstage, etc. I had replaced the power supply on my SB2 with an Elpac linear power supply which had removed some of the harshness/sibilence from it, but the Transporter is significantly better than even that.

- Against my Oracle CD1000 transport, they are very close...close enough that I can only notice slight differences when A/B comparing them.

- Transporter analog out vs. Transporter + Dodson DAC: The Dodson DAC is still the better performer, with more clarity, bass speed, overall openness and refinement. However, the Transporter only has about 18 hours on it at the moment, and I have not done things like upgrade the power cord or anything like that.

So at this point, I'm thoroughly impressed with the Transporter, both as a transport and full digital source. I'll report again in a week or so after putting a bunch of hours on it, and hopefully I'll be able to compare it with some other products...

Audiophile Realist -- Tue, 10/03/2006 - 18:02

Given what you get from the SB3 for $250, and taking a look at the guts, it does seem overpriced at $2000 to me. Look at what you get from Escient for $1,000. But then again, if you really want a great analog output stage, look at your options. Sigh, I wish they sold a digital out only transporter. I'd pay $500-$750 for that in a heartbeat.

WSLam -- Wed, 10/04/2006 - 03:13

Audiophile Realist wrote:Given what you get from the SB3 for $250, and taking a look at the guts, it does seem overpriced at $2000 to me. Look at what you get from Escient for $1,000. But then again, if you really want a great analog output stage, look at your options. Sigh, I wish they sold a digital out only transporter. I'd pay $500-$750 for that in a heartbeat.

Once again, I cannot agree. =)
The Transporter is a thoroughly suprising piece. I do not care what parts they put in, if Sean Adams manage to creat a shockingly good sounding piece of equipment with inexpensive components, the more he is of a engineering genius.
And the Transporter sounds *seriously* good, even analog out. It is in fact the best bargain I have found in years.

Audiophile Realist -- Wed, 10/04/2006 - 04:47

:-)

Either he is a genius, his peers have seriously been ripping audiophiles off or he knows that audiophiles would positively melt at the gorgeous look of the Transporter (I did). He deserves all the kudos he can get when compared to his peers. On that basis it is a bargain because you aren't factoring in the price of your computer or NAS. Functionally does it do much more than the $250 SB3? Not really. Via the digital out, does it sound much better? I sincerely doubt it. So for $1,750 more you get a gorgeous chassis, audiophile analog output stage DAC. That's a lot of extra change if you ask me, and I fully accept the economy of scale issues here. But again, adding the price of the transporter and a good PC with GIGs of memory ($2,000 + $1,500easily = $3,500)is not so far from an excellent CD player.

In the end I find no compelling reason to upgrade for $1,750 for how I would use it (as with SB3, if you are running it to your own DAC, then it really is just a remote terminal to your PC). Obviously its merits are far more important for those who don't use an outboard DAC.

PhilNYC -- Wed, 10/04/2006 - 06:47

Audiophile Realist wrote::-)
Via the digital out, does it sound much better? I sincerely doubt it.

In my system and to my ears, the Transporter via digital out is at least a notch or two higher in sound quality than the SB2...

Audiophile Realist -- Wed, 10/04/2006 - 15:53

Are you confident enough to A/B test yourself? Also, was SB3 better sounding than SB2? It just seems too much $$$ for a notch considering how good SB3 is IMO.

PhilNYC -- Wed, 10/04/2006 - 19:52

Audiophile Realist wrote:Are you confident enough to A/B test yourself? Also, was SB3 better sounding than SB2? It just seems too much $$$ for a notch considering how good SB3 is IMO.

Absolutely confident. And I invite anyone in the NJ/NY area to come over to my place to do an A/B test with me.

I don't have an SB3, so I can't test that against the SB2, but people whose ears/opinions I trust have told me that there is no significant difference between the SB2 and SB3 (both analog and digital outs).

Audiophile Realist -- Thu, 10/05/2006 - 04:32

Well done to Slim Devices then! I hope they really cause a ruckus in the marketplace.