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I was one of the UI software engineers for the Squeezebox Touch, and this video has been shared and discussed with the entire former Squeezebox engineering team, who still keep in "touch" (see what I did there). We were not a very large team, and still really proud of the work we did on this product and the entire Squeeze platform. It's wonderful to see this video so many years later. Thanks for this deep dive, it made my week. Squeezebox is dead, long live Squeezebox!
Thank you team, just firing up SBT again and bringing back a lot of memory, and still capable to play Tidal/Qobuz PCM 24/192, MQA 384 and DoP64 wirelessly with Roon and right USB DAC, still amazing, isn’t it?
@@customconsult3045 The company went for a big bet on building the first GoogleTV hardware (heard of it? yeah, nobody has) and poached a majority of the Squeezebox engineering team to support it. The remainder of the SlimDevices organization was reorganized into a corporate business unit that both didn't believe in the platform and didn't have any institutional expertise in complex software. If it wasn't for huge sales figures of Squeezebox Radio they would have shuttered us earlier. It's still a head shaker, so many years later. Before all of that hit the fan, it was the most engaged, enthusiastic, and innovative team I've been a part of professionally.
Wow, cool. Thanks for commenting. I can only agree with the statements in the video. It's a great system well ahead of it's time back then. I'm still using it with 7 active devices, 3 of which are original hardware (1 receiver, 2 touches) the others self built after Squeezebox was killed. You sure developed a great product which continues to provide joy and entertainment. Thanks!
Sean Adams is a genius, an unsung hero of audio server. He open sourced the whole platform and single headedly defined the genre. His design of the Transporter is my all time audiophile favourite. Thanks to open source, the lowly SB Touch went from supporting only 24/48 SPDIF to 24/192 USB with DoP support. Too bad Logitech bought the company and swiftly killed it.
I’ve tried other streamers/apps, but none could compete with LMS & iPeng. You can get some amazing hardware DACs etc for the RPi. Shout out to Triode, Ralphy and all the other community developers for keeping the Squeezebox platform alive and relevant!
I work at Logi when they bought Slim. My old boss moved over to be the GM of the streaming business. It was so ahead of its time when CD’s were all the rage. Such a shame this didn’t stick around as today it would be an amazing product for Logi.
Agree that the Touch was before its time and is still a relevant interface with software that was programmed correctly from the beginning (still have one in the bedroom). Using the analog outputs provides good sound, but using the digital outputs to a separate DAC is the way to go if that is available. My usual DAC is getting repaired, so I'm using a spare Touch directly connected to my amps. Considering that the Touch is functioning as a streamer, DAC and volume control, it is simply amazing what $250 (at the time) delivers.
Great to see Soma FM get a mention. I discovered it the day I got ADSL installed 20 years ago and I've been listening ever since. I treat myself annually to some of their excellent merch which also funds the station. Long may they continue to broadcast.
I've been using streaming software (Logitech Media Server) to run my whole house audio system since 2005. Players it services include 2 X Touch's, 1 x Radio, 6 x Chromecasts, all my Google smart devices and a fantastic sounding Naim NDX streamer. It is definitely one of the most underrated pieces of free software in the world and all kudos to people like Michael Herger, Philippe44, BPA, ExpectingToFly and others too numerous to mention for supporting and improving it. And yes, as the presenter says, Material Skin is key. I even use the mobile version on my Android phone to control the whole setup, along with the two Touch's and any other internet-enabled devices that happen to be lying around.
Finally! A dedicated video on this! I’m a running this as my main system since so long and my installation is now so customized that I'm basically stuck into this. No other system is really able to cover my needs without significant investment and compromises. It’s a love and hate relationship. And what you’ve shown is just the tip of the iceberg, this thing can also do Airplay in both direction (at the same time), manage room correction, precisely manage timings in a complex and heterogeneous multiroom system, you can even stream on the go (using iPeng + VPN),…
I love that you chose to make a film about this. I've been using LMS for ten years now. There's one big(to me) feature that LMS does better than any other service and that's a random shuffle of the library. You can exclude genres and shuffle by track, album, artist, etc.... The "randomness" of the shuffle is the best I've ever experienced. It's got a way of digging out great tracks from albums that haven't been heard in months/years. Only in the last month have I set aside my LMS to try out Volumio as a platform and while it's attractive it fails utterly on shuffle and accessing a large library as well. Going back to LMS.
Thanks so much for spreading the word about the ongoing usefulness of LMS (and the community of software developers who keep this going). That this software has survived corporate acquisition and abandonment and continues to evolve is a wonderful miracle.
I've been running a squeezebox server since 2009 starting with the Duet. I got the Touch a year later for its built in 192khz DAC and now I have five receivers, including an ESP32 WROVER SBC running Squeezelite. I particularly like the bathroom's repurposed Android TV box connected via Bluetooth to a JBL clip speaker hanging in my shower. When you close the door behind you, it starts playing tracks from a playlist full of 80s era pop music. A great time is had by all who enter. But the best trick I can do with it is make the music follow me from room to room as I move around the apartment. Using a bunch of ESP32 Wroom boards, bit o free code called ESPresence, an iBeacon and the open source Home automation program, Home Assistant, you can sync up receivers to the master receiver whenever you walk into a room with an available receiver. Pretty neat
Great video, my streamer is the LMS installed on a Pi4, with Squeezer on the android, powered by a battery, connected to an external DAC. Sounds great!
Just wanted to say that I'm a big fan of SomaFM. I started streaming Groove Salad via WinAmp on my PC back in 2002 or 2003. Not a day goes by without at least 2-3 hours of Groove Salad Classic playing in the background.
This video couldn't have come along at a better time. I bought a Squeezebox touch when it first came to market and it served me faithfully for many years. As advancements in media players and streamers started to roll out I upgraded to a fully fledged High End player player sometime like four years ago. I recently had the itch for another upgrade and traded in my recent player for what I believed to be a upgrade. Needless to say I am not satisfied with the recent acquisition and asked the dealer for my trade in to be shipped back to me and I would return the new one back to them. While waiting for my former player to be shipped back to me I came across this video and it reminded me I still have my Sqeezebox Touch in a closet somewhere, dug it out and connected it to my DAC. It still does what it was intended to do quite admirably and truth be told I never realized how advanced it was for the time, color screen, access to thousands of stations, access to your music files just to name a few and all while sounding quite good using the digital out to my DAC, this little GEM is holding me over until I receive my previous player. The insight into third party apps and software is very informative and as such I have tried a few of them making the Squeezebox Touch still very useful. Glad I didn't move it forward and kept it-A KEEPER! B.T.W. I noticed while you were scrolling through your playlist one of them was a Francois K. file, I have had the immense pleasure of D.J.ing with him, he is an absolute dancefloor genius. PEACE THRU LUV, MUZIK & RESCUE!
I started my streaming journey on squeezebox and still have a Squeezebox Duet in the Cupboard. Now using LMS/Squeezelite on Picore/Raspberry Pie, with material Skin :) It rocks!
I use Daphile and it's upgrade version of Logitec and it's best free software for all purpose. I have dedicated music sever with Daphile on it for few years and will have it for a long time to go :)
Got 2 squeezebox touches, and never felt the need to replace or upgrade. It's a classic and should be talked about in the same way a CD63 or a ZX Spectrum are, the best at the time and still bring a smile to your face. (Except even better in that blind testing they really are still as good as you get)
My perfect streamer is fairly simple: - Reasonably priced - At least CD quality streaming - Screen with cover art - Bit Perfect streaming - Airplay 2/Chromecast I cannot be the only one who feels this way, but surprisingly products like this are basically non-existent
For me one of the greatest things about LMS (which I am listening to via PiCorePlayer) is the option of genre filtered album shuffle. Choose the genres you want to listen to, let's say Trip Hop, Electronica and Soundtracks and random albums will be played, gaplessly, in its entirety. No other system I tried can do that.
My old neighbour wrote the original Softsqueeze software emulator for the Slimp3 hardware. They then gave him a job at Slim Devices! Was great going round his house to see the early Transporter and Duo prototypes! Like you I run a LMS/Roon in tandem...for safety 🤣
Still using my Squeezebox devices along with the server software running on a old network connected PC sitting on a shelf in my basement with 12TB USB drive. My main stereo system is using a Squeezebox Touch, also purchased a spare Touch before they sold out to keep as a backup. In addition have my original SB3 Squeezebox in my garage, two Squeezebox Boom units in bedrooms and one Squeezebox Radio in the kitchen. All still work with the exception of the original power supply for the Touch (10 dollar replacement). Also using an external DAC connected to the Touch with the main stereo system. Takes some tweaking (setting up static IP addresses for the server and devices and setting up WOL wake on lan packet) to get things working smoothly and reliably but once done it just works. The Server PC is set up to sleep after 30 minutes on idle time and wakes in 5 second when a special packet is sent by one of the devices. So far I haven't found a better solution but wish Logitech would get back into manufacturing these devices.
Sounds like you have an advanced knowledge on the Squeezebox and I'm hoping you might be willing to answer a question. Several months ago my Squeezebox stopped working which I understood to be Logitech shutting down the server. The comments in this video seem to indicate that the device can still be used but since I'm not an audio "techie" it all sounds confusing and complicated. On the positive side my Squeezebox has been and still is connected to a tablet (Windows 9) computer. The main feature I hope to recover with my Squeezebox is access to my free Pandora Music App using the touch screen. Is there an easy way I can accomplish this? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Great that someone acknowledges the Squeezebox family of streaming devices. I run 4 of them through my entire house for more than 10 years now I think... I especially love the fact that I can use the squeezebox way to make lists (of lists) to store my favourites whereever they come from (internet radio, spotify, my own collection etc). Great user community too!!
I loved the squeezebox range and was gutted when they stopped it, but 10 years on I still use LMS on a Linux server and a touch into my headphone amp, it does everything I need and never felt the need to replace. My father in law has the same setup that I built for him and my second touch feeds his hifi equipment. Fantastic mix of local and online music
Great video. I too share the enthusiasm for squeezebox! Material skin has been a game changer and has modernised the interface! I was using picoreplayer for hifiberry amp (with an RPI3) for kitchen and bathroom speakers and recently tried out the hifiberry software with native integration for squeezebox. Would highly recommend as the audio sounds a lot better. Not sure if hifiberry has adjusted the EQ, but certainly happy with the result.
Try twenty years ago. I just took five SBs to the Goodwill. Best streamer ever and decades ahead of the curve. Sadly it was geared towards Geeks and when problems arose a Luddite like myself was lost on the SB forums. I’ve moved on from SB but not from streaming. 98% of my music is streaming.
Dear John, you didnt created this wonderful video for yourself but for me as well :), I had the Squeezebox touch and was using it with Duet remote control for more than 10 years but then my Tidal stopped working and web interface was lagging so sold it for 150 EUR, I was quite happy after 10 years I was able to get that money. I wasnt aware that there was new material UI available otherwise would have hold on it for another few years. You are one of the only Audiophile who is also a Computerphile, so please keep making these type videos for people like us. Well done
I just wanted to say thank you for this video. I recently acquired a Touch for nothing but was at a loss as to what to do with it. I've now installed the server in Docker on my QNAP NAS and the system works great. Without you succinct and enthusiastic video I don't think I'd have made it my Bank Holiday weekend project...
This brings me back a ways. I originally had a Squeezebox Boom and on the one hand I loved it -- but man, did I have network problems. It seemed at least once every other week it wouldn't function with the music I had on a NAS back then, and it would take 30-40 minutes of fiddling to make it work. Within a year or two I'd migrated to a Sonos product and, for all of the disadvantages of Sonos, at least it worked consistently and easily. I preferred the Squeezebox when it worked. Since then I have moved onto other more complex systems, but I appreciate the look back into the past.
Great review John. 👍🏽 I still use LMS, running it on a NUC with Ubuntu server. I use Squeezelite to connect the HDMI output into my Linn DSM. This works for me better than via uPnP or Airplay towards the DSM. Control is done via iPeng on my iPhone/iPad, which also can playback music via the playback add-on. The Touch is sold, but I still have a Radio somewhere in the attick.
Loved the nostalgia oozing out from the host. I have squeezebox classic bought in 2006 and a logitech transporter. I use the transporter through NAD208 powe amp. Sometimes with an analogue equaliser too. Both of them sound great still today. I have hit upon a treasure in their plugin called Radio now playing. It gives us access to many FLAC streams ranging from 846 kbps to 2400 kbps. Music never sounded so good. Hearing to streams is fun to have the old magical radio music going on and if they are FLACs, Bingo!
Thank You for bring SB Touch out from my memory and I setup again tonight, firing up Roon with SB support, installed EDO, plugged in USB mobile DAC which is MQA and DSD capable and powered from USB directly, so just one power adapter and USB cable, thanks for Roon powerful front-end, relived SBT into PCM 24/192, MQA up to 384kHz and DoP64 capable Roon Endpoint in my bedroom with no extra cost to me and a lot of fun. Thank You again.🎉
Being a dedicates Squeezebox owner ever since 2004, and still using a Squeezebox2, Classic and Touch, this is no surprise for me at all. Still nice to hear this confirmed from no less than the people from Audioquest!
The ultimate setup these days I reckon is a fanless pc running daphile (LMS) as a auto ripper and server (maybe also replay if connected to usb dac). That’s what I used to to run. Currently have a server for storage, fanless pc running daphile then I have the following for replay in my house. Main hi-fi Slimdevices Transporter Shed hi-fi squeezebox Duet Sons room squeezebox radio Daughters room squeezebox touch My room squeezebox touch. Control via squeeze remote or ipeng. Handles multiroom playback of all my lossless flak rips, streaming services inc HD ones, web radio and everything you can think of. I just don’t get why Logitech ran system into ground as it still stacks up against everything available at any price. Transporter is ultimate hi-fi streamer and even now it’s DAC stacks up very highly to even quite expensive dac’s. Can accept and send external clocks and even has xlr and phono connections. Currently my transporter is clock locked to my da-capo HDCD filter DAC with DC psu. Ok I loose HD ability but it’s incredible at everything else and downsamples anything proper hd.
When I started this new hobby (hifi & headphones) about 6 months ago you were one of my guiding lights amongst all the confusion of info out there. I quickly realized that you communicated this audio stuff in a way I could understand. Then when you were talking about Apple’s “spacial audio” you extolled on the “f#%\ing wonderful” remixes of the Talking Heads on Apple Music and I rediscovered the joy from long ago by revisiting the Eno/ Byrne collaboration. But when I watched this video I was literally blown away when you mentioned Soma and my favorite background music of all time Groove Salad! You not only talk to my mind about equipment but you talk to my very being about music. You are an amazing person John and though we have never met I count you as a dear friend.
My first streamer, connected a few months later to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic. I really loved this little thing at the time, the sound with the external DAC was pretty good. Now it has been replaced by a much more convenient and better sounding Cambridge CXN (running with Logitech Media Server and Minimserver, installed on a NAS). Unfortunately, I've destroyed the Squeezebox a few months ago by connecting a wrong power supply ...And now, seeing this video makes me feel a little bit nostalgic.
Slim Devices was far ahead of their time. Logitech would own the market if they hadn't killed it. And what's up with Logitech buying and shutting down great products...Squeezeboxes, Harmony remotes...
Spot on John. The Logitech Squeeze Box and LMS server were easily a decade ahead of their time. And when you consider the EDO (enhanced digital output) ‘hack’ by Triode over SPDIF making the touch player true hi-res when even the likes of Sonos today still isn’t…. that says it all. I have huge respect for Logitech making LMS open source. I also love the fact Roon properly recognise and support this ‘grandfather’ also. 👍
Coincidentally, a storm killed the WiFi in my Squeezebox Touch a week ago; I've had a SqueezeNetwork system in place for almost fifteen years. I briefly considered finally moving to a Sonos system (estimated cost: $1,300+), but decided to just buy a new Touch (sans remote) for $100 off eBay. I've got a library of 1,500+ CDs all ripped to an iMac running 24/7 as an LMS server, and 99% of the time all I'm doing is streaming from my local library - if I select a random album, I'm still likely to get something I haven't listened to for years or decades. I hadn't heard about the Material skin, so thanks for that! I'm checking it out right now as I type this.
Re: Material skin - Okay, I’ve been a happy user of iPeng for years, but…I’m not sure I need it any more. Material skin seems to not only look great on mobile, tablet, and desktop, but it functions beautifully. What a fantastic piece of work; the fact that it’s free is kind of insane.
Great video John. Take me back about 10 years when I too had the Transporter. And I use to tinker with the Logitech server software waiting for new features. Fast forward to 2022 and I believe that Innuos Zen Mini 3 I use now with my Naim system has the option to use squeezeserve so it’s definitely still an option in todays digital audio world.
I always wanted the Transporter ‘back-in-the-day’ and I still think it looks great today. ModWrights used to do a value (tube) modification which looked amazing! Never had the funds to buy one (do now but its gone)!!!
I get it, John. You love your Logitech Squeezebox, and that's it! It works for you and that's what's important. Thanks for sharing this with us, and your continued enthusiasm for this and many other audio goodies. I'm very similarly enthusiastic about the Sony MiniDisc format and products...........go figure! Stay healthy!!
What a stroll down memory lane, John! The Squeezebox was truly ahead of its time! I had several Squeezebox Radios in the past, but the hardware failed and I had trouble reliably indexing my iTunes Library with the Squeezebox Server software on my Mac! May explore options as the Apple Music app has certain limitations.
Thank you for making this video John! Timing was perfect I just purchased a unit and haven’t had time to unbox it yet or configure the server software. I think it is going to be a fun project.
I agree with all of this. I went Sonos a zillion years ago and still haven’t _needed_ (I’d like to explore higher quality, but) to replace. The one thing I really do miss, though, is an interface appliance. Originally, Sonos required these and they were expensive. But now it’s always assumed that you’re going to use your phone, and that bugs me because I have to constantly fish it out. Plus, I may be old-fashioned, but I miss a Flippin volume knob. To that end, I actually recently purchased a Spotify car thing to try out in my office. If that little booger we’re a front end to my Wiim mini instead of just doing Spotify I’d switch over immediately. That device is so clever, but also just so limiting. Anyway, great as always, and glad to know I’m not the only Groove Salad Classic listener.
I own three SBT. I can only wonder where this tech would be if Logitech hadn't pulled the plug. But to this day the SB ecosystem is still my streamer of choice.
@Darko Audio Groove Salad Classic FTW! 😊 I still have a SBT with Remote...like new in the original box. Will need to get it up & running again now. :-P I actually incorporated a SBT as my front end or "head unit" in one of my high-end car audio systems for several years. I used the Toslink output to feed the digital input of an 8-channel output car audio DSP unit that provided independent custom crossovers (network filters), 31-band PEQ, Phase adjustment, and digital delay for each speaker & the subwoofer in the system. It was a unique system that offered excellent usability and sound quality in that system. I used it in the car mostly with local storage on a USB drive, but Internet radio worked with my mobile hotspot. Good times. Cheers
So, what was it you didn't like about the Duet? I used the Squeezebox Duet. In fact I still have , I think, 3 of them in a cupboard, one of which has never been used. I bought it when the line was scrapped and prices fell thinking is it would be a great back-up. I liked the remote controller of the duet even if the screen was dismally small! I reckon using a phone of tablet would fix that. It was very good. I used it with a couple of DACs and the results were great. I now use a Bluesound Vault so I can have a hard drive integrated into the Bluesound.
I got a touch and loved the interface and the possibilities it gave. Having still streaming tools that do not reach this usability 10 years later is embracing for giants like Denon/Marantz or others that sound well but are cumbersome to use. I use it, but the interface for the Logitech player on a raspberry pi 3 with the same software is much better. However, the bluesound software is the only one beyond the T&A that is as convenient to use as the Squeezebox. Logitech shouldn't have stopped those products, but put them in some of their audio products as well. Consider something like a JBL Charge 5 with such software. The Transporter was another league as it had a much better DAC and was a real HIFI device in quality, sound, and handling.
Thanks John, been a fan of this ecosystem since the SB3 days, still running in the bedroom (you didn’t mention it can work as an alarm radio), with a Pi for a server and another in the lounge with a dac hat . Love the tinkery nature of it
I recently bought a Squeezebox Touch and, to be honest, I am getting to the point where I wish I hadn't bothered. After many hours of tinkering I managed to get it to work with Spotify Connect and it sounded great but now the Logitech Media Server won't recognise the Touch for some reason but MySqueezebox does recognise it. I have spent hours trying to figure this out but am getting nowhere. I have never spent as much time on any piece of hifi kit in my life. I also managed to get Tidal to work controlled by the iPeng app which sounds very good but the iPeng interface is awful and Tidal Connect does not appear to be an option. Support is plentiful through the community but you need to sift through alot of nerd speak to make any sense of it. So I am left with a player which sounds great but offers a poor user experience and I may just give up on it if I can't get past this. Anyone else having a similar experience? UPDATE: I posted this question on the Logitech Squeezebox forum and received some very speedy and helpful responses. I hadn't realised that you had to choose between Logitech Media Server (the preferred option) and MySqueezebox. All is working well now and I am very grateful for the input from the forum members. I've installed the Material skin which is a gamechanger on both mobile and desktop. The Squeezebox Touch sounds awesome and I am very happy bunny.
Hello John, thanks for this video. I think LMS is really a good solution for streaming. I've installed Daphile on a SD memory card three years ago and run it on a mini PC. The software is free and you have a very affordable streamer. This system replace my Sonos Connect (first generation) and I really enjoy with it. I can play my music library stored on a Nas and also Spotify and Qobuz, I also tried Deezer an Tidal, and all was playing fine. Just you have to use a DAC between the PC and the Amp. I think it is really a good solution because you can choose each component of your system and this is not possible with traditional Hifi streamers.
I am using the community version of the system. I run LMS (Logitech Media Server) on a ubuntu VM and RasPi with 7" touch display running piCorePlayer. I only listen to my local music or internet radio. I have iPeng on my iOS devices. At least Logitech released the code to the community. I am hoping that someday soon, the piCorePlayer will support multi-channel so I can listen to my 5.1 ch music. I have to use KODI for multi-channel audio. Allowing to sync multiple piCorePlayers to play the same source is also great. I have made donations to the piCorePlayer group for their great work.
pure churning these videos out John; great stuff! btw Innuos still uses the Logitech Media Server and Squeezelite on it's range of streaming servers. However, they have recently released the Innuos Sense app to control the server rather than using third party apps such as Orangesqueeze and iPeng. Frustratingly this has not been a smooth transition; it is still buggy and doesn't operate in an intuitive manner. Still waiting on Tidal Connect support as well!
SBT was my doorway to the world of streaming, albeit from a NAS with ripped CDs. It also opened my world to DACs .... MDAC by audiolab was my first. Nice memories.
Virtually the same - ripped CDs (FLAC) on a Vortexbox running Logitech Media Server > SBT > Audiolab M-DAC. Beautiful sound. Still using the SBT as a streamer but now connected to a Chord 2Qute.
You did this video for me too. And thanks to the older video I now use a pi4 with pCP as my first streamer. It also supports bluetooth with aptX HD if you want to use the native Tidal app or, with Bubble upnp you can stream your phone's sound to the squeezebox via upnp with a slight delay, but full quality.
This was the video that inspired me to finally subscribe and like. I usually am not moved by anything or anyone but in studying the presenter’s request for my subscription I was made to evaluate something very personal within myself. My comment is simply an ovation and my subscription was long overdue.
This is pure Nostalgia in terms of the hardware. I had the Squeezebox Duet and surpassed the built in DAC with a separate because it was no good. Even in this configuration it added lots of jitter and did not sound well. After replacing it with the Ifi Zen Stream and its Femto reclocker plus a good power supply, and with my music collection on a directly connected SSD, my system made a huge quantum leap.
Hi there, thank you so much for this informative video. I didn't know that I could still use the well known streaming services on my old SBT! My situation is that 10 years ago I bought it, ripped a bunch of cd's I own with digitalaudioextract (or jriver), I know it was perfect extract. I then compared the analog audio outputs of the SBT with my creek cd player which I like very much. So the result was that I preferred the creek. Then I started using the digital outputs of the SBT connected to an external dac. Still preferred the creek. Then I started using the usb output as EDO. When I connect it to a topping dac it comes pretty close I must say. As server I am using a Synology nas but unfortunately for newer dsm this package is discontinued. So I had to change several scripts, which was a pain. I also forgot the batteries a while ago and resulting in alkaline acid leakage. If you're careful you can open it up and clean it up as long as the pcb is still okay. It works again! I still like the SBT and use it and the fact you can install open source software on a rasp as server or endpoint is fanatastic! Thanks again for your great video! I also still use three squeeze box radio's they are all functioning great.
You're preaching to the converted here, John! I bought a Squeezebox classic way back when. Have you heard of the Squeezebox RADIO? My wife listens to the radio on it every night. IT'S BATTERY POWERED AND PORTABLE! Works anywhere in the WAN. And what about SQUEEZEPAD app? It turns my iPad into another Squeezebox device, and can also control all the other devices on the network. Who needs anything else? Thanks for the good vibes, keep up the good work, mate! 👍
I use Squeezelite with Material Skin on my home system, two raspberry Pi units with PiCoreplayer OS along with a fan-less mini Win PC running Daphile for years. I can use them synced together or independently. Sounds fantastic and can be controlled via PC, Tablet or phone. Steaming service I use is Qobuz and it works flawlessly and gap-less! I have tried other setups but have settled with this one. I'm not sure why I would change to something else.
If the batteries leaked only to the battery compartment, metal springs and connection pads, you can use lemon juice to clean it up. The acid from the lemon will eat the green gunk like magic.
When the Touch came out, I recall a magazine article/review back in 2010 (I think) declaring it the greatest hifi bargain of all time - at £199 new. I took the plunge and have been a fan ever since, so it was nice to hear you give such a glowing review. I have two units - one in my main system and one for my headphones set up. Both playback through external DACs and sound great (whether coax, optical or EDO), especially the one hooked up to a Naim DAC V1. Ridiculously versatile and convenient, it was a tragedy when production of them ceased and I dread the day when mine pack up.
My original Powernode is from 2014 and it keeps up with the updates. It doesn't have the features of the new POWERNODE, or the sound quality but it's still good.
Bought mine in 2010. I was using it mostly as net radio player + Spotify, wasn't very much into ripping CDs. At some point Spotify support ended and so the Squeezebox ended up as a dusty living room watch. 3 years ago I got into streaming again with Tidal and rediscovered this really versatile, clever (+dusty) little thing sleeping on my sideboard falling in love with it more than ever before ♥️
Nice video, a bit of a blast from the past. I regularly check the market for potential alternatives should my squeezeboxes die at some point but to be honest, no.... Roon looks amazing but crazy high subscription fees kill it for me. I don't mind paying for software at all but investing in a system and then being fully at the mercy of that company in an either pay whatever price increase they want this year or effectively lose your streaming setup? Not for me. Same is true for volumio albeit being a bit more reasonably priced. Sonos? Too closed. I'm running 2 Touch boxes, a Receiver fully headless and 4 self built clients based on raspberries with DAC on piCore Player (2 with screens, 2 headless with amps built into speakers) at the moment. Sadly the Boom stopped working for me as I can't get it to connect to modern Wifi setups anymore. I wish some company would pick this system up and start producing devices again. I totally agree with you. Given that the hardware is 10+ years old and the software is also showing it's age, the system is still able to compete which is stunning. They really were ahead of the time back then. Too bad Logitech gave up on it after only 6 years. I really loved my UE in ears back in the day. Another company with great products Logitech bought to kill. I guess all of us Squeezebox lovers can be very very grateful for the Slimdevices folks open sourcing the backend. That way we can still use our devices even though they have been abandoned long ago. Then again, maybe it was not all bad that Logitech abandoned the Squeezebox product line. Who knows what kind of subscription rip off Logitech would have invented by now. Their latest move selling the Radio under the UE brand with different software was not a step in the right direction. Who knows if new devices would have been compatible with the open source backend. The way it is, we can always build new squeezebox like devices and with some of the cases for the pi integrating a screen these come very close to the original touches.
I still have all 4 of them in service, the only change on the main system is that it feeds a MiniDSP Dirac processor via USB instead of doing D/A by itself. Wonderfully robust and capable machines.
Thank you for fully explaining your attachment to the Squeezebox platform. A lot to like, especially in comparison to Roon 2.0. Isn’t it a shame that a few can spoil it for the many.
Maybe Roon is better in using it. I dont know, i never used it. Why should it sound better? I‘ll stay with LMS, now Lyrion Music Server, because of the price.
The best cheap streamer for LMS is picoreplayer with raspberry pi + Nvarcher Dual ES9023 DAC + Nvarcher power board. LMS/picoreplayer with DLNA plug-in can playback audio track in pratic any device, better and cheaper than ROOM.
Love the video so much I bought a Squeeze Box Touch off of eBay for $191 after shipping and tax. I can't wait to get it in and add it to my setup. Thank you Darko for making the video for yourself 😉
I'm happy to see a video singing the praises of the slim decices/Logitech squeezebox devices and software. I started using these back in 2006 ish with the slim devices squeezebox 2. Back in the day when streaming was new and folks were modifying these with external supplies. Still have my modified one. And headphone jack does was and was surprised on mine of the quality of the sound. It just wasn't quiet loud enough. The burr Brown dac in it is still decent. I still use squeelite with my sonore microrendu and still sounds great with a upgraded power supply. It does beat out the Logitech squeezebox as a digital transport for sound quality. It's amazing after this many years a piece of software is still revelavant in today's here today gone tomorrow world. The software was so good you have seen others copy it, add their own features and rebrand it like innuous did. I for one, will be waiting for your review of the Logitech transporter. I have almost bought one of those so many times when they were being blown out. I was always curious how that does as a digital transport compared to the other Logitech decides. I think this video is going to make me install squeezecenter on one of my old windows pcs just for the fun of it ! Thanks john!
Man, I love your enthusiasm anyway, but you suddenly bringing up the good old but still fantastic Squeezebox Touch is awesome! When the announcement came (really, 10 years ago?) that the Squeezebox was being discontinued, I thought crap, I'm going to have to get a replacement now after only two years. But year after year, thanks to the support of the community, the Touch continued. The SBT is thus still the star in my listening / living room. The Squeezebox server runs on my Synology NAS, the box itself is connected directly to my KEF LS50 Wireless. Just looked two days ago on Ebay, if there is the cheap used - as a second device, if my SB should die sometime. The part is somehow "alternativlos". So I wish nothing but that the Squeezebox still makes at least another 10 years. You too please ;-)
The UI of that thing looks to be extremely slow and laggy. The star of this video is the pair of Klipsch Forte in the background. PS: If you ever get the chance, please review an open-baffle speaker like the Pure Audio Project Trio or something from Spatial Audio Lab. I‘d love to know how they compare to box speakers and if they have actual usable bass. Steve Guttenberg is praising them to heaven and I have real doubts that they are good for something like Rock or Metal.
Oh man, I miss my old Squeezebox Duet. The remote with the screen was perfect for my bedroom. Definitely my favorite streamer ever and if someone made anything like the controller for Sonos or Roon I'd be all over it.
Blast from the past, love it. I was beta tester for Logitech and was sent all their streaming devices (and harmony remotes, including many unreleased ones) (other than the transporter. The Touch was IMO the second best (perhaps third) after the Classic and transporter. Just loved those screens.
Great video. Roon doesn't like LMS running on the same network so your plan to have both may not work. LMS has a highly configurable uPNP plugin which means, for example, you can use qobuz on older Naim devices that are not natively qobuz compatible. Also no LMS post would be complete without a shout out to Michael Herger without whom LMS would likely no longer exist.
I got both running side by side, ROON take forever to scan the library, both server run perfectly. I don't use ROON that much, it's so over rated and restrictive compared to LMS.
@@MrMftech thanks. I've run LMS since 2005. I try roon everytime there is a new build. Last time I tried to install roon it refused to install whilst LMS was running. I probably could have forced the install but tbh I am so happy with LMS that I couldn't be bothered.
Loved my squeezebox touch, but it got unreliable as it aged. It was my bedside clock radio, BBC world service streamer, and bedroom stereo for years. I replaced with a raspberry pi & 7" touchscreen, audio hatboard and squeezelite, and have been very happy since. I've made a few extra as gifts for friends... got the LMS library on a second pi down in the basement, totally civilized audio setup.
I really enjoyed this episode. I've been running a Squeezebox server (LMS) for 16 years now. Yes, I also use Roon, but for certain situations I prefer Squeezebox. My Squeezebox Touch is currently in storage, but I would never sell it. Thans for the tip about the Material plug-in. I was unaware of this skin and have just installed it.
Thanks, made me fire up my old touch again! Bought it 11 years ago. It had gapless playback on spotify with the native app, wich alone was worth the price.
Thank you! I've been using Squeezebox via Max2Play on a couple of Raspberry PI's for multiroom audio for a while now but didn't know about the Material skin, that looks like a big improvement!
The squeezebox may be morally obsolete, but in the end I always come back to it, mainly because it doesn't want to die and I have a feeling of some kind of resistance to time. I ended up with a musical fidelity encore 225 which serves as a server/player and a couple of touch squeezeboxes which also refuse to die. Other devices and protocols come and go... I would like to add that chromecasts and airplay devices needs phillipe's bridge plugins installed on server. There is also an interesting plugin, which makes the squeezebox player visible as a DLNA UPNP player so you dont need app to control squeezebox.
@@erwindewit4073 DLNA/UPNP media interface plugin from A. Grundman - its part of the 3rd party plugins listed in lms server interface. You'll still need LMS up and running as it serves the stream to client AFAIK
For those who are missing "tidal connect" there is a neat workaround - lms-connect from play store, atm it works only with android devices. I don't have Spotify account anymore, but Spotify connect should work too, at least it worked natively few years ago when I tested it.
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I was one of the UI software engineers for the Squeezebox Touch, and this video has been shared and discussed with the entire former Squeezebox engineering team, who still keep in "touch" (see what I did there). We were not a very large team, and still really proud of the work we did on this product and the entire Squeeze platform. It's wonderful to see this video so many years later. Thanks for this deep dive, it made my week. Squeezebox is dead, long live Squeezebox!
Thank you team, just firing up SBT again and bringing back a lot of memory, and still capable to play Tidal/Qobuz PCM 24/192, MQA 384 and DoP64 wirelessly with Roon and right USB DAC, still amazing, isn’t it?
Are you able to comment on why Logitech killed a great product/platform?
I'm still using my sb touch and LMS. So grateful for your work!
@@customconsult3045 The company went for a big bet on building the first GoogleTV hardware (heard of it? yeah, nobody has) and poached a majority of the Squeezebox engineering team to support it. The remainder of the SlimDevices organization was reorganized into a corporate business unit that both didn't believe in the platform and didn't have any institutional expertise in complex software. If it wasn't for huge sales figures of Squeezebox Radio they would have shuttered us earlier. It's still a head shaker, so many years later. Before all of that hit the fan, it was the most engaged, enthusiastic, and innovative team I've been a part of professionally.
Wow, cool. Thanks for commenting. I can only agree with the statements in the video. It's a great system well ahead of it's time back then. I'm still using it with 7 active devices, 3 of which are original hardware (1 receiver, 2 touches) the others self built after Squeezebox was killed. You sure developed a great product which continues to provide joy and entertainment. Thanks!
You appear to be doing more reviews than ever. Chill out John, we need you long term!
Define 'review' 😉
@@DarkoAudio video commentary? In this case at least.
This one is a review but the previous two videos are not.
Maybe his team has been expanding so that he can develop a larger scope of content?
Well, whichever way you take it, thank you and take it easy.
Sean Adams is a genius, an unsung hero of audio server. He open sourced the whole platform and single headedly defined the genre. His design of the Transporter is my all time audiophile favourite. Thanks to open source, the lowly SB Touch went from supporting only 24/48 SPDIF to 24/192 USB with DoP support. Too bad Logitech bought the company and swiftly killed it.
You can’t kill open source. Logitech just produces no hardware anymore.
I’ve tried other streamers/apps, but none could compete with LMS & iPeng. You can get some amazing hardware DACs etc for the RPi. Shout out to Triode, Ralphy and all the other community developers for keeping the Squeezebox platform alive and relevant!
I work at Logi when they bought Slim. My old boss moved over to be the GM of the streaming business. It was so ahead of its time when CD’s were all the rage. Such a shame this didn’t stick around as today it would be an amazing product for Logi.
Agree that the Touch was before its time and is still a relevant interface with software that was programmed correctly from the beginning (still have one in the bedroom). Using the analog outputs provides good sound, but using the digital outputs to a separate DAC is the way to go if that is available. My usual DAC is getting repaired, so I'm using a spare Touch directly connected to my amps. Considering that the Touch is functioning as a streamer, DAC and volume control, it is simply amazing what $250 (at the time) delivers.
Great to see Soma FM get a mention. I discovered it the day I got ADSL installed 20 years ago and I've been listening ever since. I treat myself annually to some of their excellent merch which also funds the station. Long may they continue to broadcast.
The Soma guys are great, I have met them a few times over the years. I'm always happy to pitch them some money whenever I can.
I've been using streaming software (Logitech Media Server) to run my whole house audio system since 2005. Players it services include 2 X Touch's, 1 x Radio, 6 x Chromecasts, all my Google smart devices and a fantastic sounding Naim NDX streamer. It is definitely one of the most underrated pieces of free software in the world and all kudos to people like Michael Herger, Philippe44, BPA, ExpectingToFly and others too numerous to mention for supporting and improving it. And yes, as the presenter says, Material Skin is key. I even use the mobile version on my Android phone to control the whole setup, along with the two Touch's and any other internet-enabled devices that happen to be lying around.
Finally! A dedicated video on this!
I’m a running this as my main system since so long and my installation is now so customized that I'm basically stuck into this. No other system is really able to cover my needs without significant investment and compromises. It’s a love and hate relationship.
And what you’ve shown is just the tip of the iceberg, this thing can also do Airplay in both direction (at the same time), manage room correction, precisely manage timings in a complex and heterogeneous multiroom system, you can even stream on the go (using iPeng + VPN),…
I love that you chose to make a film about this. I've been using LMS for ten years now. There's one big(to me) feature that LMS does better than any other service and that's a random shuffle of the library. You can exclude genres and shuffle by track, album, artist, etc.... The "randomness" of the shuffle is the best I've ever experienced. It's got a way of digging out great tracks from albums that haven't been heard in months/years. Only in the last month have I set aside my LMS to try out Volumio as a platform and while it's attractive it fails utterly on shuffle and accessing a large library as well. Going back to LMS.
Thanks so much for spreading the word about the ongoing usefulness of LMS (and the community of software developers who keep this going). That this software has survived corporate acquisition and abandonment and continues to evolve is a wonderful miracle.
I've been running a squeezebox server since 2009 starting with the Duet. I got the Touch a year later for its built in 192khz DAC and now I have five receivers, including an ESP32 WROVER SBC running Squeezelite.
I particularly like the bathroom's repurposed Android TV box connected via Bluetooth to a JBL clip speaker hanging in my shower. When you close the door behind you, it starts playing tracks from a playlist full of 80s era pop music. A great time is had by all who enter.
But the best trick I can do with it is make the music follow me from room to room as I move around the apartment. Using a bunch of ESP32 Wroom boards, bit o free code called ESPresence, an iBeacon and the open source Home automation program, Home Assistant, you can sync up receivers to the master receiver whenever you walk into a room with an available receiver.
Pretty neat
Is the audio quality of the ESP based client any good? I wanted to get one to try it out for a long time but never really got to doing it.
Great video, my streamer is the LMS installed on a Pi4, with Squeezer on the android, powered by a battery, connected to an external DAC. Sounds great!
Just wanted to say that I'm a big fan of SomaFM. I started streaming Groove Salad via WinAmp on my PC back in 2002 or 2003. Not a day goes by without at least 2-3 hours of Groove Salad Classic playing in the background.
This video couldn't have come along at a better time. I bought a Squeezebox touch when it first came to market and it served me faithfully for many years. As advancements in media players and streamers started to roll out I upgraded to a fully fledged High End player player sometime like four years ago. I recently had the itch for another upgrade and traded in my recent player for what I believed to be a upgrade. Needless to say I am not satisfied with the recent acquisition and asked the dealer for my trade in to be shipped back to me and I would return the new one back to them.
While waiting for my former player to be shipped back to me I came across this video and it reminded me I still have my Sqeezebox Touch in a closet somewhere, dug it out and connected it to my DAC. It still does what it was intended to do quite admirably and truth be told I never realized how advanced it was for the time, color screen, access to thousands of stations, access to your music files just to name a few and all while sounding quite good using the digital out to my DAC, this little GEM is holding me over until I receive my previous player.
The insight into third party apps and software is very informative and as such I have tried a few of them making the Squeezebox Touch still very useful.
Glad I didn't move it forward and kept it-A KEEPER!
B.T.W. I noticed while you were scrolling through your playlist one of them was a Francois K. file, I have had the immense pleasure of D.J.ing with him, he is an absolute dancefloor genius.
PEACE THRU LUV, MUZIK & RESCUE!
I started my streaming journey on squeezebox and still have a Squeezebox Duet in the Cupboard. Now using LMS/Squeezelite on Picore/Raspberry Pie, with material Skin :) It rocks!
I use Daphile and it's upgrade version of Logitec and it's best free software for all purpose. I have dedicated music sever with Daphile on it for few years and will have it for a long time to go :)
Got 2 squeezebox touches, and never felt the need to replace or upgrade. It's a classic and should be talked about in the same way a CD63 or a ZX Spectrum are, the best at the time and still bring a smile to your face.
(Except even better in that blind testing they really are still as good as you get)
My perfect streamer is fairly simple:
- Reasonably priced
- At least CD quality streaming
- Screen with cover art
- Bit Perfect streaming
- Airplay 2/Chromecast
I cannot be the only one who feels this way, but surprisingly products like this are basically non-existent
For me one of the greatest things about LMS (which I am listening to via PiCorePlayer) is the option of genre filtered album shuffle. Choose the genres you want to listen to, let's say Trip Hop, Electronica and Soundtracks and random albums will be played, gaplessly, in its entirety. No other system I tried can do that.
I have the same issue.
One of the (or may be THE) most important videos/o you made…
Well said !
My old neighbour wrote the original Softsqueeze software emulator for the Slimp3 hardware. They then gave him a job at Slim Devices! Was great going round his house to see the early Transporter and Duo prototypes!
Like you I run a LMS/Roon in tandem...for safety 🤣
Still using my Squeezebox devices along with the server software running on a old network connected PC sitting on a shelf in my basement with 12TB USB drive. My main stereo system is using a Squeezebox Touch, also purchased a spare Touch before they sold out to keep as a backup. In addition have my original SB3 Squeezebox in my garage, two Squeezebox Boom units in bedrooms and one Squeezebox Radio in the kitchen. All still work with the exception of the original power supply for the Touch (10 dollar replacement). Also using an external DAC connected to the Touch with the main stereo system. Takes some tweaking (setting up static IP addresses for the server and devices and setting up WOL wake on lan packet) to get things working smoothly and reliably but once done it just works. The Server PC is set up to sleep after 30 minutes on idle time and wakes in 5 second when a special packet is sent by one of the devices. So far I haven't found a better solution but wish Logitech would get back into manufacturing these devices.
Sounds like you have an advanced knowledge on the Squeezebox and I'm hoping you might be willing to answer a question. Several months ago my Squeezebox stopped working which I understood to be Logitech shutting down the server. The comments in this video seem to indicate that the device can still be used but since I'm not an audio "techie" it all sounds confusing and complicated. On the positive side my Squeezebox has been and still is connected to a tablet (Windows 9) computer. The main feature I hope to recover with my Squeezebox is access to my free Pandora Music App using the touch screen. Is there an easy way I can accomplish this? Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Great that someone acknowledges the Squeezebox family of streaming devices. I run 4 of them through my entire house for more than 10 years now I think... I especially love the fact that I can use the squeezebox way to make lists (of lists) to store my favourites whereever they come from (internet radio, spotify, my own collection etc). Great user community too!!
I loved the squeezebox range and was gutted when they stopped it, but 10 years on I still use LMS on a Linux server and a touch into my headphone amp, it does everything I need and never felt the need to replace. My father in law has the same setup that I built for him and my second touch feeds his hifi equipment. Fantastic mix of local and online music
Great video. I too share the enthusiasm for squeezebox! Material skin has been a game changer and has modernised the interface! I was using picoreplayer for hifiberry amp (with an RPI3) for kitchen and bathroom speakers and recently tried out the hifiberry software with native integration for squeezebox. Would highly recommend as the audio sounds a lot better. Not sure if hifiberry has adjusted the EQ, but certainly happy with the result.
I enjoy your obvious enthusiasm in this video, and that you made it for yourself is a goodness.
I’m new to squeezebox (set it up around a week ago) and I’m so impressed. I didn’t realise it was 10+ years ago they came out.
Try twenty years ago. I just took five SBs to the Goodwill.
Best streamer ever and decades ahead of the curve. Sadly it was geared towards Geeks and when problems arose a Luddite like myself was lost on the SB forums.
I’ve moved on from SB but not from streaming. 98% of my music is streaming.
Dear John, you didnt created this wonderful video for yourself but for me as well :), I had the Squeezebox touch and was using it with Duet remote control for more than 10 years but then my Tidal stopped working and web interface was lagging so sold it for 150 EUR, I was quite happy after 10 years I was able to get that money. I wasnt aware that there was new material UI available otherwise would have hold on it for another few years. You are one of the only Audiophile who is also a Computerphile, so please keep making these type videos for people like us. Well done
The Glory of Opensource Community Projects ;) there are alternatives but they are either expensive and/or very restrictive.
A mate adores his squeeze, when he found out they were canning it he bought a load of them to make sure he’d always have a backup when one broke.
I just wanted to say thank you for this video. I recently acquired a Touch for nothing but was at a loss as to what to do with it. I've now installed the server in Docker on my QNAP NAS and the system works great. Without you succinct and enthusiastic video I don't think I'd have made it my Bank Holiday weekend project...
This brings me back a ways. I originally had a Squeezebox Boom and on the one hand I loved it -- but man, did I have network problems. It seemed at least once every other week it wouldn't function with the music I had on a NAS back then, and it would take 30-40 minutes of fiddling to make it work. Within a year or two I'd migrated to a Sonos product and, for all of the disadvantages of Sonos, at least it worked consistently and easily. I preferred the Squeezebox when it worked. Since then I have moved onto other more complex systems, but I appreciate the look back into the past.
Great review John. 👍🏽
I still use LMS, running it on a NUC with Ubuntu server.
I use Squeezelite to connect the HDMI output into my Linn DSM.
This works for me better than via uPnP or Airplay towards the DSM.
Control is done via iPeng on my iPhone/iPad, which also can playback music via the playback add-on.
The Touch is sold, but I still have a Radio somewhere in the attick.
Loved the nostalgia oozing out from the host. I have squeezebox classic bought in 2006 and a logitech transporter. I use the transporter through NAD208 powe amp. Sometimes with an analogue equaliser too. Both of them sound great still today.
I have hit upon a treasure in their plugin called Radio now playing. It gives us access to many FLAC streams ranging from 846 kbps to 2400 kbps. Music never sounded so good. Hearing to streams is fun to have the old magical radio music going on and if they are FLACs, Bingo!
Awesome review, thank you John! Transporter review next, please?
Thank You for bring SB Touch out from my memory and I setup again tonight, firing up Roon with SB support, installed EDO, plugged in USB mobile DAC which is MQA and DSD capable and powered from USB directly, so just one power adapter and USB cable, thanks for Roon powerful front-end, relived SBT into PCM 24/192, MQA up to 384kHz and DoP64 capable Roon Endpoint in my bedroom with no extra cost to me and a lot of fun. Thank You again.🎉
Don’t forget the boom box one. I have been using slim devices since slim device ownership.
Being a dedicates Squeezebox owner ever since 2004, and still using a Squeezebox2, Classic and Touch, this is no surprise for me at all.
Still nice to hear this confirmed from no less than the people from Audioquest!
The ultimate setup these days I reckon is a fanless pc running daphile (LMS) as a auto ripper and server (maybe also replay if connected to usb dac). That’s what I used to to run.
Currently have a server for storage, fanless pc running daphile then I have the following for replay in my house.
Main hi-fi Slimdevices Transporter
Shed hi-fi squeezebox Duet
Sons room squeezebox radio
Daughters room squeezebox touch
My room squeezebox touch.
Control via squeeze remote or ipeng. Handles multiroom playback of all my lossless flak rips, streaming services inc HD ones, web radio and everything you can think of.
I just don’t get why Logitech ran system into ground as it still stacks up against everything available at any price.
Transporter is ultimate hi-fi streamer and even now it’s DAC stacks up very highly to even quite expensive dac’s. Can accept and send external clocks and even has xlr and phono connections. Currently my transporter is clock locked to my da-capo HDCD filter DAC with DC psu. Ok I loose HD ability but it’s incredible at everything else and downsamples anything proper hd.
When I started this new hobby (hifi & headphones) about 6 months ago you were one of my guiding lights amongst all the confusion of info out there. I quickly realized that you communicated this audio stuff in a way I could understand. Then when you were talking about Apple’s “spacial audio” you extolled on the “f#%\ing wonderful” remixes of the Talking Heads on Apple Music and I rediscovered the joy from long ago by revisiting the Eno/ Byrne collaboration. But when I watched this video I was literally blown away when you mentioned Soma and my favorite background music of all time Groove Salad! You not only talk to my mind about equipment but you talk to my very being about music. You are an amazing person John and though we have never met I count you as a dear friend.
My first streamer, connected a few months later to a Cambridge Audio DacMagic. I really loved this little thing at the time, the sound with the external DAC was pretty good. Now it has been replaced by a much more convenient and better sounding Cambridge CXN (running with Logitech Media Server and Minimserver, installed on a NAS). Unfortunately, I've destroyed the Squeezebox a few months ago by connecting a wrong power supply ...And now, seeing this video makes me feel a little bit nostalgic.
Slim Devices was far ahead of their time. Logitech would own the market if they hadn't killed it. And what's up with Logitech buying and shutting down great products...Squeezeboxes, Harmony remotes...
Spot on John. The Logitech Squeeze Box and LMS server were easily a decade ahead of their time. And when you consider the EDO (enhanced digital output) ‘hack’ by Triode over SPDIF making the touch player true hi-res when even the likes of Sonos today still isn’t…. that says it all. I have huge respect for Logitech making LMS open source. I also love the fact Roon properly recognise and support this ‘grandfather’ also. 👍
Coincidentally, a storm killed the WiFi in my Squeezebox Touch a week ago; I've had a SqueezeNetwork system in place for almost fifteen years. I briefly considered finally moving to a Sonos system (estimated cost: $1,300+), but decided to just buy a new Touch (sans remote) for $100 off eBay. I've got a library of 1,500+ CDs all ripped to an iMac running 24/7 as an LMS server, and 99% of the time all I'm doing is streaming from my local library - if I select a random album, I'm still likely to get something I haven't listened to for years or decades.
I hadn't heard about the Material skin, so thanks for that! I'm checking it out right now as I type this.
Re: Material skin -
Okay, I’ve been a happy user of iPeng for years, but…I’m not sure I need it any more. Material skin seems to not only look great on mobile, tablet, and desktop, but it functions beautifully. What a fantastic piece of work; the fact that it’s free is kind of insane.
I love the video, thank you. I also love the Logitech Squeezebox Eco-system.
Great video John. Take me back about 10 years when I too had the Transporter. And I use to tinker with the Logitech server software waiting for new features. Fast forward to 2022 and I believe that Innuos Zen Mini 3 I use now with my Naim system has the option to use squeezeserve so it’s definitely still an option in todays digital audio world.
I always wanted the Transporter ‘back-in-the-day’ and I still think it looks great today. ModWrights used to do a value (tube) modification which looked amazing! Never had the funds to buy one (do now but its gone)!!!
I get it, John. You love your Logitech Squeezebox, and that's it! It works for you and that's what's important. Thanks for sharing this with us, and your continued enthusiasm for this and many other audio goodies. I'm very similarly enthusiastic about the Sony MiniDisc format and products...........go figure! Stay healthy!!
What a stroll down memory lane, John! The Squeezebox was truly ahead of its time! I had several Squeezebox Radios in the past, but the hardware failed and I had trouble reliably indexing my iTunes Library with the Squeezebox Server software on my Mac! May explore options as the Apple Music app has certain limitations.
Thank you for making this video John! Timing was perfect I just purchased a unit and haven’t had time to unbox it yet or configure the server software. I think it is going to be a fun project.
I agree with all of this. I went Sonos a zillion years ago and still haven’t _needed_ (I’d like to explore higher quality, but) to replace. The one thing I really do miss, though, is an interface appliance. Originally, Sonos required these and they were expensive. But now it’s always assumed that you’re going to use your phone, and that bugs me because I have to constantly fish it out. Plus, I may be old-fashioned, but I miss a Flippin volume knob. To that end, I actually recently purchased a Spotify car thing to try out in my office. If that little booger we’re a front end to my Wiim mini instead of just doing Spotify I’d switch over immediately. That device is so clever, but also just so limiting.
Anyway, great as always, and glad to know I’m not the only Groove Salad Classic listener.
Yes. The big knob on Logitech Squeezebox Boom was a real winner here.
I own three SBT. I can only wonder where this tech would be if Logitech hadn't pulled the plug. But to this day the SB ecosystem is still my streamer of choice.
@Darko Audio
Groove Salad Classic FTW! 😊
I still have a SBT with Remote...like new in the original box. Will need to get it up & running again now. :-P
I actually incorporated a SBT as my front end or "head unit" in one of my high-end car audio systems for several years.
I used the Toslink output to feed the digital input of an 8-channel output car audio DSP unit that provided independent custom crossovers (network filters), 31-band PEQ, Phase adjustment, and digital delay for each speaker & the subwoofer in the system.
It was a unique system that offered excellent usability and sound quality in that system. I used it in the car mostly with local storage on a USB drive, but Internet radio worked with my mobile hotspot.
Good times. Cheers
So, what was it you didn't like about the Duet?
I used the Squeezebox Duet. In fact I still have , I think, 3 of them in a cupboard, one of which has never been used. I bought it when the line was scrapped and prices fell thinking is it would be a great back-up.
I liked the remote controller of the duet even if the screen was dismally small! I reckon using a phone of tablet would fix that.
It was very good.
I used it with a couple of DACs and the results were great.
I now use a Bluesound Vault so I can have a hard drive integrated into the Bluesound.
Difficult to set up. Cheap look and problems with handset charger/battery.
I had this, it is still in a box somewhere. It was incredible.
I got a touch and loved the interface and the possibilities it gave. Having still streaming tools that do not reach this usability 10 years later is embracing for giants like Denon/Marantz or others that sound well but are cumbersome to use. I use it, but the interface for the Logitech player on a raspberry pi 3 with the same software is much better. However, the bluesound software is the only one beyond the T&A that is as convenient to use as the Squeezebox. Logitech shouldn't have stopped those products, but put them in some of their audio products as well. Consider something like a JBL Charge 5 with such software. The Transporter was another league as it had a much better DAC and was a real HIFI device in quality, sound, and handling.
Thanks John, been a fan of this ecosystem since the SB3 days, still running in the bedroom (you didn’t mention it can work as an alarm radio), with a Pi for a server and another in the lounge with a dac hat . Love the tinkery nature of it
I recently bought a Squeezebox Touch and, to be honest, I am getting to the point where I wish I hadn't bothered. After many hours of tinkering I managed to get it to work with Spotify Connect and it sounded great but now the Logitech Media Server won't recognise the Touch for some reason but MySqueezebox does recognise it. I have spent hours trying to figure this out but am getting nowhere. I have never spent as much time on any piece of hifi kit in my life. I also managed to get Tidal to work controlled by the iPeng app which sounds very good but the iPeng interface is awful and Tidal Connect does not appear to be an option. Support is plentiful through the community but you need to sift through alot of nerd speak to make any sense of it. So I am left with a player which sounds great but offers a poor user experience and I may just give up on it if I can't get past this. Anyone else having a similar experience?
UPDATE: I posted this question on the Logitech Squeezebox forum and received some very speedy and helpful responses. I hadn't realised that you had to choose between Logitech Media Server (the preferred option) and MySqueezebox. All is working well now and I am very grateful for the input from the forum members. I've installed the Material skin which is a gamechanger on both mobile and desktop. The Squeezebox Touch sounds awesome and I am very happy bunny.
Hello John, thanks for this video. I think LMS is really a good solution for streaming. I've installed Daphile on a SD memory card three years ago and run it on a mini PC. The software is free and you have a very affordable streamer. This system replace my Sonos Connect (first generation) and I really enjoy with it. I can play my music library stored on a Nas and also Spotify and Qobuz, I also tried Deezer an Tidal, and all was playing fine. Just you have to use a DAC between the PC and the Amp. I think it is really a good solution because you can choose each component of your system and this is not possible with traditional Hifi streamers.
I am using the community version of the system. I run LMS (Logitech Media Server) on a ubuntu VM and RasPi with 7" touch display running piCorePlayer. I only listen to my local music or internet radio. I have iPeng on my iOS devices. At least Logitech released the code to the community. I am hoping that someday soon, the piCorePlayer will support multi-channel so I can listen to my 5.1 ch music. I have to use KODI for multi-channel audio. Allowing to sync multiple piCorePlayers to play the same source is also great. I have made donations to the piCorePlayer group for their great work.
Thank you for this John. I’m still using the Squeezebox ecosystem and enjoying it….
LMS is still my favorite streaming software and with exception of Roon the only one I know of that allows multiple genre random play lists.
pure churning these videos out John; great stuff!
btw Innuos still uses the Logitech Media Server and Squeezelite on it's range of streaming servers. However, they have recently released the Innuos Sense app to control the server rather than using third party apps such as Orangesqueeze and iPeng. Frustratingly this has not been a smooth transition; it is still buggy and doesn't operate in an intuitive manner. Still waiting on Tidal Connect support as well!
SBT was my doorway to the world of streaming, albeit from a NAS with ripped CDs.
It also opened my world to DACs .... MDAC by audiolab was my first.
Nice memories.
Virtually the same - ripped CDs (FLAC) on a Vortexbox running Logitech Media Server > SBT > Audiolab M-DAC. Beautiful sound. Still using the SBT as a streamer but now connected to a Chord 2Qute.
You did this video for me too. And thanks to the older video I now use a pi4 with pCP as my first streamer. It also supports bluetooth with aptX HD if you want to use the native Tidal app or, with Bubble upnp you can stream your phone's sound to the squeezebox via upnp with a slight delay, but full quality.
I'm still using 2 x Squeezebox Touch with a low power pc running Daphile LMS, I also stream to my Bluesound Node. Works great!
This was the video that inspired me to finally subscribe and like. I usually am not moved by anything or anyone but in studying the presenter’s request for my subscription I was made to evaluate something very personal within myself. My comment is simply an ovation and my subscription was long overdue.
I never understood why Logitech dumped this product line.
This is pure Nostalgia in terms of the hardware. I had the Squeezebox Duet and surpassed the built in DAC with a separate because it was no good. Even in this configuration it added lots of jitter and did not sound well. After replacing it with the Ifi Zen Stream and its Femto reclocker plus a good power supply, and with my music collection on a directly connected SSD, my system made a huge quantum leap.
Thank you very much, John! You made this video for me too😊👍
Great video! I remember colleagues buying these and we had one at the office as well.
Hi there, thank you so much for this informative video. I didn't know that I could still use the well known streaming services on my old SBT! My situation is that 10 years ago I bought it, ripped a bunch of cd's I own with digitalaudioextract (or jriver), I know it was perfect extract. I then compared the analog audio outputs of the SBT with my creek cd player which I like very much. So the result was that I preferred the creek. Then I started using the digital outputs of the SBT connected to an external dac. Still preferred the creek. Then I started using the usb output as EDO. When I connect it to a topping dac it comes pretty close I must say. As server I am using a Synology nas but unfortunately for newer dsm this package is discontinued. So I had to change several scripts, which was a pain. I also forgot the batteries a while ago and resulting in alkaline acid leakage. If you're careful you can open it up and clean it up as long as the pcb is still okay. It works again! I still like the SBT and use it and the fact you can install open source software on a rasp as server or endpoint is fanatastic! Thanks again for your great video! I also still use three squeeze box radio's they are all functioning great.
You're preaching to the converted here, John! I bought a Squeezebox classic way back when. Have you heard of the Squeezebox RADIO? My wife listens to the radio on it every night. IT'S BATTERY POWERED AND PORTABLE! Works anywhere in the WAN. And what about SQUEEZEPAD app? It turns my iPad into another Squeezebox device, and can also control all the other devices on the network. Who needs anything else? Thanks for the good vibes, keep up the good work, mate! 👍
I use Squeezelite with Material Skin on my home system, two raspberry Pi units with PiCoreplayer OS along with a fan-less mini Win PC running Daphile for years. I can use them synced together or independently. Sounds fantastic and can be controlled via PC, Tablet or phone. Steaming service I use is Qobuz and it works flawlessly and gap-less! I have tried other setups but have settled with this one. I'm not sure why I would change to something else.
If the batteries leaked only to the battery compartment, metal springs and connection pads, you can use lemon juice to clean it up. The acid from the lemon will eat the green gunk like magic.
When the Touch came out, I recall a magazine article/review back in 2010 (I think) declaring it the greatest hifi bargain of all time - at £199 new. I took the plunge and have been a fan ever since, so it was nice to hear you give such a glowing review. I have two units - one in my main system and one for my headphones set up. Both playback through external DACs and sound great (whether coax, optical or EDO), especially the one hooked up to a Naim DAC V1. Ridiculously versatile and convenient, it was a tragedy when production of them ceased and I dread the day when mine pack up.
All hail the glory of the Squeezebox Touch! One of the greatest audio products ever invented.
My original Powernode is from 2014 and it keeps up with the updates. It doesn't have the features of the new POWERNODE, or the sound quality but it's still good.
Bought mine in 2010. I was using it mostly as net radio player + Spotify, wasn't very much into ripping CDs. At some point Spotify support ended and so the Squeezebox ended up as a dusty living room watch. 3 years ago I got into streaming again with Tidal and rediscovered this really versatile, clever (+dusty) little thing sleeping on my sideboard falling in love with it more than ever before ♥️
Nice video, a bit of a blast from the past. I regularly check the market for potential alternatives should my squeezeboxes die at some point but to be honest, no.... Roon looks amazing but crazy high subscription fees kill it for me. I don't mind paying for software at all but investing in a system and then being fully at the mercy of that company in an either pay whatever price increase they want this year or effectively lose your streaming setup? Not for me. Same is true for volumio albeit being a bit more reasonably priced. Sonos? Too closed.
I'm running 2 Touch boxes, a Receiver fully headless and 4 self built clients based on raspberries with DAC on piCore Player (2 with screens, 2 headless with amps built into speakers) at the moment. Sadly the Boom stopped working for me as I can't get it to connect to modern Wifi setups anymore.
I wish some company would pick this system up and start producing devices again. I totally agree with you. Given that the hardware is 10+ years old and the software is also showing it's age, the system is still able to compete which is stunning. They really were ahead of the time back then. Too bad Logitech gave up on it after only 6 years. I really loved my UE in ears back in the day. Another company with great products Logitech bought to kill. I guess all of us Squeezebox lovers can be very very grateful for the Slimdevices folks open sourcing the backend. That way we can still use our devices even though they have been abandoned long ago.
Then again, maybe it was not all bad that Logitech abandoned the Squeezebox product line. Who knows what kind of subscription rip off Logitech would have invented by now. Their latest move selling the Radio under the UE brand with different software was not a step in the right direction. Who knows if new devices would have been compatible with the open source backend. The way it is, we can always build new squeezebox like devices and with some of the cases for the pi integrating a screen these come very close to the original touches.
Great video! Love the Squeezebox Touch!
I still have all 4 of them in service, the only change on the main system is that it feeds a MiniDSP Dirac processor via USB instead of doing D/A by itself.
Wonderfully robust and capable machines.
Never used the hardware, but absolutely loving the software for years and years now. It is so versatile with a great community behind it.
Thank you for fully explaining your attachment to the Squeezebox platform. A lot to like, especially in comparison to Roon 2.0. Isn’t it a shame that a few can spoil it for the many.
Maybe Roon is better in using it. I dont know, i never used it. Why should it sound better? I‘ll stay with LMS, now Lyrion Music Server, because of the price.
The best cheap streamer for LMS is picoreplayer with raspberry pi + Nvarcher Dual ES9023 DAC + Nvarcher power board.
LMS/picoreplayer with DLNA plug-in can playback audio track in pratic any device, better and cheaper than ROOM.
Love the video so much I bought a Squeeze Box Touch off of eBay for $191 after shipping and tax. I can't wait to get it in and add it to my setup. Thank you Darko for making the video for yourself 😉
I'm happy to see a video singing the praises of the slim decices/Logitech squeezebox devices and software. I started using these back in 2006 ish with the slim devices squeezebox 2. Back in the day when streaming was new and folks were modifying these with external supplies. Still have my modified one. And headphone jack does was and was surprised on mine of the quality of the sound. It just wasn't quiet loud enough. The burr Brown dac in it is still decent. I still use squeelite with my sonore microrendu and still sounds great with a upgraded power supply. It does beat out the Logitech squeezebox as a digital transport for sound quality. It's amazing after this many years a piece of software is still revelavant in today's here today gone tomorrow world. The software was so good you have seen others copy it, add their own features and rebrand it like innuous did. I for one, will be waiting for your review of the Logitech transporter. I have almost bought one of those so many times when they were being blown out. I was always curious how that does as a digital transport compared to the other Logitech decides. I think this video is going to make me install squeezecenter on one of my old windows pcs just for the fun of it ! Thanks john!
Man, I love your enthusiasm anyway, but you suddenly bringing up the good old but still fantastic Squeezebox Touch is awesome!
When the announcement came (really, 10 years ago?) that the Squeezebox was being discontinued, I thought crap, I'm going to have to get a replacement now after only two years.
But year after year, thanks to the support of the community, the Touch continued.
The SBT is thus still the star in my listening / living room. The Squeezebox server runs on my Synology NAS, the box itself is connected directly to my KEF LS50 Wireless.
Just looked two days ago on Ebay, if there is the cheap used - as a second device, if my SB should die sometime. The part is somehow "alternativlos".
So I wish nothing but that the Squeezebox still makes at least another 10 years. You too please ;-)
The UI of that thing looks to be extremely slow and laggy. The star of this video is the pair of Klipsch Forte in the background. PS: If you ever get the chance, please review an open-baffle speaker like the Pure Audio Project Trio or something from Spatial Audio Lab. I‘d love to know how they compare to box speakers and if they have actual usable bass. Steve Guttenberg is praising them to heaven and I have real doubts that they are good for something like Rock or Metal.
Great call on some love for the squeezebox!!
Oh man, I miss my old Squeezebox Duet. The remote with the screen was perfect for my bedroom. Definitely my favorite streamer ever and if someone made anything like the controller for Sonos or Roon I'd be all over it.
Blast from the past, love it. I was beta tester for Logitech and was sent all their streaming devices (and harmony remotes, including many unreleased ones) (other than the transporter. The Touch was IMO the second best (perhaps third) after the Classic and transporter. Just loved those screens.
Great video.
Roon doesn't like LMS running on the same network so your plan to have both may not work.
LMS has a highly configurable uPNP plugin which means, for example, you can use qobuz on older Naim devices that are not natively qobuz compatible.
Also no LMS post would be complete without a shout out to Michael Herger without whom LMS would likely no longer exist.
I got both running side by side, ROON take forever to scan the library, both server run perfectly.
I don't use ROON that much, it's so over rated and restrictive compared to LMS.
@@MrMftech thanks. I've run LMS since 2005. I try roon everytime there is a new build. Last time I tried to install roon it refused to install whilst LMS was running. I probably could have forced the install but tbh I am so happy with LMS that I couldn't be bothered.
Loved my squeezebox touch, but it got unreliable as it aged. It was my bedside clock radio, BBC world service streamer, and bedroom stereo for years. I replaced with a raspberry pi & 7" touchscreen, audio hatboard and squeezelite, and have been very happy since. I've made a few extra as gifts for friends... got the LMS library on a second pi down in the basement, totally civilized audio setup.
I really enjoyed this episode. I've been running a Squeezebox server (LMS) for 16 years now. Yes, I also use Roon, but for certain situations I prefer Squeezebox. My Squeezebox Touch is currently in storage, but I would never sell it. Thans for the tip about the Material plug-in. I was unaware of this skin and have just installed it.
why would you never sell it? I have 3 of them and think I'm gonna list it on ebay.
Thanks, made me fire up my old touch again! Bought it 11 years ago. It had gapless playback on spotify with the native app, wich alone was worth the price.
Thank you! I've been using Squeezebox via Max2Play on a couple of Raspberry PI's for multiroom audio for a while now but didn't know about the Material skin, that looks like a big improvement!
The squeezebox may be morally obsolete, but in the end I always come back to it, mainly because it doesn't want to die and I have a feeling of some kind of resistance to time. I ended up with a musical fidelity encore 225 which serves as a server/player and a couple of touch squeezeboxes which also refuse to die. Other devices and protocols come and go... I would like to add that chromecasts and airplay devices needs phillipe's bridge plugins installed on server. There is also an interesting plugin, which makes the squeezebox player visible as a DLNA UPNP player so you dont need app to control squeezebox.
Which is?
@@erwindewit4073 DLNA/UPNP media interface plugin from A. Grundman - its part of the 3rd party plugins listed in lms server interface. You'll still need LMS up and running as it serves the stream to client AFAIK
For those who are missing "tidal connect" there is a neat workaround - lms-connect from play store, atm it works only with android devices. I don't have Spotify account anymore, but Spotify connect should work too, at least it worked natively few years ago when I tested it.