Logitech Squeezebox Version 3

I was surprised to see that many of the radio channels out there are transmitted at 128kbps stereo at 44.1 kHz, which is equal to CD quality music. Some of them even go at 192kbps. Of course if you want to listen to high quality internet radio you will first need to select a channel which is transmitted at 128kbps as a minimum. Streaming the radio channels through the Squeezebox does not result in any quality loss, and provided you’re not an extreme audiophile who wants the absolute best you will certainly appreciate the sound. As we mentioned before there are well over 8000 radio streams for you to choose from and the Squeezebox can handle Live365, Rhapsody (Only in the US at the moment) and ShoutCast Internet Radio.

Here are a few screen shots from the device:

You can listen to radio channels based on locations around the globe. The thing I like most about these is that radio commercials are no longer a worry as there’s none, so it’s non stop music all the way.

A factor to note is that is the Squeezebox v3’s sound is controlled by software so the sound quality could vary slightly depending on the software version being used.

Overall the sound quality produced by the unit is quite good, with nice highs, tight bass and well rounded mid-range. There are low quality radio streams out there as well, so choose wisely.

Conclusion

The Squeezebox v3 is one of many Wifi enabled media players out there in the market and a lot is expected from it to stand out of the competition. Having dealt with a few other competing brands out there the Squeezebox is undoubtedly in the top league.

If you combined the Squeezebox V3 with a decent external amp, you will truly see a considerable difference in the sound quality than before. We tried this out and the music reproduced had a lot more life in it with more depth and crispness to it. So if you want to get the best out of this tiny unit, do get a decent Amp and you’ll see it competing well among players that would cost in the four digit dollar mark.

With a price tag of US$300 some may consider this to be steep for a network media streamer, however considering we cannot really find any faults with this unit and the fact that the Squeezebox seems to be doing everything right we feel it offers great value. The build quality is excellent and looks wise it’ll blend in with almost any home theatre system. It’s very versatile with the ability to play MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC, OGG, Vorbis, Mp2, AIFF, FLAC, WMA Lossless etc and only type of music it won’t play is Apple protected files purchased from iTunes store.

There are products out there which truly inspire us and is a must have to most households, and we believe the Squeezebox is a product that deserves to be in that list. You will certainly not be disappointed and with Logitech buying over Slim Devices hopefully we can expect greater refinements to this product. Since the source code is open source you will find many new add-ons and plugins that you could use with the squeezebox to enhance its functionality. We have truly enjoyed the opportunity testing out the Squeezebox V3 and do hope some of you will have the pleasure of enjoying the benefits the unit offers.