Logitech Squeezebox Duet Walkthrough - Part 1

By William Higgins, Editor-in-Chief at http://www.5dollarmusic.com

The iPod revolutionized the personal music experience, but the Squeezebox Duet will revolutionize how you listen to music in your home!!!

I am really blown away by this product. With springtime upon us I used this the time this past week to wire my den and back porch with in-ceiling speakers. I had an old Onkyo A/V receiver that I installed in a closet to power the 2 rooms. My grand plan was to get this all setup for the Logitech Squeezebox Duet. I looked at the Sonos Music system but it was way out of my budget. The Logitech Squeezebox Duet was more than worth the money.

The install was a snap. It really only took a few minutes to setup. I did a little homework before I got the device and went ahead and installed the SqueezeCenter software on my computer first. So when I plugged in the hardware everything worked right away. No issues.

The interface is so slick and intuitive. Simple, efficient, and familiar to anyone that has used an iPod or any other portable MP3 player. I was amazed at how responsive the system is to the controls on the WiFi remote. Going from track to track, or album to album was instant, no lag. Really, I have used other music streaming systems before and some of them had a distinct lag in the controls. I am very happy to report that Slim Devices and Logitech got this right with the Duet. This is one of the few products that exceeded my expectations.

Category:

Science & Technology

Tags:

• electronics
• gadget
• mp3
• wireless
• wifi

[tiagottx]

Can you plug an external network HDD directly to the Squeezebox LAN socket? Or does it just works via router, where the HDD should be plugged? Thanks!

[wahiggins3]

I am not sure about that. The Squeezebox Duet needs to have the software running somewhere. I think you can run it on a NAS server, like the Netgear ReadyNAS.

[nathantinnion]

Hi, just wondering what the range is on the remote from the main unit, im guessing its RF or FM. cheers

[wahiggins3]

It uses neither. The remote uses Wi-Fi to communicate with the base station and your music library. That is one of the great things about this setup. You can place the receiver anywhere. So your range is only limited by the range of your home Wi-Fi network.

[SIXSPEED69]

So does the logitech remote turn on your receiver and also it controls the volume from the looks of it? so you basically need to register the receiver and the remote?

[wahiggins3]

No the Logitech Squeezebox Duet remote does not control my receiver. I have to manually turn that on or off. The remote will control the volume. Once you set the master volume on the receiver you then control volume and mute functions through the duet remote.

[vanderslagmulders]

Excellent review. Much better than the infomercials or any other review on this "gadget" so far. You're also the first to point out that the battery of the remote is replaceable, which is a big relief.

[uhuebner]

This might be very off-topic. But is it you, Homer? Where's Marge? ;o)

Incredible voice...

[jc10003]

Nice review!

I had the Duet but returned the unit to Best Buy. It was very quirky and it dropped the connection with the receiver a LOT! Add to that the battery life was not good at all, mine wasn't anyway.

I use my iPod and iPad to control all of my squeezebox units, works much better than any other remote I've tried. The touch screen of the iPad is unbeatable. I purchased iPeng which is the application used to control the units, it is excellent. If you have an iPod or iPad give it a try.

[jc10003]

@RMKOWALSKI

Yes, as long as they're not DRM encoded. I usually purchase "iTunes plus" mp3s which are DRM free.

[RMKOWALSKI]

Does this play m4a files?

[ecotts]

Excellent review

[ecotts]

@wahiggins3 It works on the QNAP NAS as well now

[ecotts]

@wahiggins3 It works on the QNAP NAS as well now

[Oefinell]

There is a new device coming out called the Squeezbox "Touch" that will work with a USB hard drive. It has a touch screen and IR remote, but you could buy a Controller for it separately if you wanted that facility.

[tony8999]

rather use a iphone application to do that