Squeezebox Gets A Facelift

Slim Devices has upgraded their Squeezebox network music player with a new graphical display.

Ever since we first reviewed the SliMP3 player last year, Slim Devices network music players have been the standard to which we compare similar products from other manufacturers. Our key criteria include ease of use and performance compared to traditional music players and the SliMP3 had it all. While the SliMP3 was fast, intuitive and powerful, its successor the Squeezebox added digital outputs and wireless capabilities – two options we had asked for in our SliMP3 review.

SlimDevices is not a company to rest on their laurels and have just improved their offerings again, this time by upgrading the display on the Squeezebox. Already featuring what was in our opinion the best available display option, Squeezebox’s 2×40 character VFD (vacuum florescent display) has been replaced with a 280×16 pixel graphical display. The company offers the new display on all wired and wireless Squeezebox models and even offers it as a do-it-yourself upgrade option to current owners of the award-winning device. The upgrade kit includes the module, an upgrade manual, and even a number 10 Torx screwdriver to open up the Squeezebox.

Squeezebox owners can upgrade thier player with the new display, or order a new one.

While the graphical display is no brighter than the VFD it replaces and it is still the same physical size, there are some definite advantages of the new upgrade. The graphical display allows for more advanced animation and visualization capabilities, enabling developers to create plugins or display options with more flexibility. The big advantage of the graphical display is the ability to make text thicker and easier to read from a distance. There are already new features that take advantage of the graphical display such as a side-scrolling version of the popular game Tetris, a Pac-Man game, and advanced fonts.

We’ve stated in several of our other reviews of networked media devices that it just doesn’t make sense to be forced to turn your TV on to listen to your digital music. Relatively few manufacturers seem to agree with this, with only a small percentage of the players on the market actually featuring an on-board display. You still won’t be able to clearly read the Squeezebox’s display from across a well-lit room, but the new display is certainly an improvement over previous versions and is easier to read than the displays on other audio or home theater equipment such as CD or DVD players.

The Squeezebox plays digital music stored on a Linux, Macintosh or Windows computer on your wired or wireless network. It can play MP3, WMA, AAC, Apple Lossless, Ogg Vorbis, Flac, and even uncompressed WAV and AIFF audio formats. We tested the new graphical Squeezebox with most of these formats and the performance was just like we expected out of Slim Devices. The Squeezebox also supports SHOUTcast streaming internet radio with one of the new plugins, making it extremely easy to find and play music from any of the genres offered by the service.

With digital and analog outputs, the Squeezebox can connect to any stereo or speakers, enabling you to enjoy your computer-based music away from your computer.

The versatile Squeezebox plays most digital audio formats and connects to wired or wireless networks.

In our previous review, we tested the Squeezebox with Windows XP, Mac OS X and on a server running Clark Connect Linux. We tested the graphical Squeezebox on Microsoft’s Windows Server 2003 operating system and did not encounter any problems. Even with the new upgrades, the price of the Squeezebox has not gone up since we last reviewed it. Available now, the graphical Squeezebox retails for $199 for a wired-only version and $279 for a wired and wireless version. Slim Devices sells the display upgrade for $89 with free shipping and offers a $20 rebate if you return your original display.

The Slimserver software is open-source enabling users from all over the world to contribute to the stability and usefulness of the product. Slim Devices also runs a very active support mailing list in which users participate in discussions about the products and software. The company’s founder and CEO as well as the CTO are active members of the list.

Click here to read our original review of the Squeezebox or tell us what you think in our forum discussion related to the product. Click here to visit Slim Devices and order a Squeezebox of your own.