I ruled out media centers completely because my listening room doesn’t have a TV, and even if it did, I would hate to turn it on every time I need to choose an album to play. Then I discovered Squeezebox, placed an order for the wireless version ($300), and my world changed forever.

Hardware installation was trivial. Squeezebox woke up and guided me through the process. The hardest part of the installation was entering 32-digit Wi-Fi network security key using the remote control (a step most people won’t need). SlimServer software seems to be put together well and it also installed without a problem. It took me a few minutes to figure out how to scan my music files, but in less than thirty minutes after I opened the box, I was listening to the music from my computer, wirelessly, via stereo speakers in my listening room.

The sound quality seems to be extremely good for the device in this price point. It is only slightly inferior to the sound of my CD player which is three times as expensive. I am sure most people won’t hear any difference at all, especially when it comes to compressed music.

My favorite feature of the Squeezebox/SlimServer tandem is that it allows browsing music library from any authorized computer, which gives a nice option of putting up a playlist on the laptop while sitting in the sofa and actually listening to music.

I salvaged the oldest CDs in my music collection that were badly scratched and could die any moment. Then I converted hundreds of archive CDs back to digital files. Soon I discovered that I like to browse the collection from the sofa so much, that I began ripping some of my favorite albums just so they are always at hand.

Pros:
1. It just works.
2. Design.
3. Excellent sound quality.
4. No wires to run through your house, no more wall drilling.

Cons:
1. I would appreciate hardware buttons on top of the Squeezebox in addition to the remote control. Sometimes the buttons are just more convenient.

2. There is no turning back. Once started using Squeezebox, especially for lossless music playback, you will run out of hard drive space pretty soon, so prepare to invest in additional hard drives for your PC.

3. SlimServer software does an excellent job streaming music, but it is not that good in browsing and searching it. I downloaded excellent third party software that can control Squeezebox (it’s called OrangeCD Suite) and use it for richer interface, more convenient search and management of music collection.

4. Bundled power adapter and RCA cable could be better. I replaced cables, but tiny wallwart still makes my audiophile friends laugh.

The squeezebox is as small and elegant as I hoped it to be – about the size of a nice small radio alarm clock.

Buying the squeezbox through a German reseller I got the “EU” version having a 220V power supply with the “correct” plug. I simply assume I would have got the same version when I ordered directly from Slimdevices.

When it arrived I downloaded the SlimServer software and “installed” it on my Linux server. (Installing was a matter of unzipping the archive into the right directory and starting the daemon). The server does run on about any iron you have as a server – be it Windows, MacOS X, Linux or many others.

Installing everything and setting up the box was a matter of about 20 minutes. The only problem now was my girlfriend refusing to let me change the radio channel I played for testing, since she liked the music there so much.

Mentioning my girlfirend: Once the squeezebox is set up it is easy enough to use even for non-geeks. She instantly understood how to find the music she wanted to hear (including her favourite ’80s radio channel). The squeezeboxes remote and menu system are well thought out.

For us geeks the squeezebox offers a lot more: All of its functions, menu, playback and so on are controlled by the server software. This software is open source, GPL and looks really hackable. It supports plugins, there are already some that display weather forcasts, temperature (by a thermometer hooked to the squeezebox geek connector) or notifies you about incoming email.

Hacking a plugin for the server looks easy and a fun waste of time. So while the setup is totally hassle free it offers a lot opportunity for tinkering.

Oh and the server also supports “other” players like winamp, too. Everything that can stream can be connected to the server. I’ll probably set up a little VPN to stream my music to work – when I will finally get some decent internet access at work.

Until then I’ll connect to the servers web interface from time to time, turn up the volume, start the player and scare whoever happens to be at home ;-)

All in all, the box is a small elegant device which “just works”, is utterly unobstrusive in your living room and still appeals to the geek factor. Oh, and I’ve finally started listening to all the songs I bought online last year.

With two young daughters our CD collection was undergoing a physical onslaught it was never meant to handle. Plus, with three cars, and two house stereos the music was never where it was wanted. Solution Squeezebox. I’d ripped my collection between 192 and 224 kb/s and the wireles version handles it flawlessly. We create playlists for dinner parties, the kids, net radio, our solo listening pleasure. The first gadget I’ve ever bought that my wife uses more than I do.