Logitech Squeezebox Duet

[GeorgeO]

Santhosh

Welcome-I found that the SB Classic was an excellent product and have been singing its praises for a long time-as have many other owners on this forum.

George.

 

[rydhun]

The remote has a lovely high-gloss finish, which, fresh out of the box, is very pleasing indeed. I doubt that anyone actually expects it to last, and, of course, it doesn't . Matt plastic finishes may not be so nice at first, but at least they last.

Actually, I'm glad that at least the part of the remote where buttons and scroll wheel are located have matte finish. But the back of the remote gets touched when you're holding the controller, and that is a glossy fingerprint magnet.

The charging base for the remote is neat. The latest firmware gives a bee-beep when put to charge, which is an improvement on the silence of the previous version.

I checked this and the firmware I'm using also has this. This can be turned off though from Settings menu, and I think I had disabled it at some point. I've enabled it now and it's useful, Thanks for the tip

Few people are very meticulous in what they do, you are one of them. That is a very detailed post, this led me to do a 2-hour search-and-read on this item.

Glad you liked it, Thanks!

Truly impressive but what was even better was your guidance to people like me who are eagerly waiting to make this purchase.

Please correct me you are presently facing connectivity issues mysqueezebox.com due to some Undersea Cable Repair hence you rate this product 7/10

Thanks. I'm facing connectivity issues to mysqueezebox.com, but I'm not sure whether it's due to Airtel issues due to the Sea link cable fault, or due to issues with the mysqueezebox.com Server. I'm waiting for the Airtel issues to get resolved, & then check how well the connection with mysqueezebox.com works.

HF, what undersea cable repair are you speaking about? If Internet works in your home, the Internet radio on SB Duet should work. For listening to your library, you don't even need Internet, just a LAN should suffice.

Rydhun is facing connectivity issues while connecting to mysqueezebox.com directly from the SB Duet when his PC\Laptop (running the squeezecenter service) is switched off. If the PC/Laptop is turned on, things work fine. In my case, I don't mind the laptop being on as it consumes very little power (less than 10W with screen turned off).

Internet works for me but there are a lot of timeouts & packet loss while browsing. But SB performance is smooth, probably due to buffering. I confirm that when I use the local server on my laptop, things do work fine.


Cheers!

 

[santhosh]

Rydhun, I have been listening to Classic rock on Fox 92.5 (Cincinnati) for half an hour and am amazed at the SQ. Like I mentioned before, much much better than Worldspace. But I did notice one thing, when I started listening, the song playing was Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd. The song title does not change inspite of several songs have been played .

When I turned on the Squeezebox and selected the radio station, my laptop running squeezecenter was on. So it was connected to Internet through my library which I have called "My Music My Life" by the way. Then I turned off Squeezecenter - still worked. Then I turned off my laptop - still worked. Then I tried changing stations, it failed to find my library and hence stopped working. Then I went back to Internet radio where I could choose to connect via mysqueezebox.com and then everything started working again. Now, I changed channel to "Planet Rock (UK)" and then to "SKY.fm Classic Rock(US)" and that works fine too. So, mine works fine and connects to internet on its own. Could be a setting in your Router, maybe you need to open a port or something. Just FYI, I have assigned specific ip address to my Squeezebox in my router.

 

[rydhun]

Could be a setting in your Router, maybe you need to open a port or something. Just FYI, I have assigned specific ip address to my Squeezebox in my router.

Actually, had it been a firewall/port thing, I would never be able to connect. But I'm able to connect sometimes, and the connection to mysqueezebox.com drops after a while (icon on receiver turns blue) but music doesn't get interrupted. When I try to reconnect, I'm not able to.

I also checked Settings>Advanced>Diagnostics on Controller and I see the following:

mysqueezebox.com
89.202.121.131
Ping
OK
TCP Port 3483
OK
TCP Port 9000
OK
mysqueezebox.com registration
Registered

Based on that, I'm inclined to think that the connectivity to mysqueezebox.com is healthy. But for some reason, I still can't connect to it as a Library.

BTW, is your SB configured to connect to the same IP, or a different one?

Also, when I connect to my local Squeezebox server, inside Favorites menu, I get a submenu called "On mysqueezebox.com", using which I'm able to browse favorites on the Internet server. And I have not enabled Favorites sync between my local & internet server. That also confirms I can get to the internet server.

Cheers!

 

[GeorgeO]

A mule is leaving NYC for Bombay tonight, carrying my SB Duet, have to figure out how to get it across to Bangalore. Hoping to join this bandwagon soon!

 

[santhosh]

BTW, is your SB configured to connect to the same IP, or a different one?

I have a static IP set in my router for the SB.

Also, tried more Internet Radio, works very well with my SqueezeCenter turned off.

A mule is leaving NYC for Bombay tonight, carrying my SB Duet, have to figure out how to get it across to Bangalore. Hoping to join this bandwagon soon!

You are already on the bandwagon with your SB3 and the reason why many people including me are taking the SB (with NAS) route. From what I read online, the Wolfson DAC on the SB Duet is much better than the BurrBrown DAC on the SB3, so that is something for you to look forward to. Will be interesting to know your review with and without your Audiosector DAC. I tested with a Beresford Caiman and there was not much of a difference to justify the extra DAC spend.

I need a mule too to carry a SB Boom from Australia. Does anyone know of any services like Borderlinx that ship from Australia?

 

[GeorgeO]

Mule trains from Oz are a bit infrequent unfortunately, compared to mules coming from the US.

Yes I'm looking forward to playing with the new toy once it comes in. With 2 SBs on board, now to look at the latest toy, the new SB Touch!

George


>I need a mule too to carry a SB Boom from Australia. Does anyone know of >any services like Borderlinx that ship from Australia?
>Reply With Quote

 

[rydhun]

I have a static IP set in my router for the SB.

Also, tried more Internet Radio, works very well with my SqueezeCenter turned off.

Actually, I meant the mysqueezebox.com IP that your device is configured to connect to, not the IP of the device itself. You can check the mysqueezebox.com IP in the following menu:
Settings>Advanced>Diagnostics>mysqueezebox.com

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Having just had to reset my Duet controller (despite claims that it was connected to my network, confirmed by the router, it refused to "find" any network, much less set itself up with an ip address etc --- I am reminded what a hassle the thing is.

How hard would it have been to write a PC based find-a-controller-and-configure-it routine? Entering a long wfif password with that damn scroll wheel is something one does not want to do more than once in a lifetime, if ever.

Then there is the earphone socket. No, after my factory reset, it does not work, and I guess I'll have to check out the geekery stuff to make it work again. How ridiculous is it to sell kit not supported by its firmware, even after an upgrade?

As to connecting to mysqueezebox.com (mail address and password with that damned wheel again) --- I have to admit that it did... for the first time ever, connect. Then it said it wasn't registered. Then it connected again. Buggy? Or just damned unreliable?

Here's another thing --- Choose Player... So I thought I'd test that earplug thing, and did a choose player, picking the controller. As I mentioned, the earplug does not work, although it does produce a tiny tinny sound from its internal speaker which is about as good as a PC internal speaker that is never meant to say any more than "beep". How about changing player back to the squeezebox player? While playing music? Reasonable expectation? Well, I think so, but... no... Squeezebox is selected; sound continues to come from controller speaker.

Once having got the system working, use the PC squeezecentre to control it, and forget the remote. That's daft, because the remote costs more than the player! But... just now, I am looking at and thinking, "useless, annoying piece of shiny plastic dung".

 

[thevortex]

I am very surprised by the feedback Thad. Overall the product seems to have gotten nothing but good reviews.

Sorry that it did not work out for you. Am curious - how do you find the sound quality of the Squeezebox Duet in comparison to your CD Player?

 

[santhosh]

Thad, sorry to hear about the issues you are having. I have not tried the headphone-out in the remote. Will test it soon and report back. That reminds me, I have to do some testing for our OP, rydhun.

Once having got the system working, use the PC squeezecentre to control it, and forget the remote. That's daft, because the remote costs more than the player! But... just now, I am looking at and thinking, "useless, annoying piece of shiny plastic dung".

One of the main reasons why I bought the Squeezebox was the idea of adding more receivers and using a single remote/Squeezecenter. But, Logitech are not longer selling the receiver unit(used to cost 150$) seperately. The Remote Controller(250$) however is still being sold as it can be used with most SB models AFAIK.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I think I have given it some much better reviews myself, even --- it is one of those products that can be either just fine or, at times, deeply annoying!

I think all my criticisms from a couple of posts back are fair although whenever something fails and we have to recover it, it doesn't do much for our mood. I don't think I'd advise against buying the product, especially as it is, I understand, modestly prices compared to some other multi-room/streaming/internet player kit. It could be better, though, particularly in implementation. As something that I planned to buy for some time before getting it in UK, I'd say that, on the whole, I much preferred the wires I used to use to link my PC with the hifi at about 10% of the cost. Logistics don't allow that here, even though we are still in the same room.

If I ever renovate/build a house again, it will include channels and conduit for net/hifi cabling! --- but then I'll probably be talking about how cheap the Squeezebox was by comparison!

Santhol, if you want to get that headphone working, you can find out how on the squeezebox forums: it is a hack, but not a difficult one. As I've mentioned before, that remote is (amazingly) a linux computer that you can log into --- and one good thing is that you always have the option of a factory reset if you do screw up badly.

I am surprised that they are not selling the receiver separately. I'm sure they used to, making the Duet the basis of an extendible multi-room system. That leaves those who were planning on the route in the lurch, which is not good. Their other compatible products may be nicer, etc (more expensive?) but still.

thevortex: I have not done a comparison with CD, although I meant to. Will report back if I do. My CD player, mind you, is a fairly low-end of the Marantz range, and quite old now. I have no complaints, though, about the squeezebox sound quality.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Here is the hack to make the headphones work:

Headphone jack not working? - Squeezebox : Community : Forums

I'm listening right now

It disables the internal speaker, but hey, the next thing I have to do is disable all those annoying menu/button beeps anyway!

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

... Plugged in to a small speaker, I had it playing music in the bedroom last night, connected direct to mysqueezebox.com (without a PC running) --- working as an internet radio. There were occasional buffing issues, usually not much more than click.

I can say that, at least as of a few hours ago, it is fully functional... but it has not been hassle-free getting there!

Squeezecentre, by the way, works fine on Ubuntu --- but it is a fairly large installation.

 

[GeorgeO]

I am having some problems trying to set up my new Duet. I have entered the MAC address on my router, ( already have my SB Classic working fine, so I am a bit foxed b y this glitch) and i can see the icon showing that it is connected, but for some reason, I get a message on the remote asking me to enter a PIN number. Logging on to my mysqueezebox account, I am not seeing any location on the web page to enter this.

I will go through the whole sequence once again and see if it can be set up.

Cheers

George

 

[GeorgeO]

Question:

While charging the remote/ controller in it's dock, does any light glow or is there any way to determine that it is being charged, like, say a cellphone? I left on overnight charge but it doesnt seem to have got recharged. I plan to check the voltages on the charger a little later, to check if it is fact working. How many hours does a single charge work?

 

[santhosh]

Question:

While charging the remote/ controller in it's dock, does any light glow or is there any way to determine that it is being charged, like, say a cellphone? I left on overnight charge but it doesnt seem to have got recharged. I plan to check the voltages on the charger a little later, to check if it is fact working. How many hours does a single charge work?

There is a battery indicator just like in cellphones. There is no seperate light to indicate it is being charged. A single charge works around 2 to 3 hours, it does not consume too much of battery unless you scroll a lot (even Ipods have this problem, atleast mine does).

As regards your other question, I did not need to do this while setting mine up.

 

[GeorgeO]

Ok the battery indicator is working ok-because it was a bit of a loose fit in the cradle I was a little concerned. I have been playing around with the Duet in the same room as my SB Classic, assuming that all is ok-the remote on the SB Cl is infrared after all. I will move it to another location and continuing playing with it, in an attempt to get it working.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

The latest firmware beeps when you put the remote in the charging cradle... or, at least, it does until you disable all sounds, as I did. Key-press beeps, etc, on all devices, annoy me. The only one I allow is the "shutter" sound on digital cameras, without which my old-fashioned brain never quite believes that it has taken a photo! I might review this, and turn off the sounds selectively (I think it is possible) as that confirmation of charging is comforting

I am having some problems trying to set up my new Duet. I have entered the MAC address on my router, ( already have my SB Classic working fine, so I am a bit foxed b y this glitch) and i can see the icon showing that it is connected, but for some reason, I get a message on the remote asking me to enter a PIN number. Logging on to my mysqueezebox account, I am not seeing any location on the web page to enter this.

The pin is nothing to do with your router or your local network, it is for registering the handset with the squuezebox network --- which I think you have realised, as you are looking for a place to enter the pin there.

As I understand it (and I never got it working at all with the pin method) this belongs to an older version. Make sure your squeezecentre is the latest version, and upgrade the firmware on your remote. You should find then *I did) that all you need to do is enter the email and password that you used on the squeezebox network, and it will register your remote.

NB... The duet controller's control of the Squeezebox is not IR*, it is wifi. Was fairly sure if this, but just checked... it worked from my bedroom.

Makes sense, for a multi-room system, I guess!

*But it has an IR unit for limited control of other devices.

 

[GeorgeO]

Thad

The SB Classic is the unit with an IR remote.

I'm still struggling to get it up and running, and have in the process removed the SB Server software from my NAS ( in an attempt to get he latest version installed). The re3commended way is to remove it, run a utility to Clean Server and then mount the new version that you download. Now I find that the new version for some reason is just not able to load into the NAS!

George