Others by jmke @ 2013-11-04
The OpenSqueeze Solo streaming media player is VidaBox's solution for the discontinued Logitech SqueezeBox community and fans. We compare this little box which has some unique and interesting feature to other popular solutions for getting audio sources played through your favorite speaker set.
Vidabox is a hardware solutions company who specialize in home entertainment. We previously looked at a couple of HTPC friendly cases, an iPad wall-mount and nifty wireless keyboard from them. Today we will take a closer look at one of their latest products, a Logitech squeezebox replacement for your home Soundsystem: the OpenSqueeze Solo streaming media player.
The first squeezebox was released in 2003 by a company called Slim Devices, in 2006 the company was bought by Logitech, they actively developed and released new versions up until 2012 when they decided to stop the production of the squeezebox. Thanks to the cross-platform compatibility of the squeezebox some end-users have ensured that the squeezebox hardware and software solution will live on by using a Raspberry Pi based device.
This is where VidaBox steps in. They have built a hardware and software solution that surpasses the capabilities of a Raspberry Pi squeezebox device. Called the OpenSqueeze it comes with a high-end sound processing unit and plugs in directly into your existing Logitech Media Server setup.
Below you can find a comparison table, pitting the OpenSqueeze against other audio streaming devices.
We have looked at Noxon products in the past, higher end products with build in speakers, able to stream media either locally from a UPnP source or over the internet using Noxon's own streaming services for radio stations all over the world. The Apple Airport Express is an internet router, but also comes with an analog/digital 3.5mm output jack. Just hook up a few speakers and you can play music through these speakers from iTunes on your PC/Mac, or directly from your iOS device. From iTunes you have access to a lot of local media, on iOS devices you can send any audio playing through these speakers (if the app supports it), this includes youtube playback, Spotify streaming audio, TuneInRadio and others. From iTunes install you can select multiple audio output devices, allowing you to play the same tune from speakers all over the house.
The drawback of the Noxon is that it locks you into a certain option set of streaming media sources, the drawback of the Apple Airport is that forces you to use apple software/hardware to make it work.
This is where the OpenSqueeze comes in, it is compatible out of the box with the Logitech Media Server, and once you configured a "mysqueezebox" account you can set up any number of streaming audio source, including audio stored in iTunes' media format. As with the Apple Airport Express you can configure more than one OpenSqueeze and play music all over the house, with the added bonus that you can send a different (or the same) audio stream to different OpenSqueeze boxes from ONE Logitech Media Server. This is one of the things that sets Vidabox' solution apart from the rest. Another is the high fidelity audio processing unit, the hardware is designed to reduce as much noise as possible (they include a special USB charger to further help this), and offer support for media playback up to 24-bit / 96kHz which is higher than both Apple and Noxon's solutions.
The wild card in the comparison table is the home-build/DIY device, since the Squeezebox is open source, there are several builds available for popular "small computing" devices, like the Raspberry Pi ( www.raspyfi.com ) or PlugComputer (SqueezePlug). VidaBox does point out that a Raspberry Pi by itself makes for a poor performer, allowing only 10-bit audio-output. But coupled with an USB DAC this drawback is completely removed. Of course getting such a device up and running requires a lot more effort and know-how, which makes it less accessible for the big public.
Let's have a closer look at the OpenSqueeze and try it out
The OpenSqueeze comes in a plain cardboard box with a product sticker on top, describing in short what the devices is capable of. Inside said box you'll find small set up manual, the OpenSqueeze and an USB power cable. The wall charger comes in a separate package, VidaBox ships a HP AC/DC Adapter with output specs of 5.3v/2.0A. Maximum power draw listed for the OpenSqueeze is 3W. We measured peak 4W, but mostly it remained under the detectable limit of our Kill-A-Watt meter. Running the OpenSqueeze won't add to your power-bill! (We used a Samsung USB wall charger (5v/2A) as the HP unit only had US type power connector, VidaBox does recommend a stable and quality USB wall charger, so no low-cost knock-offs or the device stability and sound quality will suffer!)
*note: VidaBox has changed the USB power adapter to a smaller generic model with same noise-free capabilities in retail models of the OpenSqueeze.
The device has two USB ports, they can be used to hook up a wireless USB dongle to give the device more freedom, without it, you are limited to place it where there's an UTP network cable. The software runs from a 4GB Kingston MicroSD HC Card. The audio ouput is a standard 3.5mm jack, you can connect it to headphones, powered speakers or your amplifier. At the other side of the box is the power connector, on/off switch and a closed off HDMI port.
With two USB ports and HDMI, we just had to know what would happen if we hooked up keyboard,mouse and monitor. A Debian Install 7.0 Cubian reveals itself. But nothing more you can do from here without delving into the guts of the Squeezebox software setup.
Managing the OpenSqueeze is done through the Logitech Media Server which is a free download for Windows, Mac, Linux as well as some NAS boxes. We installed it on a Windows 7 machine as well as a Synology NAS. Once installed and your media folders and desired audio sources selected start up LMS and check in the top right corner for a drop-down menu. If all is well the Squeezebox received an IP address from your local DHCP server and shows up in the list. We configured two OpenSqueeze boxes to try out the different music streams and sync playing.
Controlling audio playback can either be done through the web interface of the Logitech Media Server or you can download the "Squeezebox" mobile app for iOS and Android. The app looks and behaves the same on both platforms, giving you all playback options you also have through the full webinterface.
Setting up a music sync between two (or more) Squeezeboxes is straight forward, start playback on device A. Choose player B, sync it to device A, done! We compared this solution to Apple's "Airplay" speakers, and found the music to be more in sync with the two Squeezeboxes compared to the Apple iTunes setup. We did do some research for the iTunes setup and found that if you configure the local PC speakers as an "Airplay" device you can reduce the sync delay between the speakers (Shairport). Nevertheless with the OpenSqueeze no delay/echo was noticeable, and there was the added bonus to be able to play different music through each speaker set.
After using the VidaBox OpenSqueeze devices we attest to their design quality and easiness of use. For those who are already invested into a Logitech Media Server setup the choice is simple, the VidaBox OpenSqueeze Solo offers a no-fuss out of the box solution for your home music playback setup, co-existing nicely with other Squeezeboxes on the network. If you're not a Logitech Media Server user the outcome is less clear. The cost of the OpenSqueeze Solo doesn't qualify as an impulse buy, at €239 list price it is in fact the most expensive streaming media player we tested yet.
However for your money you get a very compact and capable playback device, if you're an audiophile with a mid-to-high end speaker setup the OpenSqueeze Solo will surely deliver the audio clarity that you're looking for, surpassing that of Apple's solution and Noxon. If you're more a DIY enthusiast you can get similar results from a Raspberry Pi device with USB DAC, but you're going to have to know what you're doing, or you might end up quickly with a €100 paperweight, this risk you don't run with the OpenSqueeze Solo. So you're actually buying a peace of mind.
If you're not an audiophile however, the case for the OpenSqueeze Solo becomes harder, Noxon and Apple, amongst others, deliver plug and play audio streaming possibility for your music, if you're not going to set up a multi-room system, the extra cost of the OpenSqueeze Solo is prohibitive for a recommendation.
As it stands, VidaBox has extended the life of the Logitech SqueezeBox solution for the masses with a technically high end device which is easy to set up and configure.
If there's one thing we'd like to see included for the price: USB Wifi Dongle. Having to buy one to get the away from a wired network adds to the already high cost. We like to thank VidaBox for allowing us to test drive their latest products. Thank you for reading.