Logitech Squeezebox Touch Wi-Fi Internet Radio and Wireless Music Player Review
The latest iteration in the Squeezebox series the Logitech Squeezebox Touch is a bit of a breakthrough, not so much in terms of functionality but in usability and also more importantly for many its price point. This little box manages to make functionality that would previously have cost you a good part of $1000 available for a third as much. If you have been considering retiring your cd player or radio tuner this may well be the product you have been waiting for. To look at the Squeezebox Touch is compact and nicely modern looking its menus are driven from a nice looking and responsive 4.3-inch touch-screen. The menuing system is very easy to get to grips with and we found it a breeze to use. One nice feature is the fact that the units menus automatically go to bigger more readable text when you are using the remote (IE: accross the room), we thought this was a clever little touch. The screen will also display album art or even your own photos if you are so inclined. The Logitech Squeezebox Touch delivers both internet radio and streamed music from any computer (or NAS device) on your local network that is capable of running the supplied squeezebox server software. This can be done either via Wi-Fi or with standard ethernet cabling. The device is also capable of playing back media from standard USB devices or SD cards, both of which have appropriate slots located on the back panel and side of the casing respectively. The unit comes with no built in speakers but is instead designed to connect to your hi-fi amplifier via either standard RCA sockets or alternately via coaxial or optical outputs. the sound supplied from these outputs is of a high standard for a model in this price range, we found music played via SD card and streamed via Wi-Fi to be reproduced at a very merchantable quality without any real sonic issues, any limit on the quality was generally down to the original files being older mp3s. To avoid this issue ripping to a lossless format like FLAC is the way to go. The Squeezebox Touch supports up to 24bit/96Khz encoding, so better than CD quality. We are not quite talking audiophile quality here but the DACs seem very capable and quite natural in sound not digitally harsh as one might expect in some lower end models. So sonically very capable for most purposes and definitely a match for any CD player in a similar price range. All in all we give this unit a big thumbs up for anyone who wants to go digital with their music collection. The only very minor niggle may be that some of the less tech savvy amongst us could have some minor setup problems with the Squeezebox server software as it is not 100% plug and play yet, and if you are not used to configuring software manually it could give you some minor setup issues. So in conclusion if you have decided to go digital but you are on a budget the Logitech Squeezebox Touch is one of the best buys out there right now. Manufacturers Details Key Features Brilliant full-color touch-screen and remote for fun, easy music control High-resolution encoding support for full, rich stereo sound Add more Squeezebox players for a multi-room music system Seamless home network support, effortless setup USB port and SD card slot expand your listening and viewing experience Free SqueezeNetwork connects you to global stations and music services List Price: $299.99 (Check Current Pricing on Amazon
Check Current Pricing on Amazon
Check Current Pricing on Amazon
The easy-to-read 4.3-inch touch-screen and intuitive menus put you in total music control. Simply touch “My Music”, “Internet Radio” or one of your favorite online services like Napster or Pandora to browse, select and play whatever suits your mood. Even album art is displayed so you can see what you want to hear. You also have a smart remote that actually knows where you are in the room. Move away from the touch-screen over to the couch, and the menus automatically enlarge for easy viewing from across the room.
You like to hear it all, from the haunting high notes in a U2 guitar solo to the deep resonant bass at the bottom of a Miles Davis classic. With support for high-resolution encoding, Squeezebox Touch makes sure the important details in your digital music sources don’t get lost in translation. Even if you’re playing music softly in the background, you’ll enjoy a high quality sound experience—without missing a beat, note or nuance.
Do you want to bring a world of music to other rooms—without running wires? Easy. Check out Squeezebox Radio and Squeezebox Boom all-in-one Wi-Fi music players with built-in speakers. They’re small enough to fit easily on your bedroom night table or kitchen counter. And they work with your Squeezebox Touch. Simply add a handheld Squeezebox Controller and you can play the same music throughout the house, or mix it up with a different playlist in every room.
Squeezebox Touch keeps things simple from the start. Just plug the music player into your audio system, turn on the power and the player automatically finds your home Wi-Fi network. You also have the option to plug in an Ethernet cable. Either way, in just five minutes you’ll be listening to stations around the globe.
Say you have a ton of favorite tracks stored on an external flash drive. Just plug the drive into the music player’s USB port and your tunes are ready to play through your home stereo. You also have a built-in SD card slot. Just slide in your memory card to watch an instant slide show of your pictures, right on the touch-screen display.
Your Wi-Fi music player comes complete with the Logitech SqueezeNetwork, an online service that makes it easy to access all the Internet radio stations and music services you could ever want. Sign up for free and get connected right on your Squeezebox touch-screen.
