With the rash of recent A/V components integrating the plethora of web related, streaming audio content into their feature set, Logitech has been streamlining their delivery of the same content in their Squeezebox series.  The Squeezebox Radio is Logitech’s most recent release into this field.  The compact form factor of the Squeezebox Radio is designed for an audience looking to bring their library of music into a smaller room.  Additionally, the Squeezebox Radio is ideal for those who have a Wi-Fi network already established for streaming audio files. The Squeezebox (MSRP: $199.99) comes packaged in a small box and wrapped in light plastic packaging.  It also comes wrapped in a thin plastic film designed to keep smudges off the finish.  The piano black, glossy finish (also available in red) is very susceptible to fingerprints and dust is very visible as ...

The raging debate du jour these days for both the music industry and audiophiles is the future of physical media. The compact disc is 25 plus years old, but is still the primary format for physical music purchases. There is also a tiny sliver of music buyers who opt for SACD, DVD-A, or Vinyl LP. The formidable and rapidly growing population of music buyers, who purchase music downloads, prefers to be free spirits in their relationships to any physical medium. The trade off is these consumers are willing to accept much lower sound quality. It should be noted that there a handful of websites that also sell high resolution, lossless music files as well, but at a premium, and usually by lesser known artists.Music servers systems are at the vanguard of the new landscape. Truth be told, the iPod and ...

Introduction When I was told Krell was developing an iPod dock, I knew I had to have it, if for no other reason other than the fact that it was a Krell iPod dock and was sure to be ridiculous.  If there’s one thing I like about Krell, it’s the simple fact that every product they make goes to 11 in more ways than sheer volume.  After un-boxing the Krell KID (Krell iPod Dock) and matching Papa dock stereo amplifier, it’s safe to say this system takes iPod music to the ultra-extreme.  Until the KID’s arrival, my impression of an iPod dock was a cheap puck-style hunk of plastic helping to produce cheap hunk of plastic sound.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Apple iPod, truly I do, and I consider it a viable music source when handled correctly, but ...

Introduction Whether we are in the car driving to the grocery store or on a plane suffering through yet another painful flight to somewhere, music lovers are able to access what used to be an impossibly large music collection right in the palms of our hands. Why shouldn’t we be able to do the same when we are at home? Over the past few years, AVRev.com has reviewed several top-notch music servers from the likes of ReQuest, Escient QSonix and others that give music lovers better than iPod audio quality, along with larger than iPod storage. In 2006, we reviewed the very affordable ($299) Squeezebox from Slim Devices (since purchased by Logitech) which differs significantly from the aforementioned competition in that Squeezebox does not have a hard drive to store music, but rather interfaces with your computer system to access the music files stored therein, as well as Internet radio. The Slim Devices Transporter, which retails ...

Introduction The iPod has heralded a new era in music, allowing us to store our music digitally on computers. But what are we to do when we want to listen to that music on our stereo systems? You can connect your iPod directly to your preamp or home theater controller with a patch cable, but it is difficult to see the screen from further than a few feet away. Many receivers have the ability to control the iPod, but the text on their display is small and/or your receiver may be tucked out of view. Some companies have systems that allow you to use your TV as the screen to interface with your iPod, but then you have to have your display on to listen to music and are still limited by the storage space of the device. Dedicated music servers can access your music and distribute it to various systems throughout your ...