Analog Output Weak

[MikeO]

I just bought the squeezebox 3 and connected it to an older marantz stereo receiver. I'm not sure if my squeebox is broken, but the analog signal from the RCAs is so weak that I have to really jack up the volume to even hear anything. I raised the volume on the squeezebox itself and this didn't help. I also updated firmware by holding the brightness button, but still very weak signal. It is louder with the phono input, but the sound quality is terrible. Can somebody help me? Thanks.

[peterw]

I just bought the squeezebox 3 and connected it to an older marantz stereo receiver. I'm not sure if my squeebox is broken, but the analog signal from the RCAs is so weak that I have to really jack up the volume to even hear anything. I raised the volume on the squeezebox itself and this didn't help. I also updated firmware by holding the brightness button, but still very weak signal. It is louder with the phono input, but the sound quality is terrible. Can somebody help me? Thanks.

If your Squeezebox's analog output isn't about the same as other "line-level" components when its volume is somewhere between 80 and 100, and other gear using the same cable and line-level input on the Marantz is OK, then something is wrong and you should contact Slim Devices/Logitech for help. Don't worry, I think you'll be quite happy when they get the problem sorted out.

-Peter

[seanadams]

Can you test the s/pdif output to make sure it works?

Also there's a chip in the Squeezebox that sometimes wants to be re-flashed. Try resetting (press and hold power) and then pressing "1" on the welcome screen.

[opaqueice]

If your Squeezebox's analog output isn't about the same as other "line-level" components when its volume is somewhere between 80 and 100, and other gear using the same cable and line-level input on the Marantz is OK, then something is wrong and you should contact Slim Devices/Logitech for help. Don't worry, I think you'll be quite happy when they get the problem sorted out.

Agreed.

If you have a voltmeter, turn the volume up to max (with the SB not connected to the amp) and measure the AC voltage across the two RCA jacks in the back. It should be something like 1-2 volts, depending on the music you're playing. You might compare it to a CD player playing the same track; it should be about the same.

If it is, and you're still having the problem, I suppose it could be that the input impedance on the amp is very low for some reason?

[MikeO]

I don't have a voltmeter and I reflashed it while on the phone with the tech support. Is it possible that I messed the squeezebox up when I had it connected to the phono jack?
I'm assuming the impedence is fine as it works well with a normal mid-range cd player.
Is there a way to see the settings on the slimserver to see if it is keeping the volume too low?

[seanadams]

Impedance is a non-issue and no, you did not damage the RCA jacks by plugging into the wrong ports on the receiver.

There is of course a chance that the Squeezebox has failed, but this is not a common failure so it may be worth spending a little more time investigating before you send it in for replacement.

The best test to do at this point, as Opaqueice suggested is the voltmeter - Radioshack has em for $10. That is the only way to know what the output level is in any absolute sense. To generate a full-scale test tone, reset squeezebox and press "3" on the welcome screen. You need to measure the AC voltage between the center of the RCA connector and its outside sleeve. It should read 1.8 to 1.9 volts AC.

A couple other things to check:

Is your RCA cable OK? It is not unheard of to have both left and right channels bad.

Can you try a pair of headphones in the headphone jack?

Do you have any other speakers, eg computer speakers with a 1/8" jack?

Again, it would also be good to test the s/pdif output somehow. If you also get low volume at the s/pdif output then it is _definitely_ not a hardware issue, and is something to do with volume settings, replaygain, or your ripping process.

If s/pdif is OK but the analog levels are low, then you probably have a bad squeezebox. But as I said this is a particularly unlikely failure mode.

[seanadams]

Also under Settings->Playes->Audio there is a "Preamp volume control" setting. This should be set to "0".

[MikeO]

Thanks so much for your help. The device is functioning properly now. I'm not exactly sure what did it. I relashed it again, changed and reverted the audio settings back to default on slimserver and changed the RCAs. My gut tells me it is the RCA change, but last night I had used a couple of different RCA connectors as well as a monster miniplug to RCA cable and it didn't work then. In any event, it's fixed and I'm grateful for your help.
By the way, do you know of any websites that I can get high-quality mp3 downloads? I've been downloading with itunes and can't use these on the squeezebox, plus the quality is not really that great. File size is not an issue--I have plenty of hard drive space. I tried mp3parks.com, a quasi-legal russian site, but they aren't accepting credit cards, plus I think they will be shut down soon. I can't imagine that the only way to get high-quality files is to rip them from cd. Again, thanks for your help.

[radish]

Depends what you are after. Amazon and (I think) Walmart have DRM free downloads which I imagine are OK for regular pop stuff. Magnatunes is supposed to be good for classical, and I personally get a lot from beatport (who do mp3 and wav). Right now, most of the legal DRM-free options are reasonably genre-specific.

[seanadams]

weird.. well, it's good to hear it's working