SqueezeCenter 7.3 *FIRST IMPRESSIONS THREAD*

[EnochLight]

Didn't see one so I thought I'd share my initial experience:

* Took a while for me to get my Duet to switch from SqueezeNetwork back to my local computer after updating to SqueezeCenter. Didn't want to seem to find the Receiver for some reason, but after a couple of restarts of the Controller and Receiver, it finally connected and began updating the firmware to 7.3 r3476 without issue.

* I kind of miss the option of choosing where my libraries are located (during first setup), as I have a separate folder/drive for my archived CD's in FLAC and a separate drive for my iTunes library. That said, going into SC's settings, interrupting the initial scan, switching where they were located, and restarting the scan wasn't too much of an inconvenience.

* The ability to upload my own wallpapers and sound effects is *AWESOME*!!! Thank you so much for this customization option and an elegant interface through SC!

* The ability - even in beta - to *FINALLY* play audio via my Controller is *HUGE*!!!! Thank you so much - this is like getting a new Squeezebox at no extra charge! A battery operated one no less - VERY COOL! I was surprised at how well it sounded - even through the built-in speaker. That thing actually has decent fidelity and sounds leaps and bounds better than my iPhone speaker - AND LOUDER! Headphone output works excellent, though my jack is a little fiddly. That said I am using a quarter inch to 3.5 mm adapter for my studio headphones, so perhaps it's my adapter - will investigate further. Anyway, it sounds *GREAT* - the D/A in the Controller just sounds GREAT!!! Crossfade appears to work fine - tested at 8 seconds playing back mp3/m4a combos. Will add FLAC to the playlist and test that as well.

* iTunes album artwork all shows up - thanks for fixing that.

What can I say? Initial impression is very positive and I'm very excited about the audio via Controller - VERY COOL! I must say this is probably the most exciting update to SC since the 7.0 release IMHO.

Great job Slim Devices!

Cheers,

EnochLight

[Ron Olsen]

Does anyone know if the XM Radio plugin (http://forums.slimdevices.com/attach...6&d=1227997374) works with the official 7.3 release?

Reports in this thread indicate that it didn't work with the 7.3 pre-release versions:

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...t=53275&page=9

[Bytec]

* The ability - even in beta - to *FINALLY* play audio via my Controller is *HUGE*!!!!

I disagree. Controllers DAC sounds BAD (aliasing etc, it's cheap).

I like SC v7.3 release, but I'm waiting for SC v8.0 with database engine change MySQL -> SQLite.

I run SC on a QNAP TS-109 NAS and I need SC to use resources as less as possible. SQLite would help.

[bernt]

Installed from Work over Hamachi\SSH console.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade

Done.

Connected with SqueezePlay and started playing music in less than five minutes.

Thanks everyone involved.

[Skunk]

I disagree. Controllers DAC sounds BAD (aliasing etc, it's cheap).

If I'm understanding correctly what you're talking about is static during heavy bass notes, which I experienced on very early beta versions, and usually only when transcoding FLAC to mp3. What are your file types and/or transcoding details?

I haven't tried transcoding recently, but the native FLAC through the Controller's headphone out sounds exceptionally good to me. N.B. I don't have an ipod to compare.

[peterbell]

Didn't see one ....

Possibly because other people are finding the same as me ... the update just isn't available yet.

[EnochLight]

Does anyone know if the XM Radio plugin (http://forums.slimdevices.com/attach...6&d=1227997374) works with the official 7.3 release?

Reports in this thread indicate that it didn't work with the 7.3 pre-release versions:

http://forums.slimdevices.com/showth...t=53275&page=9

I haven't tried the XM plugin yet, but will try to this weekend. My wife has a tuner so I'm sure she wont mind if I borrow her account.

I disagree. Controllers DAC sounds BAD (aliasing etc, it's cheap).

Errr... what? Are we using the same Controller? I get no aliasing that I can hear - it sounds excellent on my end. I'm using a pair of $200 Audio-Technica studio headphones with a flat response. Mp3 sounds great (well, as great as Mp3 can sound) and my FLAC's played back fine; sounded great too. As for the DAC being cheap, I remember reading that there was a pretty decent one - for the price - inside the Controller. Just can't remember what kind it was.

If I'm understanding correctly what you're talking about is static during heavy bass notes, which I experienced on very early beta versions, and usually only when transcoding FLAC to mp3. What are your file types and/or transcoding details?

I haven't tried transcoding recently, but the native FLAC through the Controller's headphone out sounds exceptionally good to me. N.B. I don't have an ipod to compare.

Yeah I agree - when I playback audio on my Controller it sounds great - none of the aliasing mentioned nor any static. Do you know if it is decoding FLAC native or does it transcode SC-side first to the Controller?

Possibly because other people are finding the same as me ... the update just isn't available yet.

Hmmm - not sure what you mean. The update was available when I wrote this review - which is why I wrote it. *shrugs*

Cheers!

[exile]

7.3 is available and from my perspective it's the easiest upgrade I've ever done.

I downloaded the nightly yesterday, installed it, updated my erland plugins and then I was back up and running. no problems whatsoever.

I haven't tried it out much but all of my squeezeboxes work and my alarms went off this morning as usual so it seems as if the upgrade was very smooth.

[Apesbrain]

Can anyone confirm whether SoftSqueeze 3.7 still works? Read that some people were experiencing problems with SS and SC 7.3 betas. Thanks.

[Millwood]

Can anyone confirm whether SoftSqueeze 3.7 still works? Read that some people were experiencing problems with SS and SC 7.3 betas. Thanks.

Squeezeplay works, as a remote controller and in local play mode.