Classic vs Duet

[Kahonu84]

Aloha,

I am in the process of determining if I want a Squeezebox - and if so - Classic or Duet? Looking at the website hasn't helped a whole lot as it's mostly sales hype. Could someone differentiate them for me??

This is what I want to do. I am about to make major electronic changes. I'm entering Home Theater. Getting a LCD and AV Receiver. Also replacing my PC as Windows 7 is too much for it. I want to digitize my 100+ albums so I'll probably end up with a NAS also. It's gonna be fun!!! I've been using a Xitel Hifi-link and love it. However, with digitizing all my albums, I want something more elegant. At the same time, being able to retain the ability to listen to my internet radio (some stations are off the beaten path) is most important. At some point, I may want to add the bedroom shelf stereo into the mix.

So here are my questions -

1. Classic or Duet??
2. How do I integrate it into my AV Receiver?
3. Are all internet stations available, or am I limited by a Logitech sanctioned list?? This is a real deal-maker/breaker. The Hifi-link may be old school, but it'll play any station from any website. I really like that..

Mahalo,
Bill

PS I already have a 802.11g router.

[tcutting]

The Duet is actually 2 pieces - the Squeezebox Receiver (SBR) and the Squeezebox Controller. You can also purchase each of these separately. The controller is a unique piece of the Duet package - it's a special remote which connects via WiFi (wireless network), and provides control for your system. It gives you a small screen to select menus, vue the album art, etc. It also have a headphone jack, and can be used as its own wireless player (although this feature is still beta - not fully operational). The controller can actually control any of the squeezebox players, not just the receiver which is part of the Duet package.
The Receiver (SBR) is a player. It has no display on its own, so you need to control it either through the Controller, or through a web browser on a computer. In terms of sound quality, it is about equal to the SB3 (or Squeezebox Classic). It can connect to the network either via wired ethernet or through WiFi. It would connect to your AV receiver either like a CD player with a pair of RCA cables, or can connect via a digital interface if your AV receiver has that type of input (either coax or optical).
The Classic is very similar to the Receiver, except for some nice features: it has its own display, so it makes setting it up easier, and provides information like what's playing, or the time, which is nice. It also has an IR remote (the Receiver does NOT have IR remote control capability). You can also program a universal remote to "talk" to the SB3 (Classic). These are the main differences between the SB3/Classic and the Receiver. The classic has digital outputs the same as the Receiver.
The choice of which to get depends on what's important. The classic is nice because it has a display and can respond to IR remote. In your setup, the ability to control with a universal remote may be an advantage. The controller is a nice way to control your players, but there are similar options available other ways - if you have an iPhone or Touch, there are applications which perform similar function available.
Also, you mention your bedroom shelf system - you may consider a Boom there... once you get your server running, and your music ripped and tagged, the beauty of the system is adding more players.
As far as internet radio, there are a LOT of stations available. I believe you can also enter URLs if a station isn't listed - but I'm not sure what limitations there may be. I know I have access to pretty much all my local radio stations, plus more stuff than I have had time to search through. Plus there are things like Pandora and LastFM which provide nice features and which are free to use.

[Kahonu84]

Mahalo for your reply. I think it's time to go more basic here as I think I'm missing something big here (probably many big things - but one at a time).

The way I thought this worked (classic, duo.. i don't know) was you hook the receiver into your network (hard wired or 11g). You use the remote to talk (how?) to the receiver. The receiver then sends your request to your pc/server which in turns sends the requested music back to the receiver.

But that doesn't make sense as they say the pc doesn't have to be on (which I find very appealing). I don't consider myself highly stupid, but I can't seem to make all the pieces fit.

[BlueScreenJunky]

Heh, yeah that can be pretty confusing at first, so here's the deal.
The Squeezebox (and controler if you have a duet) needs to be connected to a server. There are two types of servers :
-SqueezeCenter : The server you install on your computer (or NAS)
-SqueezeNetwork : A distant server hosted by logitech which your squeezebox can access through the internet even if your PC is turned off.

Basically SqueezeCenter can do everything SqueezeNetwork does, plus play your local files (obviously) and allows more customization. So if you can, I think it's best to always use SqueezeCenter. But if you don't want to have your computer turned on, SqueezeNetwork allows you to play ANY internet radios and use services like Napster, Pandora or LastFM. Of course in order to do that, the squeezebox will have to be connected to a routeur (wireless or wired) and not directly to your computer ^^


As for the Duet or Classic question, it basically comes down to this : Do you prefer to have a screen on the device ? or a fancy controller ? As far as I'm concerned I prefer the classic, so I don't have to grab the controller to know what's playing, and the infra red remote works well enough for me. Besides, you can always buy a controller later and use it with the classic. The Duet is just a classic without a screen, and with a controller bundled.

And you shouldn't have any problem connecting it to your A/V Receiver, there are three outputs on the squeezebox : Analog (white and blue RCAs), Digital Coaxial (orange RCA) and Digital Optical (TOSLINK), so you have the choice ^^

[Kahonu84]

Mahalo. Soooooooooo how can I be connected to both SqueezeCenter and SqueezeNetwork or switch back and forth between the two depending on my needs at that moment??

[BlueScreenJunky]

You can't be connected to both at the same time, but you can switch back and forth from the squeezebox, there's an option to select the source (SC or SN). But I think the squeezebox doesn't switch automatically between the two, you have to do it with the remote.

[andynormancx]

Mahalo. Soooooooooo how can I be connected to both SqueezeCenter and SqueezeNetwork or switch back and forth between the two depending on my needs at that moment??

SqueezeCenter also make the same services available as SqueezeNetwork does. So when you are connected to SC you can listen to last.fm, napster, pandora etc

So no, you don't need to keep switching back and forth. If you are happy to keep your PC switched on you can just stay connected to SC all the time.

You only need to switch to SN if you want to turn your PC off. Some people used SN all the time as they don't want a PC turned on. Other people never use SN directly at all.

[amcluesent]

So if you have an Xitel Hifi-link, guess you already have have Apple kit. If you have going Home Theater, then maybe you'd be better off with Apple TV, which could easily hold 100 albums, hooked up to the LCD and AV Receiver on the S/PDIF link.

[ebin]

Playing internet radio stations is easy IMHO

If it will play on a WinAmp or Windows media
you can save it as a playlist in your playlist
folder (in your music)
When I access the playlist folder through SC
and select the playlist it connects to website
and streams from it

If not there is a place in SC that
allows you to input a URL and save it
as a radio station

You can even put your radio stations
on SN (by going to the SN website)
That way you can listen to them
without having you computer on

I end up putting all my radio stations
into "Favorites" on the Classic or Duet
so they are easily accessable

Playing with the server software
(aka SqueezeCenter or SC)is a good way
to find things out.

Download SC software and the emulator for a
Classic Squeezebox (SoftSqueeze??)and play
with it for a while.
I did and it convinced me

Cheers and Good Luck

[everton]

I'm interested in setting up a squeezebox system as weel, and so this thread is very informative to me. I have a few questions. I hope that the OP (Bill) wouldn't mind that I ask them in this thread.

1) Both my desktop and laptop computers are old (6 and 4 years) and don't have enough storage capacity. I'm thinking of getting an external hard drive and put my music in it. Can this work? Also, if I install Squeezecenter on both machines, can I connect the external hard drive to either one of them?

2) I have a wireless connection at home. It's the plug-and-play kind that came with my internet connection (Bell). I assume that it's a router of some sort, but I didn't really have to set it up. I simply hooked them up according to the instruction, and it's been working fine. I can connect my laptop wirelessly to it. So, is there any thing that I should be concerned about? I'm only a small notch above being computer illiterate.

3) I also have another place where I stay on weekends. There, someone set up a wireless connection for me, using a Linksys router. I don't think the router is that strong as I from time to time lost connection on my laptop. Will this be a problem? Do I have to upgrade my router first? If so, then that would make it harder.

4) If I install a squeezebox system in each place, can I move my laptop (with the external hard drive) back and forth (so that I don't have to have two storages for the same music)?

I think that's it for now. I'd appreciate any comments. Thanks.