*urgently* needed: keep alive/ stay connected (FIRMWARE w. additional option)

[garym]

I don't know .. I purchased an Internet | Radio (taste the meaning of both words) to listen to music from my local PC? Whereas I can listen to music from my local PC - well LOL from my local PC .. w/o an additional device ?

actually, you're missing the main point of SB music players and why they were created (which was not to be an alarm). Yes, you can play internet radio and your own music via a computer connected to speakers/amp etc. But then you are stuck with whatever the computer's soundcard does to mangle your digital playback (e.g., convert 44.1 files to 48). Plus most computers are a very noisy internal environment for the data, and create external noise themselves (fans, etc.). The SB player can be placed very far away from the computer, receives its music bit perfect (without mangling) via wifi or ethernet, and as a bonus, multiple SB players can be served, with each playing different things or two or more players synched to perfectly play the same thing (something not possible with a simple computer based playback approach).

So the Boom may not meet your requirements exactly, but it is actually a remarkable piece of kit, particularly given that it (and all other SB players other than the Transporter) are inexpensively priced at almost "throwaway after a year or two" consumer prices.

[garym]

thx bpa & Mnyb, great valuable replies!

bpa, which of the Touch / radio players would you recommend as a programmable alarm wake-up Internet Radio device with good sound? I could then probe beforehand if such might have an auto-reconnect feaure (existent or in dev.)

only the radio has its own built in speaker. The Touch needs to be connected to powered speakers or a preamp/amp. Not sure whether either does auto-reconnect.

[Lee Binder]

actually, you're missing the main point of SB music players and why they were created (which was not to be an alarm).

look over to http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Squeez...eezeboxplayers and you will be surprised. The by far largest current topic there (5 pages, 44 replies) is that people have problems with the alarm function. When you look over to Amazon you will see also see how many users indeed do use the SqBx as an Internet Alarm radio. More than what a product has been considered as by its devs is what people use it as in the end ..

Yes, you can play internet radio and your own music via a computer connected to speakers/amp etc. But then you are stuck with whatever the computer's soundcard does to mangle your digital playback (e.g., convert 44.1 files to 48).

that's why sound enthusiasts like us all have purchased PCs/ Macs/ Laptops with high-end soundcards, right ?

I agree with the rest.

[aubuti]

I don't know .. I purchased an Internet | Radio (taste the meaning of both words) to listen to music from my local PC? Whereas I can listen to music from my local PC - well LOL from my local PC .. w/o an additional device ?

Actually you bought a network | music | player (for example, see http://web.archive.org/web/200810101...imdevices.com/). And expecting reliable internet radio performance when you have admittedly dodgy internet service seems futile.

[Lee Binder]

Actually you bought a network | music | player (for example, see http://web.archive.org/web/200810101...imdevices.com/).

good point, you got me here.

And expecting reliable internet radio performance when you have admittedly dodgy internet service seems futile.

that's exactly why I am asking for a auto-reconnect feature, to make a not fully reliable listening experience not perfect (I am aware that will not work), but more reliable. That's all. If you are behind a T1 or similar backbone, you indeed would not be thinking about such a feature, simply because you do not need it. Also most stations I listen to are at the other side of the globe, so even you might then find yourself considering looking for such feature. Can you try and sense a bit more into my "audiverse" here ^^?

[garym]

look over to http://forums.logitech.com/t5/Squeez...eezeboxplayers and you will be surprised. The by far largest current topic there (5 pages, 44 replies) is that people have problems with the alarm function. When you look over to Amazon you will see also see how many users indeed do use the SqBx as an Internet Alarm radio. More than what a product has been considered as by its devs is what people use it as in the end

Yes, I agree (and very familiar, as I'm one of the most active posters on that forum). Most of this had to do ultimately with firmware bugs that did affect the reliability of the alarm in the RADIO (problems since mostly fixed). I'm not arguing that there are many users of these devices that use the alarm function. Even I use the alarm function of the Boom. My only point is that this is a nice extra, not a core feature. And most product raters at Amazon don't even have a clue how this product works so many of the comments are suspect at best and idiotic at worst.

that's why sound enthusiasts like us all have purchased PCs/ Macs/ Laptops with high-end soundcards, right ?

Well not really, many sound enthusiasts moved to squeezebox (or other networked music players) so that the soundcard became in fact irrelevant to the audio reproduction chain. But I get your point.

[Lee Binder]

only the radio has its own built in speaker.

just looking at images of the Logitech Squeezebox Radio. I am pretty sure it was amongst the many players I cross-compared back then. I'm also pretty sure that in comparisons the Booms's stereo sound was considered "better" (lack of a more articulate word right now), I think due to its further-apart placements of the speakers? I remember one review that in regards to sound the Boom beat them pretty much all.

All right, Daily Show then pillow. Thanks for all the input here - appreciated. Nite, audiophiles .

[garym]

just looking at images of the Logitech Squeezebox Radio. I am pretty sure it was amongst the many players I cross-compared back then. I'm also pretty sure that in comparisons the Booms's stereo sound was considered "better" (lack of a more articulate word right now), I think due to its further-apart placements of the speakers? I remember one review that in regards to sound the Boom beat them pretty much all.

All right, Daily Show then pillow. Thanks for all the input here - appreciated. Nite, audiophiles .

I have them all going back to SB3, and would agree that the BOOM has better, fuller audio than the Radio. The Radio is mono and a single speaker. The boom has a better than average "boombox" sound. This said, the radio is not bad at all (I use one in kitchen and out on the deck (battery powered). Neither it or the boom would be my primary (or even secondary) "listening" source. But for table top or bedside radios they are quite good.

The best of the bunch (currently being sold) is the TOUCH. Of course it needs to be connected to something as it doesn't have an internal amp or speakers. It plays 24/96 natively (or 24/192 with Triode's plugin). It has an excellent built in DAC or handles connections via S/PDIF or Toslink to other DACs (or via USB with triode's plugin).

[Mnyb]

Wonder if the old repeat trick would help your case .

Build a playlist with the same radio station repeated say 2-10 times and set the player to repeat playlists ?

[bpa]

tbpa, which of the Touch / radio players would you recommend as a programmable alarm wake-up Internet Radio device with good sound? I could then probe beforehand if such might have an auto-reconnect feaure (existent or in dev.)

As a beside alarm radio - the Boom is still best with snooze button and back lit controls. Radio is 2nd choice as its display goes dim and is a single unit. Touch and Radio runs essentially the same code so but with source code so it is possible to tweak behaviour.

I don't fully understand your problem - you seem to describe that Boom loesdse connection to mysb.com and then yiu say it cannot connect to radiop station. A clear description of your setup and what happens would help.

A Boom is on constant connection eith mysb.com or LMS to keep display refreshed - if this connection fails then it is likely you will have problems with Radio/ Touch.

If Radio stations break down or fail to connect initially
1. Use Mnyb suggestion of a playlist and put it on repeat. - this usually remakes connections as long as there is still a connection to mysb.com as it is mysb.com which will be making the intiial connection with the station.
2. With poor internet connection you should increase the Radio Station Timeout setting not Radio Station Buffer. The Radio station buffer is good for "lumpy" streams where you get rebuffering.