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**ccrome2** · 2009-03-04, 17:26

Originally posted by Labarum View Post

Beautifully designed and made: a very nice bedside or kitchen radio. That's what I bought it for.

That's what we designed it for. Good match there.

Originally posted by Labarum View Post

It would have been nice if one of the speakers had been detachable from the console, so some stereo image could have been established. That you would say would be a different product, and I could have bought an SB3 and active speakers - but, hey, I got a special offer, it cost me £150.

Yep, you're right, that is a different product. It would be bigger and not as elegant. We certainly thought about it in the design process, but it involved WAY too many trade-offs. For example, just on the acoustical side, in order to get the same bass response, you'd need to either split it directly down the middle (to give equal volume to both woofers), or make the whole thing bigger. Neither of those are feasible while maintaining a compact, yet excellent sounding product.

Originally posted by Labarum View Post

Do I sound disappointed? No, I am not: I am very happy. I got what I wanted, a very nice bedside or kitchen radio that will serve me in Cyprus when the FM radios won't; but I am a little bemused by the enthusiasm expressed by some for the sonic virtues of this remarkable and beautifully made little box.

Yep, that's what we shot for, so I'm glad we it hit right for your use :-) If we added the other features, like detachable speakers, it would not have been nearly as elegant.

For it's size, I don't know of any other similar product that has anywhere near the sound quality. Of course, it's not going to have the bass response of large speakers, or the noise floor of a dedicated DAC. But the <i>value</i> you get is hard to beat in my view.

-Caleb

**Labarum** · 2009-03-04, 17:52

Originally posted by ccrome2 View Post

For it's size, I don't know of any other similar product that has anywhere near the sound quality. Of course, it's not going to have the bass response of large speakers, or the noise floor of a dedicated DAC. But the <i>value</i> you get is hard to beat in my view.

-Caleb

Thanks for your comments, Caleb. I am sure you are right on the sound quality, size and price judgements. I haven't listened to too many alternatives, and none of the internet radios seem to have anything like the flexibility and functionality of the Boom.

And it is such an attractive box.

Yes, you pitched right.

The gap in the product range I would like to see filled is between the Classic/Duet and the Transporter.

A simple black box with the chip in it to stream 24/96 (or better) into an already owned DAC would be nice. The purchaser can then choose to buy an Controller, or use a smartphone or laptop. A box like that could be a winner.

**nacmacfeegle** · 2009-03-05, 13:52

"It would have been nice if one of the speakers had been detachable from the console, so some stereo image could have been established. That you would say would be a different product, and I could have bought an SB3 and active speakers - but, hey, I got a special offer, it cost me £150."

I was playing with mine last night and came across a setting in <audio> to set up 'stereoxl' which seems to give different levels of virtual separation. May be worthwhile trying this out to see if things improve for you.

At the end of the day I think it represents pretty good value at 150 quid.

**Dogberry2** · 2009-03-05, 14:53

Since these forums (understandably) get mostly questions/complaints, it is good to see threads like these. I hope they help the prospective buyer looking through in order to evaluate and decide whether the SqueezeBox products, and which models, might be right for them. I agree with the OP that the Boom is a great kitchen or bedside player. (I'd call it more than a "radio", but the home-streaming-audio stuff doesn't yet seem to have a short, simple terminology -- I still have to explain the concept to people who haven't seen it before.)

I love our Duets, but the Boom offers flexibility by being portable, and it really does have terrific sound for its size. My wife loves it too. It's great next to the bed: it puts us to sleep at night, wakes us up in the morning, and provides good, rhythmic background music for the other things we do in the bedroom. And in the kitchen, it makes cooking and clean-up go so much more pleasantly: loading the dishwasher is transformed from drudgery into fun if you can dance while you're doing it. If spring ever gets here, we're looking forward to using it on the deck, and out in the yard while working on flower beds.

+1 vote of thanks and a thumbs-up to Caleb & the Slim crew for their great design. You guys rock.

**socistep** · 2009-03-05, 18:55

"provides good, rhythmic background music for the other things we do in the bedroom."

(!)

**Dogberry2** · 2009-03-05, 19:19

Originally posted by socistep View Post

(!)

Hey, music makes everything better.

**maggior** · 2009-03-06, 02:58

I just got a couple of Booms myself (sadly, these will be my final purchases from Circuit City). I'm simply amazed at the sound that comes out of such a little package. It's a very solidly built and elegant looking device!

I found that listening to it in a store did not do it justice. I listened to one when they became available at Best Buy and wasn't overly impressed by the sound. Once I fired this thing up at home though...whoah baby!!!

Only since just about everybody has heard a Bose wave radio, I say to people "you've heard a Bose wave radio? You think it sounds good? Well, this thing sounds even BETTER!"

I found that the sound quality is affected greatly by positioning - put it near a wall and the bass is great; have it in the middle of a room on a table and the bass is rather anemic. That's probably why I wasn't impressed with the SQ in the store.

It is awesome for what it was designed for! My wife loves them too since they are very clean and neat looking in addition to sounding great.

**Dogberry2** · 2009-03-06, 13:51

Originally posted by maggior View Post

My wife loves them too since they are very clean....

Yes, they remind me of Wilfrid Brambell.

**Labarum** · 2009-03-06, 15:23

Why is the headphone socket on the back? I would have been more convenient on the front, or even on the side.

I can only suppose it was a cost and convenience factor for the manufacturer, although I guess a socket could have spoiled the good looks of the front panel.

**aubuti** · 2009-03-06, 16:31

Originally posted by Labarum View Post

Why is the headphone socket on the back? I would have been more convenient on the front, or even on the side.

I can only suppose it was a cost and convenience factor for the manufacturer, although I guess a socket could have spoiled the good looks of the front panel.

There was a long discussion about this during the beta testing. If I remember correctly, the original idea was that it would be a line out for a powered subwoofer. It was a deliberate design decision because for a sub out the placement in the back is better for aesthetic reasons. The functionality as a headphone jack was viewed as incidental ("collateral design"?), and by the time it was being discussed by beta testers it was too late to change the production process.

If I've gotten any of this wrong I'm sure that one of those who was more passionately involved in the discussion will remember the details better (you there MC?).

**timbo_bobcat** · 2009-03-24, 23:04

Hi folks, I got a Boom today to add to my existing Duet. It's in the kitchen and sounds great against a wall towards the middle of a long thin room.

Really easy to set up and use, and beautifully designed.

Best of all, I got it for £130 from Amazon with a £50 voucher code from a newspaper.

Life is good!

Any thoughts on how this product shapes up as a solution compared with an ipod dock? Most of us with music on the PC (compressed or not) also have an ipod or mp3 player, so are there similarly priced docks which sound better than this?

**sleepysurf** · 2009-03-27, 16:09

I just got a Boom for my home office. As a dyed-in-the-wool audiophile, I must say I am very impressed with the audio quality... even using the DSP StereoXL! I was originally going to buy a small integrated amp and bookshelf speakers, but am really happy I went with the Boom. Well done!

**eganders** · 2009-03-28, 05:54

Originally posted by aubuti View Post

There was a long discussion about this during the beta testing. If I remember correctly, the original idea was that it would be a line out for a powered subwoofer. It was a deliberate design decision because for a sub out the placement in the back is better for aesthetic reasons. The functionality as a headphone jack was viewed as incidental ("collateral design"?), and by the time it was being discussed by beta testers it was too late to change the production process.

If I've gotten any of this wrong I'm sure that one of those who was more passionately involved in the discussion will remember the details better (you there MC?).

If you are using it for headphones that you want to plug and unplug regularly, getting a simple extension cable will solve that issue, look nice - and give you a bit more room to operate as well.

I do use that line out / headphone / sub out connector for a subwoofer. That addition has turned my already terrific SB Boom into an even more amazing one. I do set the StereoXL on medium, as the wide doesn't seem to work as well off angle (when you're off to the side of the Boom and not in front of it).

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A very nice bedside/kitchen radio

A very nice bedside/kitchen radio

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