Squeezebox Touch-tips, tricks & tweaks

tonyb

Look at Q-sonic or Soolos, used units aren't bad but new ones are used car kind of money. The newer Q sonic looks awesome. Also other make some too like YBA, Musicland Diamond. The up side to these units is they rip your cd's supposedly with better rippers in them, have high quality dacs, and a great user interface, software. Downside is most these units are one room solutions though in todays market, I'm sure some phone apps have been added by now.

Brock, the difference with these units and a computer is that a computer isn't built for audio from the ground up like these units. Better quality parts with audio first and foremost the priority.

http://www.qsonix.com/

heiney9

Except with the right set-up you can get just as good a quality from your PC. Marketers love to create a niche product and then tout it as better, perhaps for a computer novice who wants to spend zero time understanding and wants to "pay" for a plug-in play unit that states it's better..........then I can see a market for them. Certainly there is a portion of users who don't want to fuss with settings and/or having any understanding how to make it work best. I am not one of them :cool:

Again, I am not ripping twice nor am I keeping 2 sets of files. But I can see the appeal for a very casual user who is also an "audiophile". It seems it could be aimed at the same person who DL's iTunes files and they typically aren't an "audiophile"

I'm sure things will get better and better as well as easier to use and integrate until we have a single box that does everything under the sun.

H9

tonyb

You can build your own too, some take their old computers or find used ones cheap, clean all the garbage off of them and just add a network storage device. I know Phil and myself use Sonos with our computers to give wireless connectivety to up to 32 zones all from one wireless controller or one phone app. Independent volume controls for each zone, can play different songs on each zone or lump zones together.

You have a dac already, a quality ripper and storage plus a modded sonos for 24/96 may be cheaper, I dunno.

Well Brock, thats the ticket....ease of use. Which is why I went with Sonos personally. If I kick the bucket tomarrow, would my wife know how to download , tag the files what folders they are in ? If something went wrong, would she know how to fix it ? Probably not, and has no interest in knowing it either. She wants something that simply works with no headaches. Sonos fit that bill for me, it's so easy it's sick. Thats the selling point. Also most of these all in one units have 17 inch monitors which is nice for those not keen on a small screen.

steveinaz

Exactly. Someone will build it. Already Marantz, NAD, Arcam, Cambridge Audio, MF, and Bryston have network players---and maybe if I better understood how the music selection interface works, one of them may be the ticket. But I eventually want something that requires NO NETWORK, NO INTERNET. I know, I'm a dinosaur.

tonyb

No internet means no album art buddy boy. You need it for some parts, self diagnostics, album art, any downloaded music you may come across that floats your boat. The all in one players like a q-sonix or Soolos are nice, but even I am not hip to the costs of these things compared to what they offer. I guess it comes down to how much are you willing to pay for convenience. Also alot of the coin is in the software. These higher end units have software thats tricked out to the 9's and will blow you away.

steveinaz

I don't do album art. I still would maintain internet access---just not as part of my audio system.

Think of it this way...does your Cd player require internet? wireless? album art? Now you're feeling me. I HATE "bells & whistles" (on anything) I like good 'ol solid simplicity. Glocks, base trim jeeps, a cell phone that does nothing but make phone calls, that's where I live. LOL

tonyb

Yeah man, I'm feeling ya....LOL, and thats cool if thats not your bag. It does however make it a cool feature for others using your system, like guests, certainly not a priority though.

I look at computer music gear as like looking for a receiver, you pick the bells and whistles you want.

steveinaz

I hate my wifes cell phone---I don't even know how to answer the damn thing. Meh.

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I don't do album art. LOL

Huh?

Why get the Touch then, the screen is for the art as well as it being on your Android/iPhone? Album art is a must, especially since I use Media Monkey for my computer in the office rig.

No album art, blasphemy. :evil::cheesygrin:

How do you even tag without the art being part of the default.

steveinaz

Nah, I just use the "large display" setting, no stinkin' art. The music IS the art baby. I never bothered to chase down all the album art.

I told you I was simple.

heiney9

You're "hard core" my man, hard core.

Drenis

steveinaz wrote: »

Nah, I just use the "large display" setting, no stinkin' art. The music IS the art baby. I never bothered to chase down all the album art.

I told you I was simple.

I'm with you on this one. I could care less for the art. If it's there then so be it but I don;t go out of my way to acquire the metadata for album art.

heiney9

The thing is dB Poweramp adds the art by default. I suppose one could go in and turn it off, but why?

H9

steveinaz

I know EAC doesn't look for it---'cause I got none...LOL

steveinaz

Drenis wrote: »

I'm with you on this one. I could care less for the art. If it's there then so be it but I don;t go out of my way to acquire the metadata for album art.

...and when you factor in that I'm 11ft from my Touch, I wouldn't be able to see it anyway! LOL!! That's why I bought the duet remote.

tonyb

I always wondered why squeezebox never came out with a touch that has a wireless remote, doesn't seem like it would be that hard to incorporate.

steveinaz

It comes with a remote, but if you're more than 6ft away from the device, good luck seeing what you're selecting. That's why I picked up the duet remote with the screen on it.

nspindel

Because everyone's using phone apps now to do the same thing.

FTGV

heiney9 wrote: »

Asynchronous USB, ASIO enabled, not a soundcard, not a headphone jack, etc. When I refer to a straight PC I meant something like using an internal soundcard with a Windows K-mixer, or optical out w/Kmixer, etc, like so many here do which is really no better than an iPod or other type of marginal product.

H9

Whoa big fella,outputing lossless data direct from a PC via an SPDIF connection be it optical or coax to a good outboard DAC even with the dreaded K-mixer IMO should easily trump the analog out put of an ipod. If thats what your implying?

Drenis

For me, metadata is not needed but is nice eye candy if so desired. If one of my programs downloads the content then I don't mind.

I finally got to play with a Squeezebox Touch at a audio shop in town that wanted $399 BEFORE TAXES for one... very slick unit. MUCH smaller then I thought it was. NOT worth $400 before taxes...

With the Playbook OS2 due out next month and the flexibility to run Android apps, running the Squeezebox software from my Playbook will allow me to rid my HTPC in lieu of the SBT.

heiney9

FTGV wrote: »

Whoa big fella,outputing lossless data direct from a PC via an SPDIF connection be it optical or coax to a good outboard DAC even with the dreaded K-mixer IMO should easily trump the analog out put of an ipod. If thats what your implying?

You're reading it wrong. I should have worded it better. Re-read it within the context of what I was answering. By itself as a statement it could have been worded differently to be more succinct.

But I was pointing out exactly what you state.

H9

heiney9

Drenis wrote: »

For me, metadata is not needed but is nice eye candy if so desired. If one of my programs downloads the content then I don't mind.

I finally got to play with a Squeezebox Touch at a audio shop in town that wanted $399 BEFORE TAXES for one... very slick unit. MUCH smaller then I thought it was. NOT worth $400 before taxes...

With the Playbook OS2 due out next month and the flexibility to run Android apps, running the Squeezebox software from my Playbook will allow me to rid my HTPC in lieu of the SBT.

So you don't use metadata at all? Or do you mean cover art as part of the metadata? If there is no metadata, there there is absolutely no way for any program to identify what you are playing or searching for.

How would you know which file is Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms if you don't use metadata to tag your files?

H9

Drenis

heiney9 wrote: »

So you don't use metadata at all? Or do you mean cover art as part of the metadata? If there is no metadata, there there is absolutely no way for any program to identify what you are playing or searching for.

How would you know which file is Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms if you don't use metadata to tag your files?

H9

What do you think ID2/3 tags are for? They store all that information which is part of the file. And yes I was referring to the cover art. I think that's what Steve was hinting at as well.

You can search for files using words instead of pictures. How else do you surf for artists etc?

heiney9

ID/3 tags are referred to as metadata.

When you said you don't use metadata on your files, I assumed you meant no tagging info. Tags (ID3) are known as 'descriptive metadata'. So I was just clarifying what you meant.

H9

steveinaz

I was (am) a newbie, so I wasn't sure if EAC was going to grab cover art or not. It didn't (or possibly I didn't set it up right?) but it was never a big deal to me either way.

On another note; now that I'm thoroughly familiar with the duet remote operation--I love that thing.

PrazVT

How would you know which file is Dire Straits - Brothers in Arms if you don't use metadata to tag your files?

H9

He'd have to do straight up file searches ...which sounds like a pain in the ****.

heiney9

PrazVT wrote: »

He'd have to do straight up file searches ...which sounds like a pain in the ****.

How? Using Windows? Sound like fun when you are sitting in your listening chair trying to get your listen on. Not to mention how tedious it would be to manually name each file individually. Thank God for metadata and ID3 tags.

H9

heiney9

steveinaz wrote: »

I was (am) a newbie, so I wasn't sure if EAC was going to grab cover art or not. It didn't (or possibly I didn't set it up right?) but it was never a big deal to me either way.

On another note; now that I'm thoroughly familiar with the duet remote operation--I love that thing.

There should be a setting for it. I'm surprised in the current version that isn't a default setting.

H9

steveinaz

Even with my limited knowledge at the time, I assumed it would. It did pull all the album/song info in.

polkatese

For those who owns Logitech Harmony One, remote code for SQBT is available and built-in.

Steve, I agree, it's hard to see the screen from anywhere beyond 6' +, hence I use an iPad app to control mine (and occasionally using H1 by programming all my stations under favorites).