I am a radio nut (going back to the tube days)and the Squeezebox Boom is my third internet radio. I have a Roku Soundbridge R1000 and Sangean WFR-20 as well. All have their strengths, but the Squeezebox Boom is without a doubt a significant step up; it sets a new high standard in performance, capabilities, and ease of operation.
For wireless streaming of your music collection from a PC or Mac, the Boom is best. It can handle more formats (nearly anything except DRM protected iTunes files) and works well without crashes or delays. In this the Roku is #2, and the Sangean ranks 3rd(crashes and stutters a lot).
For internet radio, they all work well. The Sangean is the only one that natively handles RealAudio Streams (like BBC) but has problems with clear channel stations. All of them pick up the stations I want without problems, so I rate this a tie.
If you want to interface with online music services like Rhapsody/Pandora/ MP3Locker etc, the Boom works great, with far more capacity than the other two. The Slimdevices/Squeezebox folks also update and improve their software far more frequently than the other two, so I expect it to remain in the lead in features and available services.
In sound quality, the Roku and Boom are both outstanding, with the Sangean good, but clearly a step lower. The Roku's subwoofer seems to go a bit deeper in my room, but the Boom is perhaps a bit more smooth and musical. The Boom uses the same woofers and tweeters as the highly rated Logitech Z-10, but with better bass (because of a larger cabinet and new amp/equalizer circuitry). They both sound absolutely great and play quite loud.
Ease of initial setup: If you are starting from scratch, I think the Sangean is the easiest to set up, if you do NOT want to stream audio from your PC...that is a real hassle. Both the Boom and Roku require a bit more work.
Ease of Use AFTER set up: Boom is best BY FAR. Not only do the menus make real sense, but the illuminated controls make it the only radio you can use easily without turning on the lights. The big control knob and back lit function buttons get you through all of the functions fast.
As a Clock Radio, the Boom has more options than the others, and the display has a huge adjustment range so it will not disturb light sleepers.
All of these radios are a lot of fun. The Boom does most, and does it best. Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Network Music Player / Wi-Fi Internet Radio
I was intrigued by the idea of a network media player that had built in speakers etc, but I was completely put off by the size of the player. For those of you that don't know, the Boom is heavily marketed to be a bedside type unit (also kitchen wall/cabinet mounted). While shopping I thought I would prefer something with a little more heft at the cost of better sound, so I pretty well discounted the Boom and was looking at Audioengine and other options for powered speakers.
During my research I ended up coming across the Squeezebox Boom Whitepaper (http://wiki.slimdevices.com/uploads/a/ad/Logitech_Squeezebox_Boom_Audio_Design.pdf) and read through that. It went into a lot of detail regarding the amount of time that Logitech/Slim put into the audio output portion of the box. I also found reviews that in double blind testing the Boom was besting a lot of similar sized boxes that are more expensive and lacked network connectivity. I decided it was worth a shot.
Once I got home and go my Boom all opened up I plugged it in and was up and running in 2-3 minutes (I already have a wifi network setup with a Duet and receivers, so software etc.... had been pre-installed). I started with the Boom in our master bathroom. It was EXCEPTIONAL at filling a pretty large room (about 20x9 with 15' vaulted ceilings) I then played with it in spare bedrooms and the master bedroom. All sounded great.
Even though I usually don't need it I decided to set up some alarms to wake to. I don't leave my squeezecenter on, so I set the boom to wake up to Pandora over squeezenetwork. This took a little bit of fiddling, but once I figured out that you need to add a channel as a favorite it worked perfectly. That night I was a little bothered by the brightness of the screen, so I turned it away from the bed. However, the next morning I awoke to a sweet crescendo of Nelly :)
About the bright screen - There is already a bug report/feature request to change the behavior of the auto-dimming. Apparently people complained that it was auto-dimming too dark during beta, so when they changed it they went a little too high, and now it isn't dimming enough in certain situations. The fix is likely to be an adjustable low level that the screen dims to. In the meantime I simply overrode the brightness to a level that is acceptable at night.
Overall I must say I am more than impressed with the Boom, especially for the price. I am already thinking about adding one to the baby's room so that I have a stereo in there I can remotely control from my Duet/PC to play soothing music while still being able to listen to my tunes when I have to wake up with her.
If you are looking for a small network music player that you can move to the various rooms of the house then the Boom is definitely worth looking into...Now, don't expect room filling sound in a 50x50 banquet hall, but for bedrooms etc... it is pretty awesome.
UPDATED: 10/07/2010, and again 03/28/2011
WOW, I didn't realize how popular my original review was. I have been living with the BOOM in my bedroom for the past few years, and still enjoy it EVERY day. My wife uses it to stream Hungarian radio stations set as an alarm in the morning. We listen to Pandora or Last.FM when we fall asleep (on timer). And we use it as external speakers for a 26" bedroom TV. We almost NEVER stream our vast MP3 library off our RAID5 NAS running Squeezebox Server, instead opting to connect to the new mysqueezebox.com management site which is much easier to use. The Boom is a pretty darned good internet radio device, and recommended.
I stand behind MOST of what I originally wrote. I was trying to be unbiased about the feature set as provided TWO years ago and SHORTLY after release. This was right after Logitech bought Squeezebox and started major firmware improvements on the product line. Many of the issues had have since been addressed in firmware. Some were admittedly nits, but I was trying to give a broad perspective to anyone that hasn't actually touched one.
The problems I was having with the BOOM connecting are mostly gone. They resurface briefly on the occasion that I unplug/lose power, but I don't have nearly the headaches I did when I bought it new. Moral of the story... The MSRP hasn't dropped to my "magic" point yet, but the firmware and thus the product, is MUCH, MUCH better now. I would call it a 4 star device in 2011, and thus recommended. I still believe you need a decent technical aptitude to wring every last function out of this device, but if you're looking for a good, easy to operate, self-contained internet radio, and direct ipod connectivity is not a feature you require, you would be hard pressed to beat the Boom.
I would have no hesitation in buying another one if I could get it at half of MSRP. But costing more than an Xbox or PS3, a small HDTV, an Ipod Touch, a netbook, or other "must have" tech items, the Boom won't make the top of many gadget lists. At 100 or 150 it would be much more desirable by a much wider range of consumers and I would happily add a fifth star. Note that Amazon sold it 3/19/11 for 135 after MIR, so they may be prepping a price reduction. It's over two and a half years old without a model refresh and only a 20% price drop. That's not enough movement on a tech OR audio device in my world... No matter how good it is.
-Original Review 12/27/2008
Was looking for a device that I could stream music to my back yard for parties and what not. I found the Boom shortly after it came out and figured it might be what I was looking for. I admit I was waiting for a bit of a price drop however. I managed to get one from AmEx Wishlist at a huge discount (about 50% off internet price) so I bit.
I have some pros and cons to share:
Pros:
1) It plays just about anything you can throw at it including almost all audio file formats, streams, and even RSS feeds. Fairly effortlessly I might add. It also supports Social Media streams if that's your thing.
2) Small and quite portable, even at nearly 8lb. Yet it feels solid and quality built.
3) Can stream internet radio without attaching to a PC.
4) Open Source development. There is a decent community of support for this device and its stable mates. Being open source it just takes one dev to make dreams into reality. (2010 update: running Squeezebox Server on my Linux based NAS!)
5) Built in support for some of the most widely used internet audio sources including iTunes, Rhapsody, Pandora, Last.FM, Live365, Sirius, etc. Unfortunately the vast majority of these are NOT free services, but they do provide 30 day trials or offer free advertising driven content. Any broadcast radio station that streams to the net should be supported for free. I haven't found any that are excluded.
6) Web control is very cool and allows you to fully operate the device from your web browser, even on your internet enabled phone. I like this even better than the included IR remote and it is more functional to boot. It also allows you to sync playback on multiple Squeeze devices around your house, though I have not tried this.
Cons:
1) No battery operation. It would be nice if it had a built in rechargeable battery, even if it only allowed 2 hours of use. (2010 update: I never unplug it, though it's easy to relocate. This is a nitpick)
2) No usb port to attach external storage. Would be amazing to plug in a flash/external HDD drive, mp3 player, and have access to any music on it. (2010 update: still think this would be a good feature in a 2.0 device, wi-fi or not. Nitpicking again)
3) No iPod dock. I am NO Apple fan but we own one iPod Nano and iPods are ubiquitous. Being able to control an iPod directly makes sense. Line in audio is supported via standard headphone jack which converts the Boom into amplified speakers, and is functional (2011 update: We now also use the Boom as external speakers for a 26" Vizio with Internet apps)
4) Price too high. At MSRP I feel that it is probably twice as expensive as it should be. This technology is old enough for a bigger price drop. It probably remains high because there is little competition in this space. If you can find one for under 150 go ahead and add the 5th star.
5) FIXED: Boom REALLY wants to connect to a Squeezebox Server on your PC/Mac. (2010 update: New FIRMWARE fixes most all connectivity problems and allows you to connect directly to mysqueezebox.com OR a Squeezebox Server)
2011 UPDATE: As mentioned the device is great at internet radio, and it is capable of quite a bit more. It is now much more user friendly and no longer requires anything more than a wi-fi router and basic networking knowledge. With a little bit of added tech knowledge you can further maximize potential with plugin apps or by running your own Squeezebox Server. - Squeezebox - Wifi - Wireless Music - Logitech'
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