The road from Duet to Classic

Squeezebox Duet is a product that you connect to a stereo to play music stored on a computer. Instead of a computer you can use a NAS (Network Attached Storage, Network Storage). On the NAS server software, Squeezecenter must be installed. This is for example some models of Synology, Netgear or QNAP.

The product consists of three parts: the receiver, the controller and the SqueezeCenter. The receiver is connected with the hi-fi system and the controller to select the music that plays the receiver. The controller is a kind of remote control with display, so you can browse your music collection, and is where the respective being broadcast appears. The third necessary component is the SqueezeCenter, the server software that transfers the music to the receiver.

After a very long deliberation phase I the Squeezebox Duet allowed myself, to better listen to my music collection of 300 CDs. The CDs I had ripped already before ordering the FLAC format (with Ripstation Micro, a program makes it all very easy to recommend) and the necessary software, SqueezeCenter, installed on my laptop. The receiver I have connected to a network cable to my network router. The laptop on which SqueezeCenter is installed, connected wirelessly to my network. The receiver can also be connected wirelessly to a network, if so desired.

The commissioning went very quickly, in about 10 minutes I was able to hear the first pieces of music already on the airwaves. A small catch here was that I had to change my wireless network settings of the network router (D-Link DIR-655), as the Squeezebox receiver seems cope only with 802.11g, not 802.11n, which my router was set. The typing the network key is a bit tedious done with the remote control, but in a few minutes. If the devices were connected to the network, automatic updates were still running.

At first I was pretty excited - what a comfort, all CDs quickly accessible, comfortable Browse through the remote control, never to get up and change CD! However, I realized after a few days that the controller repeatedly had trouble waking up after the sleep phase. After a vorkonfiguerierten time (in my case 60 minutes) is the controller in the power saving mode, and then wakes up when you move it. DOES good, but only about 2 out of 3 times. Every third time was not the and I had to remove the battery from the device and the controller restart, often several times before the controller has the server found. During this time I had already several times to switch the CD manually. And even if waking works, the waiting time is quite long, about 20 seconds, which may not sound so bad, but annoying with time.

This fact, and some minor quirks (display is not legible from the side, usability) have convinced me the Squeezebox Duet to return. Now I have instead gained me a Squeezebox Classic, and am absolutely satisfied. With the SB Classic I can use my universal remote control, and must not fight with the technique - it just works.