Matchmaker Pairs Computer and Stereo

The New York Times
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February 9, 2006
David Pogue
Matchmaker Pairs Computer and Stereo

THOSE crazy kids today! Their home music systems often wind up split in two. In this corner: the computer, stuffed with music files copied from CD's or downloaded from the Internet. In that corner: the stereo system or home theater.

The challenge is playing the computer's music through the nice speakers, even though they're in different parts of the house.

The electronics industry offers all kinds of solutions to this problem. Some (Sonos, Olive) are very expensive. Others (iPod, AirPort Express) require you to get up from the couch to see or change what's playing.

There is, fortunately, another way. You can outfit your sound system with a tiny, good-looking wireless receiver that provides a window onto your computer's music collection elsewhere in the house.

That's the idea behind the new Squeezebox 3 from Slim Devices ($300, or $250 for a nonwireless version). It's an upgraded, much cooler-looking version of the Squeezebox 2, which has cultivated a rabid cult of followers since its release last year — a cult that may grow when the company beams a new "killer app" feature to its customers next week.

The Squeezebox 3 is, true to the company's name, a slim device. At 7.6 by 3.7 by 3.1 inches, it has a face about the size of a flip-flop sandal. The Squeezebox 3 is also gorgeous, a welcome attribute for something that's going to be in public view. The top half is dark, smoky translucent plastic, with crisp, bright white pixels shining through. (The sides and back come in black or white.) Most of the time, this screen displays only text — what's playing at the moment, for example, or a real-time news-headline ticker — but a few simple visual displays are available, too, like dancing level meters.

Hooking it up involves plugging in only two cables: one for power, and one that goes to the receiver, speakers or headphones. Four kinds of audio-output connectors are provided, including RCA (red and white) and digital outputs (optical and coax).

WHEN you turn the thing on, it tries to join your wireless network. If you have a straightforward network, this is just a matter of clicking O.K. about five times on the remote control. If the network requires a password, special firewall ports or other fiddling, the setup could demand more time, or even a call to the American-staffed help line.

The next step takes place at your computer. You're supposed to download and install a piece of software (available for Mac, Windows, Unix or Linux) that sits there, behind the scenes, and transmits the music to the Squeezebox over the network. It may sound technical, but it's not; in fact, after that first joyous day of setup, it's invisible and effortless.

All the Squeezebox asks is that you keep your music files in one folder on your hard drive. Inner subfolders and folder shortcuts (aliases) are all right — and best of all, free jukebox programs like iTunes and Windows Media Player qualify, too. All of your music, including playlists and even smart playlists, shows up on the Squeezebox, ready for playing.

Now you run back downstairs to your living room and give it a try. What you'll discover is that all of your music shows up on the Squeezebox's beautiful display. You walk through it by band, album, song title or playlist; the remote feels cheap and plasticky, and it's a little odd that its Play button is so tiny, but at least it's thoughtfully laid out. (You can also control playback from the computer, using a cleanly designed control screen that shows up in, of all things, your Web browser.)

The music sounds fantastic. In fact, even audiophiles with golden eardrums lavish praise on this humble little box (after making certain modifications, including replacing the included power adapter — go figure). The machine can play most of the digital music world's favorite file formats, like MP3, WMA, FLAC, AAC, WAV, Apple Lossless and Ogg Vorbis.

It cannot, however, play back copy-protected songs bought from online music stores like Napster or the iTunes Music Store. The company excuses this limitation by pointing out that Apple's copy-protection system is a secret, but that doesn't explain why you can't play back Microsoft's protected WMA songs.

There are other wireless sound bridges on the market. But a few delicious perks make the Squeezebox an extremely versatile and likable gadget.

First, it can tune into thousands of Internet radio stations. Dozens of them come already listed on the machine (although the ones provided by Live365.com subject you to a 30-second ad before they begin to play), and you can type in the address of any other station. These radio stations are so easy to use and free of commercials, it's almost like getting satellite radio free.

Second, the Squeezebox doubles as an alarm clock; because it's so small and attractive, it actually makes a dandy bedside-table machine.

While you're at it, you may as well explore the ambient-sound channels: 26 soothing nature tracks (babbling brooks, steady rain, surf and seagulls) that help lull you to sleep despite the sounds of traffic outside.

Third, the wireless Squeezebox offers an Ethernet jack that lets another component of your system — Xbox, PlayStation or TiVo, for example — join the network just by the addition of one cable.

Finally, beginning next week, the Squeezebox will do something no other hi-fi component can do: it will hook into Pandora.

Pandora.com is a sophisticated music-recommendation site. You name a band, singer or song that you like. Immediately, you hear a new "radio station" that plays only musicologically similar songs. If you type "Billy Joel," Pandora plays songs with "mild rhythmic syncopation, mixed minor and major tonality, a dynamic male vocalist and vocal harmonies."

It works the same way on the Squeezebox. You use the remote to type in what you like (using cellphone-like multiple-tap text entry). As your instant custom radio station plays, you use the remote to provide feedback. If you give a song a thumbs down, the Squeezebox screen says, "Sorry, we won't play this song," and a new song begins to play immediately. Thumbs up, and it says, "Cool, we'll try to play similar songs." Over time, Pandora fine-tunes your stations, allying them even more closely with your tastes.

Slim Devices predicts that Pandora will become a wildly popular feature, and that's probably true (although after a 90-day trial, it costs $36 a year). It offers all the new-music serendipity of Internet radio, with the personal touch of your own CD collection.

The downside to using your computer as the source of all music, of course, is that when it's turned off, the music stops. But the Squeezebox even has a workaround for that: a special channel called Squeezebox Networks, filled with Internet radio stations (including Pandora) that are available even when your computer isn't available. Nice touch.

And here's another one: you can buy several Squeezeboxes and park them around the house. Impressively, they can all play different music from the same computer simultaneously — or you can synchronize them so they all play the same thing.

Now ordinarily, an electronics company is just a vendor. But in the case of Slim Devices, you get a real taste of the creators' personalities. The company bends over backward to make itself an open, transparent, right-minded outfit. The server software is open source, meaning free and open to the public to modify; as a result, you can download Squeezebox plug-ins that give it even more abilities. (For example, a plug-in called SoftSqueeze lets you listen to your home music collection from any computer anywhere, by way of the Web.) A lively discussion area helps build a sense of community.

Bug fixes and software upgrades (like the new Pandora feature) are automatically beamed into your machine at regular intervals. On the company's Web site, the machine's components are described lovingly and completely, as a chef might describe fresh ingredients. (The power adapter, for example, is "small, efficient, and does not get hot.")

Over all, you have to love this sweet, satisfying machine. Its creators have sweated so many details, you want to hand them a towel. Now that CD players, tape decks and turntables are rapidly disappearing, the Squeezebox brings us one step closer to the era of the stereo-free stereo.

E-mail: Pogue@nytimes.com