Logitech Squeezebox Radio - for those who love radio and the Internet

Want to listen to your music at breakfast, and not just what your receiver catches? Making it is pretty easy. Logitech Squeezebox Radio is an excellent replacement for a kitchen radio that can independently play any Internet radio stations, as well as your own playlist if you have a media server. Despite the fact that the device is already a year on sale abroad, in Russia it has not yet been represented. Nevertheless, we still decided to tell about it to Habr's audience, because to order any goods from a foreign online store today does not pose any difficulty.

9 points “For”, or Summary for those who do not like to read

1. Quickly turn on Internet radio without a computer.
2. Play your own playlist.
3. Listening to any radio station in the world with a link to the audio stream.
4. The ability to listen to music in any part of the apartment due to its compact size. Kitchen, bedroom, bathroom, balcony - everywhere, where Wi-Fi reaches.
5. Good sound without distortion.
6. Support multiple formats: WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, M4A, AAC, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless.
7. The presence of the Russian-language menu.
8. Work with the free radio broadcasting service tunein.com .
9. The ability to control using the remote control or a smartphone on iOS or Android.
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And now more

Let's immediately determine why it is necessary, if there is a computer, Internet and a good audio system anyway. Yes, as a speaker for any tusy, our device will not work. However, many people love or are used to listening to the radio, for example, at breakfast. But it is unlikely that someone will turn on the computer / laptop, wait for the download, open the browser and launch your favorite resource to listen for 5 minutes while you are drinking coffee. This device is great for this purpose. I pressed the button and everything started to play - eat, listen. Turning off is also easy. Moreover, it is an Internet receiver, and it is able to catch any wave, even the station that does not broadcast in your city. If only the radio had a webcast. Here, perhaps, are the two main features of Squzeebox'a - convenience and a huge coverage. And you can take it with you to the bathroom, for example, or to the balcony.

What is there in the box

So in order. Everything is packed in a Logitech branded cardboard box, the dimensions of which are 24 × 19 × 13 cm. Everything looks grand and noble.

An autopsy reveals that the receiver itself is located inside, the manual (in English), the power supply and a 3.5mm cable. If desired, you can connect the Squzeebox to the audio system more successfully. A few words about the power supply - it’s non-standard 18V and 1A, it’s better not to lose or break it - a rare thing. Even in the Russian outlets will have to use an adapter. This is sold in households and costs no more than 50 rubles.

Do not search for a software disk, it is not there. Detailed instructions and the necessary software you will find on the site mysqueezebox.com . It is logical to assume that if you use Wi-Fi radio, you have Internet access. So the lack of a disk can be justified.

Buns like a remote control and battery for autonomous power supply are not included in the basic kit. They are offered to be purchased separately. According to the developers, the radio battery will last up to 6 hours. The price of a set of accessories is $ 49.99.

But ... Abroad, the project is quite popular, and there are a lot of applications for Android and MacOS, with which you can use a smartphone or tablet as a remote control. You can look at them here - for Android and here - for MacOS.

How does it look

The design of the receiver resembles a classic kitchen radio, only there is no frequency search band - instead of it there is a small 2.4 ”color display. The approximate dimensions of the device are 22 × 13 × 12 cm. The speaker is under the fabric cover, all the buttons are to the right of it. Material - glossy plastic, black, white or red.

On the sides of the screen are six buttons that you can assign your radio station or broadcast from the server for quick switching. Below are nine more buttons and two twisters. The purpose of the buttons is intuitively clear by the icons on them. Accordingly, the organ responsible for loudness of sound is located under the caption Volume. But the biggest roundel is used to navigate the menu.

There is no need to expect a megacool super sound from this device. Here, the usual monodynamics, but the Squzeebox and is positioned as an alternative to a conventional radio. But if you really want a lot of watts of sound, then the 3.5mm audio output is at your service. Connect and listen, but in general it is designed for headphones.
Behind there are three connectors: for the power supply, wired network and for connecting external players such as player. For this, you need an audio cable in the base package.

This miracle is quite stable thanks to the 4 rubber feet, will not slide anywhere. From above there is a cavity for convenient capture and carrying. In general, the design is acceptable and quite comfortable.

How to configure and connect

Connection is simple. It is enough to turn on the power, press the Power button and the system immediately prompts you to select a language. Next will start the search for Wi-Fi networks. Select from the list and enter a password. With this, you will have to suffer a little, choosing each character with a twister. You can connect and Internet cable, but then the device will lose mobility.

Squeezebox has one good skill - it changes the firmware on its own. It is only necessary to confirm its installation, the player will download and install everything. But this feature has one drawback - each version of the media server requires its own firmware version. Thus, if you have several servers and they are different, then you will have to wait for the reinstallation when switching. After it ends, the music will start playing automatically. It is also important to note the fact that the firmware is multilingual and supports the Russian language.

To get such goodies as transferring music from your PC, managing Internet sources and applications, you need to create an account on mysqueezebox.com . All you need is an email address and password. After logging into your account, full control of the receiver will become available.

In the player settings, you can set the time, style, background image, adjust playback modes. Also, the screen can be a clock or a small photo frame.

What we can do

As we remember, the main function of the device is playing music. The source of music can serve as software media servers from Squeezebox or other Internet translators. To listen to the Internet radio, simply create an account on the parent site, enter links to your favorite stations and click the Play button. Plays MP3, WMA and OGG formats.

References are referring to the URL address of the audio stream stations. Some of them are easy to find, just enter the link to the audio into the “Moscow Echo of Moscow” search engine and get the desired link directly from the official site. However, it is not always so easy, sometimes you have to scroll through several forums in search of a cherished address. There is a way out of this situation. Squzeebox works with the tunein.com service, which already has almost all the popular radio stations in our country. There is even a choice by region broadcast. On the mysqueezebox.com site, already loved by all, all you need is to add this service to your account.

In order to listen to your own playlists you need to install a media server on your PC. The software is available for download on the same mysqueezebox.com site. The player supports WAV, MP3, WMA, OGG, M4A, AAC, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless formats. The server also can transcode in real time APE, Musepack and WavPack.

After installing the program, make the necessary settings. Control is done through the browser. The main requirement is to specify the location of the music files. There is a minus - the server can work only with one directory, i.e. will have to merge the audio files into one folder.
Thanks to the web-based interface, using the program, you can view the contents of the media library and manage our receiver on the go.

Menu

In general, this is not a touch-screen, but the usual menu on the button system - functions. Getting used to and coping with it is quite simple. From the lists, you can choose your media library, links to radio stations, various applications, and even search. Although the latter is somewhat difficult because of the need to enter characters with a wheel.

The choice of a particular music is realized by the ability to specify the artist, album, year, etc. While a track is playing, information about its duration, title is displayed on the screen, you can see the scroll bar, the song number in the playlist, and even the picture on the album cover, if it exists.

The bottom of the screen is used to display the current time, the battery charge level, if used, and the strength of the Wi-Fi signal. If you wish, a lost track can be immediately added to the favorites list. Playlists can be created on a computer in a media server or directly on the receiver itself.

When listening to radio stations, the player also displays all the information about the song being played, if it is provided by its source. The user can independently program six buttons to switch to the desired “wave”. This can be done both in the player itself and through the program on the PC.

In addition to all the receiver is connected to the social network Facebook, and with it you can change the music, watch photos of friends and even leave comments. In addition, there are quite a few applications for the receiver. They are all available in the same mysqueezebox.com . Among them are music stores, photo services, podcasts and additional broadcasters. Some of them are paid.

Total

Logitech Squeezebox Radio is a rather interesting and “hobby-like” thing. Incredibly convenient for quick access and listening to music from the network. A huge plus is that it can be done at any point of the apartment and without turning on the computer. The second plus is that such a kitchen receiver catches any radio, regardless of its coverage, of course, if there is an Internet broadcast. So, sitting in Uryupinsk, you can listen to stations that broadcast somewhere in Brest or London.

The cost of the device is $ 179, for ours it is 5,500 rubles. Parcel weight - 4 pounds or 1.8 kg. Delivery cost is $ 32- $ 47 (from 1000 to 1500 rubles). All problems with the acquisition and shipment from the United States are solved using EbayToday . The final purchase price with commission and delivery will be about 7,000 rubles. The thing is really cool, but for some reason it is not represented on the Russian market, so you can only get it “from there”. And the only disadvantage is the need for an adapter for an American outlet.