Logitech Squeezebox Duet Review

Some of us take our music seriously and are serious about the devices we use. A network digital audio system is pretty much essential in every music bluffs life especially when he/she stores his/her entire collection on the computer hard disk and use music subscription services. Logitech Squeezebox Duet is specifically meant for the task. It comes with a remote for easy access, supports WiFi, Ethernet connections and plays virtually all formats of files, making it a dream gadget to own.

Logitech Squeezebox Duet specifications :

• Dimensions : 6.1″ x 4.4″ x 1.1″
• Connectors : Coaxial/Optical Digital Output
• Remote Control : Yes
• Connections : RJ-45, SPDIF, line out
• Power : External
• Warranty : 2-years limited
• Approx. price : $370

Do you have loads of music collection sitting idle on your PC, just because you spend most of your time in the living room? That is generally the case with many people and most of us don’t like to hear music on the crappy PC/laptop speakers. Dedicated audio streamers are catching up the trend as the prices have fallen and the ease of use has increased. Logitech has come up with a brilliant product that streams music from your PC, online music services, radio stations etc. It has a brilliant color screen and a hand held remote for easy operation.

The Logitech Duet is named so because it consists of two parts, a base receiver station and a handheld remote. The base receiver pulls music from various sources and streams it your home theatre system. It can pull music through a WiFi network or over an Ethernet connection. It has both analog stereo and digital jacks for connection to your home theater system.

The base receiver has only a single button which is used to manually sync it to the network during setup. The device can be powered off using the remote or the PC. The remote is a gem of a device. It has 10 buttons which control all the functions of the device. It has an iPod-like scroll wheel and a 2.4″ LCD screen with a resolution of 240 x 320. The navigation system is also very similar to the one found on iPod but not as easy as quick to use though.

The controller is powered by a rechargeable Lithium-ion battery which can be changed when it dies in due course of time. The docking station for charging the battery is heavy and metallic and holds the remote firmly in place. The remote has a SD card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, an IR transmitter, small speakers and if that wasn’t enough, it even has a three-axis accelerometer! Both the components are sold separately also if you wish to add them or if any ones of them goes kaput in future.

The Logitech Duet is platform independent and works with Windows, Mac and Linux. It uses the WiFi connection to connect to the Internet for streaming music from online music services such as Rhapsody, Last.fm, Pandora, Sirius and other popular online services. You can even listen to Internet radios through Shoutcast servers. All the music sources are available under an online location called SqueezeNetwork which requires a simple registration. It even includes links to Podcasts RSS feeds. Thus it provides an easy way to access a plethora of online music sources at a single place. The service is compatible with all the popular browsers, so no problems on that front too.

The SqueezeNetwork also has a software which can be downloaded on to the PC to access the entire music collection dumped on to the hard drive. The software has a browser based control and does not meddle with any settings of your music player. It quietly sits in the background and performs it tasks. The only drawback is that it can stream only DRM-free music, that leaves your iTunes purchases in the lurch.

The file compatibility is amazing and supports a wide variety of formats that you are likely to come across. MP3, AAC, WMA, WAV, AIFF, FLAC, Apple Lossless, OGG and Vorbis files can be streamed without any hiccups. So that leaves only the popular RM/RA format that it is unable to play.

The Squeezebox Duet also comes with pre-loaded environmental sounds and an alarm clock. The background wallpaper of the remote can be changed according to your taste. The power user can dig around for software plug-ins developed by the community which further enhances the functionality of the device.

Setup is easy and wouldn’t take much time to configure. You need to plug in the base receiver to an audio device and then connect it to a WiFI network. It supports both WEP and WPA encryption protocols. Next you need to provide a music source which can either be an online account or your music library. A drawback of The SqueezeCenter online account is that you can only view either your online account or your PC music library at a time. The screen displays the song information. The remote is quite responsive but has a bit of lag when starting up.

Wireless performance of the device is smooth and fast and songs play without any hiccups. Even when streaming from online accounts if was fast and it breezed through tracks on Rhapsody. On-the-fly playlist is a must have feature and thankfully Logitech has integrated it into this device. You can even have a multiroom with the Duet, which further adds to its capability. Overall a brilliant product that does it task smoothly.

Pros :

• Excellent remote
• WiFi and Ethernet support
• Compatible with Windows, Mac and Linux
• Great SqueezeCenter software
• Wide variety formats supported
• Good performance

Cons :

• Incompatible with DRM protected music
• Interface could be better
• Simultaneous viewing of online and local music not supported

Final Thoughts

The Logitech Squeezebox Duet is an amazing setup for anyone who is looking at a music oriented setup in his living room but has music collection dumped on the PC hard disk. The Duet has an excellent remote coupled with amazing SqueezeCenter software which complement each other very well.

My Rating : 4.25/5