Squeezebox

A while ago my sister introduced me to an internet radio service called Pandora. It is unlike any other radio service I've experienced on the internet, because it is extremely customizable and it adjusts to suit your listening tastes.

It was great for me because I have broad musical interests, from Bob Dylan and John Prine to Mos Def and The Strokes. Behind the scenes at Pandora, they've categorized all the music by features that I don't really understand, but that apparently underlie my taste in music. A track by The White Stripes was recently played for me because it has "acoustic rock instrumentation, mild rhythmic syncopation, acoustic rhythm piano, major key tonality and a dynamic male vocalist." Huh? As you can see, it's not a simple case of "Max likes Dylan so he'll like The Band."

Though you can buy a subscription service from Pandora, it is free through any webpage, so it would not make a very good first post in a blog that is meant to be a source of products on which to spend cash. And indeed, it is not the subject of this post. But Pandora directed me to a product called the Squeezebox 3 by Slim Devices, a small company recently acquired by Logitech.

I purchased a Squeezebox last summer for $299 USD and installed it really quickly on my home stereo through RCA jacks. The Squeezebox then wirelessly streams music stored on my computer three floors up through the speakers in my room. Though RCA jacks are not the best quality, I have an older receiver that does not have digital audio inputs. Still, the Squeezebox does a great job delivering great sound using it's superlative digital to analogue converter.

The reason for the Pandora-Squeezebox alliance is that you can also stream your Pandora account (as well as hundreds of other internet radio stations) through your Squeezebox. It is free for the first 90 days, after which it costs $36 US for a 1 year subscription. Well worth the cash since you become addicted after the 90 day "taste."

Another bonus of the Squeezebox is that their software is open source, so there are tons of small useful add ons for the device including weather updates, alarm clocks, nature sounds, satellite radio and even a Netflix ordering screen.

Six months later, I'm really happy with the product and I recommend that anyone looking for a music streaming device heavily consider the Squeezebox.

Additional Links:
NY Times Review (registration required unless you use bugmenot.com)
T3 Review