- Built-in high-fidelity amplifier and speakers for crystal-clear, room-filling sound
- Mysqueezebox.com provides easy wireless access to thousands of Internet radio stations and music services
- Compact, all-in-one design with wireless networking for clutter-free audio in any room
- Included 3.5mm line-in cord works with iPod and other MP3 Players
- Seven-day alarm wakes you to your favorite Internet radio station or music playlist
For wireless streaming of your music collection from a PC or Mac, the Boom is best. It can handle more formats (nearly anything except DRM protected iTunes files) and works well without crashes or delays. In this the Roku is #2, and the Sangean ranks 3rd(crashes and stutters a lot).
For internet radio, they all work well. The Sangean is the only one that natively handles RealAudio Streams (like BBC) but has problems with clear channel stations. All of them pick up the stations I want without problems, so I rate this a tie.
If you want to interface with online music services like Rhapsody/Pandora/ MP3Locker etc, the Boom works great, with far more capacity than the other two. The Slimdevices/Squeezebox folks also update and improve their software far more frequently than the other two, so I expect it to remain in the lead in features and available services.
In sound quality, the Roku and Boom are both outstanding, with the Sangean good, but clearly a step lower. The Roku's subwoofer seems to go a bit deeper in my room, but the Boom is perhaps a bit more smooth and musical. The Boom uses the same woofers and tweeters as the highly rated Logitech Z-10, but with better bass (because of a larger cabinet and new amp/equalizer circuitry). They both sound absolutely great and play quite loud.
Ease of initial setup: If you are starting from scratch, I think the Sangean is the easiest to set up, if you do NOT want to stream audio from your PC...that is a real hassle. Both the Boom and Roku require a bit more work.
Ease of Use AFTER set up: Boom is best BY FAR. Not only do the menus make real sense, but the illuminated controls make it the only radio you can use easily without turning on the lights. The big control knob and back lit function buttons get you through all of the functions fast.
As a Clock Radio, the Boom has more options than the others, and the display has a huge adjustment range so it will not disturb light sleepers.
All of these radios are a lot of fun. The Boom does most, and does it best.
Buy Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Network Music Player / Wi-Fi Internet Radio Now
I was intrigued by the idea of a network media player that had built in speakers etc, but I was completely put off by the size of the player. For those of you that don't know, the Boom is heavily marketed to be a bedside type unit (also kitchen wall/cabinet mounted). While shopping I thought I would prefer something with a little more heft at the cost of better sound, so I pretty well discounted the Boom and was looking at Audioengine and other options for powered speakers.During my research I ended up coming across the Squeezebox Boom Whitepaper (http://wiki.slimdevices.com/uploads/a/ad/Logitech_Squeezebox_Boom_Audio_Design.pdf) and read through that. It went into a lot of detail regarding the amount of time that Logitech/Slim put into the audio output portion of the box. I also found reviews that in double blind testing the Boom was besting a lot of similar sized boxes that are more expensive and lacked network connectivity. I decided it was worth a shot.
Once I got home and go my Boom all opened up I plugged it in and was up and running in 2-3 minutes (I already have a wifi network setup with a Duet and receivers, so software etc.... had been pre-installed). I started with the Boom in our master bathroom. It was EXCEPTIONAL at filling a pretty large room (about 20x9 with 15' vaulted ceilings) I then played with it in spare bedrooms and the master bedroom. All sounded great.
Even though I usually don't need it I decided to set up some alarms to wake to. I don't leave my squeezecenter on, so I set the boom to wake up to Pandora over squeezenetwork. This took a little bit of fiddling, but once I figured out that you need to add a channel as a favorite it worked perfectly. That night I was a little bothered by the brightness of the screen, so I turned it away from the bed. However, the next morning I awoke to a sweet crescendo of Nelly :)
About the bright screen There is already a bug report/feature request to change the behavior of the auto-dimming. Apparently people complained that it was auto-dimming too dark during beta, so when they changed it they went a little too high, and now it isn't dimming enough in certain situations. The fix is likely to be an adjustable low level that the screen dims to. In the meantime I simply overrode the brightness to a level that is acceptable at night.
Overall I must say I am more than impressed with the Boom, especially for the price. I am already thinking about adding one to the baby's room so that I have a stereo in there I can remotely control from my Duet/PC to play soothing music while still being able to listen to my tunes when I have to wake up with her.
If you are looking for a small network music player that you can move to the various rooms of the house then the Boom is definitely worth looking into...Now, don't expect room filling sound in a 50x50 banquet hall, but for bedrooms etc... it is pretty awesome.UPDATED: 10/07/2010, and again 03/28/2011
WOW, I didn't realize how popular my original review was. I have been living with the BOOM in my bedroom for the past few years, and still enjoy it EVERY day. My wife uses it to stream Hungarian radio stations set as an alarm in the morning. We listen to Pandora or Last.FM when we fall asleep (on timer). And we use it as external speakers for a 26" bedroom TV. We almost NEVER stream our vast MP3 library off our RAID5 NAS running Squeezebox Server, instead opting to connect to the new mysqueezebox.com management site which is much easier to use. The Boom is a pretty darned good internet radio device, and recommended.
I stand behind MOST of what I originally wrote. I was trying to be unbiased about the feature set as provided TWO years ago and SHORTLY after release. This was right after Logitech bought Squeezebox and started major firmware improvements on the product line. Many of the issues had have since been addressed in firmware. Some were admittedly nits, but I was trying to give a broad perspective to anyone that hasn't actually touched one.
The problems I was having with the BOOM connecting are mostly gone. They resurface briefly on the occasion that I unplug/lose power, but I don't have nearly the headaches I did when I bought it new. Moral of the story... The MSRP hasn't dropped to my "magic" point yet, but the firmware and thus the product, is MUCH, MUCH better now. I would call it a 4 star device in 2011, and thus recommended. I still believe you need a decent technical aptitude to wring every last function out of this device, but if you're looking for a good, easy to operate, self-contained internet radio, and direct ipod connectivity is not a feature you require, you would be hard pressed to beat the Boom.
I would have no hesitation in buying another one if I could get it at half of MSRP. But costing more than an Xbox or PS3, a small HDTV, an Ipod Touch, a netbook, or other "must have" tech items, the Boom won't make the top of many gadget lists. At 100 or 150 it would be much more desirable by a much wider range of consumers and I would happily add a fifth star. Note that Amazon sold it 3/19/11 for 135 after MIR, so they may be prepping a price reduction. It's over two and a half years old without a model refresh and only a 20% price drop. That's not enough movement on a tech OR audio device in my world... No matter how good it is.
-Original Review 12/27/2008
Was looking for a device that I could stream music to my back yard for parties and what not. I found the Boom shortly after it came out and figured it might be what I was looking for. I admit I was waiting for a bit of a price drop however. I managed to get one from AmEx Wishlist at a huge discount (about 50% off internet price) so I bit.
I have some pros and cons to share:
Pros:
1) It plays just about anything you can throw at it including almost all audio file formats, streams, and even RSS feeds. Fairly effortlessly I might add. It also supports Social Media streams if that's your thing.
2) Small and quite portable, even at nearly 8lb. Yet it feels solid and quality built.
3) Can stream internet radio without attaching to a PC.
4) Open Source development. There is a decent community of support for this device and its stable mates. Being open source it just takes one dev to make dreams into reality. (2010 update: running Squeezebox Server on my Linux based NAS!)
5) Built in support for some of the most widely used internet audio sources including iTunes, Rhapsody, Pandora, Last.FM, Live365, Sirius, etc. Unfortunately the vast majority of these are NOT free services, but they do provide 30 day trials or offer free advertising driven content. Any broadcast radio station that streams to the net should be supported for free. I haven't found any that are excluded.
6) Web control is very cool and allows you to fully operate the device from your web browser, even on your internet enabled phone. I like this even better than the included IR remote and it is more functional to boot. It also allows you to sync playback on multiple Squeeze devices around your house, though I have not tried this.
Cons:
1) No battery operation. It would be nice if it had a built in rechargeable battery, even if it only allowed 2 hours of use. (2010 update: I never unplug it, though it's easy to relocate. This is a nitpick)
2) No usb port to attach external storage. Would be amazing to plug in a flash/external HDD drive, mp3 player, and have access to any music on it. (2010 update: still think this would be a good feature in a 2.0 device, wi-fi or not. Nitpicking again)
3) No iPod dock. I am NO Apple fan but we own one iPod Nano and iPods are ubiquitous. Being able to control an iPod directly makes sense. Line in audio is supported via standard headphone jack which converts the Boom into amplified speakers, and is functional (2011 update: We now also use the Boom as external speakers for a 26" Vizio with Internet apps)
4) Price too high. At MSRP I feel that it is probably twice as expensive as it should be. This technology is old enough for a bigger price drop. It probably remains high because there is little competition in this space. If you can find one for under 150 go ahead and add the 5th star.
5) FIXED: Boom REALLY wants to connect to a Squeezebox Server on your PC/Mac. (2010 update: New FIRMWARE fixes most all connectivity problems and allows you to connect directly to mysqueezebox.com OR a Squeezebox Server)
2011 UPDATE: As mentioned the device is great at internet radio, and it is capable of quite a bit more. It is now much more user friendly and no longer requires anything more than a wi-fi router and basic networking knowledge. With a little bit of added tech knowledge you can further maximize potential with plugin apps or by running your own Squeezebox Server.
Want Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Network Music Player / Wi-Fi Internet Radio Discount?
The Good: The Logitech Squeezebox Boom gives you a portable unit for accessing your digital music library from any room in the house using your wireless network. It has above average sound quality and some nice extras such as a highly configurable alarm clock.The Bad: Nothing worthy of mention.
Overall: Logitech hit this one out of the park. My detailed usage based review follows.
BACKGROUND: I have been using the Logitech Squeezebox Duet Network Music System (see my review) for over six months so I was already very familiar with the basic functionality of the Squeezebox Boom. While these two systems can work together, the main difference is that the Boom is a standalone system while the Duet requires a separate stereo or speakers.
SETUP: While you may ultimately intend to use your Boom in another room, it is best to perform the setup tasks in the same room with your computer since you will need to go back and forth between the two. Don't worry. All of the information you enter during setup is stored in non-volatile memory so you won't lose any of it when you unplug the unit to move it.
Allow 30 minutes for setup. However, if you already have another Squeezebox product, you can expect a shorter investment of time.
Assembly of the Boom is a breeze. First, you open the remote and remove the protective cover from the battery. Then all that is left is to snap in the plug into the power adapter, connect it to the Boom, and then to your power outlet. Now you are ready for the simple configuration steps.
Logitech continues a trend that they started in other products in giving you a worksheet (only two lines for the Boom) to jot down necessary setup information before getting started. For the Boom this consists of your wireless network information SSID and encryption key (if your network is secured). I was dreading the step of entering this information based on my experience with the Duet, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much more tactile the D-pad on the Boom's remote was over the Duet's controller. After entering this information, the Boom connects to your network and asks you to choose your music source.
At this point, I would recommend that you choose "Squeezenetwork" even if you never intend to use internet radio or online music services. You will be given the PIN for your unit that you must enter into your Squeezenetwork account. After doing so your new unit will become available in the Squeezecenter software on your PC.
About Squeezecenter. You will in all likelihood have to upgrade Squeezecenter if you have a previous unit as the 7.2 version (or higher) is required to work with the Boom. Download and install is about 5 minutes with a high speed connection. Don't worry; the Boom will tell you if you need to upgrade during the setup process.
At this point you should be good to go for accessing both your music library on your computer and the online music services available through Squeezenetwork.
USAGE: The Boom is essentially flawless. I have it located on the first floor while my computer is on the second floor on the opposite end of the house. However the Boom has no problem finding my network and playing an uninterrupted stream of music. The system is very easy to control as it provides menus that let you select from your PC music library by artist, album, etc. Additionally, I have my Pandora (other paid subscriptions such as Rhapsody can also be accessed) account registered at Squeezenetwork, and all of my Pandora stations are available as well. Finally, there is a plethora of internet radio stations giving access to almost any style of music.
While I admit I am not an audio snob, I think that the sound quality from the Boom is above average. There is a good balance of bass and treble, and the volume can be taken as loud as most people would want without being distorted. Logitech didn't skimp on the speakers that they put on the Boom.
New features that are not on the Duet include a programmable alarm clock. I setup three alarms: 1 for Monday-Friday, 1 for Saturday, and 1 for Sunday. These can be specified as repeating or one time. The only complaint (and this is really being picky) I have with the alarm is that they don't offer a true alarm sound. You can use any of your music, but I have always used an alarm even on clock radios. I settled on the "Rooster Crow".
There are tons of settings that you can adjust, and it would take up too much space to cover them all here. I would suggest using the drill-down menus and exploring what is there.
As if you could need more music than what is on your PC, the Boom also includes a jack for audio input. This does close one gap that the Duet had in that you can now access your iTunes music by connecting your iPod. Unfortunately, the DRM music from iTunes cannot be streamed to the Boom (or any other non-Apple product for that matter).
If you have a Duet, it is of interest that the Duet Controller can be used on the Boom by changing the player that it is controlling. The main benefit that you get from this is the display on the Duet Controller is far better than that of the Boom. For example, you can display all of the alarms that you have set on one screen using the Duet Controller, but you cannot do this on the Boom itself.
CONCLUSION: The Logitech Squeezebox Boom is a fantastic product whether you buy it as a standalone unit or as an expansion to the Duet. Think of it as a portable version of the Duet that you can take from room to room in your house with some additional features such as an alarm clock. As with the Duet, this is another no brainer five star item.
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