Home > Consumer Reviews > Logitech Squeezebox Boom All-in-One Wi-Fi Internet Radio

I am a radio nut (going back to the tube days)and the Squeezebox Boom is my third internet radio. I have a Roku Soundbridge R1000 and Sangean WFR-20 as well. All have their strengths, but the Squeezebox Boom is without a doubt a significant step up; it sets a new high standard in performance, capabilities, and ease of operation.

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.

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.

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.

After playing with it a 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.

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, but there is a con to this too, see below.

4) Open Source development. I found a decent community of support for this device and its stable mates. I was hoping for Squeeze Player on XBMC and Squeeze Center on DD-WRT, but apparently people who buy these prefer to run it on QNAP or other NAS devices which are considerably more expensive and challenging to configure. But being open source it just takes one dev to make dreams into reality.

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.

6) Web control is very cool and allows you to fully control the device from your web browser, even on your internet enabled phone. I like this even better than the built in IR remote and it is more functional to boot.

Cons:
1) No battery operation, decreases portability. Would be nice if it had a built in rechargeable battery, even if it only allowed 2 hours of use. As is it always needs a plug and a huge wall-wort.

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.

3) No iPod dock. I am NO Apple fan but we do own one iPod Nano as do most people that this device appeals to. It would have been worth the licensing fee for this convenience and to be able to control the ipod directly from the Boom. As is you plug mp3 players in via their headphone jack which just converts the Boom into amplified speakers, hardly the intent of this this amazing device.

4) No handle to carry it around, I plan to port it around and it is small enough to carry, but a handle of some sort would have been nice. Couple that with the battery mentioned above and really becomes a "BOOM" box.

5) Price too high. At retail I feel that it is probably twice as expensive as it should be. For 150 it's almost a no brainer, at 300 I decided to wait for a better deal. IMHO this is not an audiophile device, but it carries an audiophile price tag. Probably because there is little competition in this space.

6) Boom REALLY wants to connect to a SqueezeCenter on your PC/Mac. First issue is that I don't want to keep my PC on 24/7 so this device can access it. Second issue, it was challenging to bypass connecting to my powered off SqueezeCenter the first couple tries even after having already configured the PC and the Boom correctly. You can go direct to Internet Radio via the Wi-Fi connection, but not without some fuss from the device trying to link to the PC first.

As many mentioned the device is great at what it does, and it does an awful lot. However you pretty much need to have a geek-level of 8+ to even consider this device, it is NOT user friendly in any way and pretty much requires a LOT of external devices (wifi, PC, audio storage) and configuration tweaking (internet radio, SqueezeCenter, music catalog) to maximize its potential.

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.

In today's digital music age, many people are storing massive collections of songs and albums on their computers or network share drives. The portable MP3 players we all know and love give you the ability to take your music with you, but with certain limitations. Using a portable MP3 player to play music through speakers requires connecting it to a stereo system or at least to a portable amplified speaker system. But some time ago manufacturers began offering streaming music players, to allow us to listen to Internet Radio stations, play music from on-line music services (on demand), or to even access our music collections from our personal computers. Most of these devices are wireless, and are usually easy to connect to your home Wi-Fi network. Still, many of these new devices require you to connect them to a stereo receiver or amplified speakers. Logitech has developed a new product that offers all of the freedom and flexibility of the streaming music player, while incorporating its own amplifier and speakers. It's essentially a boom box made for your home computer network (Wi-Fi or Ethernet). Logitech has named this device the "Squeezebox Boom." It is an all-in-one streaming music player, which not only works as a Wi-Fi or Ethernet music player, but it is also a clock radio. I have been using mine for over a week now, and I want to share some highlights of what makes this product so awesome yet in need of some improvements.

As mentioned above, the Squeezebox Boom is a compact, all-in-one device, requiring only a power cord, with no additional wires needed. It is quite powerful, for its small size, cranking out up to 30-watts of digital power. The integrated 3-inch woofers and ¾-inch tweeters create an incredible amount of rich, full-bodied sound. It connects to your wireless home network, but also has the ability to plug directly into a network device (i.e., switch or router) via Ethernet cable. It has a 3.5 mm stereo line input, for connecting external audio sources, and also has a 3.5 mm output, which doubles as a headphone jack or for connecting an external, self-amplified subwoofer. It also comes with a compact remote control, that has a magnetic underside, which can sit securely in a little tray area atop the Squeezebox player. There are a lot of technical details associated with this player, so here are some of the important specifications:

* 30-watt Integrated, Digital Amplifier (Class D)
* Bi-Amplified Design with High Performance Signal Processor and Digital Crossover
* ¾-inch High-Definition, Soft-Dome Tweeters (x2) and 3-inch High-Power, Long-Throw Woofers (x2)
* Stereo XL Technology (3 selectable levels to expand the sound to make it seem wider)
* 6-Button Presets for One Touch Access to Favorite Internet Radio Stations and Playlists
* 7-Day Alarm Clock
* Infrared Remote Control (w/ magnetic back)
* Bright, High-Contrast VFD Display, with Ambient Light Sensor and Auto-Dimming
* Built-in 802.11g Wireless Technology with Dual Internal Antennas
* 10/100 Base-T Ethernet Port
* Line-in (3.5 mm stereo jack)
* Headphone/Subwoofer Output (3.5 mm jack)
* Plays MP3, AAC, WMA, Ogg, FLAC, Apple Lossless, WMA Lossless, WAV, and AIFF Music Files
* Connects to your home network to access music stored on your computer via SqueezeCenter software, and Internet radio and music services via SqueezeNetwork.
* Dimensions = 13" Wide by 3-5/8" Deep by 5-1/8" Tall
* Weight = approx. 5-1/2 lbs.
* 2-year Limited Hardware Warranty

Setting up the Squeezebox boom was moderately challenging, but nothing too extreme. The amount of time it will take each person to set it up will depend on the individual's network and their ability to understand adding a wireless device to their network. You will need to gather your network SSID and the security key (if you have security enabled on your wireless network). Logitech advises each owner to contact the person who originally setup their wireless router, if they are not able to obtain the necessary information themselves. Once connected to your wireless (or wired) network, you can now begin listening to Internet Radio stations. You will want to setup an account on the SqueezeNetwork, by visiting www.squeezenetwork.com, and using the sign-up wizard. This service is free, and is a simple and quick process which gives you access to a wide variety of free Internet-based music services, like Pandora, LastFM, Live365, SHOUTcast, or subscription services like Sirius and Rhapsody. You can even search for "local" radio stations, which may be broadcasting on the Internet. You can also setup an account with MP3tunes Music Locker, if you want to store your music collection on-line, to prevent the need of having to have a computer powered on to access your collection. Once you have your account setup with SqueezeNetwork, you will need to add your new Squeezebox Boom. To do this you need to select "SqueezeNetwork" as your music source, from the Squeezebox Boom device. The player will then display a PIN code, which you will need to enter in the SqueezeNetwork setup wizard from your computer. Your Squeezebox Boom can then be added to the SqueezeNetwork, and you will have full control of nearly every setting of the device from your computer. The amount of customization can seem a little overwhelming at first, but you will quickly be amazed at how you can make changes for the device, using your computer, and the settings will be programmed to the Squeezebox Boom right over your wireless network. Of course these settings can be made from the remote or controls on the player itself, but it is far easier to change these settings from the SqueezeNetwork web interface on your computer.

At this point you will be prompted to install the SqueezeCenter software on your computer, if you so desire. SqueezeCenter allows you to access your entire music collection, stored on your computer or on a remote Network Attached Storage (NAS) device. SqueezeCenter runs as a service, so in order to access your stored music collection, the computer with the SqueezeCenter software must be running at the time. After you download and install the software, you will be prompted to designate the folders where you music collection and playlists reside. SqueezeCenter must then scan your entire music library, so it can sort the music by artists, genres, albums, etc. This process can take from a few minutes to several hours, based on the size of your music collection. Mine took a little over 3 hours total. The SqueezeCenter user interface is very easy to use and understand, but is a little sluggish in overall performance. Changing screens and making selections can take several seconds for the program to respond. Once the software is installed, configured, and your music collection has been scanned, you will be able to access all of your songs from your Squeezebox Boom, by selecting SqueezeCenter as your music source.

The built-in 7-day alarm functionality and auto-dimming feature makes the Squeezebox Boom an ideal night-stand or bedside device. The unit does not produce any audible sound when powered off, and the alarm feature allows you to wake to your favorite song, Internet Radio station, or from one of many songs, sound effects, or nature sounds predefined for the device. All of these settings can be configured from the Squeezebox Boom front panel or remote, or you can configure everything from the SqueezeNetwork web interface. You can even set the Squeezebox Boom to gently wake you with gradually increasing volume, by selecting "Fade In" from the Alarms setup menu. The remote control is small, intuitive, and stores nicely atop the Squeezebox Boom in a little indentation area designed specifically for the remote. The snooze button is fairly large and easy to find when reaching blindly after waking from a sound sleep. The snooze time length can be programmed from 1 to 30 minutes. Of course the Squeezebox Boom also has a selectable sleep timer, which can automatically power off the device after the currently playing track, or after 15, 30, 60, or 90 minutes.

The sound quality produced by the Squeezebox Boom is quite remarkable, given its compact dimensions. It will not replace a full-sized home stereo system, but sounds far better than most portable sound systems, and would even give a Bose Wave Radio a run for its money. The bi-amplified design really shines by producing a rich, full-bodied sound. Bass frequencies are tight and punchy, and the highs are crisp and crystal clear. I hooked my Squeezebox Boom to a Yamaha powered subwoofer, via the subwoofer output on the back of the device, and this little radio now pumps out some extremely powerful sound. If you are using this player in a bedroom, as a clock radio, then a subwoofer is really not needed. However, if you are looking to fill a large room with high quality sound, then I definitely recommend a powered subwoofer. It makes a huge difference in low frequencies, and allows you to increase the volume substantially, without any signs of distortion. Enabling the StereoXL spatial enhancement feature really widens the stereo field and helps fill a room with music much better.

The Squeezebox Boom package includes the following:

- Squeezebox Boom Network Music Player
- AC Adapter
- Wireless Infrared Remote w/ battery
- Cloth Storage Bag (for storing or transporting player)
- Quick-Start Guide
- Warranty & Registration Paperwork

The Logitech Squeezebox Boom is really a remarkable streaming music player, with tons of customizable features and the ability to produce great sound. However, the player has some room for improvement as well. I think network streaming music players, in general, are still young in their development, and need some additional features added to provide a true "all-in-one" music experience. For example, the Squeezebox Boom does NOT have a built-in AM/FM radio tuner. A device like this should really have the ability to offer terrestrial radio stations, so you can easily access local news and weather reports. Although this device does have a line input, for connecting an iPod, portable CD player, or other audio device, a built-in iPod dock, and/or a built-in CD player would be a convenient addition as well. I also really dislike the need to leave a computer running, in order to access your music collection via the SqueezeCenter software. They really need to incorporate UPnP capabilities, so you can access your music collection from a NAS device on your network, without the need of running the SqueezeCenter software. The folks at Logitech claim they are working on a firmware release, which may allow for UPnP access in the near future, but at the time of this review it is not an option. I was extremely disappointed when I found out that I cannot get to any of my music unless my computer is powered on and running SqueezeCenter. This is a huge waste of electricity, so I hope that Logitech develops a UPnP solution very soon. I think streaming network music players will definitely become common place in most homes within the next few years. As they become more and more popular, future players will likely include AM/FM radio tuners, CD players, MP3 music player docks, and hopefully even HD radio tuners. It is exciting to think of how these players will develop over time, but for now the Logitech Squeezebox Boom delivers great sound and a plethora of features at a relatively reasonable price. I would normally give this device 5-stars, for great sound, easy setup, and stylish looks/design. However, given the lack of a simple AM/FM radio tuner, and the need to run the proprietary SqueezeCenter software on a computer, to access your personal music collection, I am giving the Squeezebox Boom a solid 4-stars. It is definitely an outstanding device and I highly recommend it. With a future firmware release, to offer UPnP access to a network attached storage device, the Squeezebox Boom will only get better with time.

*** Minimum System Requirements to run SqueezeCenter on your computer:

- 256 MB RAM and 80 MB available hard disk space
- Ethernet or 802.11b/g wireless home network
- Broadband Internet connection required for Internet radio and music services

One of the following operating systems:
- Windows® XP/2000/NT, Windows Vista®, 733MHz Pentium
- Macintosh OSX 10.3.5 or later
- Linux/BSD/Solaris (Perl 5.8.3 or later)