I’ve been a big fan of the Squeezebox music systems for a number of years since I installed a music system in our house. I had 2 of the Squeezebox Classic boxes (before the cool redesign). Last year I saw a special on a Squeezebox Duet
We didn’t need the box and had controlled all our music using the web interface to the Squeezebox software, so this box was quite gimicky. One of the things that this gave us was a 3rd source to our music system so that we could easily switch between our son’s music and our music. We didn’t use the controller much and it sat on my desk for most of the last year.
In the last few months, our son has wanted to listen to more music and changes what he wants to hear quickly. This has made the controller not just ideal, but almost necessary. The frequent upgrades to the software have really refined the interface and it lets us control all 3 music sources running off the Squeezebox software.
If you don’t already have a music server or aren’t willing to leave a computer on all the time to run the Squeezebox software, the Squeezebox Duet is pretty useless. In addition, if you don’t have a distributed music system, it may also have limited utility. The system is a bit hard to grasp for non-techies, but once I showed my mother-in-law how it worked (and how our music system works in general), she basically wanted a system like it.
Pros
- Easy to use.
- Bright screen.
- Controls other Squeezebox units.
Cons
- Pricey. List price of about $350 is not for the faint of heart.
- Squeezebox software requires a computer to be on most, if not all, of the time.
- Not all that useful without a distributed audio system which makes it even pricier.
- Battery life is not great, so we leave it in the charger most of the time.
Summary
You’re probably saying that I usually give high marks to things that I review. Well, you’re kind of right. I usually do a lot of research before my purchases, so I’m not disappointed. The Squeezebox Duet falls into the same category (initially it didn’t). If you have a music setup like mine, this device is almost a must have. It’s price is a bit of a stumbling block, but if you factor it into the cost of a full house music system, it is much easier to justify.
Note
While not directly related to the Duet, each time I upgrade the Squeezebox software, I have to wait for some nice person to update the XMRadio Plugin. While Logitech (they bought Slim Devices) directly supports Sirius, use XMRadio subscribers rely on third parties. I wish that Logitech would work with XM to directly support the plugin. XM and Sirius are now the same company, so it seems that there is precedent for online streaming.