Logitech Squeezebox Boom hits the stage

It's been a month since we first caught a glimpse of the sharp-looking Logitech Squeezebox Boom, but the wireless network speakers are official today, coming in at a list price of $299. Yeah, it's basically a standard-issue Squeezebox with a built-in amp and speakers, but that's a pretty solid idea, especially since we're guessing the 24-bit Burr Brown D/A converter and bi-amped 3-inch woofers and 3/4-inch tweeters will offer up some decent sound. Everything else is regular Squeezebox kit -- 802.11g WiFi, SqueezeNetwork, optical and S/PDIF out, VFD display, 10/100Base-T Ethernet -- so if you're looking to expand your system, this is probably a pretty solid way of getting it done. Expect to see this one on shelves next month. One more pic after the break.

[Flashpoint @ Aug 28th 2008 12:15AM]

...because a $100 SONY MP3/CD Boombox is too 2003-ish

[LarryLarryLarry @ Aug 28th 2008 12:55AM]

Yes, there's been a huge shortage of wildly overpriced wireless audio devices. Logitech to the rescue!

[theycallmetak @ Aug 28th 2008 6:16AM]

@ Larry

Overpriced? Do you even know what this does or what it's for? The only thing remotely like it is the Roku Soundbridge Radio. Price? $299. About the only thing after that are the Sonos systems.

[Hold McGroin @ Aug 28th 2008 10:15AM]

Overpriced? Think of it as an iPod touch that doesn't sound like crap.

Logitech buys premium brands with rock solid products (Slim Devices, Harmony). Then, they don't keep the quality the same, they make stuff even better with their huge bank roll. At least one company understands what real quality and features are.

[LarryLarryLarry @ Aug 29th 2008 4:03AM]

I do know what it does. I also think iPods are wildly ovepriced, if that helps. And yes, I am typing my opinion on a Mac Mini, so no hater accusations, please. It's not an iPod because you have to hold it on your shoulder while your buddy break-dances to Herbie Hancock. And it's not a stereo because the speakers are still tiny and there are only two of them in a three-speaker (subwoofer) world.

I'm sure it sounds better than the iPod if the iPod is using some tiny powered speaks with 1" cones. I'm pretty sure it sounds exactly like the iPod through the same set of speakers. And I'm also pretty sure that those speakers are not going to give me a $300 listening experience.

On my shoulder.

With Herbie Hancock.

You can get a great stereo for $300 - but not portable. You can get a great PMP for much less than $300, but not an iPod. And you can get this thing for $300, which is not conveniently portable and can't sound very good.

Overpriced.

[Puhn @ Aug 28th 2008 12:17AM]

I just can't remember what speaker company did Logitech bought,
Logitech did a fine job at reputating it's brand to be one good speaker maker.

[KK @ Aug 28th 2008 12:39AM]

That's fantastic. I have a squeezebox, and it's one of the greatest tech purchases I've ever made. Now I'll be able to listen in my garage or my bedroom. Seriously awesome.

[boomerz @ Aug 28th 2008 12:44AM]

Duran Duran!!!

[phanbouy @ Aug 28th 2008 1:04AM]

i'm hungry like the wolf for costly knick knacks

[BobTurbo @ Aug 28th 2008 12:45AM]

The D/A converters don't mean all that much when the signal is then passed through a digital amplifier which probably has around 10% THD.

[mrbill @ Aug 28th 2008 12:58AM]

Soon as these manufacturers start putting in a HD Radio tuner in ALL these devices then we may actually pay attention to them. OTherwise will not pay this kind of money for anything.

And these high end AV Receiver have no excuse for charging 1500 for their goods and still no HD Radio. We have 15 new pure digital HD radio stations and we cant listen to them.

HD is FREE Digital radio with many multiplexed sub channels from existing FM stations

[DGT @ Aug 28th 2008 12:58AM]

This boombox thingy makes me Hungry Like a Wolf

[Dan @ Aug 28th 2008 7:20PM]

I'd rather not support HD Radio.
And I'd also rather radio station's and manufacturers not pay their obscene licensing costs.

On the topic of this Squeezebox, if I had money to burn, this definitely would seem like a sweet product to have, but I don't exactly have a lot of money to spare presently.

[phanbouy @ Aug 28th 2008 1:05AM]

well if i'd seen this post i wouldn't have mentioned the wolf song.

thanks again weblogs inc. for proving you're the shittiest blog system out there.

[Andrew @ Aug 28th 2008 1:19AM]

I would like to see Apple do something like this, a WiFi Apple boombox that you can stream iTunes music to.

They have the parts.... AirPort Express + iPod HiFi boombox.

Hmm on second thought maybe I'll make my own.

[kyle @ Aug 28th 2008 1:44AM]

if it has line-in and line-out i will be very tempted.

[Jeff @ Aug 28th 2008 3:41AM]

I love my squeezebox. If this thing had a snooze button and another display I would love to use it to replace my Nakamichi alarm clock...

[phatman81 @ Aug 28th 2008 3:55AM]

This is a very nice device. i had a chance to play with a prerelease model. audio quality is top notch (and it does have line in... forget about line out, but i believe so). basss is also suprisingly clean/crisp and you can hook it up to an external woofer. not a bad piece of equipment at all...

[signorRossi @ Aug 28th 2008 4:57AM]

Engadget is wrong writing it has digital out, right?

[Alex Wilks @ Aug 28th 2008 7:11AM]

Doubt it, the original has digital out too.

I've been waiting for this to come out to decide whether it's worth the extra money over something like a Freecom MusicPal or the other internet radios/streamers already out there. Obviously the sound quality on this is will be substantially better so it's just a matter of whether it's worth 2/3 times as much.

[Antonio Moro @ Aug 28th 2008 5:28AM]

AirPort Express + your speakers + Iphone + iphone's Remote App = FTW!!

[kyle @ Aug 28th 2008 7:59AM]

Couple questions here about this product, if you engadget readers can help me:

Does it function as an alarm clock? (is it possible to set an "alarm playlist"?)

If you have multiple squeezeboxes, can you play different songs in different rooms?

Does it come with a remote?

Does it have removable storage?

Would it be possible to integrate this into a wireless speaker setup for the rear channel of an entertainment system based off of a HTPC?

I dont think any of these questions are stretching reality, and am wondering why it cant be had at the same or lower price point.

[MC @ Aug 28th 2008 8:50AM]

> Does it function as an alarm clock? (is it possible to set an "alarm playlist"?)
Yes, yes

> If you have multiple squeezeboxes, can you play different songs in different rooms?
Yes

> Does it come with a remote?
Yes

> Does it have removable storage?
?. It's a wireless streamer. Streams form you local network files or from Internet

> Would it be possible to integrate this into a wireless speaker setup for the rear channel of an entertainment system based off of a HTPC?
It has line-in

> I dont think any of these questions are stretching reality, and am wondering why it cant be had at the same or lower price point.
Wait till you try it. It sounds superb and does everything but make coffee (oh, and it doesn't have a digital-out, does have a line-in though)

[tubesock @ Aug 28th 2008 8:51AM]

Kyle,

In answer to your questions:

Yes, it functions very well as an alarm clock. You can set a separate alarm for each day of the week...and set a unique playlist as well.

Yes, you can play different songs in different rooms, or synchronize them all to play the same thing

Yes.

No

No idea.

[kyle @ Aug 28th 2008 10:36AM]

The reason i ask about the removable storage is because if you wanted to turn your pc off at night, it would disconnect the library from the player, there in turn not play your programmed songs for the alarm. With lets say a 1GB flash disk you could load up 200 songs and not have to worry about that. Or maybe for future iterations it could have a built in HDD that stores these playlists, and caches the songs when the pc is shut down.

[tomas @ Aug 28th 2008 11:28AM]

Finally!!!! There was a huge demand. I will order at least 3 :)
tomas

[numpty @ Aug 28th 2008 11:32AM]

Kyle. The Slimdevices/Logitech products depend upon a server (SqueezeCenter) to stream audio. If you turn off your computer there is no local server software to stream your local files. The software does not exist on the Boom product, or indeed any Slimdevices device. They are slim devices (not fat ones like a computer!)
However, you can turn off your computer, and as long as you still have an internet connection use the web based Squeezenetwork to stream radio and services like Pandora, Last.fm etc etc. You can even use the internet based MP3Locker service to host your own MP3 files offsite. You can then play these via Squeezenetwork.

Clever, huh?

[Kyledl @ Aug 28th 2008 5:04PM]

Well it seems like a nifty idea with that online mp3 idea, but really why waste the time and bandwith uploading certain songs right before bed? Wouldnt it be simpler to drag and drop onto the player via logitech software or through networked drive? Although I do like the idea of streaming last.fm but still. removable storage ftw. it would remove the computer from the whole system, and really create an all-in-one device.

[R G @ Aug 28th 2008 2:00PM]

I like the idea of listening to Slacker on this thing.

[Snoop @ Aug 28th 2008 3:57PM]

This unit does not have Digital outs (optical and S/PDIF).

It does have a Snooze Button and will act as an alarm clock.

[patricia @ Nov 4th 2008 5:14AM]

jus received one for my bday - love it, but i can't figure out how to configure the snooze bar to let me sleep for 10 more minutes instead of just one... any advice?

[j3lunt @ Aug 28th 2008 6:19PM]

OK This could be the WINNING Ticket IF....

could i use my "iPhone" to control my "iTunes" and the audio will play through the "Boom"?

Possible?

J3

[Jeff @ Aug 28th 2008 11:04PM]

You can control this device and all of the squeezeboxes through a web interface pointing to the server or PC that is hosting the squeezebox software. I was controlling mine tonight using my wife's 3G iPhone via safari... The newest version of the software can read iTunes playlists as well.
Sirius sat radio on it over the internet is really cool. I've been listening recently via a 30 day free trial.
There are also a ton of free plug-ins for this device. I use one called SuperDateTime (here - http://www.gregbrown.net/squeeze/superdatetime.htm) that not only shows the weather it also will show scores for your favorite teams.

[Gadget Freak @ Aug 28th 2008 9:14PM]

I was a beta tester for this unit and it does not disappoint. I have 4 rooms of my house wired with SqueezeBox duets and they all work together in harmony. The unit has connections for wired or wireless, a remote control is included and it also has line in plus a line out. One of the coolest features is that you can also connect to it using the SqueezeBox duet controller. So not only can you control all of the SqueezeBox duets but you can also control the Boom as well. I will be happy to answer any other questions about this unit if need be.

[Jeff @ Aug 28th 2008 11:18PM]

I wish they would've added a photocell on the front to auto dim the display, so when you click off you lights at night it DIMS (or at least can be configured to dim). I'm sure someone will make a plug-in if it doesn't exist already that will dim the display based on the hour of the day.
It would've been nice to have a battery back up for tru portability or for power failures if used as an alarm clock, although if you PC isn't on a UPS the streaming options would be limited for the alarm if the power failed.

[Sue @ Aug 29th 2008 1:27AM]

@Jeff: I was also a beta tester for this product. It does have an ambient light sensor that will dim the display at night. I am very fussy about having any light in the room when I try to sleep, but the auto-dimming is just right. It also has a supercap that will keep the time and save your alarms if there is a power loss. If you lose connection to both SqueezeCenter (PC) and SqueezeNetwork (Internet) a tone will still sound for the alarm. I'm pretty sure the only scenario in which the alarm would not sound is if the Boom itself was disconnected from power at the same time that the alarm was scheduled to fire.

[Knapster @ Aug 29th 2008 5:45AM]

Hasn’t this already been done with the Roku soundbridge radio?

[Eats Wombats @ Aug 29th 2008 8:01AM]

There's a plug-in server for the Netgear ReadyNAS storage. No need to leave a PC on all the time. With a colour touch screen this would put the chumby out of business and we'd have one in every room.

[Jackhammer @ Aug 29th 2008 6:21PM]

I would love a few of these for my house. $300 is a fair deal for it. I play a lot of music through my Squeezebox and with the Boom I can listen to that same music other rooms in my house with this simple box. The Roku Soundbridge is only 802.11b (a 802.11 network will resort to the slowest device on it).

[Jaime @ Sep 1st 2008 12:30PM]

optical and S/PDIF out?

I don't see that anywhere!

[Ron Grandia @ Sep 1st 2008 4:26PM]

A great little table-top player! In love after a few days.

I'd always lusted after the Squeezebox, but don't really listen to music or radio in my living room. This compact box was instantly at home on my kitchen counter-top. As with other Slim Devices products It's clear that the audio components were not an afterthought or just tacked-on as some suggested. (Who, I've observed have never even seen one) If this were the case, I would agree that the product is a bit over-priced but it is not. The sound quality is phenomenal, and not just because of the small form-factor - it just plain sounds great even at high volumes.

I had mine up and running and talking to my NAS in no time - and I believe this device is most useful for a lot of people with some kind of server-capable NAS running in the background. This way, one does not have to have a computer running the software, but having a NAS or a computer running Slimserver is by no means a requirement to enjoying the Squeezebox Boom.

The easy access to online radio, podcasts, and tons of other great online programming has me giddy. I am a huge Rhapsody user, and being able to cobble-together Rhapsody playlists online and then be able to enjoy them at the touch of a button is a very attractive feature. I also have a Sirius subscription that I almost cancelled for lack of use because moving the receiver from the car to the house is a pain. Now I can have access to that programming from the boom. Whee!

Shortcomings? Some of the controls are a little counter-intuitive. That big knob could be slightly better-implemented, and it needs a hundred more preset buttons, or at least multiple addressable banks. Some people think that it should have a digital i/o, but this is the tabletop model, so I don't miss it. I'd love to see a model that had a real iPod dock (as opposed to just a line-in) and the ability to read a LOCAL drive via USB. I would have liked an integrated AM/FM tuner.

[chicks @ Sep 3rd 2008 12:19PM]

> We have 15 new pure digital HD radio stations and we cant listen to them.

You can listen to 15,000 pure digital internet radio stations on this, for starters. And your entire music collection from your NAS. And whatever you like on Raphsody, Live365, Pandora, etc. HD radio has the same old same old content, yawn...

Saw this in BestBuy last night, they hadn't even priced the thing yet, and had it next to the CD boomboxes, not next to the Sonos units, where it belongs.

I have a Freecom MusicPal with similar featureset, but only a single, tinny, speaker, at half the price.

Also have an OmniFi DMS-1 with Sonic Impact T24 powered speaker on top, which is a close equivalent to this, though not so up-to-date and sleek. The Boom has the heft and build quality of the T24's, and probably sounds even better. OTOH, the OmniFi (after updating to the OpenFi firmware), has the ability to play directly from a local portable USB HDD. Paid a total of $84.95 for the DMS-1+T24 at clearance outlet Tuesday Morning, but am tempted by this, even considering the hefty price tag.

I did see an optical audio output on the back of this, but if you want to play through your HiFi, just get the SqueezeBox. Appears to be lacking Bluetooth support - why is this missing from so many speaker docks and mp3 players? It's such an obviously simple way to play room-filling music from a portable mp3 player. Samsung and Insignia get it, why don't Apple, et. al?

[knord @ Sep 6th 2008 9:44PM]

Nice machine..

but:

it doesn't have line out (RCA), it doesn't have digital out and most important, it doesn't have the formidable Burr Brown DACs !! This means it is not as hifi as the Squeezebox Classic and if you'd like to connect it to your stereo, you will have to use the headphone amplifier output... not so good.

So, conclusion: it is not a Squeezebox with speakers. Sorry.

Disappointed.

k.

[Flynn @ Sep 19th 2008 6:34PM]

So if this has WiFi and my Zune has WiFi can it read from my Zune's playlist without the Zune software running on my Laptop? That would be a great feature and negate having to stream from an online music locker or use up valuable bandwidth.

[ww @ Nov 3rd 2008 12:43PM]

Two questions:
1. I can set this thing up in a hot spot and use it to stream internet radio - right?
2. External speakers can't be attached to it?