[Holderman]

Thanks for all the input that you guys took the time to give me regarding the version 1 slimdevice.  I did not realize it is not compatible with MP3's and I have quite an extensive CD collection so figure I should compress them on my PC to save room.

I see that these soundbridge M1001's are going for $149 and if I get a refurbished one for $129.  Is there any reason I should not save $150 and grab one of these?  Keep in mind I do not have a state of the art stereo set up like most folks here, just a middle of the road set up. 

The M1001 can be used wirelessly and can support MP3's.  It has a nice screen and of course has a remote. 

Being I do not know a lot about these devices I wanted to see if there was any reason I should not choose this over the slimdevice except maybe not as great sound quality.

Thanks to all for the help it is much appreciated.

[bpape]

The Roku isn't as flexible IMO nor as good sounding.  Where did you get the idea that a squeezebox won't play MP3?

Here is an extract from the Slim Devices site for the SB3

Audio formats

Lossless Formats (Apple Lossless, FLAC, WMA Lossless)
"Bit-perfect" CD audio streaming, with reduced storage and bandwidth usage.
Approximately 2:1 compression ratio
Uncompressed formats (AIFF, WAV, PCM)
Supports raw pass-through of uncompressed PCM audio formats
Digital passthrough to S/PDIF for DTS
Compressed formats (MP3, AAC, Ogg Vorbis, MP2, MusePack, WMA)
MPEG decoding uses MAD software, widely regarded as the most accurate, most compatible MP3 decoder.
High accuracy 24-bit synthesis
Supports all MP3 data rates and sample rates, including VBR
May be streamed in PCM (raw), MP3 (transcoded), or FLAC (transcoded) formats
Sound Check and Replay Gain support for automatic volume control.
Some formats may require additional software installation (e.g. QuickTime), depending on platform.

Bryan

[Holderman]

"The Squeezebox2 supports numerous audio formats including MP3, Windows Media Audio, Musepack, Monkey's Audio, Apple Lossless, FLAC, Shorten, WAV, AIFF, Ogg Vorbis, and unencrypted AAC. Of these, MP3, Windows Media, FLAC, WAV, AIFF and Ogg Vorbis are natively supported by the player firmware; the remainder are automatically transcoded by the Slimserver host software into one of the player-supported formats. DRM-protected AAC from the Apple iTunes Music Store is not supported."

This was listed as the additions from version 1 to version 2.  That led me to believe version 1 did not support MP3's.  Am I wrong?

[ToddSTS]

The SB1 will support MP3s as well as WAV, FLAC and some others.  Slim's first product the SLiMP3 even supported MP3s.  I don't know if they support some other formats or not.  But the SB1 does MP3 decoding natively I think and it will play FLAC if you decode it at the server and send it to the device as WAV.  All of this is configurable in the SlimServer application.  My big gripe about the SB1 is that it is 802.11b not g and I don't want to downgrade my security to WEP from WPA.  But of course it is older and you can only get it second hand.  Hope this helps.

Todd

[ToddSTS]

Check this link out for more info:

http://www.slimdevices.com/pi_history.html

Todd

[Holderman]

yeah that helps a lot.  So by using any wirless device on a less secure system does that enable someone to access anything stored on the PC or just the information sent through the wireless connection?   

[ToddSTS]

I'm not a wireless expert, but running WEP vs. WPA makes it easier for a potential hacker to access your network.  Once he is on your network, its like being plugged into the same LAN segment on a wired network, he can watch what is passed across the network and then try and sniff for passwords, etc.  You still have protections on your computer depending on your operating system, version, patch level, etc.  But you certainly want to make it as hard as possible to get onto the network in the first place.

Todd

[bpape]

Just understand it's not just the SB.  These same things apply to any wireless networking.  Although realistically, in most neighborhood settings, WEP is plenty good.  In an urban area, I'd be more concerned.

Bryan

[AmpDesigner333]

Some comments about the sound quality of Soundbridge, originally thought to be "perfect", but not after recent listening...
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=78181.msg777202#msg777202

[sts9fan]

I personally think the soundbridge is a pos. Hard to navagate and poor soundng. Ymmv.