This Squeezebox 2 that has been part of my system for about 4 years. It received analogue modifications from Wayne, including Sonicap Gen 2 and Platinum bypass caps and a healthy treatment of ERS cloth to minimize any noise. There are no Bybees in there. It arrived at my house in August 2006 and was installed in the system almost continuously until a month or so ago.
The SB2 is an "old" product, no longer produced by Logitech. Its immediate replacement was the SB3, but the differences between the SB2 and SB3 are essentially just cosmetic. The extra room in the SB2 allowed Wayne to use caps in there that couldn't be used easily in the SB3 which, at the time of my modifications, made the SB2 an attractive alternative. Of course, Wayne's modifications for the SB3 continued to evolve, so these may eventually have superseded the modifications for my SB2. Nevertheless, the sound quality produced by my unit has always been excellent even if it no longer represents state-of-the-art squeezebox technology.
The biggest issue with the unit for sale is cosmetic. The plastic case began to crack in the vicinity of output jacks. I took the liberty of epoxying the case back together. The case still comes apart in the appropriate way when unscrewed, and the input jacks still function in exactly the way they were intended. There is no undue stress apparent on connecting or disconnecting interconnects. However, my repair is a little ugly. Luckily, it's at the back of the SB2, so shouldn't be too much of an eyesore.
The SB2 originally came with a switching power supply that was long-ago discarded. But I offer with the server one of Wayne's "basic" linear power supplies, along with the a Bolder umbilical cable (I don't believe this is one of Wayne's fancy nitro cables). This was the first power supply that Wayne made widely available, and has obviously been improved upon significantly. Unfortunately, due to the small size of the box, this basic power supply cannot easily be upgraded to take advantage of Wayne's improvements. Nevertheless, the power supply is a very significant improvement from the switcher that originally came with the SB2, and I suspect it compares favorably with the modified off-the-shelf power supplies that Wayne subsequently made available.
Apart from the cosmetic issue mentioned earlier, the biggest drawback with this unit stems from the fact that Logitech has discontinued both the SB2 and SB3. While Wayne is always willing to service his excellently modified products, it is possible that some issues may arise with the SB2 that Wayne will find impossible to fix due to the unavailability of parts. Given the crack in the casing, I decided it was time for me to invest in something that promised a little more permanence, and secured myself a new Tranquility DAC that I operate directly from a netbook near the audio system. I've spent a lot of time working on an interface for Foobar on my netbook, but it's still not as nice and convenient as the SB interface, even using the simple remote included.
Sure - a new Duet or Touch may give you an even nicer interface. But for about the same price, I can offer you Wayne's analogue modifications, Wayne's power supply and Wayne's power umbilical, which I suspect will offer a better sound quality.
I'm asking
$325 $295 $275, plus shipping (from Ann Arbor, MI - ZIP: 48103) and any paypal fees. But I'm a reasonable man, and am open to reasonable offers. I've completed a bunch of transactions without complaint on AC, and (for what it's worth) have only positive feedback on the spectacularly ineffective Audiogon system (under the handle Bluemonk).
Please don't hesitate to send me a private message with any questions.
Cheers,
Chad
