Is the Squeezebox Touch complicated?

I've had a Squeezebox Touch for almost 2 years (and other Squeezebox models going back 10 years) and consider it straightforward to use and one of the best buys in audio.

One does need enough basic computer knowledge to rip your CDs to your computer and also install the server software (now called Logitech Media Server and formerly known as Squeezeboxserver.)

As respects network setup, the Touch is pretty much plug and play. It finds the network just as easily as my laptop, Kindle and Roku player.

Sure, with computer based stuff, some people are always going to have problems. Often this ties to their having a non-standard network setup or interference from their neighbor's wireless. Usually some basic wireless troubleshooting takes care of things, but there is always going to be that oddball situation.

Keep in mind that when you visit a computer device manufacturer's web site, the noisiest people there are going to be the ones with problems. Satisfied consumers are far less likely to take the time to find the website just so they can tell the world everything is fine.

Visit a Microsoft web site and one might think no one has ever seen one of their program actually work.... ;-)

Agree with Mlsstl.

Overall, I find the Squeeze system to be quite straightforward and reliable, and a fairly mature product, but some comfort level dealing with computer apps is always recommended with these things. Its not nearly as easy as popping a CD in a CD player, but the advertised benefits should far outweigh the disadvantages for the computer literate. If you are computer literate, expect to reach a comfort level with the entire system and all the options within a few weeks minimum with some focus and effort. Its really not so bad if you have the chops to deal with this kind of thing. If not, it will surely become overwhelming quickly.

Most of the complexity comes into play when setting up a personal music server, which is where a lot of the benefits reside, but is optional. Connecting to the Logitech managed web service via internet for access to internet radio, Pandora, etc. is quite straightforward as those things go, and alone provides access to so many new music sources to soak in that you might not even get around to trying to set up your own server for your music for quite some time. PErsonally, it was about 1 year until I even got around to setting up a music server when I first started with this computer audio stuff. I spent the first year simply enjoying all th e new and good sounding music available via internet playing on my rig.

Visit a Microsoft web site and one might think no one has ever seen one of their program actually work...

Oh, do they actually work...I thought that everything MS released was in perpetual beta ;-)

Seriously, I have had some issues with using my Logitech Transporter. They are mostly due to wireless network issues as Mapman mentioned but I will admit that the firmware updates are a little too clunky over wireless and a little too frequent for my liking. Still, the benefits are many and if you will be going wired OR have a good strong signal at your SB location, you should be fine. if you have some basic PC skills or access to a teenager.

I purchased a Touch about a year ago and I'm very happy with it. Setting it up through my wireless network was straight forward. I'm not a computer techie and I use a Windows system (Macs are reportedly easier to use), and yet it was very straight forward.

I never had album covers mixed up. Had some dropouts, but nothing I've gone nuts about. Usually has something to do with network usage, as my kids using the same network to stream video while I listen to music. Considering a dual-band router now to by-pass that issue. Nothing to do with the Touch itself, though.

For correctly ripping CDs and avoiding the guesswork you might want to check out the Guide to Ripping CDs over at computeraudiophile.com. I followed it to a t and had never had a problem.

I hope this helps.

i'm not one of the erudite or precise contributors, but i've been using my sbt for about two months now and, despite being something of a computer audio novice find it quite user friendly. setup is easy and interface is extremely logical and intuitive. as stated above, it's not as foolproof as a cdp--you'll get some dropouts and may need to reset it once in a while, but overall it's reliable and, of course, massively convenient. i'm led to believe that the earlier iterations were buggy, but in general it's a breakthrough product.