Squeeze Box Love'n'hate


I tellya, had I known this thing would be such a pain in the backside.....but yet I love it....when it works!!! Perhaps it's because I'm a MAC guy and my computers just work. This 'interactivity' with the SQ3 goes beyond my extent of how much I want to be involved with digital. I'm also a vinyl guy and I have no trouble with the interactiveness of playing records....in fact I savour it!

So what is it with the SQ3? Well sometimes it's busy 'buffering' when I want to listen to music. Other times it just shuts itself off. And then there's the times when it won't shut off.....unless you unplug it. And at times it loses it's network......whatever, it's just plain frustrating!!!!

Anyone else have this experience?
Robert
rbatsch
Robert,

I am a MAC guy as well and use a SB III in my system, I for one have NEVER had a problem with it in my wireless network. If you are wireless, perhaps it is outside of range, if wired, I can't explain the issue other than to suggest you send it back to them as mine has always been spot on.

Ken
I bought one of the first Squeeze Boxes. At the time I had a Gateway w/xp and simple home network. I got it setup up and it played one song then my Gateway blue screened and my router died at the same time along with my wireless access point. All of that happening at the same time may have been a coincident, I don't know but I never hooded up the Squeeze Box again.

Months later I bought my first Mac and dumped Microsoft based products altogether. I now use a Mac Mini as a Music Server. So, you can say the Squeeze Box helped me become a Mac person.

Owning a Mac is like being an Audiophile. Those other people just don't get it! Right about now those other people are asking, Get What? but you Mac people know.
Sounds like your SB3 is wireless... fix your wireless network or go wired. There are settings to increase or decrease how much your system buffers (I prefer a longer first buffer to prevent drops...) Dump your 2.4ghz wireless phones and go 5.8ghz, if you have neighbors switch your wireless broadcast channel on your wireless router (typically it will be either 6 or 11, try the other and see how performance does or switch it to 1. Check signal strength from the front of the SB3 to see if you are still having problems even with a good connection. If you are then your machine running slimserver might be underpowered. Slimserver running on Mac's is slower performing than Linux or the Windows equivalent. When was the last time you upgrade your slimserver software, it might be time (but it is opensource so it could get better or worse depending)

Since you are a Mac guy, you are use to paying more for simplicity (this is not a slam and don't take this as an insult Mac's Rock for their intended use); so buy a Sonos System which doesn't require the software of Slimserver running.. it just uses PNP media and it will create it's own wireless network between units which is much stronger than some of the wireless routers I have used. The remote is the bomb since you don't have to squint to see the SB3 display.

Or go with a USB DAC from your mac into your system and use Itunes on a nice LCD monitor between your speakers!

Slimdevices has a forum to help with setup and issues if you want to fix some of these problems (help you determine whether it is a Slimserver software version problem or a network/computer problem)