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WE'VE HERALDED THE new trend of network music players; these devices play songs off your Mac from any part of a home network. While the competition is getting crowded, and we're beginning to see the same features across multiple players, the Squeezebox2 still stands out as a strong player; it supports a variety of formats and networks and sounds good, too. While this player doesn't recognize iTunes Music Store songs--like any device that doesn't say "Apple"--it's a great way to stream digital music off your computer and send it throughout the house.
There were no problems installing the SlimServer software on the networked computer; this is the Mac that holds all of the music, and it needs to stay on any time the Squeezebox2 plays local songs. The Squeezebox2 itself connected and configured on our network without any difficulty. When using the wireless connection - it supports 802.11g and b -we spent a moment typing a WEP key into the device through the remote. We also tried it on a wired Ethernet network -it supports 100Base-T in addition to 10Base-T -with the same, instant results. After the device had an IP number, we selected the music server and were ready to play songs.
The Squeezebox2 is loaded with audio outputs: RCA, digital optical, digital coax and even mini-jack. It easily interfaced with all of our audio equipment -the mini-jack worked with headphones or powered speakers, making it more versatile. The infrared remote is designed well, and it was easy for us to pick songs from the built-in display.
The Squeezebox2's display has twice the resolution of the predecessor, so we could read it from a few paces using its default fonts or from further across the room with its large fonts. As we began, its readouts walked us through the different ways to play music. The typical way was to browse or search by artist or album. The number-pad keys work like a mobile phone for typing search words. It took just a few seconds to find an album and start playing. We could also browse Internet radio stations and stream their music through our high-speed Internet connection to the device.
When we were out of the line-of-sight requirement of the remote, we still could reach the player through the networked server. Its web interface could access any feature, such as changing the volume or adding a new song to a playlist. The Squeezebox2 accessed iTunes playlists as well.
Music sounded great. Tones and beats always sounded rich and sharp. Formats such as Apple Lossless and AIFF are supported, and our MP3 and AAC files worked sans stutter (which occurred on the original Squeezebox). While protected AAC files from the iTunes Music Store aren't supported, that format thankfully does not hang up the Squeezebox2; it just skips over those songs. The new visualizer, which outputs animated patterns that sway to the thump of the music, was another nice touch.
The Squeezebox2 even includes a few surprises unrelated to audio. It can display RSS news feeds from the Internet and act as a wireless bridge between other devices--for example, an Xbox -and your wired network. While these touches may not please everyone, we appreciate their potential uses.
Although Squeezebox2 works almost as we imagine the perfect home network player would, we had a major complaint. We wished that it could access different music libraries on different computers at the same time. As it is, we had to select a single music server; users with music stored across different computers on a network will have to reset the system every time they want to change libraries.
The Squeezebox2 is a powerful network music player. Its sound rivals any other home audio component, and it provides access to your Mac's music library and Internet radio away from the computer.
-ZACK STERN
Squeezebox2: 
Slim Devices | www.slimdevices.com | 650-210-9400 | $300
Pros: Streams music as expected, readable display, variety of audio formats, variety of network formats, audio crossfading, display visuals.
Cons: Can't access multiple servers at the same time, no iTunes Music Store support.
Requires: OS 10.1.5 or higher, 128MB RAM, Ethernet or wireless network
macHOME recommends: High-speed Internet connection
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