Hi everyone,
Lots of folks noticed that we were running low on inventory, spending less time here, and working our butts off on SlimServer 6. As suspected, there is a new product. Squeezebox2 is in full production now, and the first units will ship on March 31.
Squeezebox2 addresses all of the top performance and functionality requests that come up here every day.
802.11g/WPA: for better range, compatibility, security, and throughput FLAC: for reduced bandwidth usage More memory: for better streaming of PCM audio over wireless
I'm just getting started... don't worry, I'll get to the pony. :)
Although I don't often contribute to the audiophile discussions, I really do enjoy reading them. Regardless of who can hear what, the fact is that there are indeed some real measurable characteristics such as output levels, THD+N, and clock precision where we had room for significant improvement. Squeezebox2 has completely done away with all the limitations - we're now doing all of the audio decoding and DSP work in software, and this gave me the freedom to design the digital outputs and analog stages exactly the way I wanted them. Please see the FAQ and the hardware specs page for details on the new design.
Among other things, the new design has allowed us to implement cross fading and some very impressive visualizers. Of course, having it all done in software (on an extremely fast processor) leaves the door open for more functionality down the road.
Now some people have pooh-poohed the idea of visualizers as just being eye candy, but personally I think a high resolution, ultra-fast spectrum analyzer is quite a thing to behold. We've got one now - full screen, 64 bands, 30 frames per second, and perfectly synced with the audio. There are a few visualizers to choose from, including a smaller spectrum analyzer and "analog" VU meters.
Squeezebox2 also has a new vacuum fluorescent display - we had it custom designed by Noritake specifically to support the ideas we had in mind for new fonts, animations, and visualizers. The display is slightly larger physically, and has more than twice the resolution at 320x32 pixels. It has multiple brightness levels of course, but it also has grayscale capability, which we use for the visualizers and graphics.
A few "bonus" features that you might not have expected:
Dual antennas: Squeezebox2 has both an internal AND an external antenna. The 802.11g radio takes advantage of this configuration to automatically select the best antenna for transmit/receive, optimizing signal strength and vastly improving range/throughput.
Bridging: yes, Squeezebox2 can share its wireless connection with a wired ethernet device connected through its (100Mbps) ethernet port. This allows other devices in the home theatre, such as Xboxen, Playstations, Tivos, or HTPCs to connect wirelessly to your access point.
Pony: there is a discount code, "FREEPONY". Enter this on the order page to get $20 off on either the wired or the wireless model.
Finally, a big "thank you" goes to every one of our customers and especially the people on this list. Thank you for promoting the product, helping us improve it, and suggesting ideas.
The new web site is up now: http://www.slimdevices.com
Sean
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