Who's got a Slim Devices Squeezebox 3?

[Mutley]

I'm thinking about buying a Squeezebox 3. They look gorgeous, are (according to many reviews) well made, use high quality hardware, and sound great. It is also supported by a very active community, using open source software, and is both fun to mess with (for geeks like me), and easy to use for people who just want to listen to the music (like my wife).

I have most of my CDs ripped at 256k as MP3s (using WMP10), on my PC. I have a wireless LAN, so I could stream this music to my hifi in the lounge. My hifi is nothing special, but its not complete rubbish either.

So, all you SB3 owners, what are your opinions? Whats good or bad? Are they worth the money? What is a good place to buy them from?

(Another note: My CD player died a while ago, so I would see this as a replacement for the CD player as well)

[RedPutty]

I have a SB2 and its great, I think its very similar spec wise to the SB3.

[autopilot]

Basically they are the dogs dangle sacks. Slashdot reviews latest Squeezebox network music player

They are a little bit hard to get hold of at the moment, but a few places should have them in this week (although we have been hearing that for a couple of months now).

[Mutley]

Cool. Everything I've read about them sais they are very good. I'm aware that the SB3 three is a cosmetic upgrade to the SB2, however I much prefer the big VFD on the SB3, although being able to put the SB2 on the hi-fi stack has its attractions. Regardless, I couldn't see many SB2s on E-bay anyway!

[autopilot]

The SB3 has faster wireless 'g' and slightly better format support over the SB2.

However, getting hold of a SB3 is like getting blood out of a stone. When plenty of people finally get an SB3 you will see more SB2's on eBay. I am getting a SB3 for the living room but i plan to but 2 SB2's second hand; one for the bedroom and one for modding into a bathroom music centre, complete with water proof speakers

[Mutley]

Just looking for the one myself. I've got our CD collection ripped at 256kbit MP3s which should sound good enough I think. I don't have enough space to store as FLAC or other lossless rip. As a replacement for a CD player it should be worthy...

[autopilot]

256 MP3 should sound fine, but i would recommend using OGG (especially if you have any dance mixes or albums that require gapless playback). Anyway, i use FLAC and have a harddrive dedicated to music, which is the way to go if you can afford another drive at some point.

[Mutley]

Yeah, I think i'd like to do that at some point. Not got the pennies at the moment. Hoping to build a new PC in the spring, and that will include plent of storage..!

[autopilot]

And when you are really rich, get yerself one of these.

http://www.advancedmp3players.co.uk/...2997f8ea4a021f

[Mutley]

oooooooooooooh. Me like. Need a series of these, with everything lossless. Hmmm yes.

Just been playing with the slimserver software and java webstart application that simulates an SB2. I'm completely hooked now. I must have an SB3.

[autopilot]

A few places seem to have them in stock as of today.

[Mutley]

Like where?

[autopilot]

Dabs and Broadbandstuff.co.uk have them. i have one on order from Scan. Called them today and they said they had them arrive this afternoon but they have not updated thier stock levals yet. Hopefully it will be with me by friday if they get them on the system tomorrow. At least i hope!

[Mutley]

Still got to convince my wife that she will like it, and it will be really easy to use.
Having played around with the JWS version, I reckon it is, with a short learning curve. But clearly I'm not my wife!

[autopilot]

Well mine has used an SB2 and thinks its great and very easy to use. She's not techy at all. If she can use an ipod, this well be easier.

[Mutley]

What rippng software do you use? I'm no audio purist, although I would be if I could afford it - I'm using WMP10 to rip CDs to mp3 using digital audio extraction. I've read that the ripper you use matters because they don't always produce a faithful copy of the original...