squeezebox questions

thinking of buying one of these very soon.(the wi-fi version)
all i want it for mainly is to use it for internet radio as a replacement for a dab tuner,(mostly listened to in 128 kbps) and use the digital out to a meridian 203 dac.

couple of questions to people who use this for streaming net radio.

1. what is the quality like compared to dab and fm through a decent outboard dac connected to the hi-fi?

2. can you browse the net radio stations using the squeeze box, or do you have to put the playlists in the folder on your pc and access them that way?

3.also, is it best to use a wireless router or a pci based wireless card?
(im not bothered if it supports `wireless "B" or "G" they are both fast enough.

4. last question, i have broadband cable (1 meg connection) and do i have to leave the pc on all the time to access the net stations using the squeezebox?

thanks alot

 

Hi - can't answer all questions as we don't have DAB.
1) FM is better, but the SB is listenable
2) Yes - configure the stations in the Slimserver and browse/select from the Squeezebox. Best make sure that the stations you want to listen to are available in a format that the SB likes before you get the plastic out.
3) For MP3 & streaming internet radio wireless is fine - needs some careful setup to work for loseless PCM however
4) Yep, you connection needs to be live to listen to the net radio stations

Regards,

Stuart.

 

I think it's usually better than off my satellite tuner or my Sony cheapo tuner, but it depends on the station ond the bit rate. I try to choose 128 stations but 64 is surprisingly OK too

You can browse, and also make the display text big, so that makes it very handy from a sitting position. The SB uses a simple remote with JVC-like IR commands.

Couldn't say but I use a DLink b router.

Yes, Slimserver has to be running somewhere to deliver the data to the SB. I have an old PC that runs all the time. The only alternative is to use a network drive that sort of has a built-in stripped down PC - called a NAS drive - but these are more expensive. I think LaCie make one, maybe a new Iomega too.