Since the introduction of the first MP3 player by Eiger Labs MPMan followed by Diamond Multimedia’s Rio 300 the portable audio market has been one of the fastest growing markets of present times. And now with the recent popularity of NAS systems portable audio streaming media players are making quite an impression among consumers. Manufactures such as DLINK, Archos, Roku-Labs are all well known for producing WIFI enabled network media players but today we take a look at Logitech’s Squeezebox version 3 which has been getting rave reviews from everyone around.
The Squeezebox is actually designed by a company called Slim Devices, which was recently acquired by Logitech. The Squeezebox is essentially is a miniature type of PC interface with a DAC unit built into it. In a nutshell the main functionality of the squeezebox is its capability to stream music from your PC or any NAS device through a stereo system.
Since Logitech bought over Slim Devices it seems as if they have done a few cosmetic changes to the early version of this unit. Lets take a look at it’s specifications before going onto more detail.
Specifications
Audio Outputs
Audio outputs (general)
Digital and analog outputs
All RCA connectors are gold-plated
Volume control is provided for all outputs
Multiple outputs may be used at the same time
Analog RCA outputs
High fidelity Burr-Brown 24-bit DAC
Two dedicated linear power regulators for DAC and line-out stages
Full 6.0Vpp line-level signals
Signal-to-noise ratio: over 100dB
Total harmonic distortion: less than -93.5dB (0.002%)
Digital S/PDIF outputs
Optical and coax digital connections
Dedicated high-precision crystal oscillators (no PLL, no resampling)
Standard IEC-958 (S/PDIF) encoding
Optical connector: TOSLINK 660nm
Coax connector: RCA, 500mVpp into 75 ohms
Sample rates: 44.1Khz, 48Khz
Audio format: linear PCM, 16 or 24 bits per sample
Intrinsic jitter: less than 50ps (standard deviation)
Headphone output
Standard 1/8" jack also functions as an IR blaster
