Squeezebox 3 vs Apple Tv vs ?

[tpirovol]

Hi Everyone,

I was just wondering if someone could guide me to which product I should purchase. My main concern is audio quality everything else is just a bonus. This unit will be hooked up to a Rotel receiver with B&W speakers.

Most of my files are flac but can be converted to whatever is needed

Thanks Terry

[Armbender]

My set-up
Display - Samsung HLP 5685W
Reciever - Rotel 1056
Speakers - B&W 604 S3 Series LCR 600
Sub - SVS PC Ultra
Amp - Emotiva XPA-5
Source - AppleTV, Wii, Pioneer 51fd BluRay, Bell 9241 HD PVR
Cables - Cat & AudioQuest

First Experience with the AppleTv was ..WOW..this is pretty cool. Very easy to set-up very user friendly, picture quality and sound quality is top notch.

Then I went to Sync the AppleTv again to update my photos. This was not so much fun. It took 2 weeks for me to work out all of the bugs. Come to find out it was simply an outdated version of the program "Bonjour" which runs in conjunction with I-Tunes. It was a huge headache up until the day I fixed it.

Now my family is in love with it. The High Def movies that are available to download are great. I suggest getting the 160GB version if this is the route you do happen to choose. I do however wish there was a setting to select 2ch for Music and 5.1ch for the Movies in which you rent or buy from I-tunes. I can do it manually on my remote but I would like this feature to be automatically detected. (Only downfall)

The unit does run very hot as it is "on" at all times. It was compatible with my Harmony ONE remote so I didnt require using the tiny, very tiny, remote the accompanies this unit.

Overall
9/10 (only due to the frustration I went through at the beginning)

[Martyn]

I'm not sure how these are really comparable. I don't know anything about the Apple Tv, but the SB3 is an audio streamer (no video).

If audio is all you need, the SB3 is fine and will play your FLAC files. I use mine on my second system, but plan on buying another to use on my main system. You can get into the debates on SB versus Transporter, SB with external DAC, SB with expensive mods, and so on, but the sound quality out of the base unit is pretty good to my ears.

[iiaudio]

I can't say enough about my SB3. The sound quality, using FLAC or Apple Lossless, blows away my Denon 2910. Even the CD layer of SACDs sound better on the SB than the SACD layer on the Denon.

[tpirovol]

Can anyone comment on the audiquality of the appleTV?

[wettou]

Can anyone comment on the audiquality of the appleTV?

Very nice but don't pull the trigger just yet the New Apple TV is coming soon Apple completed an extensive survey of customers to find out what people want :B

[Isaac]

Apple TV audio quality is not bad if you use the digital connection. I would not even try using the analog stereo output, the D/A converter in the ATV is not very good. As for the TV shows or movies the DD sound is just about DVD quality.

[tpirovol]

Is there an estimated time frame around the new Apple TV? How is the analog out on the SB3?

[mjb]

AppleTV audio quality is bit perfect if you use a lossless format and a digital connection. With AAC the quality is also pretty darn good.

One advantage of the ATV is it can sync with your music collection (via iTunes) so the server doesn't have to stay on. I had SqueezeBox's before, and even with a good wireless network connection drop outs were a constant problem (neighbors microwaves?), I also had a server running 24/7. Not an issue with ATV.

Not being in the States, I can't rent iTunes movies, which would add more value to the AppleTV, but I'm more than happy just using my ATV's for music. It is my primary source.

[btf1980]

I can't say enough about my SB3. The sound quality, using FLAC or Apple Lossless, blows away my Denon 2910. Even the CD layer of SACDs sound better on the SB than the SACD layer on the Denon.

How is this even possible?

[cdika17]

subscribed, in same situation.

[iiaudio]

How is this even possible?

Better d/a converters will win every time.

[sikoniko]

You may also want to consider a Sonos. I was looking at the squeezebox vs sonos and I went Sonos. It excels at multi-room stuff. I have one in the living room and one in the theater room and I can control both zones with my iPhone or iTouch. My wife loves it, as it is easy for her to use. I connected the one in the living room to our b&w zeppelin. she mainly listens to Pandora.

[btf1980]

Better d/a converters will win every time.

Are you running an external dac with the squeezebox? Or a digital connection to your preamp?

What connections did you use with the Denon?

[iiaudio]

Are you running an external dac with the squeezebox? Or a digital connection to your preamp?

What connections did you use with the Denon?

Analog outs out of both.

When I compared both units (I level matched them through a Midas XL88 matrix mixer), the SB3 playing an Apple Lossless file ripped from the CD layer of a SACD had a little more of everything (wider soundstage, depth & punch) than the SACD layer from the Denon. It was subtle but the difference was there on multiple SACDs.

This was totally a shock to me. When I purchased the SB3, my purpose for it was just background music and I'd use the Denon for active listening. After the test I had to go back and re-rip all my discs to Apple Lossless. (what a pain in the ass, I knew I should have done it in the first place)

Though now I'm toying with the idea of going to FLAC. With DbPoweramp you can rip and decode HDCDs to 24bit FLAC files so you can get the full HDCD experience (you get a few useless bits, I believe a decoded HDCD track is only 20 or 22 bits). For some reason, you can't stream a 24 bit Apple Lossless file to the SB.