I thought I’d take a few minutes to provide a review of Logitech’s Squeezebox Duet product as I’ve had mine for over a year now and I still get frequent questions from people wanting to know whether I would recommend the product.

Click here to purchase your Logitech Squeezebox Duet

My Logitech Squeezebox Duet Setup.
I have a Squeezebox Duet and an additional receiver. For those of you not aware when you purchase the duet you get a receiver and a remote that allows you to control the receiver over wifi from anywhere in your home. The remote isn’t necessary as you can use your computer or even your phone to do so… but it does make controlling the system much easier. Personally I recommend that you purchase the remote as you plan to set up your system. As mentioned, I purchased a second receiver. One is attached to my stereo in the living room and the other is attached to speakers in the bedroom. They are controlled independently by the remote (or PC etc) and operate over wifi. Finally, I have a Thecus n4100pro NAS used to backup the computers in my home and to serve media. As such I’ve installed the Squeezecenter module for Thecus so that my mp3s can be played through each of the Squeezebox receivers.

Why Did They Choose Wifi?
As mentioned above the Squeezebox Duet operates using your home’s wifi network. This is nice as it allows the setup to easily communicate with other wifi-enabled hardware in your home. In my case that’s my NAS and the various computers that we use to control the Duet from time to time. Where wifi becomes an issue is the lag required to ‘reconnect’ to the network when you wake the Squeezebox remote from sleep. Compare this to your TV remote which operates immediately when you pick it up and the 5-10 second lag can be quite irritating. This is offset by the benefit of not requiring line-of-site to operate the receivers. Example: when you use your TV remote you can’t stray very far from the TV when changing channels etc. With the Squeezebox remote you would be in another room, on another floor and as long as the wifi signal is strong enough you can control the receiver.

Comments On The Interface
The user interface on the remote leaves a bit to be desired. With the most recent firmware update it has improved significantly, however it could get better. The ‘apps’ are somewhat limited and poorly integrated into the default UI requiring you to step through numerous levels in order to find that podcast you were looking for. Additionally the screen on the remote is pretty small compared to what we’re getting used to on smartphones.

One warning I have is with regard to firmware updates. I’ve experienced a few that were less than smooth and the online Customer Support leaves a bit to be desired. Fortunately there is a VERY active community of users that are willing to help out with questions and issues. Of late I’ve found this to be far more important for products like this than the actual company support.

My Logitech Squeezebox Duet Experience & Recommendation
To date I’m very happy with my purchase and would recommend it to others. The price is very reasonable for the amount of enjoyment we get from the product and when compared to competing products like the Sonos. I use my Squeezebox Duet every morning (it’s my alarm clock, waking me up to local news) and every night (I use the sleep function to help me on my way) and often in between. Before purchasing I expected to use it primarily to listen to mp3s and such, but in reality I hardly ever use it for that purpose. 99% of the time I use the Squeezebox to listen to internet radio stations or podcasts, both local and from around the world. It seems there’s nothing that’s not available through the massive repository of internet radio channels around the world.

Click here to purchase your Logitech Squeezebox Duet