Squeezebox replacement?

April 29, 2024 5:25 PM

I have a Logitech Squeezebox Radio that’s 15 years old and needs to be replaced. Any recommendations for "recently" released alternatives with the same functionality? One button music (after setup) is a requirement. Thanks for your help.
posted by FerrisWren to Technology (8 answers total)

My two squeezebox touches recently died. I didn't find anything perfect to replace them with, so I ended up using a raspberry pi running Pi Core Player. I did not put a screen on it, since I mostly just had been using the iPeng app for control anyway, but apparently it supports a bunch of different touch screens, with some kind of interface. IDK what exactly one button music is, but this probably doesn't do that out of the box. It looks like there's docs on how to control it with physical buttons, but it's pretty DIY, and IDK how hard it would be to actually get working.

Here's someone* who built one into a speaker or something, and got physical controls working.

* From the url it looks like that was actually done by the author of iPeng, that app I use. Huh.
posted by aubilenon at 5:56 PM on April 29 [3 favorites]

I stuck it out as long as I could, with Raspberry Pi Touch units running Max2Play to emulate Squeezeboxen. Eventually I migrated to Sonos One SLs and Fives as well as soundbars on my TVs and have no regrets. All have a "Play" button on the unit itself. This is a recent AskMe thread asking a very a similar question about the sunset of the Logitech Squeezebox Radio.
posted by eschatfische at 6:38 PM on April 29

I also have a Logitech Squeezebox that is now just a clock since they shut down the service last month. And the clock is drifting :)

I suppose I might tackle the home-grown server solution, as seen in eschatfische's "recent" link above. But I might not ever get to it, and if a replacement device is identified in this thread I'll probably just buy that instead.

I suppose a screen isn't mandatory, but I really liked the six preset buttons that we had set to a few great streaming stations. Sonos doesn't do that, and OMG I sure hate having to open up my damn phone to do everything -- and voice control. I refuse to get sucked into the Google / Amazon world, or if that ended up being the only choice I'd only consider it if there was a way to cripple it (e.g. cut the mic). So demanding!

From the previous thread, at first glance this looks like a winner: "You want a Grace Digital. Does all the things. I've had several and really like them. They sound really nice too." https://gracedigital.com/collections/radios-tuners-amps
posted by intermod at 8:48 PM on April 29

If it's because they're shutting down squeezebox.com, then I heartily recommend running a local server instead. I installed one on a Raspberry Pi (model 4B) a few weeks ago, and it's running very nicely indeed.
posted by vincebowdren at 2:54 AM on April 30 [1 favorite]

If it's because they're shutting down squeezebox.com

I was the software UI engineer for the Squeezebox Radio, and we just had a virtual reunion with most of us in attendance to pour one out for the mandated shutdown of mysqueezebox.com (as of a few weeks ago it is now officially OFF). It's been 13 years since they killed the physical product, we still all keep in touch. It was a hell of a ride.
posted by mcstayinskool at 7:02 AM on April 30 [20 favorites]

I still haven't got round to setting up my Raspberry Pi to run as a Squeezebox server, but 100% I don't think I'll find a better replacement for my Squeezeboxes (1×Boom, 2×Radios), so that's definitely my plan.
posted by ambrosen at 8:56 AM on April 30

The server has is still under active development, and has recently been renamed to Lyrion. The website does list a number of different player options. I'm down to a single working Boom, but I also use SB Player on an old android device with audio-out to an amp.
posted by Runes at 6:43 PM on April 30

Response by poster: Thanks everyone for your help. I’m still on the fence. Considering going back to an old FM radio that’s around here somewhere and sticking with NPR classical. Not confident in long-term viability. E.g. Sonos bricking kerfuffle. And some Grace units lasted less time than the Squeezebox even though released more recently. https://gracedigital.com/pages/upgrade

(Thank you, mcstayinskool, for many hours of music.)
posted by FerrisWren at 11:04 AM on May 5