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Roku Support was absolutely no help to me. I am streaming MP3's with a bit rate of 256 - 320kbps. Some of the nagging problems I experienced were Security Key issues and file sharing initiation. After going back and forth between the Squeezebox, Sonos, and Soundbridge I decided on the soundbridge mostly due to the "claimed" greater audio format compatibility.
The internet radio has a wealth of choices as far a genre goes, but there again the sound quality (even at the highest bit rate) is totally unacceptable to me.Another issue I've encountered is playing my WMA Lossless files. Additionally, I cannot play my purchased wma lossless files that have DRM. I had some issues with interference from other 2.4 GHz appliances and wanted to upgrade. However, I will say that the folks on the Roku Forums are extremely helpful. My soundbridge is connected to my library wirelessly via my linksys router, and to my stereo by optical connection.
So as of right now I am stuck with a sound quality that is totally unacceptable to me. The later I never could figure out but found a "work-around" by stopping and then restarting WMP file sharing in Control Panel. Without their assistance my unit would never have found my music library. After three weeks of tweaking and troubleshooting and hours and hours on the Roku forum I have thrown up my hands and given up on the Soundbridge.
I was previously streaming my Music Library from a Logitech Music System. Maybe a Cat 5 connection would improve the quality. I don't know, as that is not an option for me at this time. When I play those files the audio will frequently pause mid-song while the unit "rebuffers". I finally got the soundbridge to recognize my Music Library.Secondly, I must say I'm by no means an audiophile, but I am very dissatisfied with my sound quality coming out of my stereo. My wife says we now have a very attractive $150.00 Digital Clock.Since giving up on Roku, I've been playing my digital library through a USB connection on my OPPO which is connected to my receiver. Set-up was a challenge right from the start.
Those same MP3's sound so much better. After MANY hours of fiddling with setup. I find it very curious that there are not more complaints of poor sound quality in these reviews. This is irritating because I was under the impression that the soundbridge was the only player that could handle these files. I guess I will just have to live without Internet Radio until something better comes along.
4. Finally, as one other reviewer mentioned, found that 128-bit AAC encoding did not cut it when played back via a high-res setup.Pros: 1. I also tried playback from my computer via an Airport Express. I actually could not listen to the music via Airport Express anymore, it was comparatively like fingernails on a blackboard.I am also bummed to learn that this is the end of the line for this device and that I bought something the manufacturer is not investing in anymore. No cover art (although at this price point that would be a lot to expect). Firefly will transcode a FLAC file to.wav and if it is higher res will dither it down to 16 bits, so it is possible but not via the Roku out of the box.Comparing playback from iTunes via Airport Express connected to my DAC via Toslink to playback off my NAS via the Roku into the same DAC via true 75 ohm coax is night and day.
Good integration with Firefly (Roku collaborated on firefly and says it is the preferred music server for the Soundbridge) 4. Great sound when played via coax output to a good DAC 3. Nice small footprint, pretty inconspicuous on the shelf 5. Was very easy to program my Harmony 880 to control 6. I waited a couple weeks to write this review because I was at the same time working out issues with my music server (see my review of the DNS-321). User interface is pretty clunky, and while there are some freeware alternatives to control it via my computer, even those are pretty limited and *pale* in comparison with iTunes (not being critical of the freeware authors - they aren't spending millions in R&D.). 2.
3. Wireless is useless for high resolution formats like Apple Lossless or FLAC (although I may try again now that I have firefly running native on my DNS-321, as their iTunes server turned out to be quite slow). The best I have found so far is freeware VirtualRM. Very easy to set up and use 2. Will not play formats with resolution greater than 16/44.1 - even via digital out, Roku confirmed that it will not play 24/96kHz even though my DAC will accept it.
Open control protocol - they publish a protocol manual, and if you want can control it at a very low level via telnet, but what this does is make it possible for 3rd parties to write controller software. Cons: 1. Too bad - there are some great downloads out there in the higher res format. n Oh well, at the price its still the best networked playback head I can find.
Podcasts galore. This has expanded my musical world. Radio from anywhere. My whole library on the big stereo. Just an awesome device.
I don't own this product but another one from the same company - a Roku R1000 internet radio.We loved the product while it worked but recently the power supply died after less than 2 years. Of course it's out of warranty and the company won't even respond to questions on how to send it for repair. Look at http://forums.rokulabs.com and you will find many other customers with exactly the same problem - some of them are now talking about filing a class action lawsuit. Although my experience was with another one of their products, not this one, ask yourself: Would you want to buy a product from a company which has a track record of selling a faulty product and not making amends to their customers.
Roku SoundBridge M1001 is suitable for users who seek quality of PC audio but don't want to put your PC in front of your audio system. It has better sound quality than AirPort Express (in my environment, SoundBridge is connected to ethernet cable to PC and coaxial to DAC). If you are serious music listener, I recommend to change power adopter to more stabilized power source if you can get it. Also, Sound Bridge is good for controlling your iTune in front of your audio system rather than go back to your PC.
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