Audio players are electronic devices that play and stores songs, videos, and images so that listeners can listen to them and see them any time they want at their convenience.
Data are stored on CDs, DVDs and flash drives. In today’s world, flash drives are preferred because it is portable and easy to carry.
Various types of audio players are present in the market that, consists of MP3 players and online streaming audio programs. Two companies manufacture audio products and are famous. They are Sonos and Squeezebox.
Key Takeaways
- Sonos and Squeezebox are multi-room music systems allowing users to stream music from various sources.
- Sonos uses a closed system, which means users are limited to using Sonos products only. Squeezebox uses an open system that allows users to stream music from any source connected to the device.
- Squeezebox offers more customization options than Sonos, allowing users to tweak the sound quality and personalize their listening experience.
Sonos vs Squeezebox
Sonos is a brand of wireless multi-room audio system that allows a user to play music in different rooms of their home. It is simple to setup and has a user-friendly app. Squeezebox is a wireless music streaming device. It uses Wi-Fi to stream music from a computer or network-attached storage drive.
Sonos is an American company founded in the year 2000. It is known for manufacturing different types of audio products and is famous for its numerous room audio products.
Sonos has partnered with various companies to offer its music services. The companies include Spotify, MOG, QQ Music, iHeartRadio, Pandora, and Amazon Music.
It works with all three assistants, i.e., Apple Siri, Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. Sonos company has launched eight powerful speakers.
Squeezebox was originally introduced in the year 2001. It is a network of music players. Squeezebox was originally named SliMP3 by Slim Devices. Various models followed Squeezebox.
It was released after two years by Slim devices.
Then the company acquired Logitech in 2006. Squeezebox was released in various versions like Squeezebox, Squeezebox2, Squeezebox Classic, Squeeze Box, Squeezebox Duet, Squeezebox Radio, Squeezebox Touch etc.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Sonos | Squeezebox |
|---|---|---|
| Feature | Doesn’t have a touchscreen. | Have a touchscreen facility. |
| Price | Expensive | Cheaper |
| Reliability | Easy to set up and works efficiently. | It freezes and requires a firmware update. |
| Requirement | requires the first ZonePlayer | computer to be turned on |
| Power | High-quality built-in tweeters and subwoofer | Low-quality tweeters and subwoofers. |
What is Sonos?
Sonos company offers eight powerful speakers, among which two soundbars, ARC and BEAM, a sound television system PLAYBASE, a subwoofer (Sub), and five smart speakers, Move, Roam, One, One SL, and Play.
Sonos company was created keeping in mind to create a wireless service.
It was founded by four people in 2002, i.e., John MacFarlane, Craig Shelburne, Tom Cullen, and Trung Mai/ Sonos began to make its prototypes and products and to bring them to various industry-related events.
In 2005, Sonos announced its former product line in the United Kingdom to be on sale.
In 2012, Sonos opened its first-ever studio in Los Angeles, and an art gallery was also there where art and Sonos products were exhibited for free.
It also had various events with famous artists, and a video was also shown about the development of Sonos. In 2004, Sonos launched its first product, a Digital Music Player with two parts controller and Zone Player.
Then various versions of ZonePlayer were launched. Sonos supported outside services as well, like Rhapsody from 2006, without the use of a PC.
Sonos devices support Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa. But Apple’s Siri is only supported in Sonos Apple devices. The logo of the Sonos is a palindrome word making it a rotational word that can be pronounced from any side.
Sonos had its headquarters in California. Around the world, 12 offices of Sonos are operating independently. Sonos is very easy to set up and is reliable.
The engineers of Sonos have made it so convenient that it is the best. It just requires to be plugged and then it can be played.
What is Squeezebox?
The first Squeezebox version was SliMP3 in 2001, which was the first generation f Logitech. It is free and open-source software. This version only supports MP3 format.
The second-generation Squeezebox was named SB1 to avoid confusion with the earlier generation. The display of SB1 was similar to SliMP3.
SB! Included additional features like WiFI support and supported in other audio formats like PCM/WAV/AIFF audio streams and headphones, coaxial and optical S/PDIF outputs.
Squeezebox had another version which was upgraded with different features and options.
One of the latest versions of Squeezebox is the squeezebox touch, launched in 2010.
It has features like a colour touchscreen, contains a playlist of 100 songs, can play the songs stored on a USB disk or memory card, supports USB digital output, the latest version of the software supports 16 and 24-bit sampling rates etc.
The radio version of Squeezebox, i.e. UE Smart Radio, is very much the same as Squeezebox Radio with a simplified interface. But it was discontinued in 2014.
Squeezebox is meant for high-tech users. Because a lot of set-up is required, occasionally freezing and firmware updates can be seen on it. The computer needs to be on the whole time when the squeezebox is playing the songs or is functional.
The Squeezebox price is lower than the Sonos. It depends upon the type of Squeezebox you are going to purchase. It offers some good features with tweeters and subwoofers.
Main Differences Between Sonos and Squeezebox
- Sonos originally doesn’t have the feature of a touchscreen. But recently, it was added to it. Squeezebox, from its first version, only had a touchscreen feature.
- The price of Sonos is 3-4 times higher than the Squeezebox. Squeezebox is cheaper.
- Sonos is very easy to set up because it requires plugging and play. While Squeezebox is for high-tech users, it freezes a lot and, at times, needs to be updated.
- Sonos requires the first ZonePlayer to play the song without turning the computer on. To make Squeezebox functional, a computer needs to be turned on.
- Sonos comes with High-quality built-in tweeters and a subwoofer. Squeezebox has low-quality tweeters and subwoofers.
- https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/abstract/document/6038737/
- http://www.aes.org/e-lib/online/browse.cfm?elib=17302
Last Updated : 14 October, 2023
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Sandeep Bhandari holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Computers from Thapar University (2006). He has 20 years of experience in the technology field. He has a keen interest in various technical fields, including database systems, computer networks, and programming. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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