Latest 6 Reviews Here is what people are saying about the SoundBridge M1001 Network Music Player, MP3, 16MB
"Way better than wrestling with CDs"
2009-09-27
- Reviewed By User: A27O24ZHP9AZJC
After about 22 years of collecting Music CDs the physical act of selecting a CD to listen to and cleaning up the clutter the cases created was a huge burden. I had heard about using a media server to play all my CDs so I bought the Roku Soundbridge specifically for this purpose. This device will allow you to tame your CD collection with only a few computer hardware upgrades and the reward is so worth it. You will rediscover your music collection again and can instantly play any song, artist, composer, album or playlist you want. Here is what I did:
1. Using Windows Vista 32bit and Windows Media Player 11 with Media Connect enabled.
2. Added a 500gb internal hard drive as a dedicated music drive for my CDs.
3. Ripped all my CDs into WMA lossless format (My PC knew I was in a 'rip' mode so it would eject after the rip to start another CD).
4. Connected the Roku Soundbrige to my Onkyo Receiver via digital connection.
5. Allowed the Roku to connect to my home wi-fi network (WEP) and connect to the WMP 11 Library.
6. Play anything in your ripped-CD collection from the Roku remote in a high quality format (I listen on Klipsch Tower speakers and the sound quality is as good as the original CDs). FYI - I only use iTunes for my phone since the 128kps squashed file sounds terrible on my full-range system.
The ROku is not as sophisticated as the PC in making playlists but it is fun to ask it to play everyting with the word "Cry" in the title on a whim - you will be surprised how many songs fit that descrition. I also make my auto-playlists on WMP and the Roku can access any of these for song selection on demand.
So I would reccomend the ROku SOundbridge as a good choice for playing your lossless digital music on a system that is not connected to the PC.
"Great product turned into junk"
2009-09-27
- Reviewed By User: A3L6MVN0P7JB51
I just bought my second soundbridge. After I bought my first soundbridge I was enthusiastic about this product- it set up easily and allowed me to quickly tune into stations from all over the world and then store them in my presets so I could access them anytime.
My recently bought second soundbridge has a software "upgrade" that requires the use of a web based service ([...]) to store presets. In other words the new soundbridge needs a PC to store presets while the old one had this functionality built in. Presumably Roku thinks that it is more userfriendly if you can select your stations on the PC. Maybe so, if this feature would work reliably. Unfortunately I had nothing but trouble with it. Aside from the fact that you have to go through a registration process and a lengthy setup their server seems to be down a lot and I cannot access my presets at all. Without that finding and selecting statios becomes very time consuming and cumbersome. The new software pretty much turns a previously great product into a useless piece of junk. I hope that the folks at Roku realize that and at least give users the option of not using their web-based preset software.
"Great Device"
2009-09-14
- Reviewed By User: A2HGQ4DW8K9K59
I have had the original M1000 since about 2004 and have never seen a better product. It is very simple and works great. Sound quality and ease of use are perfect. Roku as a company provides constant updates and provides great customer service.
This unit is a great way to take your music stored on your PC and have it play in a bedroom, garage, basement, etc. Whole house music distribution systems used to be complex and pricey until Roku came along!
This is an overall good product, however, their support forum indicates the software will no longer be updated and the product will be discontinued. It would be hard to drop money on a product you know will not be supported in the near future. Just a word of caution.
"Disappointing"
2009-07-04
- Reviewed By User: A1GTDW2KLVLZ8H
I was previously streaming my Music Library from a Logitech Music System. I had some issues with interference from other 2.4 GHz appliances and wanted to upgrade. 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.
Set-up was a challenge right from the start. Some of the nagging problems I experienced were Security Key issues and file sharing initiation. The later I never could figure out but found a "work-around" by stopping and then restarting WMP file sharing in Control Panel . Roku Support was absolutely no help to me. However, I will say that the folks on the Roku Forums are extremely helpful. Without their assistance my unit would never have found my music library. After MANY hours of fiddling with setup. 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. I find it very curious that there are not more complaints of poor sound quality in these reviews. I am streaming MP3's with a bit rate of 256 - 320kbps. My soundbridge is connected to my library wirelessly via my linksys router, and to my stereo by optical connection. Maybe a Cat 5 connection would improve the quality? I don't know, as that is not an option for me at this time. So as of right now I am stuck with a sound quality that is totally unacceptable to me.
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. When I play those files the audio will frequently pause mid-song while the unit "rebuffers". Additionally, I cannot play my purchased wma lossless files that have DRM. This is irritating because I was under the impression that the soundbridge was the only player that could handle these files.
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. 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. Those same MP3's sound so much better. I guess I will just have to live without Internet Radio until something better comes along.
"Potential for greatness - too bad it will never be updated"
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). I also tried playback from my computer via an Airport Express. 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. Very easy to set up and use 2. Great sound when played via coax output to a good DAC 3. Good integration with Firefly (Roku collaborated on firefly and says it is the preferred music server for the Soundbridge) 4. Nice small footprint, pretty inconspicuous on the shelf 5. Was very easy to program my Harmony 880 to control 6. 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. The best I have found so far is freeware VirtualRM.
Cons: 1. 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. No cover art (although at this price point that would be a lot to expect). 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). 4. 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. Too bad - there are some great downloads out there in the higher res format. 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. 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. n Oh well, at the price its still the best networked playback head I can find.
Last updated: Nov 21, 2009 at 14:52 EST. Pricing information is provided by the listed merchants. GoSale.com is not responsible for the accuracy of pricing information, product information or the images provided. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on amazon.com or other merchants at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product. As always, be sure to visit the merchant's site to review and verify product information, price, and shipping costs. GoSale.com is not responsible for the content and opinions contained in customer submitted reviews.
"Way better than wrestling with CDs"
"Great product turned into junk"
"Good product .... Line will be discontinued"
"Disappointing"
"Potential for greatness - too bad it will never be updated"