Logitech Transporter Network Music Player (Silver)

First off let me say that I have had been using slim devices/logictech products for 5 years as my DAR's (Digital Audio Receiver). I have 3 Squeezebox 3's (classics), so I have known about the Transporter for quite some time. Several other audio compaines have jumped on the digital audio bandwagon in recent years and a few are more popular than the slim device brand. Slim device was the first to put out a high quality product to set the standard for others to follow/live up to. The Transporter is on par with a pair of MJ classic Air Jordans, there are many other shoes out there but none are the original Air Jordans. And this is were the Transporter stands out, the build quality of this unit is old school HiFi, with brush metal case housing real audio components. It fits with the audiophile mindset with it faux rack mounts, along with the futrue look of the digital display. The Transporter has more input/output connections than most AVR's, and when was the last time you seen XLR balance/unbalance connection on a piece of audio gear. Now that is true retro connectifitive.Since I already had squeezeboxes up and running, I had no issues adding this jewel to the mix. It locked on to my home network and BAM! life was good. I slide it into my rack and used the old school display setting of the analog meters (looks better on this than on the smaller display face of the classic models)and used a raw ripped (uncompressed) file to use as my sound test. The top end was clear and crisp, the bottom end was tight and precise. The Transporter transcoded the raw WAV file into a FLAC file. If you are familair with the Slim Divice server software you know that this piece of gear can do all the things that the Duet, Touch and the older Classic models can do. The place where this gear raises the bar is playing back your stored collection.

Logitech is no longer supporting this product so purchase with caution. Although they say that there is a warranty, they have no repair facility for them. If there is a problem Logitech will send out a new Transporter. If they run out of them prior to the end of the warranty, good luck! There is a forum for this information at forums dot slimdevices dot com. Slimdevices was a cool company. Too bad for the consumer when it was bought by Logitech.

I would not consider this product with many other options available now both high end and lower. Logitech no longer supports

I am very disappointed that these Transporters (original or SE) do not support USB storage input. USB storages, such as flash drives and external portable hard drivers are the most convenient places to store and retrieve music files. I hope the next generation of Transporter will support USB technology. It may be the Transporter II? Please ask Logitech.

I've owned my Transporter for nearly 5 years now, and while I definitely paid too much for it back then, it has proven to be my favorite piece of audio equipment. It's reliable and sounds great. The DAC is amazing and the connection options are impressive. My only complaints deal with the Squeezebox Server software for the Mac which is clunky and non-intuitive (that's a word, right?). If you own this, or any other Logitech Internet radio equipment, you should really get the iPeng app. It's a great way to control the device from your iPad or phone. I love this device and it's still running strong.

Most electronic hardware is a snap to set up, why waste time reading the manuals. However the Transporter is different in that respect. The brief manual included with the unit is out of date regarding computer software names and links. I was thrown at first getting my pc server to release the data being read. Adding a few custom settings in my (C.A.)software firewall remedied that problem. The firewall settings are actually mentioned in the manual....go figure? So I cannot stress strongly enough to (RTMD!...Read The Manual Dummy!) There is some very knowledgable info about the Transformer at wikipedia.org, the Logitech site is useful for basic system software and a few FAQ's. Do yourself a favor and write down all ip settings for future reference. The use groups at wikipedia are where you'll find the fun stuff. Start a folder on your PC and save all links to it. Confused by what I've just written, than you'll need a trusted friend with a bit above average computer skills and a free afternoon, or be prepaired to pay someone to do your setup for you. If either of these is going to be the case than you might want to reconsider purchasing this unit. This system is not designed for the impatient. As with most all high-end gear, source is very important (GIGO). I've noticed nuances unheard before in a numberof my chosen reference recordings, as well as previously unnoticed distortions. Audio listening being subjective makes one wonder if hearing such is due to the critical listening of the moment or the new gear. Or could it be that we desire to hear new subtleties after dropping a decent chunk of change on a new toy. Is it a combination of these things or none of them. From where I sit I'm going with the new box and a bit higher resolution included therein. It makes the fun, funner, the good, gooder and the hey! I never noticed Coltrane bumping the mic stand on that or was that a squeek from Charlie Byrd's chair. To me its akin to putting a new stylus on your favorite cartridge. The Transformer runs on an open source platform and some of the the tweaks written by use group members are nice additions to the unit. My wife really enjoys having the local weather data available at a glance. Before you get into the tweaks have the overall system operation down pretty well. I've found it best to backup the PC settings before doing any tweaking to be able to undo easily. The remote that comes with the Transformer does not have a display and is line of sight only. This can be annoying for general listening. After a few weeks I went ahead and bought a Squeezebox Duet system to gain a remote with display and non line of sight control. I put the Duet receiver out in my workshop. This really allows you to do some cool stuff, you can sync the music on the players or have them run independently. This also allows you to use the remote controller as a third unit via it's 1/8" headphone jack or with adapter cables to plug it into another system as well. It can also be in sync. with the other units or independent of them. The Transformer remote takes standard batteries, the Squeezebox remoteis rechargable with station include. The Squeezebox remote is also very customizable in both function and appearance. Adding the Squeezebox unit did cost more money, however the ability to program and operate the Transformer was greatly increased with this upgrade to the system. It is also possible to program many system settings of the Transporter via your computer, your offered plenty of built in redundancy. You have your choice of using the front panel buttons, the remote control or the computer interface. It is possible to program and control music via computer, plus compatability with WinAmp. There is a Java based software emulator that some may like also. The unit auto updates it's own firmware, software seems to be updated on a regular basis too. I'm really not going to get into the web audio streaming functions. There are limitless choices here both free and pay to play. Your dealing with low bit-rate streams in most cases, there is quite a good world wide station search functionto use. I've used the optical line in feature to do a bit of A/B testing between CD's and Lossless streams and really have heard no discernable difference in sound quality between them. There are also options that will connect you to web based music databases, Amazon.com, and also Bio and Discog search abilities plus plenty more bells and whistles to boot. It is very hard to not go on and on about the Transporter, as mentioned it is a piece of gear that demands patience. Being somewhat past the half-century mark I may not fully utilize some of the available functions offered herein. I do however thoroughly appreciate having those choices made available. To be able to either Set It and Forget It, or to be transported into an entirely new audio adventure. Steve S. Fort Worth, Tx* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * *June 5th, 2012 addition to original post* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * The Transporter I purchased and reviewed is slightly different than the model now being sold. The newerSE model does not have the front panel function buttons. I'm sure this is a cost cutting measure by Logitech. I believe that to be the only difference in the slightly lower priced SE model. All of the functions are mirrored on the supplied remote control. I seldom if ever use the front panel buttons on my unit, so I see nothing lost in the newer SE, plus the advantage of a few hundred dollar savings. I would urge anyone interested in this product to check out the user forums at ([...]). The vendors selling the newer unit need to change the pictures in their ads.Steve S.

Doesnt support Spotify or have work around or upgrade... A major disapointment. The volume also very low via XLR. The DAC sounds clean perhaps too digital sounding.