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.

The Transporter isn't cheap, but its fairly priced for all it does. The server software it relies on integrates cleanly with iTunes if desired, but is perfectly capable of standing alone without iTunes. The controls and menus are logically organized, making it easy to use. I rip all my music lossless, and had been very happy with the Squeezebox3 also made by Logitech. Stepping up from the Squeezebox3 to the Transporter was like someone cleaning out my ears, and that says a fair bit as the Squeezebox is no slouch in its own right. Installing the server software and configuring the Transporter is very straightforward if you are familiar with home networking, and setting up a wireless access point. The internal DAC is quite respectable, and the Transporter's single-ended, balanced, and digital outputs will allow it to reside in your system for years to come as you upgrade the rest of your system to keep up with it. My only regret is not having bought it sooner.

it's sound amazing, like real hifi :) love the look. It's easy to use and everything is so elegant . And you can remote it with android or iOS.

I bought a used Transporter a few days ago. Even though I didn’t buy it on Amazon, it may be interesting for someone to read my review. It may seem absurd, but this old Transporter sounds better today than when it hit the market 10 years ago! Why might you ask? Because the Transporter is a network player. Its performance depends not just on the Transporter itself but also on the other components in the system and on their integration. The software, i.e. the Squeezebox Server and the plugins, were constantly improved. The same for the NAS, where the server is running. There is a general agreement on the web that resource consuming processes, like upsampling and convolution (because of room correction) should run on the server, whereas the player should do nothing but send the converted stream signal to the speakers. In this configuration, i.e. upsampling to 94/24 and room correction on an Atom processor Synology NAS, the Transporter sounds very neutral and revealing. Not just the instruments find their place from the left to the right on the acoustic scene. The rendering is 3-dimensional, having in some recordings the instruments placed on different layers. It places the performance directly in the room. After 10 years the Transporter is still state of the art audio equipment. The Transporter is now vintage as well with its design and the eye catching VU meter display. And because it was the first to start the HiFi network-revolution, by owning the Transporter I became part of the history of audio reproduction. My final assessment is clear: five stars. PS: With the Squeezebox server plugins you can play almost everything: Spotify, Tidal, streaming radio, DSD audio files, etc. There is also a very nice app, iPeng, that turns your mobile phone in a remote control for the Transporter.