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Squeezebox analog volume control users: A warning...

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gbeard

(R)

My Squeezebox somehow became corrupted and would distort loudly AND BYPASS THE VOLUME CONTROL. So if you are driving your amp directly and using the built-in volume control, beware that it can (don't know how) become disabled. I shut it down and updated the firmware and all is again rosy in computer audio-land!
Its a brave new world, be careful out there!

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Re: that's a risk with any software volume control - mls-stl 05:59:27 09/02/06 (6)
and many pieces of modern equipment that use remote controls adjust the volume in a similar manner. Of course, mechancial pots and even stepped controls can suffer a parts failure or malfunction that will send either excessive volume or other wanted signals straight to an amp. Nothing is 100% fail-safe in this regard.
- Yep - J.Mac 07:06:58 09/02/06 (5)
  And it's a well-known problem with the Squeezebox.
  - Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... - gbeard 11:44:21 09/02/06 (4)
    And it has caused me great grief. I usually I have my Audiotropic Moebius ahead of it and only use the volume control to bump up or down a step or two from my chair. But I had a newly rebuilt amp that I was unsure of and took my preamp out to check it. Boy did I get some serious bad stuff happening--nearly blew out my speakers. Rebooted and updated the firmware and all is fine again.
    G
    - Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... - SoftwireEngineer 15:18:01 09/02/06 (3)
      Can you share with us your firmware and server version #s ?
      I am running 55 and 6.3.1 and my SB3 distorts on some flacs made by Media Monkey. It is okay with the flac generated by EAC/Flac integration. I am wondering whether a firmware upgrade will fix any incompatibility on the flac end .
      (BTW, Thanks for writing a nice article on SB2, appreciative as well as realistic expectation setting).
      - Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... - gbeard 18:29:50 09/02/06 (2)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... posted by SoftwireEngineer on September 2, 2006 at 15:18:01:
        
        Thanks for the kind words, I appreciate someone noticing!
        I too am using 55 and 6.3.1, I am using APL & .wav files. I have notice some files distort or go white noise every so often, however I have never (to my knowledge) had the volume control become a pass-through. I will be ever vigilant from now on. The good news is that I still believe my (now RWA modded) SB2 to be one of the real audio bargains of the last few years. Even modded it is still cheaper that a lot of the "entry-level" high end players.
        I guess I can forgive my SB2 for its transgressions... ;)
        
        Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... - SoftwireEngineer 16:10:08 09/04/06 (1)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... posted by gbeard on September 2, 2006 at 18:29:50:
        
        Thanks for the reply. I suggest you should take up the Panasonic XR55/57 in bi-amped mode(when six amps are driving a stereo set of speakers) for review sometime. I am driving a pair of Silverline SOnatina's with it and it is pretty transparent. Sort of straight wire with gain. I can tell the difference between my MMF/Monolithic sound Phono, my philips 963sa or the SB3 very well.
        
        Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... - gbeard 18:50:25 09/04/06 (0)
        
        In Reply to: Re: Yeah, tis a problem fer sure... posted by SoftwireEngineer on September 4, 2006 at 16:10:08:
        
        I have a XR45 based multichannel system connected to my computer and Pioneer 578A. It sounds pretty good too!
        Cheers!

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