ROKU Soundbridge M1000 Review

AndyOcUK

AndyOcUK

AndyOcUK

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:cool: ROKU Soundbridge M1000

Thought I'd post this review I've done for the website here....GREAT bit of kit!!

Firstly, these are ROKU players which Pinnacle have been granted licence to distribute in europe, hence the Pinnacle/ ROKU branding.

I have been using the Roku M1000 with the following for the past week

LINN LK1 PreAmp
LINN LK100 Power Amp
LINN Mimik CD
LINN Kan Mk 1 Speakers
LINN K20 Speaker Cable

This is my main HiFi and is set up downstairs with my PC upstairs.

Being a HiFi Nut I was very sceptical about the performance and sound quality of these types of devices but still took the plunge.
I have to say that the performance of this little device is astounding!

5 minutes to set up to my wireless router via Windows Media Connect.
5 Minutes to navigate the initial set up menu, Organise tracks, screen brightness, Font & Text size etc.

The sound quality is great but this clearly depends on the speakers and Hi-Fi kit its being connected to. It was a little behind my LINN Mimik CD deck with regard to separation but that's a £1K CD deck and this is a sub £160 Soundbridge so with that in mind, performance is fantastic at this price point.

+ VERY strong signal.
+ No Signal Droputs.
+ VERY fast at detecting tracks.
+ EXCELLENT display & Menu System.
+ Excellent, Intuitive, Stylish Remote.
+ Great Internet Radio - (PC doesn't need to be on for this to work)


Anyone pairing this up with a half decent HiFi will be over the moon with it. It also worked great in my kitchen over the weekend with some small powered PC speakers.

Does EXACTLY what it says on the tin! :D

In short.... Awesome.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/showproduct.php?prodid=AV-000-PI

AndyOcUK
OcUK Tech Dept :cool:
 
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I use a Squeezebox V3, similar in design. It's probably best to use the digital outputs into a DAC, as these devices perhaps have poor analogue stages compared to the very best CD players.
 
james.miller said:
wow new site again lol :o i weren't ready for that lol.



anyway hmmm...that's an interesting bit of kit for that price
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I love it. Being a music nut and Hi-Fi nut I was fully prepared to shout "CRAP" at the top of my voice and unplug it! :D

Its sounds great, its easy to set up, feature packed, looks good (IMHO) -and does exactly what it should and no more!

I've demo'd most of the others available at this price and below and none of them come close to this! :D
 
nice:) The name is confusing though. can you clarify this? as far as i can tell,the unit was called the roku m1001 but pinnacle produced their own called the m1000.

Also, does your unit have the built in wifi as the description doesnt speicify?
 
james.miller said:
nice:) The name is confusing though. can you clarify this? as far as i can tell,the unit was called the roku m1001 but pinnacle produced their own called the m1000.

Also, does your unit have the built in wifi as the description doesnt speicify?
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Yeah, the Pinnacle branding denotes "M1001".

Its the same player as far as I know and YES it definitely has the built in Wi-Fi as well as a standard RJ45 Port and the Toslink/ SPDIF Socket as well as the standard 3.5mm analogue stereo jack.
 
According to the Pinnacle specs it's max 48K sampling rate and only 16 bits, dynamic range of 90db and a 96db snr. THD -90db :(

If that sounds "close" to your Linn setup then you need to get your speakers serviced :)

Might be worth noting what music styles you streamed via it and provide information in the review that fully reflects the limitations of a compressed signal.
 
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MetA said:
According to the Pinnacle specs it's max 48K sampling rate and only 16 bits, dynamic range of 90db and a 96db snr. THD -90db :(

If that sounds "close" to your Linn setup then you need to get your speakers serviced :)

Might be worth noting what music styles you streamed via it and provide information in the review that fully reflects the limitations of a compressed signal.
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All my PC based music is high quality WMA 320KBps, Lossless MP3 (dbPoweramp)or FLAC Lossless.

I use an X-Fi Soundcard.

What you play music through is irrelevant if the source is poor.

The LINN Mimik I use is a 8 year old budget CD Deck £1K New(The LINN Sondek CD12 cost £20,000). Technology has moved on, especially in digital form.

The soundbridge sounds fantastic - simple as that.

(Though not as good as my LP12/ Ekos/ Arkiv setup! lol ;)
 
Oh no, you fell for the Linn "the source is all" BS from the 70s :)

Knew Ivor when he set up the company.
We used to run blind tests.
As engineers we also researched the actual signals. Linn created a "Linn sound" which they VERY successfully marketed as "right" :)

Would be helpful Andy to indicate which streaming formats you used in comparisons and MOST helpful for most readers if you used common MP3 formats.

BUT the analog output of the box is where all the snr and THD is coming from and it's pitiful for a decent "hi fi" enthusiast" setup. Hence the question on what types of music you were playing. You'll never notice harmonic distrortion on a rock electric guitar track :)

Keep the clairifications coming, I'm interested in one of these !!!!
 
BUT the analog output of the box is where all the snr and THD is coming from and it's pitiful for a decent "hi fi" enthusiast" setup. Hence the question on what types of music you were playing. You'll never notice harmonic distrortion on a rock electric guitar track Keep the clairifications coming, I'm interested in one of these !!!!
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See my above post regarding a DAC. The analogue output is than irrelevant, I would think something around £160 to be lacking in this area, so the DAC gets around the problem. One other person I know with a Squeezebox uses a DAC too.
 
MetA said:
Oh no, you fell for the Linn "the source is all" BS from the 70s :)

Knew Ivor when he set up the company.
We used to run blind tests.
As engineers we also researched the actual signals. Linn created a "Linn sound" which they VERY successfully marketed as "right" :)

Would be helpful Andy to indicate which streaming formats you used in comparisons and MOST helpful for most readers if you used common MP3 formats.

BUT the analog output of the box is where all the snr and THD is coming from and it's pitiful for a decent "hi fi" enthusiast" setup. Hence the question on what types of music you were playing. You'll never notice harmonic distrortion on a rock electric guitar track :)

Keep the clairifications coming, I'm interested in one of these !!!!
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I agree, but this is a £160 glorified MP3 player (to put it crassly).

My review merely states its great at its job - Its no Unidisk or CD12 for sure.

I don't have the time or equipment to measure results in the areas you are asking - all I can say is I've owned/ heard some great pieces of hi fi kit from the likes of LINN, Naim, Rotel, Macintosh etc and this little box, costing a mere £160, operates WELL BEYOND what it's price bracket should suggest.

It will never sound as good as a retail CD through a CD12/ Genki or an LP through an LP12 - it supports virtually any compressed music you throw at it and sounds great through my set up.

Played some Prince, Led Zepp, James Gang, Donny Hathaway, Wilson Picket, Massive Attack, New Order et al - all sound great to me but they are all max quality MP3s. Did play a couple of MP3's from ages ago that were poor quality downloads and ,to be honest, they sound as appalling as you'd expect.

Trust me and try one!
 
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squiffy said:
See my above post regarding a DAC. The analogue output is than irrelevant, I would think something around £160 to be lacking in this area, so the DAC gets around the problem. One other person I know with a Squeezebox uses a DAC too.
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yeah S, that would make a difference.

Andy's doesn't have a seperate DAC output he could utilise. The Mimik was a pretty "cheap" Linn ( We did their RFI and EMI testing in our chambers :) ).

Hence why if "guiding" readers with reviews it is important to ensure apples are being compared. Comparing a £150 all-in-a-box DAC with a seperate is BIG difference. Someone spending £150 and expecting it to sound as good as your setup will be disappointed.

Anyhwere have comparisons of the Squeezevbox ?
 
MetA said:
yeah S, that would make a difference.

Andy's doesn't have a seperate DAC output he could utilise. The Mimik was a pretty "cheap" Linn ( We did their RFI and EMI testing in our chambers :) ).

Hence why if "guiding" readers with reviews it is important to ensure apples are being compared. Comparing a £150 all-in-a-box DAC with a seperate is BIG difference. Someone spending £150 and expecting it to sound as good as your setup will be disappointed.

Anyhwere have comparisons of the Squeezevbox ?
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I merely listed my setup to avoid the "yeah, but what are you playing it through" questions. I also stated that I played it through my 2.0 computer speakers (http://www.creative.com/products/product.asp?category=4&subcategory=28&product=14299).

This is all I had to test it with..... I bought it, this is what I play it through. It sounds great. Surely someone who listens to his music through a Hi-Fi (in the true sense of the word) would have an idea about sound quality? That's all I can say - the LINN "Sound" is down to the listener - love or hate - simple as that. I can only say that I think it sounds great (for the money) and I'm over the moon with it.

I have heard a squeezebox but its really difficult to "score" one compared with the Roku without playing it through the same Hi-Fi with the same audio files. Both do their job well.

Don't know what else to say folks.... just thought I'd pass on my opinion, didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition (lol) [Cue Python quotes......] ;) :D
 
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MetA said:
yeah S, that would make a difference.

Andy's doesn't have a seperate DAC output he could utilise. The Mimik was a pretty "cheap" Linn ( We did their RFI and EMI testing in our chambers :) ).
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It has a Toslink/ SPDIF - You could run this through an external DAC (e.g. Numerik?

I did state that the Mimik is a budget deck! :D ;) :)
 
Hi mate, thank god you are here, they are tearing me to pieces LOL!

Got an Arkiv! :D

What u suggets, a LINTO?

Can't stray too far from topic - Seriously, these little Roku/ Pinnacle Soundbridges really are great for the money! I'm really happy with it! :)

AndyOcUK
 
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