Digital Trends

Roku SoundBridge M2000 December 14th, 2004 | by Ian Bell

Testing and Performance

We setup our media server with the following server software: SlimServer, iTunes and Windows Media Player 10. The SoundBridge performed well using all three software servers. Each server software package seemed to have its advantages and disadvantages. We thought the Windows Media Connect and Media Player 10 interfaces were the easiest to use for most operations as long as the files were not encoded in AAC, Ogg or other non-Microsoft support formats. iTunes has better support for Internet radio stations than Media Player 10 and support more Apple audio formats. But iTunes will not allow you to play protected music through the SoundBridge. SlimServer has perhaps the best overall compatibility with all music formats, and it has the best Internet radio support. But the interface and compatibility with the SoundBridge remote control is probably not as polished as Apple's and Microsoft's software. The fact that the SoundBridge is compatible with all three software programs shows just how versatile the player truly is.

The remote control that comes with the SoundBridge is similar to the one that comes with Roku's HD1000 picture and audio player; with a few extra buttons. We like the minimalist design of the remote control, but there are some necessary functions that are missing such as fast forward/rewind but for the most part the remote control works well and looks attractive.

In our music playback tests, the SoundBridge sounded very good. Depending on the bit rate which our music was encoded at, it was sometimes hard to distinguish whether it was an audio file or a CD playing. In one specific test the SoundBridge had a touch time playing back Cafe Del Mar Volume 8. which was ripped at 192Kbps using Windows Media Connect; the music would drop out for a couple seconds at a time. Switching to iTunes or SlimServer seemed to fix the problem from what we can tell. It may be a badly encoded song on our end. But 99% of the time the SoundBridge worked flawlessly. We were able to have 4 networked computers in use with the SoundBridge playing without any interruptions.

One minor gripe we had was that some songs were louder than others. With a music library of over 4000 songs, the loudness could be due to the format, bit rate the song was encoded at, or the audio levels when the song was encoded. It would be cool if Roku includes a normalizing feature in future firmware updates to keep the audio levels the same across songs.

Conclusion

The Roku SoundBridge is the best looking networked media player we have seen to-date. It is incredibly easy to setup and is compatible with a large number of music services and server software. If Roku had added the ability to play shared drives or folders on your network, our score would have been an 9 instead of an 8. We find absolutely no reason for them to leave this feature out.

For the novice user we would like to see Roku package either their own software or a CD/DVD with the server software they recommend. And because the SoundBridge does not search your network for shared drives and folders, you are forced to use 3^rd party software in order to get the unit up and running. This can be unnecessarily complicated for someone with little computer experience. The SoundBridge also has a tough time streaming Internet music, it depends on the server software you are using, making the overall package feel a little incomplete.

For the more advanced user however, the SoundBridge opens the door to a large number of possibilities. Some server software allows you to even modify the way your SoundBridge display looks and operates.

The Roku team is constantly updating the firmware of the SoundBridge ensuring that you get the latest features and support for music services. You can get support and answers to your questions either over the phone or in their message boards, in both instances we found their support staff to be very generous.

If you have an audio system that you want to show off, the Roku SoundBridge is the perfect way to do so. The M2000 and M1000 are nearly identical with exception to their sizes. So if you want to save $150 dollars or simply want a smaller unit, we would recommend that you go with the M1000. For us however, we can appreciate the larger display — it looks that good.