Category: Tech

The long, agonized death slide of my cherished, now perished, Logitech Squeezebox Touch is over. After numerous successful efforts to keep it working online, after almost fifteen years it finally decided to fall off the network once and for all. For those who have working units, the Touch continues to be as good as anything available today, excepting for its selection of applications compared to newer products.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/logitech-squeezebox-touch-network-music-player

I was prepared for the Touch’s demise, having pre-selected a replacement that’s compatible with Lyrion. It’s the WiiM Pro (pronounced “whim”). Amazon caught me with a $22 off deal on the Plus version, and guaranteed next day delivery, on Sunday. So, less than 24 hours after laying the Touch to rest, streaming music had returned to the living room.

Here’s Amir with a technical review (of a unit he received for free):

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/wiim-pro-plus-streamer-review.50254/

The WiiM also replaces a couple other gadgets; a Google Chromecast Audio “puck” and a Topping DAC. They didn’t need replacing, but I like the simplicity of the new setup.

Unlike the very classy and solidly built Touch, the WiiM case is a cheap, plain, black plastic box. So, I’m keeping it out of sight in the cabinet. That reduces WiFi reception a bit, but the signal is still “very good,” so not enough to be a problem.

Here’s Darko with a more subjective review (of a unit I assume was provided gratis), including a comparison with the Touch:

https://darko.audio/2023/10/wiim-pro-plus-video-review/

The WiiM doesn’t actually do it all, as it lacks a SiriusXM app. I will continue using Chromecast from my phone for that service.

Due to a combination of laziness and concern that I could do something to break them beyond repair, I haven’t gotten around to working on my non-functional LaserDisc players.

With that in mind, I’ve been waiting for this guy to tackle a broken LaserDisc player. Which he has now successfully done.

My Pioneer players are dedicated, single-side LD units, models LD-838D and LD-V8000. So, with any luck, they’ll be easier to figure out than that model.

This fellow produces excellent YouTube videos that I enjoy watching. So far, they’re mostly about servicing first generation CD players, from the Eighties.

This has been my year for consumer electronics troubles. The most recent problem was HDMI-CEC (Consumer Electronics Control) failing on my 13-year-old 40″ Samsung TV. Anynet+, as Samsung calls CEC, stopped working, even with the Samsung Blu-ray player. The setup screen said, “No Devices Found.”

Rather than manually telling the TV to power up and selecting an input, I was used to simply hitting a button on one of the connected HDMI devices to bring up power and go to its input. Not a huge First World inconvenience, but it bugged me that, after more than thirteen years, something went wrong. I wanted to see if I could get CEC working again.

First, I pulled the power from the TV. After plugging it back in, nope, still no devices found. Sometimes, it helps to leave a device powered off for more than a moment. So, I unplugged the TV again and, whatta ya know, the standby mode red LED remained lit. I watched and waited until the light faded out and was off. Did that do the trick? Yes, as seen in the photo.

The set is old enough to have compact fluorescent, rather than LED, backlights. As does the 15-year-old 32″ Samsung TV in my bedroom. I have no reason to consider replacing these sets, and based on this RTINGS report, it’s doubtful that new sets would be as reliable.

I could watch electronics repair videos like this one all day. Okay, I admit that’s exactly what I’m doing.