Conclusion
7. Conclusion
As reviewed earlier, the ReadyNAS NV is a high-quality, powerful NAS device designed for a small office or a power home user. And in this review, I found a lot to like about the Squeezebox as well. It was easy to use, fully configurable and a lot of fun. But did a bundle of the ReadyNAS NV with two Squeezeboxes bring anything new to the party?
Documentation-wise, no. Infrant tells me they are working on documenting the combination of the ReadyNAS NV with the Squeezebox, but as of now, there was nothing describing the interaction of the two devices.
Price-wise, you'll save a hundred dollars or so if the combination matches what you would have purchased separately anyway. But if all you wanted was a network music server to go with a couple of Squeezeboxes, a one-terabyte RAID5 server is probably overkill.
On the other-hand, if you're not up to rolling your own network music server for the Squeezebox and you can make full use of the capabilities of the ReadyNAS NV, I think you'll find the bundle a powerful combination that is both easy and fun to use. Comparing this bundle to the Sonos system I tested a few months ago, there are some trade-offs. The Sonos system comes in cheaper at about $1,000 for two players and a full-color remote, but doesn't include any storage - much less a powerful terabyte NAS like the ReadyNAS NV.
Still, the full-color remote on the Sonos is a killer feature and for the $500 price difference, you can pick up a smaller NAS unit to use with it. On the other hand, the Squeezebox bundle offers interesting features such as RSS display, weather, sports scores etc. And you also have the ability to customize it for your own uses.
Deciding between the two systems is a tough choice that really depends on your requirements. But I think you'll find either would be a nice addition to a music-lover's home network.
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