Songbird Internet Music Streamer

Worth the price.

Connected fine via Bluetooth, but unable to access direct WiFi connection so far.

A/B comparison of 44.1 kHz red book compact disc to Apple Lossless files, the disc has the edge with overall detail and imaging.

I’m happy with the device, and as an analog kid, the convenience of the Songbird is satisfying.

Sounds amazing with my vintage audio system. Really easy to setup and use.

I'm generally not a big fan of headless gear that requires an app on my phone to function, but that's where we are nowadays. I realize it helps keep the Songbird box small and less expensive. Not a huge fan of the app; not all operations are obvious to me, tapping the left triangle at the bottom of the screen doesn't take you back a screen (you get a message about exiting the app), and tapping "Settings" for the app itself doesn't give you any settings options, only the app version and a feedback form, so that's misleading.

But I am a fan of the quality of sound I get out of the Songbird connected to a vintage Linn Classik CD/integrated amp, playing through vintage Linn Tukan speakers. Whether it's standard Internet radio from TuneIn or iHeartradio, or Hi-Res tracks from Qobuz, sound quality is very good indeed. I do wish more services were available — you couldn't include Pandora? — but Andover covered the major players. Set-up is a bit fiddly with a single button serving multiple uses, but once you're connected to WiFi, the Songbird remembers even if you unplug it for some reason. I do think it's a bit odd to put the power connection on the front of the box, but I guess there's only so much space on a box so small. It's very lightweight, too, so moving the cables moves the box. All in all, though, it's worth the money.

Works as advertised. Nice small footprint. Set-up slightly clunky but patience will overcome.

Setup was super easy. It works perfectly.... love it..

Works great, easy to set up, sounds great.

Easy to set up, easy to use and brings your streaming music to another level.

I want a way to stream using our older amp that doesn't have Bluetooth. Also my speakers are really good OLD AR speakers and I wanted a fuller range than I got plugging an old smart phone in. It did take me a few tries to sync the devices, but now it's working well.

This is an excellent product
I have now purchased 3 of these units One for living room, one for office and 3rd one for garage
Each unit is connected to a different sound device that does not have wireless capability

The first unit I received had a couple issues, but the staff at Andover were excellent and expedited a replacement unit out and the new one works flawlessly. Such a great device at a reasonable price.

This review is actually about Andover Audio customer service, which in this case was top-notch.
I ordered the Songbird. The order was processed quickly and I received a shipping notice when I found the unit would not work for my application (SPDIF out 192kHz/24bit.)
I went to the web site and requested cancellation/refund. It was processed within an hour.
Next time I'm in the market for audio, Andover is the first place I'll look.

Recently ordered the Songbird and hooked it up to my stereo to stream Internet Radio mostly. Installation was pretty easy and the sound-WOW! Makes my Grace Digital Mondo sound like auditory junk and best of all-unlike the Mondo-doesn’t buffer every 5 minutes or so. Great buy at $99.00. Can’t wait for the new one to come out..

Product wifi setup not working. Contacted support via email for help and still no response after a week. Tried to contact support by phone and there message box if full, so definitely others with issues.

Tried to request a return since wasn't working, but again need to pass by support who do not respond.

This was just what I was looking for. I wanted a low cost, high quality music streamer to hook up to my 20+ year old receiver to play Tidal. The Songbird was easy to setup and, so far, works perfectly. It is just what I needed.

I bought this as an entry into streaming hifi audio. Honestly, I had only connected via Bluetooth to my stereo in the past and was skeptical. After looking into the specs of the streamer I bought one and was blown away. I’m not even using the Ethernet port, just wireless and the quality is far better than any I’ve heard on my system. I understand the value of these devices now. I bought a WiiM and it can’t hold a candle to the Songbird. The best I get from the WiiM is 16/44kHz. Back to the Songbird: I wish the optical port was capable of higher sampling rates (I believe the 3.5mm out is higher). Also, I wish the app told me what sample rate I was streaming instead of just “high”. Neither of those issues will stop me from giving this streamer 5 stars. For $100 you get immeasurable value out of your hifi experience. It’s impossible to beat at that price and I haven’t hard wired it to my network yet.

It was easy to connect to my wi fi, but the supplied wire was too short to reach my pre-amplifier while the ac was plugged in. I bought a long after market wire but no sound came from my stereo speakers. I cannot blame Crutchfield who sold it. Just another expensive lesson learned.

Hooked this up to my Mark Levinson no 26 to be able to stream from the internet. Works amazing. A little tricky hooking up.

I don't often review stuff, but I have been a fan of Andover's equipment since I started picking it up last year and, when I recently saw that the Songbird was on-sale, I picked one up. I didn't really need something that was simply going to play my phone through a speaker as if it were a Bluetooth connection, but I've developed trust in Andover that this would be something better than that.
It so is. The sound quality is just terrific going from phone through Wi-Fi to Songbird to Spinbase. I mean, there is no comparison if you're playing hi-res files as through TIDAL or a local DNLA server. It just sounds great.
I couldn't be happier.

Bought the songbird on sale and have been thoroughly impressed with the sonics and ease of use. Using Tidal with the Songbird which has opened a world of musical enlightenment. Very satisfied with this purchase.

I just added the songbird to my high end system and the improvement in sound quality is truly dramatic. Compared to an old Sonus streamer, there is no comparison! Streamed Audio is now full bodied and full of life, not bland. Following the advice of many reviewers I hooked the songbird up through the analog inputs into my system, not the digital inputs. This provides CD quality plus. I also hard-wired my internet into the songbird. The app works well for me on my iPhone 13. Setup was a breeze, no issues. I am mainly using Amazon as my source, as this by all accounts provides the very best fidelity. Should have upgraded my streamer long ago! Couldn't be happier, and at the discounted $99 price now what are you waiting for?

Songbird wifi drops internet to we’re you have to reset or establish multiple times and the device and Internet in next to each other and signal is strong. Frustrating and not worth the hassle. Find something else.

I have been using SB for four months now and as best I can tell, for the money, you will not find better.
I read so much stuff from "audiophiles" regarding what streamer/dac to buy that my head was spinning. Trying to decipher what these people swooning about regarding the best $1000 dollar streamer to buy started to just irritate me. I am not a rich guy.
One day, Randy (Cheap Audio Man), reviewed the SB. I decided if HE likes it, I will too. I came on over to the Andover site and bought it.
Guess what? I really like it! I have read the other reviews with complaints. People sure like to FIND something to complain about. This thing has run smooth as silk out of the box. The app is easy and setup was effortles- though I am hardwired in. I use the RCA out to take advantage of the full capacity of it's onboard DAC. The overall sound is terrific. I typically stream Qobuz and am pleased. Btw, this is using Magnepan speakers and they are notorious for garbage in garbage out. The SB does just fine.
My only wish is that perhaps in future generations of SB, we could be given the option to bypass the internal DAC at full bit rate and be able to use it as a streamer only.
Anyway, if you are on the fence about this device, feel confident that it will deliver.

Truly plug and play. I've been limping along with an apple airport express for so many years and after getting into vinyl I realized how poor the audio quality was when streaming from my old DAC. I wish I had bought this years ago - what an improvement for the price. I now get high res audio with absolutely no drops through the analog interconnects to my amp. I've only had this for a few weeks, so hopefully it's built to last.

Mine worked perfectly for six months, then it died for reasons unknown. I sent it back and Andover repaired it for free. Since receiving it back (about 3 weeks later) it has performed just fine. Be aware the setup is slightly tricky.

I was in search of a replacement for my aging and never stellar Airport Express that allowed me to stream my iTunes library from my computer to my receiver. After testing and sending back another streamer from AudioEngine, I tried the Songbird.

I didn't even bother with the wireless capabilities. I connected an ethernet cable between my Powerline network (AV2000) to the Songbird, and the Songbird to the RCA inputs on my stereo, and then my iTunes AirPlay automatically showed the Songbird. Boom! Sounds extraordinary, and no crap wireless drops throughout my music! I wish I had this little gem for years!

I have purchased 3 Songbirds so far over a year, so I'm a fan. But sharing some honest love here. SB works well as a basic streaming bridge to receivers of all types, more reliable than hardware like Apple Airport or ATV. The resolution is not the highest available vs the full spectrum of devices and prices, but at this price point it is the right solution for me for non-critical listening. On my highest end system I use other higher end solutions. I use SB everyday to play background music in various parts of our house. My frustrations come with the software. The app is not intuitive, often slow or unresponsive. I've given up trying to use the it as my primary control point for streaming services. Instead I use native apps for Amazon Music, Spotify, etc and select SB as the target output device. This works well the far majority of the time. However, sometimes the SB app interjects and overrides anyway and song control goes sideways. SB's "Multi-mode", streaming to 2 or more SB's at one time has never worked for me after multiple attempts. To me it is not a viable alternative to a Sonos style 'play all' in multiple-room solution. But... all-in-all, the good overrides these software issue. SB does a good job, particularly at this price point, in adding a decent streaming solution to any system for non-critical listening.

Once I lost internet connection, I couldn't get it back working!