Is the Squeezebox Touch complicated?

"A lot of people use their music server PC for other tasks. That can complicate issues through no fault of the SB software. "

That's a good point. The less you do on the device where the server is running, the better from a reliability perspective in general.

IT also helps if you have a stable and reliable network, Wifi or otherwise, set up in your home.

SOmetimes, other activity on your network can also have detrimental effects like delays and re-buffering, but I have to say that this rarely if ever occurs in my setup despite often having two or even 3 other family members using the network concurrently. This was a significant problem with ROku SOundbridge, which is older technology. Of course, if your network is down, then you are typically out of business. Similarly if your internet connection or provider is down, no Internet radio. If your favorite internet radio station is down, then you are out of luck but just there.

No doubt there are a lot of moving parts at play. But I have to say that despite all the complexities and permutations possible, SB is a pretty mature technology and very reliable as a whole.

Have been using a SB classic and boom box for 3-4 years. One of the best investment made in audio ! I used an old laptop as server and put all my music on NAS (Dlink DNS323). The SB classic is connected to router with RJ45, whereas boom box connected wirelessly. Very few drop out with boom almost never with the wired connection of SB classic.

The level of complication is a function to your computer skills so is a question for yourself. Personally I had a SB, Duet, Boom and Transporter and never had a problem. Basically a plug and play with some general settings. I'm using my iPhone to control the players.

It sounds like most with problems have problems with their computer networks. If you put the most well built house on a faulty foundation, it will still not be stable.

Now a days, I don't understand why anyone would have computer network issues. I'm using Verizon Fios and the Fios modem is also the wireless router ... everything has been simplified. The Verizon tech cloned all my settings from the old wireless router and set everything up in less than an hour.

Occasionally I do have to cycle power on my Boom because my old home cordless telephone operates in the same frequency as my wireless network. When I can get an incoming call, it disrupts the wireless signal. I could easily resolve this problem with a "DECT 6.0" wireless phone system but not a priority so far.

Getting the Touch to work is as complicated as adding a new client to your home network

IME, having a server designed for use with the SBT makes life much simpler. My Vortexbox appliance is a dedicated computer running Linux that was designed with several wifi music players in mind, including the SBT. The combo is a home run, and much easier to set up and keep running than a NAS-based system, IMO. That is especially true if you are not tech savvy, and I am certainly not tech savvy.