Just wondering if anyone uses Roon for their digital audion collections management? I am all in on Sonos at home but it seems it will work alongside that but I’m nervous about it.
I would use the 14-day trial but need to be sure that it isn’t going to screw up any existing set up – I use the dreaded iTunes for the library but those files are then copied to a NAS drive which Sonos uses. What I don’t want is Roon making any changes to those files in cataloguing them, which I presume it has to do?
I’ve been using Roon for a couple of years now and think it’s the best music management software out there….
Not only does it have a great database with hyperlinks etc etc, it takes care of the streaming to my various speakers / Hi-Fi and does so in high definition. My main system has a Oppo 205 that acts as the digital hub and is “Roon Ready” so works flawlessly. We also have a couple of Sonos speakers (the kids have in their rooms) and it can see those and stream to those seamlessly. All can be controlled by the Roon app on either the phone or iPad or from the software on the computer.
In terms of setup, I have a headless Mac Mini connected to a DAS array that contains all my media (movies, TV and music). I also have iTunes running on this which streams the video (and music) to Apple TV’s. For Roon, I have ”Roon Server” running on this and then the Roon database software client in the main iMac and laptops (I believe you can have multiple clients running).
The Roon software DOES NOT make any changes to your music library or it’s configuration – you just point the software to where it is stored and it builds its own database / configuration. As mentioned, I run both Roon and iTunes in parallel with the storage being configured by iTunes (i.e. I just point Roon to my iTunes library).
It’s well worth taking the trial. The only downside of Roon is that for a full subscription you have to pay for it – you can do a yearly one, but I went for a lifetime subscription at a few hundred USD. Given the value of my music collection, i actually think it’s well worth it.
Feel free to drop me a message if you have any further questions.
If you want more info, the knowledge base on their website is very informative…..
https://kb.roonlabs.com/
Specifically to answer your question on changes….
https://kb.roonlabs.com/FAQ:_Will_Roon_alter_my_audio_files_or_tags_in_any_way_when_I_import_them%3F
Not a word, didn’t understand a word of what Chrisf says above. I’m 96
I tried the trial and agree it doesn’t mess up your library and it’s very nice and pretty and all that.
If I could make playlists and (especially) smart playlist I would be tempted more.
If Apple Music doesn’t up its game in the next few months, I may be tempted back though.
Does it import existing playlists when it scans the library? Sonos sees them and they can be played or shuffled
I believe that it does import playlists (I don’t use so not 100% sure) but that you have to ensure that iTunes is sharing the XML file that stores them – one of the options in iTunes preferences is to share this with other applications. If you enable this before you scan the library, it should work.
Any decent music software should be able to create and read .m3u playlists.
It should – but my technical expertise may have let me down here.
Is this where I get to say “Buy a Fiio”?
There’s a couple of threads you seemed to have missed. Maybe just cut & paste everywhere in the hope the message finally gets through?
Well given that some of the FiiO players are Android based, Roon should work on them, so you may actually be correct…..
Thanks for the Roon info, people. I’ve bought a 120gb SSD (just £16 !!!) to attach to my Synology NAS and will run the Roon software direct from there.
Will report back after the trial in case anyone else is thinking about this.
I’ll ask Macca. (Geddit!!)
Been using Roon for a few days now and I whilst it works really well, I don’t think I’m going to retain it after the trial.
I suspect I would think differently if I wasn’t on a Sonos set up around the house, but because of that, the advantages to Roon seem to be limited to the user interface and the amount of info it collates around each album and artist. It’s much prettier, but the Sonos software, limited to album art for the UI, is fine for everything else and actually a bit easier for quickly changing rooms etc..
I almost never sit and read the info that Roon comes up with, using the software just to distribute the music, so it’s just not worth £90 when the Sonos UI is free.
If I was using something else for the “back end” I can see some advantages beyond the UI, given the higher quality streaming it’s capable of (which Sonos doesn’t currently do).