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Looking for ROON Alternatives

W9TR

W9TR

Super Member
ROON has recently moved to a solution that requires persistent internet connectivity. They are also raising annual subscription prices 25%. I don’t have persistent internet connectivity currently.

So I am looking for alternatives. I have a large library in a NAS, now a spare i7NUC, several RPi and Sonos endpoints. I use Qobuz and Amazon Music streaming services. Only Qobuz is integrated with Roon.

I have been a long time JRiver user and have kept my subscription relatively current. I moved away from them due to lack of integration with streaming music services.

I like a lot of things about Roon but can’t see using it long term.

Any ideas for a replacement?
 
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What features of Roon are you looking for?

Basic local music server: LMS
Integration with streaming services: LMS
Media info: LMS
Streaming to multiple endpoints, with different protocols: LMS
Streaming radio stations: LMS
Music recommendations: not LMS
Room correction/DSP: can't remember if LMS supports
 
W9TR said:
ROON has recently moved to a solution that requires persistent internet connectivity. They are also raising annual subscription prices 25%. I don’t have persistent internet connectivity currently.

So I am looking for alternatives. I have a large library in a NAS, now a spare i7NUC, several RPi and Sonos endpoints. I use Qobuz and Amazon Music streaming services. Only Qobuz is integrated with Roon.

I have been a long time JRiver user and have kept my subscription relatively current. I moved away from them due to lack of integration with streaming music services.

I like a lot of things about Roon but can’t see using it long term.

Any ideas for a replacement?
Click to expand...

So are you saying that your need Internet connections to play your local (NAS) files with Roon 2.0? Of course you need Internet connections for streaming sources.

I thought Roon 2.0 now supports playback of your local files in places outside your home (i.e. on your phone when on travel) which does require continuous Internet access for the connection from your remote (phone) to your system at home.

The other day, my Internet went out for about 5 minutes during which time I reset the cable modem which came back still not working and then a couple minutes later the Internet connection was back. Comcast issue I guess. It dawned on me about halfway through this outage that my music kept playing without a hitch through the whole outage and I was streaming Qobuz via Roon. I guessed the entire album I was playing was buffered at my local computer from Qobuz so it worked fine during a temporary outage. But I'm still using Roon 1.8.
 
Yes, with v2.0 you now need persistent internet connectivity to play local files. ROON 2.0 now supports playback of your library outside your home through a function called ARC.
 
W9TR said:
Is LMS supported anymore?
Click to expand...

Yep. It is community supported software with a very active community. Recently, there was a major upgrade to support new hardware, but it broke a few older systems. It was easy to revert back to the previous versions while the bugs are worked out. Other than these recent (last two weeks) issues, I have been using LMS for years with a wide range of equipment, both new and old.
 
cpt_paranoia said:
Room correction/DSP: can't remember if LMS supports
Click to expand...
cpt_paranoia said:
Looks like there are options:

https://www.google.com/search?q=logitech+media+server+room+correction
Click to expand...

Why would you want room correction done at the server level? I could see it if the server was supporting only one system but there are other solutions that better support a single system. Each of my music servers is connected to multiple systems in multiple rooms. Room correction would be better if it was localized to the system, after all, that is where the sensing mic needs to be.
 
RTally said:
Why would you want room correction done at the server level?
Click to expand...

Because your renderer may be a low performance device, without the processing grunt to do room correction?

My understanding is that is the architecture Roon has adopted: DSP/room correction in the 'Roon Core'.

I don't use Roon, so I could be mistaken.
 
RTally said:
Why would you want room correction done at the server level? I could see it if the server was supporting only one system but there are other solutions that better support a single system. Each of my music servers is connected to multiple systems in multiple rooms. Room correction would be better if it was localized to the system, after all, that is where the sensing mic needs to be.
Click to expand...
One of the things ROON does well is DSP, including convolution based room correction for each individual endpoint, all server based from the ROON Core and operating simultaneously with a readout of required processing power reserves.
 
cpt_paranoia said:
On what? It is still actively supported by Logitech, who employ mherger to continue to maintain it. For instance, it has been ported to Apple's M processors. 8.3.0 was released 4 Nov 2022

Logitech Media Server 8.3.0 released (slimdevices.com)
Click to expand...


RTally said:
Yep. It is community supported software with a very active community. Recently, there was a major upgrade to support new hardware, but it broke a few older systems. It was easy to revert back to the previous versions while the bugs are worked out. Other than these recent (last two weeks) issues, I have been using LMS for years with a wide range of equipment, both new and old.
Click to expand...

Community or Logitech supported? Just curious. Either can be great, or not.

What about Plex and MusicBee? Are they viable options?

I guess what I’m looking for is something that will integrate my local library with Qobuz streaming and provide a little info on artists, etc.
 
W9TR said:
Community or Logitech supported? Just curious. Either can be great, or not.

What about Plex and MusicBee? Are they viable options?

I guess what I’m looking for is something that will integrate my local library with Qobuz streaming and provide a little info on artists, etc.
Click to expand...

The LMS core is maintained by a Logitech employee. But a lot of functionality is from the plugins, which are maintained by the community.

I use both, but mostly LMS. Plex is getting worse as time moves on. Plex is moving toward a fee based system aimed primarily toward videos. It still works fine for music, but it is becoming less useful compared to LMS. I do like the way Plex does libraries and smart playlists.
 
RTally said:
The LMS core is maintained by a Logitech employee. But a lot of functionality is from the plugins, which are maintained by the community.

I use both, but mostly LMS. Plex is getting worse as time moves on. Plex is moving toward a fee based system aimed primarily toward videos. It still works fine for music, but it is becoming less useful compared to LMS. I do like the way Plex does libraries and smart playlists.
Click to expand...
Thanks! Do you know if Plex can handle hi-rez and SACD rips? I have a bunch of both. I heard somewhere that it doesn’t but that I do may be dated.
 
W9TR said:
Thanks! Do you know if Plex can handle hi-rez and SACD rips? I have a bunch of both. I heard somewhere that it doesn’t but that I do may be dated.
Click to expand...

I have Plex set up to play original quality, which means it does not resample. As far as I know, when used on a local network, Plex sends the original file to the renderer. But when using the iPhone app to send a Plex stream via Airplay, the Airplay limits take over because the iPhone acts as an intermediary.

Plex has settings for when it is used for remote streaming where it will downsample to reduce bandwidth. I don't use that feature.

My biggest complaint with Plex is that there is no easy way to serve music to equipment or to players. The web page or PC app does not have a native way to send to a remote player/renderer such as Chromecast or an RPi. I have to use the iPhone app (which is a paid app) to control the music sent to a system player.
 
W9TR said:
Yes, with v2.0 you now need persistent internet connectivity to play local files. . .
Click to expand...

Well that sucks. Sounds to me like loss of a major capability for situations were people are only interested in playing from their own library (and not streaming) and using Roon for control, whole-house audio, etc. or maybe if you take your laptop / speakers on the road somewhere with no Internet.

Edit: https://community.roonlabs.com/t/2-0-and-internet-requirements/215367

If I'm reading this linked Roon Forum thread right, Roon lost 10 customers just from the OP. Maybe they'll fix this.
 
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W9TR said:
What about Plex and MusicBee?
Click to expand...

MusicBee does have a UPnP plugin that provides a DLNA server that can be browsed, and it makes a very good music player, but I'm not sure it's really a replacement for Roon.

https://getmusicbee.com/addons/plugins/11/upnp-dlna-device-support

Put it this way; I have MB installed on all my PCs, and use the UPnP plugin to stream to renderers, but I use LMS to provide a server accessible throughout the house, running on a headless SBC PC.
 
Thanks all. Looks like I’ll install LMS and see if it checks enough boxes for me to make the switch.
 
We have had Roon in the store for years and recently brought in streamers and streamer / DACs from Innuos. InnuOS is a very impressive alternative to Roon and there is no subscription with hardware purchase. Roon still is uncomparable when it comes to meta data but from a dsp standpoint I may take Innuos over Roon. The Innuos hardware is also way more impressive than the Nucleus. As a bonus, if you are a hardcore Rooner the Innuos devices can be a Roon Core or used with their built in OS.
 
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