I’m not even sure if this is a supported configuration by Roon, but I am looking to buy a wireless speaker (preferably portable) that can give me the best audio quality and full hi-res support. Meaning, I would like it to be RoonReady with support for RAAT over wifi rather than just being an AirPlay device.
I was not able to find anything like that so far but I wanted to ask if any of you are aware of such a product that is available now or expected to be available soon.
Thanks
EDIT: I am not sure if the Bluesound wireless speakers work reliably in this manner, especially since they are limited to 802.11n and don’t support .ac. Feedback welcome!
Not sure how well they work (quite a few users here so sure someone will chime in) but I believe it’s currently your only option for an RAAT device of the type you describe.
I have a couple of Bluesound speakers on wifi (others use powerline adapters). No problems as long as wifi signal is good enough (I have 1 router upstairs and another downstairs). They are RAAT compatible so can be grouped with other RAAT products (which is not the case for Sonos, Airplay)
The only problem with Bluesound speakers and Roon (this doesn’t apply to Node 2) is that there’s a flag set in the Bluesound speaker code that forces Roon to convert everything to 48KHz (no change to bit depth though so you get 24bit if the source file is 24bit). Bluesound say that they are working on this (@brian@Andrew_Haines)
Do you know if they are planning on supporting 192khz? Higher/lower?
Are you happy with the sound quality of the Bluesound speakers via Roon – even in their currently down sampled state? I know it is a tough question. They are not sold where I am and I have no way of actually hearing them. Since I assume anyone Roon customer cares about the quality of the sound, your feedback would be welcome.
Sound quality is fine - better than Sonos (which I had previously used). I also find that having buttons for presets on the speakers useful - I set them to play radio stations - and the ability to configure to use an IR remote (I just bought a cheap TV remote and it works fine) is useful. Also, I haven’t tried it yet, but there is a battery pack available for the Pulse Flex - will probably get one for use outside in the summer.
The conversion to 48KHz is annoying - Bluesound speakers support up to 192KHz using their own software and some products (I have tested the Node 2 and I believe that PowerNode is also OK) can use the full range of sample rates from Roon but - for some reason - speakers are fixed at 48KHz. I contacted Bluesound support about this and was told that they were working on it and to be patient - that was nearly 2 months ago! (@Andrew_Haines).
I think that the Bluesound Pulse speaker might be OK (based on a comment that @brian made) but I haven’t tested that. I have Pulse Mini, Pulse Flex and Pulse Soundbar and they all have the 48K issue.
Thanks – helps a lot! I’ll keep my eyes out for announcements about the lifting of the 48khz limit or confirmation that the other models (Pulse 2) does not have that limit.
BTW, the battery pack sounds like a great idea and makes me think about getting a Flex or two, so log as they can be grouped and synced in Roon. (can one be L and the other R?)
I’ll be coming from an Arcam rCube – which would have been ideal if it was RoonReady. I hope more traditional audio companies (especially Arcam, MonitorAudio) add RoonReady support to their products. But I am going off-topic…
I just found out about Bluesound a few days ago… Rigth after I bought a set of Sonos Speakers.
I have done some research and base on what I have learned, Bluesound is superior to Sonos in a few areas including High Res and RAAT Support… But like @DuckSoup others have reported quite a few bugs… This is where I am still leaning to sticking with Sonos. If I am going to listen to High Res, Is going to be through my wired speakers or headphones, I am the only one in my house that cares about high res music…
Only reason I have wireless speakers at all is because the idea of been able to host a party and have the same music play in different locations in a clean way, To be honest none of my guest are going to care for high res
This is a solution a lot of my customs use. Not really wireless you need HomePlug or something for the microRendu. But works great, sounds great, 24/192 DAC and sub.
We have the UPnP bridge now. So actually you would not need the microRendu. Haven’t tried this so I’m not sure how good the UPnP sound quality is on the KEF.
There speakers cost $2K definitely worth using a microRendu over a Pi to get better audio.
I meant in terms of the OPs request - for a portable wireless speaker setup with RAAT… in that sense a microrendu is overkill IMO, at least in terms of cost.
Whether or not it’s overkill on something like the KEFs I couldn’t say. If I were starting over again though I’d definitely start with a pi and possibly an spdif HAT, and see how I found performance. Cheap and flexible, and can upgrade to something like the rendu or sotm SMS-200 later if required.
This is one option that looks very interesting, but isn’t available yet. No word on ETA yet, but a safe bet is summer time. No word yet on final specs and what resolutions they’ll support (and I didn’t ask when I saw them in person). If you’re willing to wait a bit this may be the perfect option:
That’s cool. Quite an interesting look (by that I mean I don’t think I like it visually), but fantastic to see this things appearing. Things are really starting to hot up.
A little bit too boxy for my tastes, but I don’t recall them being visually off-putting when I saw them. They struck me as being quite similar to the Sonos Play:3 in size and shape.
That photo isn’t doing them any favors as it was taken at a weird angle and the flash illuminated the driver through the grille.
Typical Elac style… UGAF…
I am sure the looks will have nothing to do with its performance. Elac has some amazing speakers and I am sure this one will not be an exception.
I’ve thought of this before as well for a different room where I already have the mR and even a portable DAC (Oppo HA-2SE) available – although ti would not be needed with the LS50 Wireless. But it is a large room and I think the LS50 might get lost in it). I am currently using a BeoPlay A9 in that room, but I would love to have more stereo separation.
For now though, I’m focusing on the wireless & portable speaker needs for another location where space is tight and I would like to be able to move the speaker outdoors occasionally.
Thanks for the suggestion. I can wait till April/May. While this might be a good fit (depending on what the final product looks like – that is not a flattering photo) but it also doesn’t seem to be portable. I can’t tell from the photo how small that is, but it does not seem to be able to run on battery power.
