Having just read through yet another support thread regarding ARC and problems with either how the mobile app works (or limps), or how it routinely fails to connect / loses connection to the core, (a post titled, ironically or sadly enough, “Am I just unlucky with Arc or does it run without issues for most?”), I have to ask, is the effort to make this feature work worth the trouble?
As I see it (or at least in my own use case), mobile access to one’s preferred music is (A) typically not nearly as audio-quality critical as is the case with playing one’s library at home, and (B) is easily accomplished by a variety of streaming alternatives.
As to “A” in my case, I have only used ARC in my car and because of the sound environment, I am more than happy to let it “automatically pick best quality,” which if I understand correctly typically means 320kbps – which is fine; I’m in a car. As to “B,” any streaming service can far more reliably and conveniently provide access the music I listen to than can ARC.
Personally I’d rather not rely on downloading when driving - both because of the data usage and the dependence on a cellular connection at all times.
I use Roon ARC to play back my Roon playlists which I’ve previously downloaded to my phone. It works brilliantly and is a really useful feature. I’ve no desire to try to recreate all my Roon playlists on a streaming service and then try to keep the two in sync. I tried to do that with Tidal and it was an exercise in frustration (and their CarPlay app was much poorer than ARC).
I guess it depends whether you want to listen to an existing playlist or are in the mood to listen to some music you may not have heard before. I can see that the latter would pit ARC against streaming services.
I really appreciate the work being done on ARC and see it as a really useful way to listen to my Roon music wherever I am.
Yeah. That’s me usually. Or I will happily listen to a randomized bunch of stuff I have favorited on Qobuz… I know my use case is not universal and may even be marginal.
I use ARC in the house. I have a usb dongle in my phone driving my big sennheiser headphones. Then I can put it in the car and carry on listening, great.
I’m using ARC at work. But not the whole day as it draining my iPhone SE’s battery very fast. It will only take a few hours before the battery starts to run empty. Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal and Apple Music apps make the battery last far longer.
My main usage of Arc is in my van with CarPlay so battery drain hasn’t been a factor for me. The iPhone SE (2?) is a great phone but the battery life was the reason I moved to the 14 Plus.
With my AirPod Pros (terrible battery life IMHO, but sound ok on a wireless front) I occasionally use Arc when I meant to be working.
Arc just allows me to enjoy Roon on a mobile basis.
The data usage limits of my cell phone service prohibit extended use of ARC. Also, most use has been in my car, so SQ is not a concern. Just download to my iphone and bluetooth to the car speakers. Not as good, but good enough.
Anybody that says ARC works as well as Tidal etc as a native iOS or Car Play app is not being truthful, it’s not as polished and it’s buggy as hell, still.
That said, Roon are working hard I’m sure and so far it’s a great effort, that can’t be overlooked.
I would say the only use case is for someone who does not have tidal or qobuz. Even then there are for more stable options out there that are free to stream your music from home.
Given that this coincided with the arrival of “always on Internet” requirements for using Roon the good old fashioned way with local files I would say it’s a very poor trade indeed. I love ARC when it works but if I’m away for a week I’m lucky if it’s working for half of that time. It’s a great thing when it works but it does not seem at all robust to me.
I only use ARC in the car and its 99% stable.
For longer trips / extended stays ARC is of little use to me.
My DAP wont run ARC and even if it did i can only download CD rips.
Have taken two 5 hour flights this week. A few CD rips and a bunch of YT Music downloads kept me as entertained as I needed to be. I have tidal and qobuz but feel no need for lossless quality through IEMs on a plane, so always use YT Music on the DAP.
I could live without ARC without losing any sleep.
OMMV
Indeed, it has managed to do this to me on the 3 holidays I have went on since Arc was released. I do think it’s great when it works though but if I’m is away from the core for any length of time something always seems to go awry with no way to reboot to get it to work again.
I tend to put on Deezer when at work these days. I quite like ARC, but it drains my iPhone’s battery like mad. And Deezer has Flow which is a really nice option.
I have no drain issues and Deezer like Tidal and Qobuz (which I both have) disrupt my listening journeys through my favorite artists where by far not every release is available on streaming (a tiny percentage if you consider live archives), and metadata only exists in good quality if I enter it myself.
For me, despite the warts, ARC is great. In many cases of “the only use cases are…” being declared, people simply have no idea which other use cases exist.
Being linked to my base Roon so I can add albums and artists that Roon radio suggests whilst I’m out and about is great.
Also, having my library in front of me when I’m looking at the charity shop CDs is great
