I have 2 Apple HomePods on either side of my bed and configured in ‘stereo mode’ They work exceptionally well when using Apple Music, BBC Sounds app and feeding audio out from a bedroom Apple TV.
However, when it comes to Roon, I can only feed audio to 1 homepod. I have given up waiting for Roon to airplay 2.
I have 2 options. Buy a Blusound or buy some small Roon speakers, if so which ones do you think I should consider?
Many thanks in advance for any replies
Hello,
Are you able to group the two units together? It is my belief they can both be grouped if using the same protocol. I honestly haven’t tried it so can’t even direct you to how. Just know it may be possible.
The 3 offering at the Roon store all look decent (the bluesound 2is being one of those 3). I’d imagine them all well supported also. I think any of those options would do you right.
I use two HomePod mini. You can’t group them in Roon if they are configured as a stereo pair. For me I separated them in iOS, then I grouped them in Roon and over the DSP Procedural EQ I set the right one mute for the left channel and vice versa.
That works now fine for Roon but I have no stereo function in iOS.
If you want to use the stereo configuration perhaps it works with your Apple TV. Have you tried the TV:Remote App ? Here you can “remote” Roon in Apple TV, and I think, you should be able to use the HomePods.
An alternative approach, which is what I use, is to group the two HomePods into a stereo pair using your Macintosh or an iPhone or iPad. Next set this stereo pair as an the audio output to an iOS device via Airplay, or the System Output of the Macintosh.
In Roon, you can select either the iOS device or the System Output of the Macintosh, whichever is set above, and you will stream stereo to the HomePods. This requires a Macintosh or an iOS device to be running, but preserves a stereo stream in both Roon and natively to the Mac or iOS devices.
A pair of Sonos:1’s (available fairly inexpensively at Costco) makes an admirable bedside pair, and has a voice assistant built in if you like. Realize you want AirPlay to work, but in case you do find yourself in the market they’re pretty great. Good luck!
Hi yes that works. Occasionally there is a stutter, but the Mac I’m using is a laptop dated 2015. I think I get a Mac mini and use it as a time machine server too
Thanks for your advice
Glad I could help. HomePods and the Minis are nice options.
Bluesound or Sonos as already stated. I have a couple of Sonos speakers leftover from when I ran full house Sonos system. Id probably go Bluesound route if I needed similar footprint / style in the future.
An alternative to consider could be some small powered monitors with USB input - something like the Kanto YU2 - fed by a Pi running RoPieee.