No and - although I would have once done some critical comparative listening, - I’m not feeling the need too. Put it like this, I’ve been listening for a couple of hours now exclusively via. ETH and nothing has struck me as different. So far the gains are in simplicity (one less cable, one less input) and usability (synced volume control, concurrent use of the app to change settings etc without changing inputs) not necessarily in SQ for me. I should qualify this by saying that I am using optical isolation before the final run of ethernet into the KEFs so others may have a different experience already ref: SQ.
I just want to confirm that Roon’s volume control is hooked up to the KEF’s internal volume control. It should be exactly the same as controlling the speaker volume with the original remote control or the KEF app. It should also stay in sync at all times, if you find a case where the LS50W volume and Roon’s displayed volume do not match there is a bug in Roon and I would like to hear about it.
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Yep, all good so far. I’ve changed volume via. the Kef remote and it instantly updates the volume in the Roon Remote app on my Macbook, my iPad, and my iPhone at the same time. Yes… that’s right… I’m sat here with all three Roon Remotes in front of me and changing volume in one (or via. the remote) updates all of them instantly. Will let you know if I notice any oddities…
That’s again no need of picking up LS50W remote, which I need point direct to get volume adjusted. This is super good and keeps it live between Roon and through remote.
Excellent job guys.
Ahhhh… great news! Can not wait to try this out.
I just tried this with a WiFi only connection on my network, and so far, it streams great even with 24bit 96kHz music. Something my RPi couldn’t reliably do on my wireless network.
Found first bug. If you stop a track using the KEF remote pause/play button, the track does stop but the Roon control app generates a “transport: Roon lost control of the audio device”. On the flip side, the pause/play does not play/start a track (nor is there any message).
It would be great if pause/play functionality from the remote would work. A+/DLNA/tidal integration has this ability - both pausing and restarting current track.
Even better would be if previous/next track buttons on the remote worked 
(But they don’t work with A+/DLNA either so not getting my hopes up there).
(Edit: I guess this should have gone into the support group in a different thread - can a moderator move it?)
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I was wondering about why wifi mode. Good to know.
I played with it last night. Had just gotten in bed when I saw the e-mail so got up to try it out.
Sounds great :-). To me it’s a little richer and fuller than a SonicTransporter or Allo USBridge in the usb port.
I’ll be interested to hear how people feel about SQ compared to higher end devices like Ultrarendu etc.
Yes, that’s the million dollar question (or however much ones USB pancake stack is worth on the resale market) …
I have an SMS-200 + SPS-500 + Intona and will certainly do this test. The nice thing is that you can set up Roon to play to both at the same time and then just use Kef remote to cycle between the two input modes. (unfortunately not as a zone group though … you have to line up the tracks and press play at the same time … i tried it quickly and it works well enough).
Interesting, I didn’t know you could do that.
Since it’s coming through ethernet it would have been nice to leave it on optical to my TV and not have to switch to wifi mode but not the end of the world.
Automatic switching by source would have been really nice but I doubt we will get that until the next version of the Kef hardware.
This is pretty much a killer app for the Kef’s and if Kef is smart they would promote the heck out of it. Like give away 3 month subs to Roon or something with the speakers.
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But if there is music coming in over ethernet and optical at the same time, how would the device know which one you want to hear? Not sure what you mean by ‘automatic’ switching …
Well, as someone who has just decommissioned a microRendu with LPS-1 to make way for the ethernet direct connection I can honestly say that I haven’t noticed any difference in sound quality. Which is a good thing as the uRendu was giving me the best sound I’ve heard in my system for many years.
Like a receiver would do based on the active source.
Optical would be from the TV, Roon through ethernet.
Very nice to hear. One less device, cables, and power supply.
Really enjoying this update, so nice to finally have this working. Thanks @ben and the rest of the Roon team!
So far it seems pretty stable. It does take anywhere from 4-7 seconds to switch songs manually (gapless switching appears smooth though). I did get it to lock up once where I needed to switch off wifi and back to reconnect but I haven’t been able to get that to happen again.
Wow, this is absolutely amazing. Roon + KEF = stunning interface, magical sound, all my ripped music and Tidal, and NO intermediate devices needed ever again. The future of music is here.
Well done Roon and KEF!
On first listen I’m very impressed with SQ. Equal to or better than Logitech Transporter through LMS > LS50w for FLAC/Hi-res (which sounded incredible), and seems equal to Tidal through the KEF app. If there are differences, they are extremely subtle and strike me as in favor of Roon > KEF over ethernet.
I feel like there’s a bit more soundstage and PRAT, but it could just be excitement bias (did I just coin a new term?).
Bottom line, I just dismantled a pretty high end system that cost >10x this combination and took years to get exactly right, and I am extremely happy with this new setup and feel no need to look back.
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Thank you Roon team. Everything works great. It may be time to sell my Bluesound Node2!
That’s quite a statement Jon.