Connecting 2 Macs on Roon

Core Machine
MacBook Pro 2 GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i5 16 GB 3733 MHz LPDDR4X running MacOS Catalina 10.15.7

Network Details
Telstra modem running multiple switches connected on WiFi/Ethernet

Audio Devices
Yamaha RX-A870, Apple TV MacBook Pro running OS X El Capitan all connected via ethernet

Library Size
795 albums

Description Of Issue
I’m trying to connect a 2nd Mac to my Roon network. The network see the Mac, but the audio comes out of the core processor and not the 2nd Mac.

Do you want too use your second Mac as an output? If so, you can select it as a zone at the bottom right of the roon window.

I have it selected as a zone, but the audio still comes out of the core processor

Can you show a screen grab of the audio settings page showing the macs and other devices. If on the remote it should have This Mac at the top of the list and show system output and Core audio Built in Output.

Did you clone the OS from one of the macs to another. This has been known to cause Roon to only show the audio as that from the core and not the remote.

If you didn’t clone the OS (@CrystalGipsy 's question), then some further questions:

  • Have you installed Roon on the second Mac, and is Roon running, and connected to the Roon Core that is running on your first Mac?
  • Have you first enabled the audio devices in the second Mac using Roon’s Settings > Audio?
    Your first Mac will be shown at the top of the list, but if you scroll down, you should be seeing your 2nd Mac listed with its audio devices. Once enabled, you create a Zone that the audio can be played on.


Screenshot shows this Mac as System Output. The other Mac is Garage. I didn’t clone the OS, I did copy data from Garage to this Mac when I first bought it, but have since loaded an older OS on the Garage Mac. Roon is running on Garage Mac. Roon’s Settings > Audio > Device Setting I loaded default.
Another problem that just appeared, I can’t see my Media Room(Yamaha RX A870). I was able to use that zone yesterday. Maybe we’ll focus on one problem at a time.

That’s an odd screenshot, if you are saying that the Mac shown is your first Mac, yet:

  • you have named the CoreAudio device “Garage”, which I thought was what you would have for your second Mac (in the garage)
  • the second Mac is not listed on that screenshot (I would have expected to see it listed as an entry between the “This Mac” and the “Roon tested” entries, and showing the name of the Mac and its IP address)

Was this screenshot taken on your first Mac? Can you show a screenshot of Roon - Settings > General and see which Mac is being used as your Core? The screen should show the name of the Mac and it’s IP address. Thanks.


This is the current setup on this Mac(MacBook Pro Study).
Below is the setup of the Garage Mac.
IMG_5355
Everything seems to be working now, I can even see the Media Room.

1 Like

That looks more like it. If you’re confident that everything is OK, can I close this Support request? Thanks.

Thanks so much. I think disabling the MacBook Pro speakers on Garage did the trick

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