So I’ve been umming and ahhing about a kitchen endpoint for Roon.
Bluesound Flex…great but expensive and Bluesound soo slow on updating RAAT problems. Love the programmable buttons though. Sound of the speaker what I get.
A Rasberry Pi solution…around $100 but no volume control! Or would need an external amp. Sound of speakers…I can choose.
The I came across Squeezeboxes…and I can get a Duet with it’s base station for less than $50 on Ebay and it has a remote with a colour screen! This means no using of phones or tablets and I can even take advantage of Logitechs Media Server by switching between Roon and LMS
I can choose which speakers.
SB Duet you will have lots of fun trying to buy batteries for the remote as no longer available. Also no amp or speakers.
Better buy is a RPI and IQAudIO DigiAMP+ bundle and a pair of nice speakers. Use Roon with Ropieee to control the volume. Even my wife has the hang of this. Add a RPi 7" LCD and run Ropieee API with track/artist details.
Well both of the latter solutions don’t have an amp or speakers.
I did look at the IQAudIO DigiAMP+ speakers option but I really don’t see the difference between this and a Duet or Touch solution + speakers…and it has the disadvantage of no volume control of course…(I don’t know what Ropieee is so will investigate however.)…and I have to build it!
The SB Touch for example is an endpoint with a touch screen, a volume control and line out to speakers? What’s the catch with that…batteries not an issue.
www.Ropieee.org is the OS for RPi DietPi is another and IQAudio also have one for use with Roon IIRC. And you do the volume in Roon… you didn’t mention the SB Touch until now…
SB has only LMS support and not RAAT so you can’t play with other RAAT zones together…only with others SB zones
you will still need an amp and speaker with the SB Duet or Touch. The DigiAMP+ included DAC and AMP and will do 32/384 rates too
Another option is an AirPlay ready device…but same issue with no RAAT sync zones and low bitrate of Airplay like SB
Ah Ok
Yes I only mentioned the Touch now!..But it seems nice!
The other issue I have just discovered is my iPad is an iPad3, and only runs up to iOS9…so no Roon remote control, and so in my kitchen I will have no volume control…unless I get my Macbook out, which is not ideal at breakfast!
So the attraction of the SB solutions becomes apparent…but the zoning issue you mention is a big one. I really thought as an endpoint it would be in sync…I guess I am wrong on that.
I will look into the AirPlay option, though the kitchen gets bad WiFi reception so I wanted a Cat5 solution…again SB tick that box.
Thanks
Airplay has the same syncing issues, it will only sync with other Airplay devices. Squeezeboxes are great. However, Roon does not utilize the screen on the Duet’s remote I don’t think. But, otherwise I have several around the house, and while they won’t sync with a RAAT device, they do sync with each other if you have more than 1.
the Touch is a great device. However, they are still not cheap.
I am in a similar search for a compact and fuss free roon end point :-). The Touch will probably work fine for you as long as you find a speaker / speakers to add to it. Depending on how much space you have in the kitchen that will perhaps limit your choices. I have a sonos play 1 in the kitchen currently due to very limited space. Tried using the Bluesound Flex in the same place for a while.
I did some research on the IQAudio DigiAMP+ and from what I understand it is great. Roon volume control, WiFi option, compact (ish) and you can sync with other Roon zones. Still, not as compact as a Sonos or a Bluesound Flex. You need space for a PSU box, the DigiAMP+ and one or two speakers (maybe with their own separate psu). This means 3 - 4 “boxes” and cables.
If you care for total Roon zone harmony than the DigiAMP+ is the way to go. If you don’t care so much about that, a sonos play 1 might be the easiest and most compact.
Thanks for this. Curious…why did you not keep the Flex in the kitchen and replace it with Sonos?
TBH the SB Touch just seems ideal at the moment especially as zoning sync is not needed and I have no WiFi in the kitchen to control the volume via Roon of any RiPi solutions
I was just swapping the two to test. The Sonos One has a different sound ‘flavour’ and I wanted to try it out in the same place as the Flex. I still use the flex near my desk.