I can’t see this being practical - but I can’t stop thinking about it.
Does anyone see any benefit to running duplicate libraries that are then connected appropriately for the best playback?
I have the Roon core on my Kitchen iMac, for instance, controlling an SSD Library at the other end of the house running off a USBridge wired to my DAC for the best connection. As well as controlling this from the iMac, Roon also sends music from this library to other endpoints in the house via WiFi.
I can’t stop wondering what if I was to duplicate the Library onto a drive attached to the iMac - this then Library#2 plays music everywhere except my DAC, and I select music to play to my DAC from the attached SSD library#1 (I can filter the libraries via the Focus feature). Thereby making the most of system resources and best practice playback etc …
Is this just stupid? I’m happy to be told so …
I might try it in any case - unless someone has tried it and felt like a plonker having done it.
The core is what distributes the music to all the endpoints so it matters not where you library is - it all has to pass through the core machine, your iMac in this case.
If your music files are on an SSD connected to your USBridge and you are using Roon to send them to your DAC then your current configuration might not be ideal.
The Roon core running on your iMac has to read your music files from the SSD on the USBridge over the network, process them and then send them back over the network to the USBridge. Double the needed network traffic and extra work for the USBridge.
If you moved the SSD to your iMac then your Roon core could read your music from the SSD drive without any network traffic, process it and then send it to the appropriate endpoint over the network.
@ungawa Tim is right but the question as I read it was duplicating the SSD copies onto the iMac…not moving them.
@anon97951896 I was assuming there was some other reason Brent is using the SSD with music locally on the USBridge…ie n to just as a Roon storage share.
You can’t run 2 libraries with one core…all you would end up with is 100% duplicates.
Thanks for the patient replies folks - I feel like an idiot, although I have been racking my brains over this for a week or so.
I made a fundamental disconnect.
Here’s my system. I have an iMac in the Kitchen with an attached HHD running iTunes, and a macmini in the lounge (with an attached SSD mirroring the iTunes Music folder) that I replaced with an Allo USBridge, which in turn feeds my DAC and Headphone Endpoint.
My raging audiophile sensibilities determined I must have a wired connection to my DAC, and had read somewhere that the ideal scenario for Roon was to have the Core and playback hardware separated. Playback Hardware - not Library too.
You see I took it to mean the Endpoint, and if the endpoint is the USBridge with the SSD Library attached, then this would mean the shortest possible and wired attachment from the library to the DAC controlled by Roon. WooHoo! oops.
There’s the disconnect. Somehow I made the SSD Library part of the Endpoint to be separated. Not the SSD Library that has to be read by Roon first in order to send audio to said Endpoint. Feeling like a moron right now, but that said - thanks to your replies - the light has suddenly switched on, and I am hugely thankful because this has been a fascinating journey into a massively exciting piece of software.
So - Lets see if I have this right. I now have the Core setup on my macmini running as Roon Server, connected via ethernet to the USBridge (with attached SSD Library) running Roon Bridge. The iMac in the Kitchen is running the Roon app - that I am using to read the SSD and rescan the Music Library into the Roon Core (Server) on the macmini. I can then connect from my Phone or iMac as required.
Does this seem to be a plan worth pursuing? I’m open to all suggestions and thankful for any advice.
I must say - the Roon software is literally so complex - the descriptions can be read a number of ways (ok ok - if you try hard enough). I would love to see Roon / users put up examples of various setups so noobies could see the closest to the setup they have and kick off from there. I think that would explain a lot more than poring over the (albeit excellent) documentation.
Oh - I should add that the iMac and Macmini are connected via WiFi which is why I wanted the Core on the MacMini - so its wired connection to the DAC via the USBridge.
Wired connections are always preferred for the core. You could run the core as Roon Server (perfect if it’s headless or you don’t run the display all the time) on the Macmini too (edit seems like you are now) as long it’s powerful enough but I would still put the ssd and your iTunes library on the Mac mini too.
Running the ssd on the usbridge is going to be the worst place to run it if your dac is connected there.
Indeed - I think I was looking to remove the MacMini completely in my misguided idea of how Roon works thereby having just the USBridge with the SSD connected as that endpoint.
Would it not be a better bet having the storage on the USBridge than having the Mac Mini with all its processes getting the Audio out?
It does make things much easier - if I was making blissful assumptions about Roon, working out the Dietpi OS on the USBridge was a nightmare in comparison.
… but then its doing the same thing as when we started isn’t it - pulling the audio from the USBridge in order to then feed it back to the USBridge.
Point taken - thanks again!
