The Problem
I use Roon together with my partner, and while we share some musical interests, our tastes differ significantly. Profiles seemed like the ideal way to share some music while keeping our libraries separate where needed.
Initially, I hoped we could use separate Qobuz accounts per profile, but that’s not possible. While this saves us the cost of a Qobuz Duo plan, it also creates challenges in maintaining a distinct library per profile.
A key issue arises in the Recently Added section. It displays all new additions to the entire Roon library, regardless of which profile added them. This makes it difficult for users to quickly find their own recently added music.
I attempted to use the Ban Album function to filter out unwanted albums per profile. While this works within Roon, it does not function in Roon ARC, where all albums remain visible. Since we frequently use Roon ARC (especially in the car), this effectively eliminates any meaningful library separation.
Proposed Solution
- Profile-Based Tagging on Additions
- When a user adds an album, it should automatically receive an “Added by Profile [X/Y/Z]” tag.
- The Recently Added and Recently Played sections should then filter based on this attribute, showing only content added or played by the active profile.
- Library Filtering by Profile
- The Album and Artist views should include an easy way to filter content by profile.
- Albums without an “Added by Profile” tag should always remain visible to all profiles, ensuring shared content is easily accessible.
- Consistent Profile Separation Across Roon & Roon ARC
- The profile-based filtering should extend to Roon ARC, ensuring a consistent user experience across all devices, including CarPlay/Android Auto.
Additional Suggestions
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Optional Profile-Based Recommendations: Users could receive personalized music recommendations based on their listening history without being influenced by other profiles.
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Profile-Specific Metadata Options: Custom tags or favorite albums should remain profile-specific, ensuring personal organization remains intact.
Why This Matters
Currently, Roon’s profile system offers minimal separation, making it difficult for multi-user households to manage distinct music preferences effectively. Implementing these improvements would significantly enhance the usability of Roon for shared environments while keeping the core library structure intact.
Would love to hear the team’s thoughts on this!