General questions on how to use Roon

Just out of interest, what will/do you use instead of Roon?

Thanks Chris.

sorry for the late replay - I reached some maximum for replying (just right after my idea of not proceeding with Roon…)

I’m willing to learn, but it really is a lot of money for something I do not value that much. As I wrote, when Roon accepts my DAC (I still don’t know how it could do this) I will use the rest of the trial period for digging deeper into Roon.

I actual don’t know exactly. Also, I’m not sure if Roon would like people to tell about their alternatives. The app I am skipping for the NAS solution - it won’t work on the NAS - somehow was great. But when I was telling in the forum that I was looking for an alternative and said the R word, my post immediatelly was deleted.

ok, ok. OK. I’ll stay - for one year. :jack_o_lantern:

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Good to hear!:grinning: Welcome to the club…

Welcome!.

Just so you know, the moderators here would not delete your post just because you mentioned you “preferred X” or were “going to use X instead of Roon”. Roon provides a lot of value and it constantly growing. But, I know some people prefer other software. I still have JRiver loaded on my systems. I even run it every so often to remind myself why I hate list based playback. (ducks, :wink:)

We would, however, take note if we thought you were hawking a product.

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It was the very same Media Center forum that didn’t want to hear the R-word. I like it for it’s ability to list albums chronologically (only a few music apps do this), for it’s bit perfect music file play and for the music server. GUI-wise it’s a nightmare for us Apple users, but I never cared much, I had it headless on my Mac Mini - which had to go now. Hence the search for a (better) replacement.

Edit: MC is good in metatags too.

Great.

Let me say that Roon is definitely not all about shuffling.
It is usually one option.
You just came across one of the few places where shuffle is the only choice.
And this happens: people come to Roon from some other system, and find that their favorite way of playing isn’t convenient, or even possible.
Sometimes it’s an oversight in Roon, sometimes it’s a difference in philosophy.
As you use the system, you may change your views and leverage other strengths of the system. Or you may open a feature request to get your way supported.

I would encourage you to explore the relationships. An example: I was listening to Vijay Iyer’s band, and I thought, this is a great bassist, what is his name (Credits), do I have anything else by him (click on his name), yes a few albums with other bands, what else has he done that I don’t have (click on Tidal albums), anything else (click on the web symbol, find his site or Bandcamp for downloads); on this new album there is a great singer, who is that (click), what else has she done, oh wow they did an album of Stevie Wonder songs with just vocal, bass and sax, what other versions of those songs do I have, interesting comparisons. And so I can spend an entire weekend finding new music.

Have fun.

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Wrt the Shuffle Play for all albums of a band, there is another way to play an artist that doesn’t shuffle.
In your case, you had opened up the artist page for the band.
If I stead you are in the Albums view, you can filter down to the artist with the funnel icon in the upper right.
It is a smart search, in my case I type “bruc” or “springst” to see my Springsteen albums.
At this point, you have the Shuffle button.
But if you select all albums, with Ctrl-A, or long-press on one album and Select All from the drop down in the upper left, or Right-click + shift-click, you get the usual Play button (with Shuffle as an option). With this approach you can do partial selections, like “all Coltrane’s work except the album with Bags, I hate vibes.” Or skip duplicates or Best-of albums.

Not exactly the same as you are used to, but useful.

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Thanks Anders,

I know that I have to get more into Roon, but still have the impression that shuffling music is one of their favorites. That’s ok if it wouldn’t be that prominent. I use it for playlists but would never ever use it for listening to a regular album. Never.
The research options within Roon I like too, it’s a great way to explore and filter music.
I mostly use Roon with my tablet as a remote control and thus for searching, exploring, etc., so no keyboard usage for me. I don’t even have a computer version of the Roon client. My music’s on a NAS. I only use my computer for work, which, one day, will be replaced by a tablet anyway. I like the idea of the old fashioned way to sit on the couch with the LP sleeve in your hands, listening to the album, watching the cover art and reading the liner notes. This I can do with a tablet.

It’s true that one has her or his listening habits, she or he wishes to keep when changing a system - which does not work all the time. I am quite open when it comes to new systems, but really was confused to not find thinngs, I thought were basic. But you always learn.

So, feature requests are my next Roon steps!

Fun I have, just got my new DAC and am now saving money for a pair of Backes & Müller speakers.

:grinning:

Here’s another fan of Backes & Müller! :grinning: (I have a pair of BM Line 35). Which model are you interested in?

I don’t have a specific model in mind but having only a small flat I don’t need and want big ones and having not so much money I am following some ebay auctions for used models. Actually I always picture older BM 6 next to my shelf, but only would go for later V-FET models starting 1986. I guess B&M introduced balanced input only in 1988, but am not sure if they put it into their later BM 6 models. I guess BM 8 would be ok too. They basically are BM 6 built into a higher case. If a pair of BM 4 would come around for a decent price, I wouldn’t say no too.

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I also had a few issues but the advice is stick with it. Any software as complex as Roon is not mastered within a 2 week trial period

There will be a few of those “ah ah” moments coming soon :nerd_face:

Mike

Plus: there’s not really an alternative for my set-up. :grin:

I agree with you, I never shuffle at home, I want control.
(I mostly shuffle in the car, because I’m busy and can’t control the music.)

I was thinking about your situation, and why the system does shuffle when you are in a band, but does not, respects the order, when you have made a multi-selection in the Album browser, as I suggested. And I had a thought.

I’m a computer science guy, like the Roon guys, and in computer science we are precise about what kind of grouping we have. There is a lot more to it, but one fundamental distinction is whether the grouping is ordered or not. And when you are looking at the albums of a band, you don’t really have control of the order; they appear in release order, and they are separated in various categories, so playing in the order they are released would be a scrambled order. But in the Album browser, you can directly control the order. So it may be that they think, in an ordered list, where you can control the order, it makes sense to respect that order when playing; in an unordered “bag” of Albums, there is no order so let’s shuffle them.

Just one thought that occurred to me.

it is indeed based on ordered and unordered sets.

That makes perfect sense, Anders. Thanks for the explanation! The Roon software is able to show albums in an chronological order, but it’s more complicated to automatically select those listed items for playing as this is not related in any way with storing. Thus you have to select them. My “but” would be a “why”. I’m not a software developer, and I’m sure it’s a hell complicated. But I know of many other music player software that is able to play listed music titles. Shuffled and in order.

Not that one thinks I’m here for a shuffle witch hunt: I don’t mind the shuffle option, but it is placed so prominent without any other playing options, that one can think Roon is all about shuffling music. That confused me a lot. And needs some enhancement!

If I’m sitting down with the express purpose of listening to music I tend to listen to complete albums rather than individuals tracks. At a stretch I may make it through a few albums an artist has released (and possibly in release order) but time and attention makes a discography a very tough ask). Radio (and perhaps artist shuffle) is something that I’d use when wanting some music playing whilst I’m actually focused on other things. If not explicitly sitting down to listen I’d be inclined to think the overriding majority of people would consider a shuffle play of an artist’s work rather than sequential album by album play.

If you want to play a full discography intact (I’m envious, you must have a LOT of time on your hands) , as Anders said, simply select the artist you’re keen on, touch and hold on any album, select all from the menu that appears and hit play. Roon already offers the capability you seek, just not one click away. I suspect your use case is very much a corner case.

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I’ve always thought of myself as an Album based listener. I don’t think I’ve ever shuffled an Artist. But I’ve also never played an Artist in release order. I have found Roon changing my approach though, especially after 1.4. Now I like to build a Queue, taking a little from here and there, maybe moving it around as I go. Looking at what Radio was playing before etc. The capacity to build a Queue with another person using separate devices is quite fun. I still enjoy the arc of a well constructed album, but it’s no longer the only game in town.

I do select the albums when I want to listen to them in a (the) sorted order. That was a good advice.

Not all artists have a Bob Dylan like discography and I don’t own all albums from every performer, so that works out all right. But for quite a few artists in my catalog I agree: Better sit down and make yourself comfortable. Having no job at the meoment and with the not-so-nice weather outside: there’s worse. :grinning: