Currently I have my Roon server on a computer in one room and my sole endpoint is a Meridian Sooloos MC200. In my rack I have a multi-zone amp and I was hoping to change my set-up to:
Headless computer in my rack hosting the server to then be controlled by iPads or other computers on the network.
That computer would also have multiple DACs acting as endpoints (most likely Meridian Explorer 2 DAC) creating multiple zones connected to the AMP.
My query is, is there a practical limit on the amount of DACs the computer can handle to create new zones from the one computer or is it only limited by the USB ports on the computer? Also are there any other issues with having a headless server also acting as an endpoint for multiple zones.
Finally, can the DACs also be grouped with my existing Meridian MC200
My query is, is there a practical limit on the amount of DACs the computer can handle to create new zones from the one computer or is it only limited by the USB ports on the computer?
We don’t enforce a limit. The practical maximum is probably somewhere between 4 and 20, depending on many factors, some of which are hard to pin down or predict.
I wouldn’t want a USB hub involved if I could avoid it. Power requirements could be an issue if your DACs don’t have external supplies.
Also are there any other issues with having a headless server also acting as an endpoint for multiple zones.
Nope, that should work fine.
Finally, can the DACs also be grouped with my existing Meridian MC200
No, we don’t do synchronized playback across technologies. It’s a fairly tricky technical problem, and though it would be really cool, we have doubts as to whether it would ever be fully reliable or provide a good experience.
Sorry just one follow-up, if I exhausted the USB ports (or the practical limit) on the existing computer, if I added Roon Bridge to a new computer on the same network, can that Roon Bridge on the new computer also handle multiple zones (and provided the USB DACs are all of the same type (i.e. Meridian Explorer 2) then group them)? I think the answer is yes but wanted to check!
