How to get DSP functionality on Linux

Roon Software Discussion Linux
22

OS/2 Warp support would be nice.

I’ve used Linux on and off on the side for years now. I can get Roon running as a Core on it, no problem. My Core is running on Zorin Linux Pro.

But Linux still hasn’t proven to be a Windows, and now Mac, replacement for me. It runs rock solid for sure, but so do my 2 MacBooks and my Windows 11 gaming laptop.

When I was younger I loved tinkering around with computers, nowadays I just want things to work out of the box. macOS does just that, Linux has a tendency not to.

As for Roon’s potential for a Linux client. It can probably be done. However I’m fairly certain that the percentage of Roon users who run Linux is very low. Not worth the effort and the developers time is better spent elsewhere.

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23

What Roon needs is a web interface like Plex has to get around this. Then it can run on anything.

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24

I can assure you, we’re more than “single digits” as somebody said. :wink:

I’ve just got Roon Core running and ARC working on my NixOS setup, beautiful. I have an AMD Ryzen 7 desktop workstation, Dell XPS laptop workstation, and a 10 y/o Mac. They all run Linux, currently on the desktop and listening; hence I must switch headphones to watch a YouTube video hehe.

The Mac is basically too old to do anything with. The XPS is a beast but runs the same build as the desktop (purely reproducible, identical builds are the point of using NixOS). So, I’ll probably try a VM when I get a chance, only need the Remote for the setup after all.

Also in the middle of settling on a smart home solution with smart speakers (with assistant) and I’m kinda stuck in the middle since I use iPhone and Apple Watch, whole family using Apple products, expensive as fak compared to Amazon but don’t want to say “Hey Siri, Alexa, bla bla” and use both. Messy. And I’m not getting rid of the watch, I love that thing. :stuck_out_tongue:

Guessing I’ll end up getting a HomePod for the best integration. Would be nice if they opened up a bit, I mean I can use Alexa from my Sennheiser bluetooth headphones but Siri seems locked to strictly Apple. It’s a comfy walled garden though, I don’t mind, but more interop as far as assistants and perhaps just using Matter/Thread instead of 20 different protocols. :stuck_out_tongue:

Most users probably use Mac, and we may be a few that use Linux as daily driver. But just some CLI, web interface (definitely expected that), whatever, anything that can change the EQ or something at least, would be expected from such a premium service. Or an API—I’ll build my own app, np.

But, I learned long ago that if I choose to run this OS (especially a non-FHS distro), I will need to fix ■■■■ on my own and that we’re basically the lowest priority users in most client-side commercial software, usually for valid business reasons. Ubuntu and Pop! OS bring some mainstream folks though which is nice to see! :slight_smile:

25

Can’t one do some fancy routing to mix the channels? Guessing it’s a no-go when it’s using ALSA rather than PipeWire or PulseAudio.

26

In order to try the DSP functionality whilst running Roon Server on Ubuntu 24.04, I have installed Roon via Wine. It seems to work fine until I try to select the player I would like to stream to: then the program shuts down immediately and I can only get it to work again after a restart of Ubuntu. What could be the cause of this?

27

Hiow did you install Wine? Is the player on a eemote machine or the server?

28

Wine was installed with Ubuntu’s standard software installer and the player is not on the server. In fact I have three players in different rooms in the house, all wired to the network and it doesn’t matter which one I choose, the Roon shuts down with every choice. It’s so frustrating since otherwise the program seems to work flawlessly…

29

Same here. I’m currently on wine-9.0 (Ubuntu 9.0~repack-4build3) from the Ubuntu APT repo, and used the Running Roon on Linux with Wine script for installation. I also run the default Wayland.

Furthermore, I have had similar issues in the past, but with Ubuntu 24.04, it’s been the most stable for many months.

Some suggestions:

  • Try running Roon in a resized window rather than full screen
  • Use a different version of Wine using WineHQ (Noble sources) – try both stable and staging
  • Check scaling on the display
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30

Thank you so much for sharing this, Martin! It seems the newest development version of wine (9.15) and installing with the script did the trick. Had to fiddle a little bit with the scaling of the display (it’s now on 0.2) and everything now works like a charm.

After making a DSP setting for my headphones on a dedicated amp/dac and sitting down in the other room to listen to the result I was in for a surprise. Controlling the playback from the iPad I could now also access the MUSE menu and make further adjustments! I didn’t expect that, but now I am even more happy!

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