How to listen to local files without adding them to Library?

I have some music that I want to listen to occasionally, without adding it to my Roon Library. An example would be compilation albums or soundtracks. I don’t want my library filled with artists that I only have 1 or 2 tracks from.

Anyway, is there a way to open tracks through Windows Explorer or something, without adding them to my library?

Not through roon.

Create a separate watched folder for these albums, put them all there and disable the watched folder till you want to listen to one of those albums.

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This is exactly what I do with my old low res MP3s.

–MD

But this doesn’t fullfill what was initially asked for, since that still means that the content gets adopted to the roon library.

What’s missing in roon is something I’d call an audio startpoint.
Similar to how it presents all possible endpoints to be turned active, what’s missing is a similar list containing all local machine output devices to be taken similar to a web radio.
Since the one could easily play from any programm through the roon bridge.
Means I could even play from my preferred tagging app by definings the output to be for example a virtual audio cable whereas I would then simply define it’s virtual output to be taken as the input in roon.

I do love things being half implemented …audio output is already there :wink:
Ok one could use Broadwave acting as a radiostreamer and define this station to be the local pc radio then … but that’s pretty ugly.

I once used Tuneblade serving the same pi endpoint ropieee runs upon. But that’s a poor solution since it then lacks the possibilties roon offers (mutiroom)

anyone with a better idea?

This is a problem why?

It’s interesting to imagine what Roon might become, but important to remember that our imagination is not necessarily the same vision as the devs have.

If I had to guess whether the future of Roon was as a “universal player” that accepted all inputs or a “metadata combiner” that created a rich experience from multiple sources of information then I would guess the latter. Pragmatism may result in a mixture of both. Internet Radio, for example, is not library based. I personally hope that Internet Radio can become more like the rest of Roon (with metadata links to content) rather than Roon add on further playing capabilities that are not metadata driven.

Read the original post

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I did read the original post. You say you don’t want these artists in the library. I wonder why? How does it bother you?

Big stars like Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon and Steve Lehman, who I definitely want in my library, often play with musicians that appear on only one album or one track, either because they are competent studio musicians or because they are up-and-coming. These guys show up in my library, among the artists, with only one album to their name. They don’t do any harm. Just sit there.

In fact, I see value: I sometimes notice a sideman and follow up: I listen to Vijay Iyer a lot, noticed his bassist, clicked on his name, and Stephan Crump is now a major presence in my library, together with Jen Chapin, Mary Halvorsen and Ingrid Laubrock, similar examples of following up on a single occurrence.

But even ignoring the value, I am asking what you think is the harm. What does “filled up” mean?

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