Imac remote //mac air core

very simple question: my core connected to a chord mojo is an imac 27 512gb ssd late 2013. i have roon installed on a mac air too. if i want to use my imac as a remote for the mac air is it just as simple as choosing imac for remote and mac air for ‘manage my library’ on logging in? if that’s all ok as it seems to be will all the edits and info concerning my tidal albums/artists for e.g. favourites now show up in full when the mac air becomes core? (i only use roon with tidal)

many thanks mohab

Mohab,

Which Mac have you been using previously as Roon Core? If you swap Cores you need to back up the Roon database from the old Core and restore it to the new Core for your edits to move across.

All your favourites from Tidal will move automatically once you log into Tidal through the new Core.

hi very soon i will want to use my imac (which is now core) as remote and mac air laptop as core. i tried and experimented before and the imac controlled the mac air perfectly. the mac air is connected to a chord mojo dac. i listen at my desk and want to utilise the 27 inch imac screen but also ensure a battery powered laptop is connected to the dac for best results. in this case should the laptop have roon server on it or bridge i’m confused here? if the above works why all the trouble of backing up databases etc. i have no local stored music just tidal? i need the very best way of using an imac as a remote control for a mac air laptop. many thanks again

A Mac book air will not perform as well as the iMac with core functions.

hi there,

i’m fully aware of this but chord dacs work optimally when battery powered laptops are connected ie no ground. in my case i have a 27 inch imac so i want to use its large screen too. connecting my dac to the imac is not an option as it doesn’t provide the isolation of laptop on battery. any help on above post appreciated.

So run the core on the iMac and run Roon Bridge on the air…done

You can still separate the core from the remote process on the iMac too if you like.

I run a similar setup on 27” iMac with roon server and roon remote but the dac runs on a Roon Bridge running on a small windows machine on the network elsewhere in the house.
Any machine running the remote will find the core, even iPads or tablets or phones can run as remotes to a core [the core can be either roon server or roon] server is basically roon without remote running but you can also install roon as remote on the same machine and close it when not in use while the server app runs in the background. You need to select roon server in the menu once it’s running and select run at startup

thanks wizard,

is core on imac and bridge on air better than imac remote and air as core? is that optimal the solution here?

with the core on imac do you need to somehow install a remote on the imac to control the air which is bridge or does that work automatically?

cheers mohab new to all this.

Yes… the less you have the machine doing your DAC is connected to the better - so the theory goes.

core and remote are Roon setup to run as the core or just as remote depending on what you selected at the install (use this machine as the core etc

Roon Server is just the core.

Perhaps refresh your memory here https://kb.roonlabs.com/Software_packages

and here https://roonlabs.com/howroonworks.html and here https://kb.roonlabs.com/Architecture