Integrating streaming services other than Tidal

[Chrislayeruk (Chris)]

In the digital world, both streaming CD, High Res and MQA are the top of the digital world as that is where the catalog of music is.
You can even store dead formats such as DSD if you have the files. What else Top End is there?

So yes, Roon delivers the very best High End Audio.

[garym]

@Simon_Arnold3

I know Roon can’t integrate Spotify as Spotify only allow their app to control it and not third party products.

Just as a point of correction, I can stream from my Spotify library using LMS (with the ‘spotty’ plugin) and squeezeboxes, using my LMS apps and controller (not spotify connect or a spotify app although one can also setup Spotify Connect to work through LMS, which I haven’t done). LMS has recently also updated (ver 8.0) so that Spotify and Tidal (and I think Quobz) can appear integrated in Artist/Album listing along side local music files (very “roon like”, without the roon extra information). And Spotify tracks can be mixed into LMS playlists along with local tracks with no issues.

[Simon_Arnold3 (Simon Arnold)]

It’s a very different bag with LMS it’s a free opensource application. Roon is not , you cant legally use the API hacks used in a moniterised product it has to be full licensed by Spotify. Spotty , librespot are all unsupported hacks not licensed products

[garym]

@Simon_Arnold3

It’s a very different bag with LMS it’s a free opensource application. Roon is not , you cant legally use the API hacks used in a moniterised product.

True, and I truly am not trying to be argumentative here, just responding to the point that Spotify will only allow their app to control. Another example that is not open source is SONOS. One can use SONOS apps/controllers to select and play Spotify tracks without using the Spotify app.

p.s. I’m not arguing that Roon should add Spotify or anything. Roon should do what it wants to do.

[Simon_Arnold3 (Simon Arnold)]

Didn’t know that about Sonos, maybe they struck a deal as one of the very early adopters and a hardware vendor, they also the only one to have Apple music to?

[garym]

Could be…they were certainly an early adopter in this market (and way before things like Spotify Connect). I suspect such deals are hard to come by now.

[Andrew_Dean1 (Andrew Dean)]

I’m in Australia too, and have the Hi-Res subscription. Jade Imagine isn’t showing for me either.

I agree, the Tidal limitations are frustrating. There’s no Smith Street Band stuff either

[Matt_Armstrong]

@Jim_F

Personally, I see Roon as a premium product partnered with two premium streaming providers. I hope they never decide to lower their standards. There are plenty of other providers for that market segment.

I think premium products should ideally provide a seamless experience. My wife likes to stream Pandora in the kitchen, and I do as well at times. We can do this because I have a Sonos there, but now we’re fiddling with multiple software packages that work differently. The Sonos box is also incapable of being “grouped” for synchronized playback with my Roon Ready playback system. My frankenstein Roon/Sonos system mostly works, but feels suboptimal and not quite premium.

Note that Roon folks have said that they’d love to integrate Pandora into Roon, which would let me ditch Sonos completely. I suspect that they’d be open to integrating with other more pedestrian streaming partners for similar reasons. Roon has a great multi-room playback solution, with great features for DSP, volume leveling, etc., but it is currently “locked out” of most of the world’s streaming services.

[Jim_F]

@Jim_F

Personally, I see Roon as a premium product partnered with two premium streaming providers. I hope they never decide to lower their standards. There are plenty of other providers for that market segment.

I stand by this statement. That doesn’t mean Roon needs to work seemlessly with every conceivable hi-fi system ever built and sold. Sonos isn’t even hi-fi, is it? This thread is about streaming services, not Roon Ready hardware.