I’ve got several HomePod Minis, including a stereo pair in one room. I’ve been disappointed by the experience using Roon with these. From Roon I can play to one HomePod Mini just fine, but not two at a time.
I tried the DSP filtering trick, but I couldn’t play to both HomePod Minis simultaneously.
I tried the system output trick, and that DID work. I can play from Roon to a MacOS or iOS device, then use AirPlay to cast system audio to my HomePod Mini Pair.
This is not a very satisfactory solution. It requires an extra device as a bridge when the HomePods are already on the network. This introduces a new point of failure and undermines the benefit of having a local music server. With this experience I may as well just use the TIDAL iOS app + Emby for my personal audio.
This is all pretty surprising to me given the homepage says:
Don’t worry if your gear doesn’t support a format. Roon makes sure that all your music plays everywhere.
Get the most out of every piece of audio gear in your home, from high-performance audiophile products to tabletop speakers.
Welp, I’m worried. Apple sold 4 million of these things in Q3 2021 and they’re expanding into more countries so it’s not exactly niche.
Shairport seems to be making some progress on AirPlay2 support, and OwnTone seems to have it as well. I recognize that Apple doesn’t make this easy; does Roon contribute to or support any of these open source efforts?