Is AirPlay 2 on the Roon roadmap?

You are throwing out a lot of uninformed opinion. Apple has made extensive documentation available from day one and made Airplay 2 a big improvement over Airplay. Many, many, hardware and software products implemented it right away and more are all the time because they know their customers want it. There wasn’t and is no slow uptake to Airplay 2. It’s even being built into TV’s.
Lots of software supports Airplay 2, that’s a non-starter as a reason. Every music streaming service supports it.
Airplay 2 is software not hardware anyway. There is no hardware component to Airplay 2.
https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/airplay_2
Roon is also in the hardware business.
https://roonlabs.com/nucleus

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What hoops do you have to jump through specifically?

Thank you @DarwinOS for your comments here and I completely agree. As someone that is invested in the Apple ecosystem, including 2 HomePods, I want to see this enhancement happen. Also, I am a lifetime subscriber to Roon,

Also, to add to what @DarwinOS has pointed to, I offer https://developer.apple.com/videos/play/wwdc2017/509/ which shows how Apple introduced it in back in 2017 at WWDC.

It was a major offering from them and Apple has invested significant resources in the past 3-5 in advancing audio capabilities in their hardware and software. I do have a slim hope that high-res does make it to Apple Music, but I am not holding my breath in that regard.

Please Roon team, lets make this important advancement in AirPlay protocol happen for us devoted Roon users.

Ali

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Yes Ali that’s why many companies had Airplay 2 active on its launch day. Apple made the information available far in advance. Apple users AAC of course and Mastered for iTunes tracks, now called Apple Digital Masters, sound especially good. I would also like to see higher res anyway but don’t expect it any time soon if ever from Apple. They don’t need it to attract users plus most AM users probably stream from a mobile device and still care about bandwidth usage.

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I agree with you that Apple will not change course and offer high-res anytime soon or ever, unless there is some compelling reason. Thanks for bringing this topic up again and I really hope that the Roon team can make AirPlay 2 a priority and add it to their roadmap. I think there is enough of us making the request to make it compelling.

Also, as a side note/wish, I really wished that the Roon roadmap could be decided if not influenced by the Roon subscriber community as I like to think that the software/service exists because of this community.

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The real question was the one asked! Yes or no? Instead we’re left hanging. And frankly, it’s damned unpleasant.

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Can’t believe we still can’t get a stereo pairing through Roon and HomePods.
That’s enough for me not to take the plunge for another year or life.
Hope Roon monitor these posts.

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Has Roon ever communicated that Apple devices are Roon ready? Buying something and then demanding that Roon support it is unfair at best. Expecting them to commit to integration prior to it being at an advanced stage is also wrong as it will lead other customers to buy products that are not supported. Roon clearly indicated products that are supported, if you decide to but something what, that is on you.

Apple charge a lot for proprietary codecs, the only reason that airplay was an option is that someone cracked it at an early stage.

Finally, how many people using Roon actually used these devices? At this time Roon have to work it the cost and how many customers require this.

So, this is not helpful. Are you trying to get Roon to code to something else? :wink:

I think it is perfectly reasonable for a service provider (Roon) to listen to what its customers want. No one is holding Roon’s feet to the fire claiming that it has not delivered on a promise, but rather we are simply making a request and hoping to influence the roadmap.

Personally, I don’t agree with Roon’s (for reference I am a lifetime subscriber) practice where we don’t (apparently) have a voice in its development roadmap. Particularly, this niche market of ours where we are well informed high-end audio consumers.

It makes little sense to me that a company that has already come to market will not progress based on the voice of the customer. Even Apple doesn’t operate the way like it used to in the Steve Jobs era.

I would love to see Roon open up at least a portion of its roadmap to us, where we can vote on what features come to Roon next.

@mike I see you chimed in a couple of years ago. I hope that you can please provide some insights here and pass my thoughts to decision makers within the company.

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Single platform versus multi platform.
Source versus sink.

Roon does not develop specifically for the “Apple ecosystem” – in which some people seem to be way too emotionally and physically invested.

With AirPlay 2, you can wirelessly send your content from any Apple device to a speaker enabled with AirPlay or Apple TV

https://developer.apple.com/documentation/avfoundation/airplay_2/getting_airplay_2_into_your_app

Now, if Roon were to build a wireless speaker, Apple would be more than happy to take Roon’s money and license it as an AirPlay 2 sink (receiver).

However, that is not what Roon does. Roon is a largely OS agnostic, multi platform music app, which would function as an AirPlay 2 source (sender). Per Apple documentation cited above, Roon could accomplish that – but only on Apple hardware.

And, yes, as others astutely have pointed out in the thread, this already is possible by making your MacOS or iOS/iPadOS device the Roon endpoint, then using its built in capabilities to wing that audio to whichever AirPlay 2 device you choose. I have done this myself from an iPad Pro to an Apple TV 4K.

Okay, but what about Roon on Windows? Linux? RoonOS? Android?

Along similar lines, what other music apps – outside of any running on MacOS and iOS/iPadOS hardware – can send audio to AirPlay 2 speakers? Please provide examples.

People need to be informed and hold realistic expectations. If Apple’s “walled garden” is the limiting factor, hold Apple responsible. If your excessive investment in that “Apple ecosystem” is the limiting factor, hold yourself responsible. Just be informed about the issues inside/outside of that single platform and the differences between source and sink.

AJ

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My complaints are two. 1) Lack of Airplay2 support. And 2), almost as much as 1, is a complete lack of official information from Roon telling us IF they plan to eventually support it, and IF NOT, why not?

We’re adults and we can understand, at least rudimentary technical and business decisions. We may not like or agree with them, but at least it would bring denouement and thus a degree of comfort.

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But they did reply.

At this moment they didn’t announce any plans, right at the beginning of the thread. Like airplay 1, if it becomes available as open source, they will possibly do it, they are not closing the door. But they have not committed to doing it as they likely cannot right now.

They did with Squeezebox, Sonos and Chromecast. All those options were not part of a closed ecosystem, they were opened up the companies that owned the rights.

As pointed out above, at this time airplay 2 is proprietary, Apple will not let them use it for non iOS device.

If I bought a BMW that doesn’t support Android Auto, expecting BMW to add that functionality when I bought something that wasn’t compatable at the time is down to me. You buy what you but based on it’s specifctions at the time, not hoping that it will be available in the future.

Finally we have a grand total of 31 comments on this thread. It’s hardly like airplay 2 is getting hundreds of requests and for the cost of doing it, it doesn’t make sense for Roon.

If you are in the Apple ecosystem, you likely have an iPhone or iPad that you can use as a remote and steam via airplay 2 that way.

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It’s apparent by the nature and comments of some who are commenting here that they just don’t like Apple, so their personal point of view is coloring what they say. They have stopped short of saying things like, fan boys, Apple sheep, etc. :laughing:

Some are commenting here with tremendous vigor on behalf of Roon, as if they own, are key decision makers or are principal engineers of the platform. Please allow someone from Roon to comment. The last official comment (or non-comment depending on your point of view) was in 2018.

Let’s just be consumers and allow Roon (a company that we pay money to to provide a service) to hear from its customers, consider and respond.

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I am no Apple fan boy that is true but it has no bearing on any of comments. I just want a valid reason as to why Roon should add support for something that’s not really needed to advance the product. I have pointed out several times and gets ignored and they are not the only library music software to not be including it. It’s proprietary in nature and only of use to those already with iOS products. It’s not adding anything to Roons portfolio of support audio products or features . You can play to any airplay device already without the need for iOS.

People like to weigh in with their opinions. That’s what a forum is. Roon will comment when and if they want to.

I don’t see a way of sending music to a set of stereo-paired HomePods from Roon on MacOS without grouping those HomePods into a Zone. To my listening tests this will not result in the same quality and negates what has taken place when these HomePods where stereo-paired via iOS software.

Even on a iOS device when you send music from Roon, via Control Center>>>Audio Tray, it simply doesn’t sound as good. I have experienced severe sound quality issues, no true stereo separation, and outright crashes of the Roon app on my iPhone 11.

While at the same time when I send music via the Qobuz app directly to my stereo-paired HomePods, the sound quality, stereo separation between the speakers are all easily heard.

So, for those in this thread that have said why don’t you just send music from Roon in that manner as you would from a music app, there is the reason.

This is where the AirPlay 2 integration becomes valuable/needed for Roon.

Please don’t stand in the way of a possible integration by demonstrating to Roon that it is not important. It may not be important to you, but it is to others. And, this is not the only thread on HomePods or AirPlay 2. So, please don’t make assumptions about how much demand there may be for it.

Also, consider that there may be some people out there who are probably not considering certain hardware because of Roon’s lack of AirPlay 2 support.

So, again if you have something in the pipeline that you would rather see come to life, which assumes that you have access to Roon’s roadmap where none of the rest of us have, then why, I ask again, why would you have a dissenting vote where it can take away from someone else’s enjoyment of their set-up and use of Roon?

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I’m pretty sure no one is actively against airplay 2. But, experience says that the roon development would probably not be focused on it as there is a current solution, however unsatisfactory it may be to you.

Thanks. I appreciate your comment and you make a valid point. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Maybe. Let us examine some key points, followed by several questions.

Apple does not license AirPlay sender capability – that is limited to Apple hardware or software. Roon core support of AirPlay was a reverse engineered hack. Likewise, Roon core support of AirPlay 2 would be a reverse engineered hack.

Do invested Apple fans advocate hacked solutions that Apple itself opposes? Do Roon users believe that Roon should invest development resources into hacked solutions that Apple could undo with software updates?

AJ

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I would say, YES!