Im considering purchasing a pair for my vacation home. Do I have to purchase a separate Roon subscription for my computer there? Or, will my subscription cover two different “cores” . I use my laptop in our primary residence but want to use another laptop in the second residence.
You can’t run two locations simultaneously but you can swap between locations, running one at a time.
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PERFECT!!! Thank you.
The knowledge base searchable via Google etc is your friend
https://kb.roonlabs.com/How_many_licenses_do_I_need%3F#:~:text=Can%20my%20license%20be%20used%20in%20more%20than%20one%20location%3F,-Yes!&text=However%2C%20you%20can’t%20run,Roon%20core%20in%20another%20location.
Similar situation to the OP but with a few twists. I have Roon core and my music files on a dedicated Music server (Antipodes CX/EX) in my primary residence.
I have KEF LS50W at my vacation home which DOES NOT have internet service. I do have a router at the vacation home which I currently use to connect my Chord Poly/MOJO to in order to playback music files on the Poly SD card.
IF I load Roon Core unto an older laptop and log-in to my Tidal account will I be able to play back my Tidal files? My thinking is that I can connect the old laptop to my smartphone wifi hotspot so that Roon can access my Tidal files.
I suppose I could also copy my music files to an external HD and connect that to the old laptop so that Roon can “access” them.
Anyone care to weigh in on whether my proposed “setup” should work?
No. You have to be online. Tidal works only when you logged in. Of course you have offline files on Tidal app (mobile) but, first off all have to access to Internet. If you do hotspot for PC from cellular ofc you can do anything. Problem is poor signal in-door with cellular connection. When you have hotspot, PC (Core) works with Roon/Tidal and local sources of course.
And no, you cannot copy music files form Tidal to PC - it’s your point? (you can play them only via tidals app or integrated software like Roon). Offline = no Tidal. Roon could access only YOURS files (external drive), in settings/storage you must choose right path and works without WAN.
Not easily, but certainly doable. Anything that passes through my computer is subject to search and storing. It’s a little plaque on the door of my network card.
Not legally anyway.
I gave my proposed setup a try over the Columbus Day weekend. I connected my laptop to my cellphones hotspot and fired up Roon easily. I was able to access all my Tidal content as well as the FLAC files stored on a micro-SD card.
I am fortunate to have decent cellular signal at my vacation home thus enabling me to use Roon into the KEF LS50W.
Next summer I will add seasonal internet service & router to the vacation home as a “permanent” solution going forward.
Thanks for your help/guidance with this matter.
I’m glad it worked out! I have to wait till the end of november at the earliest for my pair. I like to make audio equipment vids so when I get mine setup Ill post one. Cant wait!
One of the outstanding features of the LS50W and by inference Series 2 is their ability to easily connect to many different sources. For example I had an old DVD player at the vacation home that I successfully hooked up to the LS50W via a toslink cable (remember those?) a well as a vintage Sony Discman connected to the KEF aux input. A very convenient feature (albeit somewhat less hifi) is the BT connection. For fun I paired my iPhone with the KEF and used to Tidal app on the iPhone to stream music to the KEF. Lots of fun and ideal for someone like myself who wants a simple solution for HQ music playback at a second home.
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For the moment I can’t recommend the Series 2 - reason is that you need an account to configure your speakers. Once KEF shuts down the services, you have a pair of speakers which you can’t configure anymore. You can access the speakers through the browser without an account but no options to configure all settings.
Else I own different KEF products and very happy.
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What is the drawback of having an account? Why would KEF “shut down the services?”
I look at my Quad ESL57 speakers that are now 44 years old, and I give thanks that I can still enjoy them. Care to place your bet that KEF’s services will still be around in 40 years time?
And I say this with the full knowledge that I can no longer download the Quad Artera link app for my Quad Artera Link, that is less than 5 years old.
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High quality speakers is something I have for longer time - I don’t expect to replace them in the next 5 years. In addition there is simply no technical reason to force users to create an account for simply configuring the speakers. The only reason is to track the users and get more data. I’m with @Geoff_Coupe - I’m pretty sure not company runs the same service for that long. Look what Sonos did if you have older equipment. The no account was one reason I started to add KEF products and sold all Sonos, but with the LS50 Wireless 2 I’m again on the same point I was ;-(
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I didn’t know this. One really needs an account with KEF to configure LS50W2? @Ben_Hagens can you confirm this? Not that I doubt your knowledge @Pet_M, but I find this is so incredible an explanation from KEF is necessary.
@ogs That is correct - there is no way in the Android App to skip this step. KEF Support confirmed that there is no other option and they did not see an issue with that, as they have according to them a strong privacy protection.
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I guess I don’t see the issue either. This certainly would not stop me from buying them if they receive Roon Ready certification (and I can meet the WAF somehow).
Speaker sound settings profiles used to be saved into the speaker itself on the old platform. With the user profile, the sound setting profiles (when we implement them - that’s coming quite soon with some other related bits and pieces. Maybe something to do with subwoofers…) is associated with the user profile, so if you log into different devices, you have exactly the same list of sound profiles.
This will also be the same for app customisations when implemented - the changes you make will carry over to your other devices that you log into. For example, if you removed Deezer from the homepage on your iPhone, that will also occur on the Samsung tablet that you’ve also logged into. Keeps the experience consistent.
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I can see why KEF selected to do it this way, but it is a deal breaker for me. I had the W2 on my ‘must audition’ list. No more. If I could set up the basics without a login, maybe. Thanks for replying.
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