We’re going to do something to address that use case, but if someone in this thread says “yes I do it all the time”, I’d be asking for more details about how it is done, which knobs they expect to twist, etc.
Simplest methods are just gain adjustment + mixing rules for each channel…but like everything in this space, you can go further down the rabbit hole and use more advanced techniques. If it’s truly just a convenience feature for the rest of the family + secondary zones, we will put less resources into it than if it is a common use case for enthusiasts.
[quote=“brian, post:18, topic:10474”]
I think the trickier stuff will be the files with proprietary encodings–DTS, AC3, etc. We almost definitely will not have decode licenses for these, so they’ll be bit-perfect-to-a-decoder or nothing
[/quote]Conflicting statements there Brian … tough call.
BTW I stream DTS files via Roon (and Sooloos) to my Meridian 861 it works great.
I know. It’s bothering me, too. The multi-device nature of Roon makes patent licensing VERY tricky, and it gets worse in the future with mobile/offline playback.
And of course, multi-channel is a niche that can really only be enjoyed with people with a lot of gear (i.e. a small minority, especially as we reach broader audiences), so doing something that potentially throws off the pricing model for everyone so a relatively small audience can enjoy a feature is a difficult trade-off to make.
Where do your DTS/AC3/etc encoded-multichannel files come from? Do you have new content sources for these, or are they mostly older releases? Just trying to get a feel for the landscape…most of the B2B interest in Roon doing multi-channel does not seem focused on these use cases, though I’m not surprised that people have files like this kicking around.
@mitr
I have a handful of DVD concert rips with ac3 or`dts soundtracks, that I wouldn’t mind ripping the audio out to pcm with. I use macs and don’t know what I could use to rip it out of the mkv files. What did you use, if you don’t mind me asking. Then Brian I won’t have any.
Thanks
Paul
[quote=“weedos, post:25, topic:10474, full:true”] @mitr I have a handful of DVD concert rips with ac3 or`dts soundtracks, that I wouldn’t mind ripping the audio out to pcm with. I use macs and don’t know what I could use to rip it out of the mkv files. What did you use, if you don’t mind me asking. Then Brian I won’t have any.[/quote]DVDAE: DVD Audio Extractor. I understand there are other options, too. Discussion of this application on other forums like ComputerAudiophile, AVSForum, etc.
[quote=“brian, post:23, topic:10474”]
Where do your DTS/AC3/etc encoded-multichannel files come from?
[/quote]My DTS encoded files are from DTS CD’s, ripped as per any Redbook CD to 2 channel FLAC. (Roon imports and streams these bit perfect just fine).
My lossless multichannel files are from DVD-A rips, to multichannel FLACS. (These are just ignored by Roon.)
DTS and DVD-A media is still available but tend to be older releases.
It’s currently helpful for me how Roon allows you downsample 24/192 to 24/96 as that is the maximum that I can pass through an optical cable to my receiver. What would be fantastic, although I don’t know if possible, is if Roon could downsample 5.1 24/96 FLAC so it would be able to be output via optical cable as I know it has some limitations. Currently I have no way of receiving Roon via USB to my receiver.
Roon via Ethernet to Sonicorbiter SE (I would need to purchase)
Sonicorbiter SE with a USB to HDMI adapter into HDMI in on Oppo BDP-103
Oppo BDP-103 HDMI out to Onkyo receiver (already in place)
JRiver Media Center. I had Roon running when I was reviewing a server that used it and my Oppo appeared in the list of available renderers but I never tried it.
Brian: Thanks for being curious about this subject. When I first built my high-end Magnepan surround system, I also started a large 5.1 channel SACD collection (buying virtually every 5.1 title I could get my hands on). However, as the state of the art in computer-based audio has progressed, I have increasingly abandoned my 5.1 listening for 2-channel listening based on a Tidal/Roon/HQPlayer front end. I did it purely for audio quality reasons – the best digital content upsampled to DSD128 or higher simply sounded better than SACD on a $10k SACD player.
But I would love the chance to now get that same quality of sound in 5.1 channels. For me, the challenge is actually more of a hardware than a software challenge: The Exasound e28 and the new Merging nadac are high-end 5.1 channel players (albeit perhaps not quite as good as the best 2-channel only equipment). But, given how much more expensive surround equipment is than same quality 2-channel, I’m intentionally waiting to see where the performance improvement curve in DACs begins to level out before making the 5.1 channel investment. But there is also a second technical issue, which is that I enjoy listening to 5.1 and 7.1 video material on blu-ray and getting the best sound from that involves using the balanced 5.1 channel outputs from my Oppo BDP-105D to my Bryston SP3 pre-processor. Given that the Bryston unit (like almost any multi-channel preamp I know of) has only one set of 5.1 balanced inputs (but has multiple 2 channel balanced inputs), if I was to add a 5.1 channel DAC, I would either also have to add a 5.1 channel switcher (putting more noise into the system) or eliminate the ability to get the best sound from movies. Adding an HDMI input to a high-end 5.1 channel DAC would solve that problem, but the licensing fees on HDMI are too steep for most DAC manufacturers to even contemplate that.
On the software side, I’m a big believer in what you have done with HQPlayer (allowing it to both do upsampling and incorporate DSP functionality), especially inasmuch as HQPlayer already allows for surround sound passthrough/processing. Recently, as I have added digital downloads of content that are available in both 2 and 5.1 channel, I have purchased both and put both versions on my NAS (in the hope that 5.1 becomes a reality soon enough to reward the small extra investment in dual format content). I also hope to be able, at some point, to rip my large SACD library to 5.1 digital DSD files.
Bottom line is that although the market for 5.1 capabilities in Roon is today still limited, I expect that it will continue to grow. Further, to the extent that Tidal and Roon continue to work well together and Tidal adds more video content, there may be a time where Roon becomes the “better front end” for that content as well and then 5.1 capabilities become even more important.