Library size - got it WRONG?

Roon Software Discussion
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A few weeks ago I tried Roon with little expectation. I soon began to really enjoy the ways that it allowed me to listen to music. It is running from Windows, reading a library on a NAS, computer feeding a decent amp and speakers.

I took up one admin matter with support and gained a prompt and delightful response.
BUT! (Did you see that coming?) I think that Roon might have got it wrong in what is, at least for me, one major respect.

If I’ve got this right (and I would love to know that I am wrong) the maximum size of the library is about 200,000 files. The standard response of Roon seems to be that libraries that as large as that are extreme or exceptional or outliers. Something like that?

I think they might just have it completely the wrong way round. I think there are a lot of people with large libraries. I think they just do not use Roon. I think that because Roon does not accommodate them, they don’t use it. Simple.

It is certainly a factor which would cause me to defect, even for something which is not necessarily as good. I do not like sitting here listening to my music, with Roon reporting that it sees 177,000 of 285,000 files (and that after I have removed a folder of classical music containing 34,000 files). I am left wondering what is missing from my library, what perfect next tune is unavailable? I think there might be many others who feel the same.

Thoughts?

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There is no file limit. Certainly not 200,000. I don’t know what happens when one gets to 5 million tracks, etc. So something else is wrong if you’re not seeing all 285,000 of your files.

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What file format are the files in?
There are many users with large libraries, yours isn’t unique.

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It’s probably worth checking the Skipped Files screen to see if Roon has failed to import some of your files.

Settings > Library > Skipped Files

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Large local music libraries require much more robust hardware than smaller libraries. By robust hardware I am referring to the CPU, system memory and drive that holds the Roon database.

I have a very large library (over 850,000 tracks) and Roon handles it with little or no problems. I also have a totally over speced Windows PC with and i7-7700k CPU, 32GB RAM and a solid state MME drive.

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I am very glad I threw this out there.

I had previously searched and found, several times, the information which now appears to be erroneous

Thank you. All helpful…

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Really? Mmm? Seems I got the wrong information from previous searches. Onward and upward.

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That is very interesting … are there any more specific guidelines … for a library of this size, this level of computer is required.

I’ve got a ‘work’ computer which is similar spec to yours, but the one I use for a media server is i5, SSD, but only 8gb.

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Nice one David. Let me do that now …

Interesting! It isn’t the full answer, but that is interesting that a about 2,000 files have been skipped, mostly reporting as ‘corrupt’.

As a side issue, I was just feeling a touch frustrated scrolling up and down the list and then saw the ‘export’ button. There is much to be impressed about with Roon, isn’t there?

As I said, I did not set off thinking that I was going to be impressed, but Roon picked up a library that a couple of different streamers could not find. Then I found that software could actually do better than me with what I thought I had always done better then perfectly well myself, be my own DJ.

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Thank you Gary.

Ho hum. Ho hum to how did I get the wrong info. Now, to what I need to do.

Nice product. Nice community.

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I am not sure Roon ever quoted a max size, they certainly advise on hardware, much like @Jazzfan_NJ I use a Windows 10 Tower PC full of HDD , i7, 7700, 16 g Ram , 250 SSD

My library is around 150 k tracks , Roon behaves perfectly

The PC runs all sorts in the background, eg SQL Server etc

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do you have another music server that you use for playing music? Does it report the correct number of tracks so that you have a baseline? For example, I get the same track count from Roon, foobar2000, or LMS (Logitech Media Server). I have about 115,000 mostly FLAC tracks.

Also, any commonality on the “Corrupt” files. When I first started with Roon, I had a few hundred files that showed up as corrupt (although foobar2000 and LMS would play them). It turned out that these were all old mp3 files that had something weird about them (22k rather than 44k, mp2 vs mp3, and a few other odd things. Most were from old radio shows, and fidelity didn’t matter anyhow, so I simply converted those to regular mp3 and then they worked.

Be sure to read this closely:

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99% Flac.

I think that is the opposite of what I said. I hoped I was clear in saying that I thought there were a lot of people with large libraries.

Seems I was wrong about Roon’s capacities though.

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Cool! Did I say good product, good community? Thank you so much for further proof.

Great points, questions, and link.

I think this is something for quiet Sunday morning contemplation.

Thank you.

Later!

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I just did a few searches a few weeks back and, at that time, all I saw was answers quoting such libraries as being extreme, which disappointed me and, given the nature of the product, disappointed me. You’re right though, it was people quoting Roon as having said …

BUT! As I suggested in my post, I am glad to be proved wrong.

I don’t know, but my guess is that the processor is not key. I partly justify this because the computer is a dedicated server, with little else to occupy itself. I say this to excuse that mine is an i5 in that machine. Then, the only internal hard drive is an SSD. So, I guess it is the 8gb or RAM which would be the best area of further investment. Any thoughts?

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Is your Roon core computer device connected to your router by ethernet? I could not get Roon to work acceptably with a WIFI connection and that was using an i7 with 32 GB RAM. I realize you’re talking about a local library, but Roon is pulling in lots of metadata.

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Yes sir! Good question, and the answer is that I am a luddite. I like my wires! Thank you for the thought.

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As far as I know Roon loads thr Library into memory so RAM is critical, my 16 gb is fine Roon takes up 3-4 gb of it along with Windows taking a chunk , I’ll post the stats when I start up the PC

RAM is cheap as long as your motherboard can take it

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Actually, the machine only had 4gb and I just upgraded it to 8. So, throwing that away and buying another 16 seems a bit of a shame.

We shall see. Things are progressing.

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Patience is a virtue I’ve learned late in life.

I’ve carefully been working through and trying to make sure I am comparing apples with apples.

The track count in Roon was something like 170,000. The file count from Windows of my music folder was something like 340,000.

It occurred to me that they are not the same thing.

I’ve been taking time going through deleting pdfs, nfo, torrent detritus, and other interesting stuff.

Track count in Roon is now near enough 200,000. File count of the folder is something like 280,000.

It seems that 75,000 of those are images. I have absolutely no intention of shuffling through those to see which ones are useless!

That leaves only a few thousand files unaccounted for. I think those are file formats which Roon doesn’t like. I’ll have to see and look further. But now I have a clearer idea about how much music might not be available in Roon, I think it is time to address the article you kindly linked, the corrupt files … and whatever else.

Thank you again.

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