Lifetime subscriber using Squeezeboxs, uPnP and Chromecast devices I have gone back to LMS

As a lifetime subscriber using Squeezeboxs, uPnP and Chromecast devices I have gone back to LMS.

I have reluctantly done it as I am not in the financial position, nor inclined to move to any roon ready devices, so will be staying with these until they fail.

As well as that I am getting frustrated with where the clients are at and my ability to control my music.

  1. When I listen to my music I want the clients to quickly connect and serve up my music options.

Roon Android client on multiple differant devices just wont connect and has been leaving me frustrarted for many months now, as it only connects when it wants too and after 5 minutes waiting.

  1. When I browse music I’d like to do it on devices of my choice and the lack of ideally a Linux client, or Electron app, or a fully featured in built web app means I have to reboot my mac from linux to macos to just use the mac controller.

Spotify has had a linux client since 2010, with the same look, feel and functionaility as the other desktop clients -> https://news.spotify.com/us/2010/07/12/linux/

I have to say the mac controller does the job nicely, but always says I need to buy another license and keeping a dedicated mac just for the client is not an option.

  1. I am sick of Tidal insistance of stuffing hip hop down my throat and with the greatest respect to those who like it, I don’t, so have gone for a deezer hifi service, which of course shows no sign of ever coming to Roon.

With LMS I can listen to Deezer hifi through all of my Squeezebox, Chromecasts and uPnP devices alike, all in sync.

  1. Chromecast and uPnp, werent we told ‘Chromecast was coming’ ? with nothing but excuses it seems that is not going to happen.

  2. Enough of the over engineering of the menu’s

Overall, disappointed with the direction of Roon (except upsampling), in my humble opinion it needs;

  • Light and fast clients, that quickly give access to my music, html5 multi device capable perhaps

  • Linux client and player support, using todays technology and cross platform tech

  • Updates to legacy items such as squeezebox (or the ability for others to access the code to enhance that area),

  • Chromecast support, any other streaming services, or the ability for users to include basic level services into the system.

Lastly, for me, I don’t need another way of pressing play for my music to start; having so many configurable options for how to start my music is over engineering and not making the key critical items of the product/service work well.

I am not trying to bash the Roon team, far from it, but I have felt the need to highlight its shortcomings in my view.

All the best.

Edit: Added reference to the spotify app for linux.

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Given the performance issues you refer to I have to think it’s your server or your WiFi network that’s letting you down. My only Roon UI at present is an iPhone 7 and a Google Pixel 2. The Pixel is very quick to connect and interact, as is the iPhone and iPad Pro before that. Agreed re need for a Linux desktop app though.

As Roon has not focused on nor enhanced its metadata model it currently serves little purpose for me other than finding something to play through searching for an artist and pressing play, or starting Roon radio. The rest of the UI has become somewhat irrelevant to me. For all intents and purposes it’s now as much an appliance app as LMS was for me before Roon. Hopefully this changes, but I wouldn’t bet on it at this juncture.

I don’t believe I mentioned performance issues, as I use an Intel® Xeon® CPU E3-1231 v3 @ 3.40GHz, wired 1000 Mbps ethernet and ac wifi, so there really shouldn’t be any issues there.

The reality is a long thread with many people suffering the same android connection issues, as well as the mac app always asking me to un register the server else purchase a second license. If I unlicense is immediately connects to that initial server. This has already been reported but not resolved.

I get many choices now on how I want to press play on a track now, but elsewhere its not a very good experience for me.

Its good that @Carl has so quickly put my post in a nice and quiet forum instead of support now. What has this post got to do with ‘Roon Labs LLC’?

I was referring to your connection issues via Android.

Oh I see, when I last looked at the long thread on the subject it wasn’t pointing to perfomance issues.

To be fair it’s not a support issue, this section, though not ideal, was imho the best fit. With hindsight perhaps Roon Software would be better… thus I’ve just moved it over.

PS What you wouldn’t have seen is that I also pinged Mike, Danny and Brian to make sure they would read it ASAP.

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Ok I understand and thanks for moving it to one more appropriate.

I guess a couple of the points for me were around long standing support issues that have been resolved for some but not the majority (it seems), hence being in support.

That said its also about the over engineering, light, stable and fast clients so selecting and searching music is a joy rather than a chore, or worse, just so frustrating I just don’t play the music.

As for passing it on to the team, thanks, but I am not looking to kick the team, but highlight my view, as I guess not using Roon for some months inow has meant I have grown more frustrated over the last 6 months and I felt it was time to highlight those frustrations.

Edit: Typos.

Lol, I see after 11 days its as much interest as mine.

I will continue to enjoy my music on Daphile and hope Roon starts to work at some stage in the products ‘lifetime’.

Is Daphile free?, I can’t see any price structure

I assume an “empty pc” not used for anything else ?

Mike

It is, it’s LMS in a wrapper.

@Mike_O_Neill Yes its free and I am liking it on an old dual core mac mini, with cd drive, it can rip the cd’s straight into LMS and has a nice shell around LMS.

I tried it first in a VM so should work fine there too.

I am running the latest dev release and it is working a treat with its dark skin over LMS, it feels as though the LMS theme is updated.

It allows connecting a dac to it directly and outputting through that or your other LMS & UPnP/Chromecast (via plugins) devices.

The key thing for me, when I start the android app it just connects and I can start browsing my music, without the long wait I get with roon.

Yes roon is more graphically appealing, but its no good if the usability goes out of the window with it.

With a few other bells and whistles, I’d say…

Yeah, there are some quirks with Squeezebox and with Android. Both need some work. Android more than squeezebox I’d say given the market share, I just wish I could turn my Squeezebox off after using it with Roon! Only works with LMS. Grrr.