Migrating from Apple Music

Roon Software Discussion
1

Hi,
This is my first post here. Here is the situation: I recently bought a WiiM Amp (and Klipsh speakers) to replace my old system. In a move to make the most out of the streaming capabilities, I took the opportunity to do the following:

  • subscribe to Tidal (to replace AppleMusic)
  • rip my CD collection to flac (I had ripped them to 128k MP3 20 years ago when disk space was scarce) to replace the lossy iTuneMatch service - flac files are now stored on a Synology NAS and I have completed 60% of the 800 CDs process
  • adopt the Roon system (core running on a dedicated i7 Windows PC)

Let’s just say that, on the ‘plumbing’ part, everything is working great (including using the 2nd listening room 1st-gen Apple Express as a Roon Airplay endpoint !). I also make heavy use of arc, especially in my car with Carplay. I also use the TV:REMOTE app on my AppleTVs, which is really a major part of the Roon experience!

On the music selection side of things, this is where I need advice. I am not yet a master of the ‘focus’ feature of Roon, although I think I could achieve a lot with it. What I miss most is what Apple Music calls “En Boucle”, which is French for ‘in a loop’, and is a smart (auto-updated) playlist with what you listened to most frequently in the last weeks. Is there a way I can get the same feature in Roon ? Same with e.g. “your most listened to in 2023” (I migrated this from AppleMusic, but thinking of the future …).
Also I think that ARC in Carplay is little shy on features (I cannot listen to just a song and let room decide what to play next, it’s just the full album or playlist).
To be completely transparent, I also gave a try to running Zerotier in order to be able to use Roon from my holiday house in Normandy, but had no success - Roon core is visible just as the ‘new’ endpoints, but no sound when music is played. Arc is probably the solution here, and I wish there was an ARC app on AppleTV.

There is nothing that would be a showstopper here, and anyway, beyond the 15 day free period, I have decided that I would take my time and make my informed decision on the right ‘package’ by the end of the year, maintaining all 3 services for now (Roon monthly, AppleMusic and Tidal).

Please let me know if you went through similar situations and how you managed.
Thanks and Regards from Paris,
Thierry

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Welcome @Thierry_Baroghel !

I’m not in front of my operating Roon install at the moment, but in the Roon world, “Bookmarks” are the equivalent to iTunes Smart Playlists. The basic procedure is to work in a mode (Tracks, Albums, etc.) then use the “Focus” parameters (which can include last played, play counts, a whole host of things, etc.) and then *save" that set of parameters as a Bookmark. One non-obvious thing about Focus parameters is that you can toggle them to a “negative” (or “NOT”) state by clicking on the purple pill-shaped selections you make to turn them red.

Anyway, any focus combination you can create can be saved as a Bookmark, and then it will update automagically every time you visit that bookmark. Hope that helps a bit.

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Many thanks for your swift reply and practical answer. I just created such a Bookmark with all titles read within the last month. I ordered tem by descending number of read. I will see how it evolves with time. It’s nice to have an instant support :smiley:
T

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