Newbie questions

[Holger]

Roon Core Machine

Synology NAS, DSM 6 latest

Networking Gear & Setup Details

FRITZ!box, Core is connected via Ethernet. Whole building is covered with a Wifi mesh with same name/SID + password

Connected Audio Devices

ifi GoBlu Headphone DAC with HIFIman headphones (bluetooth or via USB audio), Apple TV HD with Geneva Labs Speaker, Yamaha Amplifier with T+A Speaker. No multiroorm use.

Number of Tracks in Library

70.000 tracks, 95% ALAC, some AAC, minor MP3

Description of Issue

I’m still in the free trial phase of Roon. There were some setup issues (first test run I installed Core 1.8 on a Mac Pro, then version 2.0 appeared, which I installed on Synology because the Mac is still running Mojave. Among other things, the entire library had to be re-read and analyzed, which took time). Now I have only 4 days left to test and listen to music.

So far I have accessed my music with Plex or PlexAmp (only local music files, no Tidal or Qobuz). Since Plex has difficulties with metadata, especially with multiple artists on one album, I wanted to switch to probably the best music management software Roon.
To start with, I’m seriously impressed! Metatags were automatically read in, everything albums and tracks correctly assigned (as far as I can judge in the short time).

What I noticed negatively, or what does not work as expected

1. when listening with headphones via bluetooth from iPhone, Roon is extremely sensitive when moving from one wifi network to the adjacent one. Roon then does not connect to the network with stronger signal but stutters away and loses connection to the core completely. (In the same situation it works flawlessly with Plex).

2. I cannot configure the Apple TV as an audio device. After entering the four digit Aip Play identifier happens: Nothing. Disconnect audio device, re-enable, enter new four digit pin – doesn’t work.

3. if I connect the headphone with DAC via USB and save it in Roon as audio device, this setting is lost when I turn off the DAC and disconnect it from USB. When I use it again I have to reconfigure, See also this thread:
   USB device does not get recognised after being reconnected - #6 by Holger_Ruhnke

4. As a test I added new music to my library. This is not recognized by Roon. See here:
   iMac no longer recognized and new albums not appearing - #7 by Holger_Ruhnke

5. with Roon ARC I have the problem that I can copy music only in highest quality to the iPhone. This does not work at all, because I have only little memory available on the iPhone. In PlexAmp I can set the desired OPUS bitrate. However, this seems to be a known problem, which will certainly be fixed.

6. A real knockout argument against Roon is for me but the compulsion to be constantly online to play my locally stored music files! I hope that this is still reconsidered.

I find Roon super in display and presentation of the library and would like to buy it (but since I do not like software subscriptions and I do not use software that is exclusively available in subscription, only a (hefty priced) lifetime license would come into question for me). However, with the problems I’ve mentioned, I’m seriously considering staying with PlexAMP. Are there solutions to my problems, please?

[glc650]

@Holger

I’m still in the free trial phase of Roon. There were some setup issues (first test run I installed Core 1.8 on a Mac Pro, then version 2.0 appeared, which I installed on Synology because the Mac is still running Mojave. Among other things, the entire library had to be re-read and analyzed, which took time). Now I have only 4 days left to test and listen to music.

It is a little late now if you already started from scratch but did you perform a backup:

Backup

and follow the migration instructions:

Moving Roon to a new Server

@Holger

As a test I added new music to my library. This is not recognized by Roon. See here:

Do they show up under Skipped files in Settings > Library?

[Holger]

Yes, I migrated the Roon database to speed things up. All the albums and information about my music was immediately in place and available, but the tracks had to be re-analyzed. Actually, I thought the analysis was supposed to be part of a backup – but it didn’t seem to work properly for me.
On the other hand, I wanted to run the analysis completely so I could evaluate the speed and response time of my Synology 720+ with my Roon library. At least I am satisfied with its speed.

The missing albums don’t show up under Skipped files. The copy operation to the Synology itself was successful, I checked that.

The missing albums have an umlaut in its folder name, can this cause problems? Unfortunately I am not able to check this out right now, I am far from home.

Any thoughts and ideas about connecting to my Apple TV?

[Geoff_Coupe]

@Holger

Any thoughts and ideas about connecting to my Apple TV?

You probably need to set a passcode. See:

Setting Connection to Apple TV via Airplay fails - [Airplay Code]

Please try changing your ATV Airplay settings, and require a password. A) Open settings on the AppleTV B) Navigate to AirPlay and Homekit C) Tap on “Allow Access” D) Set “Allow Access” to “Anyone on the Same Network” E) Set Require Password to “On” and create a password D) Back out of the menu to the home screen F) Try to enable the zone in Roon. It should ask you for the password

[connor]

Hi @Holger,

I understand the support team is late responding to your inquiry and your trial may have at this point expired.

Our goal is for you to have the full trial period to enjoy Roon, rather than wrestle with networking or endpoint setup issues, so I’m tagging our @accounts team, who can assist if you’d like to extend or reactivate your trial to make up for lost time.

The tech support team is also standing by to help out with any issues you might have should you choose to extend.

@Holger

when listening with headphones via bluetooth from iPhone, Roon is extremely sensitive when moving from one wifi network to the adjacent one. Roon then does not connect to the network with stronger signal but stutters away and loses connection to the core completely. (In the same situation it works flawlessly with Plex).

Just to clarify, access to your Roon Core and library when away from your home network is a feature of Roon ARC, not Roon Remote. If you’re losing connectivity on guest WiFi networks with ARC, it’s possible port forwarding has not been configured properly in Roon → Settings → ARC and in your router. This is something we will happily assist you with, and we’re actively researching methods for ARC to work out-of-the-box on more IPv6 networks (like those within Germany’s fiberoptic network).

[Holger]

@connor

Our goal is for you to have the full trial period to enjoy Roon, rather than wrestle with networking or endpoint setup issues, so I’m tagging our @accounts team, who can assist if you’d like to extend or reactivate your trial to make up for lost time

That would be a fine idea!
In fact I fiddled around with installing Roon on one machine, migrating everything onto another machine while upgrading the core and trying to make the whole package running, that there was‘nt much time left to try Roon in its basics: Playing music. So extending / resetting my trial period would be very kind.

[beka]

Hey @Holger,

I’m so glad that you want to give Roon another try. We’re thrilled.

We’ve restarted the free trial on your account. You can manage it when you log into Account - Roon Labs.

[connor]

Thank you @beka for your assistance here.

@Holger, please let me know once you’ve had a chance to log back into Roon, and we’ll be standing by to assist you promptly if you encounter the same issues.