Pathway ideas please

I have the opportunity to help set up a system for one of my sons, he has acquired a Marantz NR1200, borrowed my Chord Qutest and purchased a pair of Elac floorstanders. In addition he has a PS3, PS4, PS5, a Nintendo Switch and an Apple TV that he wishes to connect to the Marantz via HDMI. How best can I connect my travelling Core when I visit him? I have a spare RPi with a digital hat, or I could use USB from my MacBook Pro into the Qutest, thoughts please :pray:

I’m not sure what you mean by “travelling Core”
Is your Roon Core on the MacBook?
Where are your local files, if any?

If the Core isn’t on your MacBook you could use Roon Arc on a mobile device and connect it to the Qutest via cable. (Note since the last update many people are having trouble connecting to Roon Arc).

If the MacBook is your Core you can just connect to your Son’s internet (preferably via Ethernet cable) and use it with the Pi or Qutest which should work with Qobuz or Tidal.
Access to your local files will depend on where they are located.

Hi Jeff, thank you for your reply, I didn’t express myself very well. I have two cores, one on a Nuc in a fan less case at home wired to my 1GB router and one on my Mac Book for travel to my children’s homes with two identical external 5tb hard drives

My question is really should I connect using USB to the Qutest and then analogue cables to the amp; or would it be better to connect the Mac Book to his broadband using an RJ45 and having the RPi connecting to the Marantz with Wi-Fi (without the direct USB connection)?

Oh that’s clever!
I think which connection method you use here is a matter of taste/opinion.
I’m not sure if you mean one option is to connect via Pi to an internal DAC in the Marantz or connect the Qutest to the Pi?
So many variables in audio!

Being a fan of Chord DACs myself I’d want Qutest in the chain.
Although curiosity would likely have me trying the other methods just to compare.
I suspect I’d land on Pi>Qutest>Marantz so as not to have the MacBook tethered to a cable.

I shall try both and report back, thank you for your response.

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Well I have had the chance to set up version one of the possible connection pathways. I have connected the Qutest to the MacBook via USB with analog cables to the CD inputs on the Marantz and played Rumble by Link Wray. There will need to be some tweaking, but first impressions are very favourable.

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