UAPP wrote their own USB audio driver that speaks directly to the USB device over USB,. This bypasses the entire Android audio stack, which does not have a bit-perfect mode. By taking over the USB device at the USB level, the device is no longer suitable for audio playback by the Android OS. UAPP’s audio then flows through this proprietary driver which allows bit perfect data to be sent directly to the audio device.
Roon ARC does the exact same thing. UAPP and some others got there first, but it’s been in ARC since 2022.
UAPP added another mode later where they did a custom driver for internal DACs, but they’ve had to add support on a device by device basis. Here is a list of their supported devices. Given the small number of devices (by distribution and ownership with Roon users), we decided to pass on this. Plus, we had the USB devices covered, which is where we believe the real quality play lives on phones.
I fully understand, and I was going to allude to that fact in my previous post, but removed it because I didn’t want to sound too preachy. I find it obvious that your words come from a passion for Roon and the values it represents in music and audio.
Back in 2023, Roon Labs was acquired by Harman International Industries Inc. Besides Roon, Harman has many brands you know:
- JBL / JBL Synthesis: Known for portable speakers, headphones, and high-end home theater systems.
- Harman Kardon: Premium home audio, soundbars, and automotive sound systems.
- AKG: Studio-grade microphones and headphones.
- Mark Levinson: Ultra-premium home audio and automotive electronics.
- Revel: High-end loudspeakers.
- Bowers & Wilkins: Premium loudspeakers, headphones, and wireless speakers.
- Denon: AV receivers, amplifiers, and hi-fi components.
- Marantz: High-performance audio equipment and AV receivers.
- Polk Audio: Home theater, soundbars, and architectural speakers.
- Definitive Technology: High-performance loudspeakers and subwoofers.
- Arcam: Hi-fi and home theater electronics.
- Boston Acoustics: Car and home audio speakers.
- Classé: Audiophile amplifiers and preamps.
- HEOS: Wireless multi-room audio and speaker systems.
- Lexicon: Professional and high-end residential audio processing.
- Infinity: Car and home audio speakers.
- Soundcraft: Professional mixing consoles.
- Crown Audio: Professional audio power amplifiers.
- Martin: Stage lighting and effects.
- dbx: Professional audio processors.
Harman has even more brands for automotive (for example Bang & Olufsen) and builds pretty much everyone’s in-car audio systems.
Since 2017, Harman has been wholly owned by Samsung.
The Samsung <=> Harman connection is strong, but they operate as two different companies. Projects often cross company boundaries, but you can think of them as close partnerships. A special note however: the Samsung executive team has a strong and personal affinity towards Roon, so there is a disproportionate amount of attention to the Roon team, even with its small market impact.
Harman however operates as a single company across all the brands above, as well as Roon and Drops. There are obviously people who focus on certain products within a single brand, but there is also a ton of cross-brand engineering and research done. I can see on Harman’s website that they have approximately 26,000 employees.
In the context of Drops at Harman: most of the people who work on Roon today do not work on Drops, and those that work on Drops, do not work on Roon.The Drops project is being headed by a person from Harman (who was there prior to the acquisition), but they report to one of the Roon founders, who is also responsible for Roon, Drops, and other initiatives (think CEO of a company that runs multiple products). Another Roon founder is the technical lead of two projects, one of which is Drops (think CTO with two products).
My guess is that you weren’t too familiar with the inner workings of Roon’s acquisition, which is totally understandable. At Roon Labs, things were easy as it was a small group of people with a single product: Roon. Harman is a very different and complex beast. Roon has grown under Harman, but it is a tiny project. The Roon business fits well within a rounding error of Harman’s financials. I think it should be completely understandable how Drops might be a moon shot, but its the type of moon shot made by companies like Harman. It should also be noted that Samsung makes Harman look tiny!
Does that make the Roon + Drops connection make a bit more sense, and less “shady”?
Most ventures do fail, so you have good odds of being correct. Don’t forget that Roon itself was a moon shot too, and there was a lot of discouragement the founders received from the public on Roon’s ability to succeed with a product that makes no sense to most people at crazy high pricing!
