Question on Streaming to 2nd Stereo

[Cameron_Hughes]

Roon Version 1.7 (build 528)
Roon Core Machine: 2012 Mac mini / High Sierra 10.13.4 / 2.5 GHz Intel Core i5 / Memory 16 GB 1600 MHz DDR3

I have Roon installed on a Mac mini. The mini is hard-wired to an external DAC and I have the DAC attached to my stereo via RCA cables. I control the core usually via my iPad, though I can also control it directly on the Mac mini.

I have a small Bluetooth stereo in another room. Using my iPhone as a controller, I can play music back from the Roon core and hear it in my other room by choosing the Bluetooth stereo device from my phone.

I have questions on what’s happening when I do this.

1. When I use my iPhone to play Roon music and send to my Bluetooth stereo, I need to pick a zone. The choices are my DAC (which is connected to my main stereo) or my iPhone. I choose my iPhone and can then play music through the Bluetooth stereo. Is it possible to select my Bluetooth stereo as a zone? I don’t see that as an option.

2. Exactly what is the streaming path of the music from my Roon core to my Bluetooth stereo? Is the music streaming wirelessly to my iPhone, then being sent from my iPhone to my Bluetooth stereo via Bluetooth? Is there a purer, more robust path I can set up to increase the fidelity of the music being sent to my Bluetooth stereo?

[ged_hickman1]

1. No. Roon streams via ethernet, wired or wireless.
   2.roon server>phone>Bluetooth>speaker

The weakest link is the Bluetooth connection so I doubt if anything would improve it.

[Cameron_Hughes]

Thanks Ged. Any idea what the maximum resolution is of the Bluetooth signal?

[ged_hickman1]

Depends there are all sorts of Bluetooth quality levels. You need to look at what the speakers say they do and what the phone does

[SKBubba]

If your bluetooth speaker has aux in and you can find a chromcast audio on ebay or somewhere, that will turn your bluetooth speaker into a roon endpoint that you can control from your phone or your mac.