RAAT [was Roon Speakers] - What , When, How and for Whom?

Right now, RoonSpeakers is the endpoint, so yes, its perfect to RoonSpeakers… but RoonSpeakers has the ability to know what it is speaking to, so we need to add an extra unit at the end.

It’s coming with the real release of RoonSpeakers…

Can manufacturers have access to become a roon Speakers device endpoint?
And if so, where do they get the code, API, protocol?
What are the advantages compared to other protocols like AirPlay, Meridian MQA, RTSP, DLNA,UPNP?
Any royalty orother cost?

Assuming that Apple opens up the Apple TV (i.e. App Store) at some point, is a Roon Speakers app on the cards? I’m guessing that this would allow some decent audio at native rates, rather than everything being re-sampled to 48k via Airplay.

Absolutely. We are already planning an iOS endpoint. We think of it as a way to turn an old phone or tablet into a dedicated endpoint, but I’m sure people will find all manner of uses for it. This would be no different, assuming Apple opens up the possibility.

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Although the interface is not ideal, the prospect of using a Meridian F80, i80 dock, and old iPhone 3gs, is very appealing, particularly if the F80’s display can be used (I tried this setup using iPeng as the App and it DID send track names to the display).

Can manufacturers have access to become a roon Speakers device endpoint?

Yes

And if so, where do they get the code, API, protocol?

From us, once it’s ready :smile:

What are the advantages compared to other protocols like AirPlay, Meridian MQA, RTSP, DLNA,UPNP?

In short:

  • It doesn’t compromise on user experience or compatibility (unlike DLNA/UPNP)
  • It doesn’t compromise on sound quality (unlike AirPlay)
  • It doesn’t compromise on reliability (unlike RTSP)

MQA is an oddball in that list–it’s a bitstream format, not a network protocol. Meridian does have a networked streaming protocol (part of their Sooloos offering). It is the closest thing to RoonSpeakers that’s commercially available today. RoonSpeakers will be capable of carrying MQA content.

Any royalty orother cost?

No royalties, not even for codec licenses.

Hi Joel / Brian
I believe the 16/48 limitation of the ATV 2 and 3 is the Hardware… and that trying to get anything other than 16/48 even with jailbreak apps has proven impossible

Suspect the ATV 4 due on Monday will have the same limitation… And even worse, will be HDMI out only, which brings a lot of other issues along for the ride

I think there will be a lot of other more suitable devices out there for better quality when using Roon

Thanks @Ronnie. That’s a shame, but as you say, there are other devices out there. I guess the Nexus Player would be okay from a sampling rate perspective, but it’s HDMI-only too. What did you have in mind?

How about:

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Amazon TV - HDMI or optical out

Intel Stick, (HDMI or USB DAC)

Cheers

Thank you Brian!
Please let me know when roon Speakers becomes aval.

@AIA are you a manufacturer?

Is hi-res possible with Roon Speakers on an iOS or AppleTV endpoint?

Would love to know minimum requirements for a DIY endpoint using Roon for hi res.

Is hi-res possible with Roon Speakers on an iOS or AppleTV endpoint?

AppleTV is a closed platform that only supports AirPlay, which is limited to 44.1k on the input side. The Apple TV then resamples that 44.1k AirPlay stream 48k. It’s pretty much a non-starter if quality is a concern, and there’s no indication that future revisions will be better.

As for iOS, we’ll support whatever Apple enables us to support. If the device + frameworks can support high-res output, then we will too. This article suggests that Apple hasn’t quite done everything necessary in the current iPhone 6.

Would love to know minimum requirements for a DIY endpoint using Roon for hi res.

The most important thing we require is a real, mature kernel and networking stack. Linux, BSD (incl OSX), or Windows. In the past we’ve been burned by embedded kernels, RTOS’s, network stacks, etc and will not go down that road again. In general, they lack the robustness required to provide reliable operation on messy consumer-grade networks, especially when you mix in WiFi and high bitrate streams.

It will need good enough networking hardware to keep up with the bitrates involved. DSD256 is 2.822mbytes/s + overhead. No trouble over most ethernet configurations, but $10 WiFi nubs may not provide adequate performance.

It will require enough RAM to enable substantial audio buffering at the endpoint. Tens of megabytes for high-rate content. This is a requirement for stable high-res playback over WiFi, which is an important objective for the project.

The Raspberry Pi 2 is an important early target. It has a very comfortable hardware spec–more than the minimum, but it ticks the right boxes and is very inexpensive.

Thanks. That is helpful. If The Raspberry Pi 2 could serve as an endpoint for Roon, and especially in addition to being a DLNA renderer as the folks at ComputerAudiophile.com have done with it, that would give folks a good choice since the core for room is so demanding (not a criticism, just an acknowledgement of what’s needed.

A question regarding the iOS and Android versions of RoonSpeakers:

Will the device be some sort of “smart” endpoint? I’d like to have basic playback buttons available (play, pause, previous song, next song) so that I don’t have to get a remote for that.

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The RoonSpeakers protocol supports this kind of basic control. I don’t see any reason why the iOS/Android implementations would not do the same.

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@brian- that is good to read. The gotcha here is that we take our phones with us and need our music too.

I hope this involves a mobile sync* or a tighter integration for those who subscribe with Tidal.

*Mobile Sync- Synchronizes local server files to the phones internal storage and playable through the Roon Mobile App.

Mobile Sync and RoonSpeakers are orthogonal concepts.

They are both things that we plan to build, but running the metadata database and audio decoding subsystem and so forth on a mobile platform is a significant and distinct challenge when compared to remote control/audio streaming. It’s possible, but it’s a different piece of work that will happen after RoonSpeakers.

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Word of the day!

@brian, awesome. I am poking the bear here and I appreciate your response. I look forward to the next iteration of “RoonSpeakers.”

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