Recommended Clock Priority settings for grouped zones (synced playback)

Dear @support

I am attempting to set up 3-4 zones (RPi based) and I intend to use them in synced playback. I understand that the Clock priority needs to be set but I have a few questions related to multiple zone syncing.

  • I will set a main zone as the clock master (highest priority) but what about the rest of the zones? If I leave them to Default, will that ensure synced playback when I group all 4 zones?

  • If I leave out the the zone with the highest priority and group the remaining 3 zones (clock set as default for all 3), will they gradually drift out of sync?

  • In general, what is the recommended practice for clock settings when multiple zones are used for synced playback? (e.g. should I set a clock order for each and every zone or can I leave them to default with only the main zone having the highest priority?)

  • Is there a limitation (maximum) to the number of zones that can be grouped and achieve synced playback without drift?

Many thanks in advance for your advice

Hello @Yiannis_Kouropalatis,

As long as your network is capable of handling the traffic, all of your zones should play in sync without issue. We would recommend for the best grouped sync performance to leave the clock priority at default, as this allows Roon to choose the best candidate for clock master based on current network conditions. If maintaining the integrity of the signal in the main playback zone is your top priority and your network is decent, you shouldn’t see any issues with the setup you have chosen.

No, Roon will choose a clock master from one of the three devices at playtime based on network conditions.

As mentioned previously, our recommendation for the best grouped zone synchronization performance to leave the clock priority at default. When playback is started to a grouped zone, Roon will take measurements of the clock and latency to each zone, and then choose which zone would provide the best reference for the rest of the group based on the network conditions.

There is no “hard” limit on how many zones you can have in a group using Roon Ready/RAAT. As long as your network and zones are capable, Roon will attempt to stream to the group. When you’ve hit the limit, playback will simply fail.

-John

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