I’ve been playing with Home Assistant (HA) and MQTT. I understand it all a bit better now. I have both Mosquito and Zigbee2MQTT running on my Pi-based HA installation.
@GregD suggested that MQTT would be a reasonable approach to getting rooExtend controllers integrated into HA. He mentioned Blueprints. Blueprints are community-contributed device-specific templates. They are reasonable straightforward to create and are distributed through the HA community forum.
@DrCWO - If / when you start to explore generating MQTT events, I’d be willing to try to create an HA Blueprint to simplify configuration. I do still think that optionally generating MQTT events from, at least, a rooDial would open the door to all sorts of uses that aren’t possible now. A long press could, for example, dim lights and close window blinds while still retaining short press and rotation for Roon control. Or you could use a rooDial as a pure light controller. As far as I can tell, there isn’t any decent, globally available rotary controller in the marketplace right now.
I know you have a lot on your plate, @DrCWO, and I know this isn’t at the top of your priority list. It shouldn’t be. If you do get around to it, though, I’d be a customer and happy to help.
@DrCWO, or anyone else can you use a BT range extender with the Nuimo? I would like to controle 2 zones with my Nuimo but don’t want to unplug, move and plug the Pi Zero-W, which runs Rooextend, al the time
For example any of the one mentioned on this page: 6 Best Bluetooth Range Extenders In 2023 - AudioReputation
How do you set this up? I bought a Zexmte and tried to get it to work on the Pi Zero-w but I couldn’t pair at all. I have reset the RooExtend to factory defaults as suggested, plugged in BT adapter before powering up but there was no way to check whether it was even activated or recognised. When plugged in, my Nuimo would not pair or work and the extensions also would not be visible continuously in the Roon extension screen. Do I need to disable the internal BT?
I had to restore from the USB stick, after removing the BT adapter to get it to work.
Hello, your product could be just what I am looking for “if” it can do the following.
I too like Radio Swiss Jazz - I think is sounds very good - here’s the question…
My UPnP endpoint is a Marantz NA7004 - I would like to stream to the NA7004 but here’s the big question - the NA7004 does not support volume control so I would like to control the volume (software volume control) of the music stream before it reaches the NA7004. Is this possible?
The NA7004 connects to an Audio Note DAC 0.1x - I consider the NA7004 one of the best transports I have ever heard which I why I want to invest in it.
I am really sorry but DSP volume is only possible using Roon Bridge which is not in the signal path using rooUPnP.
I recommend:
Get a Pi and use it with the rooExtend SD-Card image.
Connect its USB output directly to your DAC USB input
In Roon Settings/Audio you will be able to activate your DAC as a Roon playback device as rooExtend offers a Built in Roon Bridge.
Now you can listen to this combination and change volume with the Volume slider of Roon.
Listen and if you are happy with sound quality just use your Audio Note DAC 0.1x without the Marantz NA7004.
Until here anything can be tested without buying a license from me! If you enjoy this solution you can buy a license for rooDial, roo6D, rooWatch or rooNuimo.
Thanks for letting me know DrCWO -saves me wasting my time trying to find out and fail later.
I wish I could be rid of the Marantz NA7004 to be honest - but as a digital transport it’s just too good and it’s plainly obvious using the transport sensitive AN DAC 0.1x (and other vintage DACs that do not re-clock so well and rely on the upstream transport as a solid bedrock).
I expect your Pi idea is very good - but coax connectivity is where I need the link between transport and DAC - and I doubt the Pi will be half as good as the NA7004 as a transport.
I can try the idea later perhaps - but for now I want to find a solution for the Marantz. Thanks for getting back to me.
Thanks Henry - but as DrCWO says - the DSP is not in the signal path for rooUPnP.
The Marantz has Airplay built in so I could use that because I know Roon can play to endpoint Airplay devices - this will restrict me to 44.1 but the sound quality for that is plenty good enough.
I suppose UPnP would have been better because it will take higher res than Airplay - however I should consider that Airplay is probably a better protocol anyway seeing as UPnP is more sensitive to packet loss.
So signal path would be Roon - DSP - Airplay - Marantz
I will add that the Airplay Plugin in LMS also works in this scenario - but I am swayed more towards Roon because the DSP maybe higher quality (I don’t know that for sure though).
I expect the DAC has still USB Audio Class 1 and this is not async. So you probably will be right that using USB with the DAC is a minor choice with this old DAC. Nevertheless I would try.
What you also can try:
Keep the Marantz NA7004 in place and connect its USB input to the Pi. Try if you get high sample rates there.
The Roon Bridge in the Pi is THE Top Transport for Roon also included in any Roon Ready device on the market. So for sure there is absolutely no issue there.
The Marantz usefully has both a USB and coax digital INPUT - and when you plug a device into the coax input the sound comes out of the coax output - so this old Marantz is already a USB and SPDIF to SPDIF converter in that sense.
But I always worry that if you plug something with a clock into the input of the NA7004 and not use the NA7004 as the only source clock - the clock from the device you have plugged into the Marantz is the weakest link. And this also complicates the chain by adding another clock, component, another interconnect cable and something else that needs to be plugged into the mains.
Something special is going on inside the Marantz - I don’t know what it is but my ears and sensitive DACs are confirming this. Perhaps it’s the internal high quality power supply - I don’t know how it does its clocking.
Strangely enough I don’t like the sound of the DAC inside the Marantz - it’s only as a transport where it’s top of the tree.
Yes I understood. You like this device and your DAC
My believe is, that this equipment is no more state of the art
There are so many extremely good and also quite inexpensive DACs in the market today. I believe you should get one of them and give it a try. This one for example:
Thank you once again - I do have more advanced DACs - like Musical Fidelity and Arcam, but didn’t like them as much. I also tried a Topping and again not as good (but I have not tried the SMSL).
It would make my life a lot easier if I did like them
Just like I don’t like the DAC in the Marantz itself (which is technically very good) - but not as good as the AN DAC 0.1x which houses a simple 1980’s TDA1543 chip - I don’t know why and wish it was not true (to my ears).
The Marantz does support AirPlay so perhaps I should try this sound network path from Roon…
Chris - you could also add a HAT to your Pi and run roopiee or volumio. I got my Allo HAT working with rooExtend but that requires some linux tinkering. With a HAT like the Allo.com DigiOne Signature you get an amazing transport with both Coax and BNC out to your Marantz for a few hundred bucks with DSP volume control…
Ich habe mir ein Microsoft Surface Dial bestellt und möchte damit die Lautstärke von Roon regeln. Roon läuft auf einem Intel nuc (Roon Core) ich habe einen raspberry 3 als Roon Bridge laufen. Darauf installiert ist roopiii (wenn’s denn so geschrieben wird) nun zu meiner Frage : benötige ich jetzt noch einen zweiten RP ( Zero w) um das Microsoft Surface Gerät ans Laufen zu bekommen? Bin im Raspberry Bereich nicht so fit, habe das Gerät fertig konfiguriert gekauft. Freue mich über Unterstützung. Gruß aus Münster. Jörg
