I’m in 
20/characters
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You all should have received the invitation.
Best DrCWO
First impression of rooMax beta
I’ve been happy with the roo6D extension @DrCWO makes, to connect my 3Dconnexion Space Mouse device to Roon. My stereo system, Roon core and Raspberry Pi are mostly hidden away here. So to the casual observer, it seems like the Space Mouse is my music system when I tap it to pause music, twist to turn the volume up, or tap a button on the side to change tracks. The world’s most minimal music system - boiled down to the volume knob and a few buttons. Maybe a little bit too minimal, though. Sometimes I forget - do I push the knob right to advance through the track, or push it forward? And the knob doesn’t actually rotate, it just allows for a small rotary nudge in either direction. Fine for small volume adjustments, but a bit of a pain for large changes.
So when the good doctor announced the new rooMax extension, to connect a Xencelabs Quick Keys device to Roon, I picked up one of the devices right away. ($99.) Now I’m helping him beta test the extension, and it’s been a very positive experience so far. The Quick Keys device is small and well made - not a tank like the Space Mouse but pretty high quality. It’s got a knob but also a small display with several flanking buttons, so it removes some of the minimalism that the Space Mouse imposes.
The extension lets me define what each of the 8 buttons does - and the display shows button labels, volume and track time. One option is to make a button start up a playlist or radio station. I’ve found this valuable, since I sometimes forget I even have those playlists. Looking at the Quick Keys display in the morning, it’s easy to just pick one of the several playlists I’ve chosen to get my musical day started.
It’s early days of course, and this is beta software. So there’s been a few glitches, but already the basic functionality works fine. Niceties such as adjusting the brightness of the display or the sensitivity of the volume knob rotation are already present. It’s possible to define several sets of button definitions, and to change between them with the device’s Set button. I’m impressed! Based on my experience with other rooExtend extensions, I’m confident this will quickly mature into a very useful add-on to Roon.
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I am also beta testing rooMax. I agree to everything @Brian_Doherty posted above. Furthermore, I specially love the possibility to add Radio stations to the Quick Keys device.
For me, this is an utmost useful extension to my Roon experience. It perfectly fits my needs.
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@DrCWO I’d be happy to be a beta tester.
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@DrCWO: my Xencelabs Quick Keys Controller arrived today. Could you please send me your Invitation for betatesting?
Done 
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***thanks
Hi @DrCWO, if you need more beta testers I would be prepared now too 
@DrCWO Ah, I see here is the place to ask for the beta test. Can you sent me for the beta?
You’re in now
Yes, great, thanks! I just did some tests and the first feedback is in the topic 
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Xencelabs Quick Keys: a quick review
The Quick Keys device is currently on sale for $20 off its normal price of $100, so if you’re interested now might be a good time! I thought a few impressions of the device, and a comparison to the Space Mouse, might help you make up your mind.
For about a week now, I’ve been testing the new rooMax extension - currently in beta - for connecting the Quick Keys to Roon. The Quick Keys device is roughly the size of a skinny cell-phone: a flat black rectangle. Looks-wise, it reminds me of the faceplate of a car stereo from the 90s - in a good way. Basic monochrome display flanked by a bunch of buttons, and a volume knob on one side. There’s 8 buttons, each with a label next to it in the display; the rooMax extension lets you customize these. The Quick Keys has a real volume knob that spins, and a button in the middle of the knob is for play/pause. An LED ring under the knob is green during playback and off during pause. A tap on an adjacent button mutes the music, which turns the ring red. There’s a way to temporarily turn the knob into a track forward/reverse scrubber, at which time the LED turns to yellow. I find the illumination to be unobtrusive, but note I haven’t used the device in a dark room. A tap on another button temporarily shows track/artist info.
The Space Mouse, on the other hand, is more like the iDrive knob in a modern BMW - it’s heavy and seems over-engineered like a German car as well. It has a “knob” that only turns a few degrees when you twist it - more of a rotational nudge than an actual turn. So it’s great for precise small changes but gets tedious for large changes in volume. I have the roo6D extension set so a tap on top of the knob pauses playback. There’s two buttons, one on either side, that I have set up for previous/next track changes. The knob has sensitivity to left/right and forward/back tilt, but I keep forgetting what function I’ve got assigned to those gestures in the extension! There’s no display.
Battery life seems about the same for both devices. After a week or so the Quick Keys is at 57%; maybe the Space Mouse was a bit better? They both turn themselves off after a while when they aren’t being used, but the Space Mouse comes alive with a twist or tap on the top while the Quick Keys requires a nudge of its power on/off key to wake up. Both are extremely responsive to your input when in use. The Quick Keys uses USB-C to charge, while the Space Mouse uses the older Micro-USB.
The Space Mouse knob is rubbery, with an aluminum base and a rubber coating on the bottom. I’ve had it at least a year now, using it every day, and it still looks perfect. The Quick Keys is plastic, but it seems high quality and the whole thing feels well made. It also has rubber on the bottom to keep it in place. The Quick Keys buttons tend to pick up smudges from my fingers, but a quick wipe with a Kleenex or microfiber cloth fixes that.
All in all, I think I’m going to be sticking with the Quick Keys. I like having some visual display of information to remind me of which button does what, track info when an unfamiliar song plays, and a few of my favorite playlists showing to remind me they’re there. I like keeping the Roon app off my screen when I’m working, and this device helps make that work for me.
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Thank you for the description of the Quick Keys. Is there any way to turn off the led illumination completely?
It is possible to change the brightness of the button labels in the display, lo/med/hi, but nothing about the LED at this time. It’s possible this can be added, but there have been some things in the beta that it turned out were just not possible to do given the way the Quick Keys works. So who knows. Maybe ask @DrCWO on this forum, if there’s things you’d like to see in the extension - he’s quite easy to talk to.
@TreeZorro the white labels shown here are dimmable, but I don't see anything in the rooMax extension that affects the LED. It looks quite bright in this photo, but in real life in a normally lit office it's actually a bit dim. And the labels aren't fuzzy - that is just my weak photography skills! :-)
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I will add this
Best DrCWO
1 Like
Thanks’ for the great review 
Best DrCWO
Please add beta for me too…my unit is on the way too
Thank you @DrCWO
Is there any way to also control the regular media keys of the core computer with the Quick Keys when not using Roon, without physically removing the transmitter from the Pi
The purpose beeing using the Quick Keys to control Plex.