Roon Not Showing Marantz AV7706

Audio Gear Talk Airplay
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Greetings. (This is my first post in the Community)

Being a music lover, I searched diligently on the Internet for what could bring better sound quality for my AV system besides through computer streaming. When I compared a CD playback to Ethernet stream from files on my computer or Apple Music, I was blown away by how much better the CD sounded.

After much research, I’m glad to say that Roon appears to be the current answer, so I joined recently!

I have enjoyed the sound enhancements and management afforded by Roon, however, a few issues and questions exist.

Tried to resolve through reading many, many community posts, and Google searches, but to no avail.

SPECS:

Core resides on: 2021 MacBook Pro M1 max.

32,000 tracks reside on SSD on the Mac.

Everything is connected via Ethernet in my home. Mac on second floor and AV system on first floor.

Endpoint shown in Roon is Apple TV 4K connected to Ethernet. (AirPlay showing for whatever reason??)

Audio Equipment: Marantz AV7706 Preamp and Marantz MM8077 Amp. Marantz connected by Ethernet and HDMI to Apple TV.

KEF speaker system utilizing 5.2.2 multichannel output.

Looking to add in Qobuz for the first time once this is resolved. Already have an account.

THE MAIN QUESTION:

The questions are also shown on the attached screen shot.

  1. Why is my Marantz not showing up in Roon? It is Roon tested but not showing up no matter what adjustments made thus far. I would like to get the ultimate end point to be the Marantz if that is advised. (By the way this unit is not shown in the selectable devices in Roon App - AV7705 is there but not AV7706)

  2. Apple TV 4K is connected by Ethernet yet playback shows AirPlay streaming. Would prefer the Ethernet connection that exists. Apple TV is connected to Marantz via HDMI.

  3. Do I need a dedicated networks streamer or DAC to make Roon work optimally for ultimate sound quality? (The AV7706 features advanced reference-class 32-bit/192khz DAC on all channels). However I not opposed to acquiring another piece of equipment if there are definite benefits. Any suggestions are appreciated.

  4. Do I use Roon services page to connect to Qobuz since I already have an account?

That’s where I am so far and would certainly be grateful for any guidance and direction.

Thank you!

Chris

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AirPlay is Apple’s AV network protocol. Ethernet or Wi-Fi, regardless.

AJ

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Because it is not Roon Ready. Roon Ready is the certification that means the device has Roon network code embedded and will act as an endpoint. You will need to add an endpoint prior to the Marantz, but, that is a different discussion.

Airplay is a protocol that is used over Wifi OR ethernet. Its use does not imply one over the other.

If you want to get better than Airplay quality than yes, you will need an endpoint at least to feed the 7706 Toslink or Coax etc. As mentioned, there are several ways of doing this. My question would be what does the 7706 do internally? A lot of AV processors that do room correction will resample everything to 24/48 or 24/96 internally to do that processing. I would verify what it actually does before deciding anything.

Yes, that is correct.

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As others have said Marantz are only Roon Tested this means they only connect via Airplay over the network, this is wired or by wireless. Roon tested is not the same as being Roon Ready. It just means it’s been tested and works using a different connection method than Roons default streaming… If you don’t see it as an airplay endpoint in Roon then something in your network is blocking discovery. Here is where mine shows

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However there is a Roon community extension that I use with my Marantz 40n that allows Roon to connect to it using a a UPNP bridge that uses the inbuilt Heos streaming allowing much better quality connection up to 192/24 and is how I use my Marantz with Roon every day. You do need to run the extension on another computer or nas though. It’s also 3rd party so not supported by Roon. It’s how many users get to use Roon on non Roon Ready network streaming devices. I am very happy with it myself and in no rush to get a separate streamer as it works and sounds great.

Failing that it’s adding a Roon Ready streamer, you can get the Wiim pro for £150 and connect it to the coax input on the Amp.

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Thanks Andrew,
My misunderstanding. When I saw AirPlay I was thinking it was coming over Wi-Fi but apparently that is not the case, especially with an Ethernet connected to the Apple TV.

I assume the Apple TV is just passing the audio signal through itself and into the HDMI cable and then into the Marantz. Additionally, I assume that the Apple TV is my endpoint.

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Thanks Big Dan,

So it is typical that my Marantz would not show up because it’s not Roon ready, right? And if that is to be expected, I have no problem with it not showing up.

What is “AirPlay quality?” I will do whatever is necessary to get the best SQ. What would be the best endpoint? I assumed it was the Apple TV.

An integrator and I have used Audyssey room correction to set up the 7706 and DSP is being utilized. So I do not want to disturb that.

I don’t know where to look for that info.?

From Specs:
Supported Sample Rates: Up to 192 kHz / 24-Bit (ALAC, FLAC, MP3, WAV)
Up to 5.6 MHz (DSD)
DAC: 32-bit/192khz on all channels

Thanks,
Chris

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Hi Crystal Gipsy,

You guys are amazing! Just joined a few days back.

This is my first post in the community and I received three speedy responses! The music I am hearing is sounding excellent. I’m really just confirming that I have everything connected correctly and not missing something that might improve sound beyond what is output.

What you’re proposing sounds like it may be some advanced steps that I might not need yet. Where would I find that extension?

Thanks,
Chris

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I can’t offer anymore to what others have said already @Chris_Barry

I can say I have a WiiM Pro and for what it needs to do with Roon, it works and sounds good. YMMV.

For £150 it’s a good starting point for a Roon Ready endpoint (might need an update once out of the box to get Roon Ready)

:+1:

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Link is in my post about the extension. Easiest way is to install Extension Manager and then the RHEOS extension is available to install from that, along with many others.

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Your ideal format then is 24 bit 48 kHz. Anything greater than 48 kHz will be resampled inside the “black box.”

AJ

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Just in case you wanted to use ROON DSP and have high resolution music files (which may or may not sound better than your Audyssey corrected set up which usually corrects relative volumes of your surround sound system) you can use “Direct” or “Pure Direct” mode if you are using RHEOS. This feature is easily switched using the new AVR control functions in version 0.7.1-0 and should work with the 7706. Data streams managed by ROON DSP should be played unchanged at a resolution up to 192kHz.

By far the easiest way to access RHEOS, if you are interested is via Roon Extension Manager on a raspberry pi.

The 7706 is a very nice pre-pro and it may deserve to be fed the best resolution you can access,

Info on using the sound modes is found here : Selecting a sound mode AV7706

If you are interested, I’d be happy to help with directions - which I am presently updating to demonstrate how to use this feature.

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According to the Roon website, AV7706 is actually not Roon Tested. However, this should not be a reason for it not to show up in the list of available audio devices. I would expect it to appear under “Other network devices” rather than Roon Tested. At least this is the case for my amaranth SR6015, which is also not Roon Tested.

The fact that it is not Roon Tested should not make too much difference. It just means that this particular model has not been tested, but it does not mean that it won’t work. However, as already mentioned, you will be limited to Airplay, unless you use the RHEOS extension. Provided of course that it is visible on the network.

It is puzzling that your AV7706 is not showing up in Roon. Can you check the IP address of your AV7706? Is it in the same subnet as your other devices? Are you able to stream to it using Airplay directly from another device? Is the your ethernet port on the AV7706 enabled during standby?

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The Marantz AV7706 is Roon Tested:
https://www.marantz.com/en-us/all-stories/roon
Scroll to bottom and see unit. Maybe Roon needs to update their database. Would like them to do that and maybe my unit will show up in Roon Tested and give different results.

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Hmmm It says all Heos stuff is Roon Tested. Well my 40n isn’t on their list.

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Great advice. Thank you. Went into Marantz setting and noticed that DHCP was not on in Network/Settings. After changing to on - 7706 appeared in “other network devices”

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. Still not showing in Roon Tested section though. Wonder if there is a solution for that?

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Thank you all for your useful advice! I now realize that my Apple TV is merely a pass-through device that’s directly connected via ethernet (not wirelessly), and then HDMI to my Marantz. The TV 7706 is, in fact, a Roon tested device. I have emailed Roon directly to see if they can add it to their database and then maybe it will show up on my end in the Roon tested section.

SvenM’s advice lead me to realize I needed to change some settings to the Network in Marantz Settings, and that allowed Roon to see the Marantz. Yay!

My system sounds really good, which I am grateful for. However, I am completely open to adding an upgraded streamer to improve the quality further. Don’t understand exactly how that fits into the chain of equipment. Especially if Audyssey in going to possibly limit the higher res files.

I’ve never heard Music resolution above CD quality and certainly will seek out that opportunity. Want to continue to use Audyssey MultiEQ-X room correction DSP with 5.2.2 multi channel stereo surround. Sounds great so I shall continue with that as I do a bit more research,

For now I’m going to test out Qobuz and see what comes through with those high resolution files :slight_smile:

Thank you all so much again!!

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Does not matter a whit. That section bears just a largely meaningless label. Either way, the connection to the Marantz still will be the third party reverse engineered AirPlay protocol.

AJ

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Roon kindly returned my email and stated that 7706 is in the process of certification and it is not yet complete. Directed to this page: Title of Page

Marantz says Roon Tested and Roon says in the process. Not a big deal either way :slight_smile:

Do not see the 40N on that page either CrystalGipsy.

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I dont use Airplay so doesnt bother me.

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Great to hear that you were able to get your AV7706 hooked up.

Correct. Once it’s Roon tested it will show up under a different section in the Audio tab, but it will not give you additional functionality.