This is a historical wart. We would not certify a device in this situation today.
There was a period of time where we didn’t yet have the assets from MQA required to allow MQA and RAAT to work together. Obviously holding up all certifications of MQA devices while waiting for delivery of something from another company (MQA) that did not have a strict timeframe attached to it was not an option. Bluesound was certified in this window.
So I agree, in an ideal world Roon Ready would imply what you expect…and going forward it will. Out of about sixty partners, only three ended up in “limbo” on this issue. One (Lumin) remedied this with a firmware update a couple of weeks ago. We expect that Bluesound will follow suit as their schedule allows, and that this situation will be temporary.