I’m just putting together a system for streaming music and I would like to use Roon to manage it. I don’t understand the exact details of what I need to use Roon so I have a few questions.
Roon Core is the software I download from Roon and install on, for example, a Mac Mini or MacBook Pro, right?
Roon App is software I can download that goes on an iPhone or iPad and talks to Roon Core running on a Mac, right? Roon app let’s me manage Music streaming, right?
Will Roon work with the following equipment configuration?
Roon downloaded onto a Mac mini
Roon App running on an iPad
A Rose RS150B streamer
An AV Processor, Like the McIntosh MX180, that drives all the audio equipment.
From the Roon web page that shows the requirements for Roon it sounds like I would also need to buy a Roon Nucleus too. But a Mac mini running Roon serves the same purpose as the Nucleus, right?
In the Apple App Store there are two app’s that appear to come from Roon; “Roon Remote” and “Roon Essentials Remote”. Which one is the Roon app I need to control the Roon Core?
Roon Core is the logical “brain” of your system. You need one in your setup, along with at least one each of Control and Endpoint.
If you install the package called Roon Server it includes Core and Endpoint (utilizing any available audio outputs for the latter)
So “Yes” to all of your questions with a reservation for the McIntosh which i dont know.
Roon Server on the Mini = Fine! Core and Audio outputs will be available, such as an USB-DAC (your McIntosh?)
Roon Control and Endpoint on iPad = Fine! (You can attach a compatible DAC to the iPad for an excellent portable endpoint with headphones as an example)
Rose 150B as Roon Endpoint = Fine! I seem to remeber this one is Roon Ready (certified as an endpoint already speaking RAAT fluently, the preferred protocol for audio transmission in the Roon eco-system)
So, your setup will likely work fine. The McIntosh is a blank spot for me, but there are plenty of smart solutions for making it speak “Roon-ish” if necessary.
The MX180 has inputs for just about anything output you can think of. It has a DAC built in but it doesn’t support full MQA or DSD. That’s what I want the Rose to do.
I want Roon to manage the music but not process it. It looks like I can do that but I think I going to start by using the Rose software and go to Roon if the Rose software is clumsy to use.
Seems a wise approach! Please take advantage of the trial period offered by Roon also. I believe it is two weeks but doubled upon request. You will likely need more than two weeks for getting familiar with “the Roon way”. It’s not for everyone but if it fits the bill, there will be nothing that compares!
The Hifi Rose is highly spoken of in my parts of the woods, and if you would like to give the McIntosh a try also, it my be aided by an Allo DigiOne or any of it’s cousins. It’s a small single-board-computer which allows you to connect an ethernet cable on one end and an SPDIF connection to your Mc on the other, making the McIntosh a Roon endpoint more or less. We are talking in the $100-$150 region here, so nothing breathtaking really.
Absolutely. When Roon launched, it launched for years having Mac and Windows Server software. A Nucleus, or an Intel NUC loaded with ROCK, is a built linux based OS system, aka RoonOS, running the Linux version of RoonServer.
Roon used to have some very helpful system architecture diagrams on its old website. They would have answered many of these questions (probably). Anyone know if they are still there somewhere? About time someone redrew them.
The flexibility of Roon is both an attraction and cause for confusion when working out how to get started.
