There is DSP it has PEQ and AutoEQ presets built in for headphones. Not as advanced as Roon though. Someone has created a UPnP bridge for it but I could not get it to work.
It’s no substitute for Roon for Hifi unless you use a PC, Raspberry Pis, AirPlay or Chromecast enabled endpoints. This may change over time I imagine they will try a UPnP route much like Innuos are doing with their sense app. I don’t mean the current run or as a UPnP server but to be able to play direct to any device that supports UPnP, like Bubble UPnP does.
Its on the go is way ahead of Roon, but it’s stay at home is way behind. It will be interesting to see how it all goes.
I have computers and Pi’s everywhere, and I use standalone DACs and mostly vintage amps instead of gear with built-in streamers … so Plexamp already meets most of my (simple) needs for home listening … and of course it’s very good for mobile/car use, the app is slick, I like the playlist/DJ functionality, etc.
There’s also a web interface for Plexamp headless devices, so that’s another display/control option that can work on larger screens … not quite as nice to look at as Roon’s web display, but still pretty cool.
Integration with Pi projects like RoPieee XL might happen someday … for now, to switch between Roon and Plexamp on a single Pi I start with a Plexamp-only setup and then install RoonBridge manually. Not too difficult, but SSH and terminal is not for everyone, I know … hopefully there will be improvements to make install and integration easier for all. [edit] One additional note, for anyone who wants to try this setup themselves … Plexamp really needs a pi4 (or similar) with at least 2GB RAM, especially if you play hi-res files (which get fully cached for playback). To generalize/oversimplify … Roon does more work at the server end, maybe requires a better network connection, and asks less of the playback device … Plexamp, which started as a mobile app, can handle less than ideal network conditions, but the playback device does more work.
Either app works with my Tidal subscription … Roon’s integration is better, but I prefer how Plexamp keeps your Tidal and local stuff separate (Plexamp’s Tidal integration also has some … issues). For any remaining streaming needs I just switch to a different amp input and use Airplay 2 to an M1 Mac Mini (which used to be my only digital source, before my Pi obsession …).
Just so I understand, what are you using on your RPi’s? My guess is that you’re using Plexamp headless instead of Moodio or Ropieee? Not sure I understand how you’re exposing your endpoints to cast to in a way that works for both Roon and Plexamp…. Right now I can’t expose my RPi endpoints to Plexamp, only to Roon. But if there’s a simple way, I’m all ears.
You can run it on dietpi, install Roon bridge and install PlexAmp. Or any Debian distro will do really. It’s not rocket science to install either. You won’t get now playing screen like Ropieee but you get best of many worlds.
I’m still learning Roon, but I do like about Plex it’s the folder view. It’s so much easier, to me, to find my music. I don’t need to search via typing. It’s the view that I used when I DJed! I know where every song is.
My library is organized by decades/genre/album or tracks. Boom. Simple. Also, I don’t like how Roon creates separate albums for songs that happen to be on an album. I like how the albums that I own are folders onto themselves.
Anyway, I am enjoying learning how to use Roon, so far. I have lifetime subscriptions to both, so I will be using both.
as described by @CrystalGipsy, start with a general purpose distro (dietpi, raspberry pi os lite 64 bit, etc.), then install plexamp headless and roonbridge … I can send some basic instructions if you’re interested
once installed, the device should show up in the Plexamp cast menu and in the list of Roon audio zones
I used it 15 years ago. Maybe more. It was my first program for serious management. Winamp never had a good library and Windows Media Player was limited to MP3 and WMA.
It was very good. With a lot of options and very frequent and important updates.
But I always saw posts for Foobar2000. So I tried and it stole my heart. Since then it’s always installed and open on my PC. Although I use Roon + Tidal 7 years I can’t overlook it’s raw speed and power.
Finally. I decided. My setup is Roon + TIDAL + Plexamp. Plexamp is better than Roon ARC and I have RPi 4 for my plex server. Rpi 4 doesn’t support Roon Core.
To be honest… I fully agree in terms of plexamp. Arc is so far away from being usable (at least for me).
Loading times are unacceptable…
Sorting options are limited…
ARC will develop. No question but if it ever reaches usability like plexamp, I don’t believe that…
I think this ups and downs, every company is going through by the years…
They are significantly doing well in providing a software that just works.
Roon Arc is still far away from being user friendly in therms of sorting and filtering but mainly on waiting time and delay after any selection. For me it’s just not acceptable and instead of improving usability, Roon concentrates on sound quality… Why do I need best sound quality in a software I don’t want to use?
Not a thread I’ve followed. And definitely not a race or competition… Just posting some news I ran across that could be relevant to many community members.
You have been here only four weeks. Many of us have been here for years. Always check for preexisting threads before posting new content. Because redundant threads are unnecessary. And standalone Plex discussions in a Roon forum are unnecessary. That is why.
