Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)
70mb Virgin ISP, Linksys Rouer / Netgear 48 port GB Switch Vanilla config / QNAP 24TB NAS (Old model about to upgraded) All devices connected on RJ45 except laptop & one smartphone
Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)
Approx 12 Sonos devices all RJ45 connected and outputting to ceiling fit B&W speakers throughout house.)
Description Of Issue
Morning Roon community. First post, low skills, trialling Roon today with some success & pleasing results. Needless to say I’m another frustrated Sonos refugee looking for a way forward.
Installed Roon (very easy) on laptop to test. It see’s my NAS & has scanned contents very happily. And it has picked up nearly all my Sonos boxes. It does not see my three Sonos sub woofers. Wandering if anyway could explain why please and how I might fix that?
I am currently trying get to grips with the interface on Roon … is a little slow as I’ve been Sonos institutionalised for a good many years but will get there.
Are there any simple (newbie friendly) video tutorials regarding setup and more importantly day to day usage that you could recommend and steer me to?
I have a few days to get to grips with Roon before investing or not and I’m starting from a zero base. I have very little knowledge of any of the makes/models and DAC’s etc and again it would be great find a really ‘entry level’ explanation of architecture, terminology, devices, and configurations etc. As I say I’m wall to wall Sonos o/p to B&W CCM683’s 682’s etc. I have a home theater room with B&W 801’s, B&W Matrix and SW and a dead Pioneer AX10i shortly to be replaced with a Denon AVR 8500 although this new world of Roon may influence that choice.
I should be fair and say I’ve been more than happy with Sonos to date but recent day frustrations cause a re-think. Roon has been discussed on the Sonos forum and the only thing right now that causes me to think about direction change. If I can cram learn from experienced hands on Roon forum then I may well be joining the ranks.
Hi @Attacama40 — Welcome to the forums, and thanks for reaching out!
If you haven’t already, I’d recommend checking out our Getting Started guide. A lot of the basics are covered there and I definitely think it’s a great place to start. If you have any specific questions about how Roon works or questions about your setup please do let us know!
In fairness I’ve scan read a lot of that already and indeed have near to no set up issues (testimony to the Roon product rather than my skill set) and bar the GL video error message saw little of any set up concern. In that sense all the ‘big’ stuff is working spot on. I think my issue is more the need to cram learn how to get the best out of Roon.
Also not knowing how to see/find/attache the Sonos Sub Woofers which are strangely but consistently absent.
Also I think it’s that I’m not really familiar with DAC’s and devices that you guys will be familiar with. Could use a crash course or a video or such like on the sort of devices that can link to Roon. Sonos is all I’m familiar with really.
Have you tried going through some of the basic stuff in the Roon Knowledge Base?
It should certainly give you a starting point to get an idea of what is possible and how to achieve it. Just take it one step at a time!
EDIT - somehow the responses above didn’t show immediately to me - so I am just regurgitating I guess
I have no Sonos knowledge, but there will be others who can help I am sure.
Hi Tone Deaf … yes doing just that and making some small progress. There is some good content in there.
The audio devices seem to take a little time to filter in. Roon found most our Sonos stuff straight off but I’m noticing that it’s picking other bits up over time e.g Chromecasts, Nvidia Shield devices but no Sonos S/W’s yet.
Impressed that it picks and can O/P to TV’s and with video content.
Given I should be doing a solid days work elsewhere today, Roon has scuppered that totally! It must mean something positive.
Enjoy!
For your Sonos / subwoofer specific questions, you may also try posting in a thread like Sonos Surround System and Roon (or simply search for ‘sonos subwoofer’, there will be more threads).
If you ping one of the more Sonos knowledgeable posters in these threads by including their username (@something), your ‘cram learning’ plan may benefit .
Hi Andrew, I am considering Sonos for my whole house audio distribution. My question to you is are you having issues grouping and controlling your zones within the Sonos app? Is this a reason you are looking at Roon? How many subs do you have? Are you using them for your music in your different zones?
No in fairness I’m using a lot of Sonos boxes very happily with next to zero tech issues … very manageable and responsive system if lacking the HD audio function that a lot of folks are leaning toward. It simply works and works well and simply. I have to confess to having been very won over by the brand and products over many years.
My only reason to be steered to Roon is due to Sono’s recent legacy support announcements which were brutal, ill planned and conceived and have courted a significant amount of (understandable) anger. Essentially they are making older boxes redundant for very questionable reasons and it’s provoked a back-lash.
I’m at the more rational end of that back lash but never the less feel it’s only reasonable to consider alternatives.
That corporate conceit by Sonos aside the products and infrastructure are (for me) first class.
I have three Sonos Sub Woofers that perform very well within the Sonos environment but I’m not currently seeing them in the Roon environment. I’m sure that’s down to my limited skills with Roon and hopefully will be adjusted very shortly.
And yes I’m using multi room, multi zone across three floors and multiple rooms very happily. Sonos is good in that respect.
7 years seems to be the average for support after a product has been discontinued/updated. Roon would definitely be a good insurance for controlling them. You won’t be able to play high res music on your Sonos using Roon. If you decide to setup another system (End point) for high res listening you won’t be able to group your Sonos to it. That shouldn’t be a big deal since you would just keep that as a separate zone anyways.
Is a fair point and yet Sonos has always made a big deal over life span and it is quite difficult to conceive why an expensive speaker in a box with RJ45 to it should not be able to be updated rather simply. Added functions … understandable but a networked speaker outputting sound on a network cable? Less so. And even if standing back and looking on it is reasonable, some folks (like me) received a blunt email listing their devices that were not for this world much longer and it’s quite a list and a hell of a price tag to replace in one hit. In reality poor marketing comms rather than tech reality I feel
High res is not a huge driver for me. That said when I test ran Roon a couple of hours back I have to say the audio seemed instantly better than Sonos native … and I was previously happy with Sonos as was. Real or perceived I liked the o/p from Roon out of the box. And so high res could well become a thing for me as I go along
When you say End Point Michael could you explain what that means please and what that might look like in reality? I have been looking through the support pages and see a lot of ‘supported devices’ nearly all of which are totally alien to me but I’m, interested and if I can understand more able them then would be interested to consider a Sonos swap in favour of high res devices that can play with my B&W ceiling speaker happily.
I totally feel for you and I understand what you are saying. Look at the biggest offender “Apple”. I don’t need to say more.
An end point is each of your Sonos speaker or connect/amps. For everyone else it is a transport/streamer or a DAC. All need to be Roon ready or tested. Active speakers that are network can also be an end point providing they are Roon ready. Roon website list all brands and models that are Roon ready and tested.
I took advantage of the offer to upgrade at a 30% discount. In the end, I don’t want Sonos trying to maintain multiple software revisions, only to support older products. I would rather they spend their time and money moving forward. It’s the reality of our new world of streaming.
You have to pair the subs with Sonos speakers. Then, point Roon to those speakers and the subs will come along for the ride.
OK well in which case I should be in business … the sub’s have been paired happily with Sonos CA’s for a good 2-3 years very happily. It was just odd that no graphical relationship shows under settings/audio … for all the other devices perfectly so.
Yeah in a sense I agree your pragmatic approach Kenneth and I also lean to that. But there is an environmental issue and a fairly poor tech/marketing one. I got hit with the knowledge that 6 of my expensive Sonos boxes may die shortly, others got hit much harder. And one of the main arguments is that yes, stuff gets old and one day we need to replace but do not be selling it on your web site, Amazon, John Lewis’s and the like if it’s EOL etc. Also that add on functions that in reality few are asking for, are now being held up as the reason for EOL … too little memory, processing etc. I’m sure there’s truth in there but is also arm twist marketing as well I fear.
Given your Sonos heavy lean as well, why do you choose Roon to run with? Just curious as I’m in the life boat end of the pool but even if Sonos issues are addressed, Roon still interests me.
100% agree that Michael … I watch all our kids enslaved by the Apple marketing machine. And indeed over Christmas walked down Oxford Street in London past said store and saw the cult in full swing
You talking to a man with a Nokia E61 bought on special at an airport in the ME in 2003. It refuses to die. When it does I guess I’ll be sucked into smart phone world as well. Not necessarily a fruit infused one though.
Yes I started read about that Michael but there were so many options I became a little bewildered. Not necessarily as a point of preference but can you suggest a “sonos level” product (cost, ease and market position wise) that might be a good read and entry to this slightly new world of DAC’s etc? Or indeed what you use as a reference point?
Once I’ve got a little learning under the belt I fear I will develop a good bit of enthusiasm with this stuff.
If you stay with Sonos for your whole house distribution you don’t need to do anything else. The only thing you can do is upgrade to the newer Sonos products but if everything works there is no need to do that. Now, on the other hand since you have all ceiling speakers in each of your zones you have to option to swap out the sonos end point (connect/amp) for something else. This is also a serious consideration for me as well for my new home. I am looking at the popular Rpi setup. Look up https://www.hiberry.com and https://www.allo.com. The latter makes the Digione signature player ($315). Now, I am still trying to learn exactly how these work but I know this would be an economically great sounding end point for each of your rooms which play hi res. Yes, you would need to buy one of these for each zone as they each have a Dac and streamer in them. You will however need to amplify your speakers and there is an option to add an amplifier for each of these as well. I think the power range is 30 up to 60 wats per channel. Hopefully someone here who is familiar with these will give you and me more info.
I am currently living in NYC in an apartment using the Auralic brand system which comprises of all separates (Bridge/streamer, Dac, Pre Amp, two mono blocks connected to my B&W XT4) My whole home audio distribution is also coming from my Auralic setup using the Pre Amp RCA out to a 12 channel amp that all my ceiling speakers are connected to. Now, with the separate multichannel amp i could also switch to sonos and add a Port(the connect updated product) as a source. I could also use the pre amp to connect the port to as well. Not sure how that would work with Roon but at that point i would have the option to just switch to the Sonos app.
Been happily using Room with Sonos all home for the last year. Originally running on a Synology NAS but upgraded to a Intel NUC after 6 months of niggling audio dropouts. Besides the odd song having a hiccup halfway through it has worked really well and has cost me a fortune in CD purchases after running down a rabbit hole of metadata browsing.
The only other issue I occasionally see is that when I drop one of my Sonos devices from a listening group in Roon, sometimes it is still playing and I have to remove it from the Sonos app as well.
All in all very Happy with my purchase of both systems
@Attacama40 I totally forgot to tell you about getting a Nuc as @Michael_Harris has referenced. You may want to do some reading on that. Roon offers their turn key option the Nucleus.
Ok starting to get this now … thanks Michael, this is making sense. More over than making sense it sounds exciting stuff.
So we add amplification in each room/zone and then a DAC/Streamer. Got it.
So some form of small foot print, high output amp is what I’d need hunt down. And then look at the links you kindly sent.
Yeah I’m beginning to think the ceiling speaker option was a good one. That said I do have couple of Sonos Play 5’s … an all in one device which is subject to the ‘Sonos cull’! But hopefully they will get a stay of execution yet.
Thanks for explaining. I’ve just took a Tidal HIFI sub out to test this stuff with. Actually that’s an odd one as well. For example I can search on ‘foo-fighters’ in Tidal and get the full catalog. If I do the same in Roon I’m getting bits and pieces off albums. Ahhhh I wander, if Roon is looking at my tracks off the NAS??? Off to check…
how are you powering your ceiling speakers now? I am assuming connect amp. Ceiling speakers was indeed a good move. Are all your ceiling speaker wires all going to one room? In regards to your search one thing I noticed is that not all the albums populate in the first category “Main Albums”. You have to scroll down to the next category “singles and EPs” and take a look there as well.
It must mean something positive.
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