Hello, curious if anyone can help me understand this better (I’m not the most tech savvy person when it comes to networking so please go easy on me). I have 3 different systems- 2 at my home (that share the same internet but 2 different media players) and one at my office on different internet. I’ve used the free trial and enjoyed Roon very much, but I’ve avoided purchasing Roon because I assume I can’t use one account across 3 different systems. But I’m hoping I’m wrong and figured I’d ask here. I’ll break it down into 2 different questions…
In my home I have 2 different Auralic media players that are both Roon ready, and I much prefer the Roon app to the Lightning app that comes with these players. These 2 players share the same network in my home… is it possible to use one Roon account for both of these players? Or would I need a different account for each of the players? If it is possible to use one Roon account on both of these players, how would work if (for example) my wife was listening in the house on one of the players, while I was listening in the shop on the other player?
I also have a system I use at work (nothing fancy, just a PC hooked to some powered monitors). This system is on a totally different network. Can I use the same Roon account I would use for the home systems on my work system?
Yes, I have 5 Roon Ready devices in different rooms in my home. Each is a separate zone configured in Roon. I can play something different at each location simultaneously or group the zones together for whole house music.
You could have multiple Roon remotes with each set to a different zone or control them all individually from one remote.
I’ve also used Roon in my shop with the same subscription. It would just be another zone configured in Roon. My shop is a metal building so Wi-Fi doesn’t reach inside but I ran Ethernet to the building so it functions the same as in the house.
You use one Roon Server in your home. You can then have this Roon Server stream to any number of systems on the same (home) network, and you can control it with any number of control/remote devices.
One Roon license can be used on one Roon Server at any one time. You can use more than one Roon Server (e.g. at the office) but you have to switch the license between them. I.e., can’t use the two servers at the same time. And the databases on the two servers will be separate unless you transfer it manually.
You could, however, use Roon ARC in the office and have it connect to the Roon Server at home.
@Mike_LC, it sounds like we have very similar setups, I ran Ethernet to my metal sided barn as well. This is great news, thanks for responding!
As far as setup goes, was this fairly simple to do in Roon? I probably should have spent more time playing and perusing with my free month haha. Also, is this an issue for my work PC? That is on an entirely different internet, in a different city.
Yes, setup is easy. Roon sees each usable device on your internal network and lists it in the Settings Audio section. You simply enable the ones you want. Assign them individual names when enabling like devices for easier identification in the zone picker. I.E. Kitchen, office, bedroom 1, 2, 3, 4, ect.
Thanks for the response! This is where it gets foggy for me… In my home I have 2 different Arender players (one in the house and one in the shop). I assume each of these would be considered a “Roon server” since they both function individually and each has the same music stored in it. Based on that, I would need to switch the subscription each time I wanted to use one of them? And this would mean my wife couldn’t listen to one in the house while I’m listening to the other in the shop?
Or is it possible to just have one of the units as a dedicated server? But I imagine even if this was possible, I wouldn’t be able to use both Arender players at the same time?
As far as using Roon ARC, I’m afraid my stored library is too large. A good friend of mine can’t get Arc to work on his and his library is smaller than mine. But truthfully, I’m not sure how much he’s really tried to make it work either.
Roon ARC plays to a phone or tablet, not a computer. So, at work, you would need to connect a DAC to your phone or tablet. If you want to use Roon on a computer at work instead of Roon ARC, you would need to unauthorize your at home server or you would need a second Roon subscription.
It depends what the Aurenders can do (a model name would help) and what your network looks like. Probably the Aurenders can function as endpoints (players); I am not sure if they have Roon Server capability.
If your house and your shop share the same local network (LAN)
You can have 20 players as endpoints that are connected to one Roon Server, and 20 remote control devices, which all control the one Roon Server.
On any of the remotes, you see all the players you have enabled as output “zones” on the Roon Server, and you can use any remote to choose any zone to play to. Several people can play different music to several zones at the same time and even group the zones to play in unison.
Then one option is to use one Roon Server in each place. Then you have to switch the license between them, or you buy a second license to use them at the same time.
Alternatively, use one Roon Server in the home and connect to it with Roon ARC in the shop.
The links I already posted will be helpful but only if you read them
I have an Auralic Aries G1.1 that I play thru an RME ADI-2 DAC. And an Auralic Altair G1.1 on a different system that is a preamp/DAC/media player all in one, connected to powered speakers. Both of the Auralic players are Roon ready, I have already used Roon with them. And I have the same media stored on both players, and I use Tidal Music (in addition to my stored media) on both players.
I have read a bit about this, the issue is I don’t know what a lot of this means. I don’t know the difference between an endpoint and a server. I assume “the server” is where the music is stored, but I would then imagine “the endpoint” (just based on the terminology) would be the DAC because that’s literally the “end point” of the actual player playing music.
Correct, and this simplifies things a bit. However, neither is a Roon server.
OK, so I am going to copy what’s said on the Architecture link:
Roon Server
Roon Server is the brain of the system. It manages the control and output components, and keeps track of the content in your music library. The server is responsible for:
Managing your digital music library
Discovering your music files
Noticing when music files are added, deleted, or modified in real-time
It’s kind of - it’s the streamer and a possibly connected DAC. It’s a common term that you will also see on many websites (the Auralic one, for instance, because this is what your Aries and Altair are, as far as Roon is converned), but the Roon documentation calls it “Output”:
Output
Outputs are devices that make noise. Roon is built from the ground up to run a multi-room audio system. Whether you have one output or a dozen or more, we have you covered. Our playback engine is built for audiophile-quality playback of standard and high-resolution audio content to a wide variety of output devices. Our RAAT streaming technology moves bit-perfect streams to Roon Ready networked devices and outputs connected to devices running Roon, Roon Server, or Roon Bridge. Roon supports many different kinds of output devices, including:
For a more comprehensive view of our output support, try clicking on each of the manufacturer logos you see here: Partner Devices page.
So what you need is a Roon server. This can be a regular PC with Windows or Mac, a Linux machine, or a dedicated device like a Roon Nucleus. If Windows or Mac, you can run the graphical control app on the same computer, too.
Thank you!! Does the computer need to be anything crazy? I have an old PC I could potentially use but it’s like 8 years old. And if I can use that computer, do I just leave it on all the time?
An 8 year old PC is probably good enough as long is your library isn’t too large, say, a few thousand albums. (Be aware that both your local files and any favorited albums on Tidal/Qobuz count as being part of your Roon library).
And yes, it has to run at least when you want to use Roon.
The server should be connected to the network by Ethernet. The endpoints can be on WiFi. All Roon devices (server, endpoints, controls) have to be on the same Ethernet subnet. (Which is typically the case on a home network). Roon requires a reasonable, functioning network to work well; it has higher demands on the network than most other streaming methods. Check this out to avoid some possible frustrations:
Thank you @Suedkiez for all that great info! I’ll reach out to my PC savvy friend about this ancient PC I have and see what he thinks, he can most likely help me set it up too. My library is very large, so this old PC may not be the best choice.
About 3.2tb, with lots of DSD and high-res. Would just getting something like a Nucleus One be sufficient and solve my issues?
Edit: Another caveat is that I have 2 routers, one for my house, then an Ethernet cable that runs from that router and feeds the other router in my barn. I think I have them configured correctly because the Lightning app (the app that controls the Auralic, which I would replace with Roon) can see both of my Auralic players.
Also, how long do my posts here need to be vetted? Every time I post they have to “await approval”.
I think the Auralic player was basically the server and the end point. I have all my music stored on each of the Auralic players (they each have their own 4tb hd). I only used Roon to control one of them during the trial period.
The Auralic gets controlled with an iPad, right now I use Auralic’s Lightning app (on the iPad) to control each of my Auralic players. I installed Roon on the iPad, and used Roon to control the one Auralic Aries instead of using the Lightning app. Basically Roon just replaced the Auralic Lightning app. There was never a central computer, just the Auralic player.
Edit: FWIW, the Lightning app is actually decent… when it functions properly. But I’m pretty fed up with the bugs I get with it. For example, on one player it constantly loses connection or says “can’t find player”, which is a fairly common issue with others as well (never had that issue when I was using Roon). My goal is to eliminate these bugs and gain some extra features by going with Roon.
