What is the maximum number of zones that I can have with Roon

Roon Software Discussion
1

Hello I would like to know how many zones can I have in a roon enviroment

2

This thread is over a year old but may still be relevant. Essentially it is hardware/resource dependent depending upon how much DSP you may need to do for each zone, so explain what you want to do and someone from Roon can comment on viability.

1 Like
3

Thanks. An example of what I would like to do, is using a computer as a core with good processing (core i7 11th gen, 16gb ram, ssd) to have 10 simultaneous streaming without using the DSP.

4

Remember all zones must support the same streaming type. So all RAAT or all chrome cast etc.

1 Like
5

To clarify: this is only true if you want to group the zones to stream the same thing to them all at the same time. If the zones are run independently, then it doesn’t matter if they are RAAT/Sonos/etc.

As to the OP, you state ten zones with no DSP. That is very low resource usage, even a low-end core could handle that without issue. Just make sure the core is hardwired and not connected via Wi-Fi.

2 Likes
6

Depends on how robust the WiFi network is as well if endpoints are wireless if grouped that would put a strain on any single access point system.

1 Like
7

A lot depends on whether you mean available zones or simultaneously playing zones

Most the above will probably mean simultaneously playing , eg CPU capacity, DSP usage , Wi-Fi capacity etc.

If its a “few” playing then I saw a number bandied around of “up to 20” , but you probably wouldn’t get away with playing all at the same time but you could switch between them.

AFAIK there is no limit in Roon just the surrounding hardware

1 Like
8

I would like to revisit this, especially given the apparent problems a lot of Sonos users are having.

I will try to be as specific as possible. First, as I write this, I see only the Nucleus One is available at the Roon Store; the Titan is not listed at all. The specs for the Nucleus One say “up to 6 zones.”

Could it support more than that, assuming:

  • All RAAT
  • Everything connected using a quality Ethernet network
  • RoPieee- or similar based RPi4/5 Endpoints, with DAC HATs (i.e. connect to external amps)
  • No DSP

Going further, if one were to build a more stout Core (like the Titan), with the endpoints above, what would is the max # of zones, with stability? With the ability to group none, some, or all zones together, and have them sync properly?

9

The answers above , one thing to consider is that to sync several zones they must be the same protocol, all RAAT, all Chromecast etc you can’t mix and match .

The more zones the more CPU activity, I am not aware of a calculation that will tell you, maybe someone knows

10

Unless I am missing something, there is no clear answer in this thread that I can see to my question? I did say all RAAT and let’s say I wished to have 10 simultaneously playing zones, some grouped/synced, others not.

I tried to be very specific in my post, apologies if wasn’t clear. And I have not found any rough guidelines from Roon on this subject?

11

In which case I am no help. I suspect there is no hard and fast rule

Sorry

12

There aren’t any hard numbers.
You might be streaming low res mp3 without any dsp or upsampling or streaming 192/24 with dsp, volume levelling etc etc, then you might be using a celeron or an i9.
The calculation matrix wouldn’t be worth the attempt to produce.

13

Also your network setup is a huge factor on how many zones you can work with. Roon will rely on your network so if you have a lot of WiFi connected devices this will put a strain on this. Sonos employs its own mesh system between endpoints and only uses one device on your own WiFi network so your WiFi setup needs to be solid in this regard as all devices will be pulling simultaneously from your WiFi access points and eat a ton of bandwidth and have quite high latency which is a killer for Roon.