Whole house music using Roon

Roon Software Discussion
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We’re in the architectural phase of building a new house. I am not interested in pulling speaker wire into the various rooms we may want music. Thus, what would be the best way to get music into various rooms?

I am currently using Roon in a headless configuration in our present house’s audio room. I’m assuming Roon would allow for whole house music. But I’m unsure of the configuration. Powered speaker(s) could enter into the equation. But I’m fuzzy about how best to get this done.

BTW, including the basement, we’re looking at 3,800 or so square feet. While WiFi Routers and devices are becoming more robust, it’s hard to beat a wired connection. Thus, I plan on having CAT6 pulled literally everywhere.

In addition the to audio room, the Home Theater room will be the only other room where supreme audio reproduction is necessary. So, in all the other rooms, decent reproduction and perhaps a one speaker solution would suffice.

Any thoughts or recommendations on this venture and the best way to get it accomplished are appreciated.

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You might perhaps like to consider a budget guide…there are more and more options becoming available all the time for RAAT devices, but if your OK with some DIY there many more options like Raspberry Pi with AMP hats etc that work very well…I use several of those around my house (wired) but commercial options like blusound also are RAAT compatible.

Try to keep this all RAAT and these are the easiest and best sync’d connection. Others like airplay, squeezebox and sonos are also possible but not ideal in a whole house setup for roon.

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Bluesound do a great job with their kit. I bought a Pulse for the conservatory and very soon bought a Pulse mini for the kitchen.
They are RAAT and ROON Ready and MQA certified. I use them wired but you also have Bluetooth and wireless to play with.
I can sync these zones in BluOS if I want the TV sound (Optica/Analog input) or synchs them in ROON with other RAAT zones.
The real deal is the sound quality. I’m impressed.
You can also link them as Stereo pairs and programme any remote to the units via BluOS app.

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Thanks for the suggestions.

I had been reading about budget options and they’re quite interesting.

Being fairly new to Roon and only using it in my audio room, I assume that zones (positions where there are endpoints) can be easily chosen one at a time, 2 or 3 at a time, or all together and volume can be controlled. Is that an accurate assumption? However, my guess is that only overall volume can be controlled if more than 1 zone is activated – i.e., volume couldn’t be different in different rooms, is that correct?

Because I’m considering having an ethernet port and A/C outlet installed up at say a 5’ level in some rooms, so that speaker(s) and RAAT/ROON devices could be placed on a shelf, does this make sense? Has anyone done anything similar?

I suppose I’m looking for a creative but practical solution to get music and even internet radio into the rooms of my choosing. Knowing that there are devices that will do that is good. But more importantly, I will obviously need to know where and what wiring and outlets are needed, so I can tell the electricians. Am I barking up the right tree with my thinking? Or am I trying to do something the hard way or a way that makes little sense and could be better done with other software and hardware?

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As for volume you do get Master in ROON and BluOS as I was talking about it earlier.

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I would have network cable in every room I can. It just takes wireless out of the equation. Also you will get the best quality available. Cat 5e works perfectly for me.

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Yes.

You can change any zone from any remote. I’m not super clear if that’s what you wanted to know.

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If you don’t want HiRes then -

RPI Roon bridge -> Klipsch R-15PM speakers. Powered monitors with a 96k built in DAC.

Or the same, but more expensive, substitute KEF LS50W speakers.

1 Like
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You can always independently control the volume of every audio device, regardless of how they are grouped into zones. There is also a “master” volume for the zone as a group.

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Slim_Fishguttz2h
If you don’t want HiRes then - RPI Roon bridge -> Klipsch R-15PM speakers. Powered monitors with a 96k built in DAC. Or the same, but more expensive, substitute KEF LS50W speakers.

Very nice, just the kind of information I was seeking…Thanks! So, it appears that if ethernet cable (in lieu of less dependable WiFi) and A/C is present near where I want to place speaker(s), ROON can perform the zoning and provide for individual volume and do as I was hoping. I’ve been waiting for a gotcha’, but there doesn’t appear to be one.

Any other hardware experiences or suggestions from folks who have done what I’m considering would be appreciated…

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are you willing to piece things together or want turn-key stuff?

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I have Ethernet to every room in the house. In my mind, as necessary as electrical outlets. Since you are building, the add on is marginal for dropping Ethernet ports. I would also suggest designing in a central area that can function as a server area.

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You could also interface with a “traditional” whole house system, such as the Russound branded equipment, for those areas where you don’t need or want to power a separate installation, and are content with in-wall speakers. In these cases you would be running wire from an central amplifier directly to more modest transducers instead of an ethernet-endpoint-dac-amp-speaker setup needing AC.

In my case, I pulled lengths of structured wiring (multiple ethernet, coax & fiber bundled together) everywhere to give me the option either way.

I’m using a MamboBerry HAT sitting on a Raspberry Pi (running Roon Bridge on DietPi) to feed one of the analog inputs for the wired whole house system. Sounds very good! Where I want to invest in better fidelity, I can build off a much more expensive endpoint-based setup (using ethernet) which is designed for the requirements of that particular listening room.

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I also believe everyone is well-served by installing ethernet during a build or renovation. Wifi has come a long way, but nothing beats cable for speed and reliability. Obviously, in this case it would help. I recently bought a five-year-old house in Canada and was pleased to discover that all phone access points were wired with cat5e ethernet. I have no use for phone wiring (I use voip and cordless phones) so I converted them to internet access. When I purchased a new condo in Brasil, where I spend most of my time, I had ethernet installed. It was a godsend, since wifi doesn’t travel well though the all-block-wall construction there.

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You are on the right track using Ethernet to Roon end points , but you still need a robust wifi network so Remotes like tablets or phones can operate.

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Another of the great advantages of a wired home is that you can stick a wifi access point or router configured as an AP (my personal preference) anywhere to create a better wifi network.

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BlockquotearedannyDanny Dulai you willing to piece things together or want turn-key stuff?

I understand the term turn-key, but not really in this case. First and foremost, I want to be sure I have the new house wired to do what I want as far as whole house music distribution is concerned. It sounds like if I have an Ethernet port and A/C outlets where I believe speakers will be, I’m on the right path. Plus, I can use ROON to do what I want. At this early pre-construction point, the hardware at each end of these areas can be pieced, turn-key or a mix of both.

I’ve done a little research and CAT6 vs CAT7 appears to be sufficient. CAT6 vs 5e may be a little overkill, but the cost difference appears to be minor. If anyone knows otherwise, please advise.

Another of my findings is the suggestion that conduit with pull strings be placed in important rooms or portions of the house where we may want to run additional cables in the future. Because all conduits or cables will be homerun to the basement, all should be well.

BlockquoteSunriseJeff
You are on the right track using Ethernet to Roon end points , but you still need a robust wifi network so Remotes like tablets or phones can operate.

BlockquoteDavid_Toole8h
Another of the great advantages of a wired home is that you can stick a wifi access point or router configured as an AP (my personal preference) anywhere to create a better wifi network.

Super, knowing that I’m on the “right track” is was I was seeking.

Yep, I agree that both a wired and WiFi LAN is important! But in new construction’s case, I want to make sure my wire planning and execution is as complete, robust and future proof as possible – with no regrets after the fact.

Speaking of WiFi, I’ve heard the term mesh network mentioned. I found a recent review for a Netgear device interesting (http://www.techhive.com/article/3162400/network-router/netgear-orbi-wi-fi-router-review-its-not-a-mesh-network-but-its-good-enough-you-wont-care.html). Although not technically mesh device, it seemed to garner a good review. I’m not really well versed enough to decide on whether a mesh network is in cards. But I know that I will have Ethernet and A/C outlets placed in a high, central point (for better distribution) on the main floor of the new house in order to connect an access point/router.

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I’d go with cat6 because these days, as you note, the cost differential is minimal. Over short runs 5e is probably sufficient for gigabit transmission. But it can’t hurt to be sure. If you’re going to install conduits with pull strings, why not use cat6 instead of strings? That way you’ll have extra internet wiring in place, and when something better comes along at a reasonable price (and it will, read “fiber”) just use the ethernet cable as the pull. It really isn’t very expensive when purchased in bulk. You can’t have too much internet wiring.

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Thanks for the CAT 6 confirmation. And indeed, one “can’t have too much internet wiring”!! I’m now wondering about COAX however, I wonder how much its needed today – everywhere we think we may have a TV, or will CAT6 suffice?

Regarding your pull cable rather than conduit suggestion, that is a good one. But, as long and we do sufficient amounts of CAT6, a conduit may be useful for fiber (as you mentioned), or whatever the next great thing is. However, at our ages, I’m not sure we will be around long enough, or even care about the latest and greatest (ha, sort of)!!!

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9 posts were split to a new topic: Wiring the home with fiber

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I’ve just finished a back to the studs remodel and added multi-room Roon. I pulled CAT6a STP from a basement network closet, with lots of attention to grounding and termination. Some of the runs ended up close to power, and I wanted no issues. Other than the audio Room and theatre, I used Blusound powernode2s driving Paradigm in-wall and in-ceiling speakers (well packed with R33 behind each speaker. I clustered the powernodes2s together, some in the network rack, others upstairs. This resulted in some failrly long speaker runs (I used Belden shielded 12AWG), but a cleaner installation with no visible equipment in most rooms. I also added a mini pulse which is great. It’s connected over WiFI, but I using 2 Ubiquity POE access points so have great Wifi across the house. Very happy with how this turned out. An in wall sub would have been nice in the living/kitchen, but you can’t have everything.