PLEASE READ *before commenting*! 1) All comments here are moderated by a third party 2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome 3) No URLs, racist/sexist remarks or conspiracy theories, please
I love Roon so much. Has been a great discovery. Utter game changer for finding music, organising music and enjoying high quality streaming music. Brilliant.
Great video - Thank you, John! I have been using Roon Arc since the first day it became available. I love the flexibility it brings along with all the features you mentioned. One feature that is not yet available is Integration with Apple Car Play. I understand that is being targeted for a future release. For those of us who like to have our music with us as we drive that will be a very welcome feature.
Great video, as always! I am so happy about Arc - it finally frees me up from having to use other interfaces for listening to music. This is the killer feature for me: only one interface no matter where I am, one favorites list, one single set of playlists. Love it! Personally I don’t have any music on hard drives at all, but this might change that…
I have the same core requirement, my killer feature that I've been wanting for ages - one interface for all my music - but unfortunately for me where I differ from you is that when travelling I don't stream, I convert all of my lossless CD rips and downloads to AAC 320kbs and store the whole lot in Apple Music on my iPhone. If/when Roon adds the ability to compress file downloads (in the same way that it can already compress streaming content) then I will be able to reach the same audio nirvana as you, one interface everywhere (and me not having to compress and re-tag files myself to create my AAC shadow copies). Until then I'm sitting on the side lines watching intently for every new version of Roon ARC that is released.
Just downloaded it on my phone. I am going to say this is really cool. I only use ROON at home with my FLAC rips (I cancelled my Tidal and Qobuz services as I rarely used them), so now I have my music all the time. Thanks again!
Would you consider a follow up - film? A trouble shooting video about setting up ARC? Explaining the actions required on your router to allow the outside in ?
Hi John. Once again, a great video. One possible use for your audience. Some of us are “returning to office” and having to switch out Roon’s better interface, AI and discovery at home for Tidal in the office. And yes, I could load a Roon core on my work laptop, or carry my personal laptop but that’s not really ideal. Sounds like Roon ARC solves this problem.
iTunes Match is a cheaper option with less (none) options, but it does allow one to stream CDs that aren’t available on Apple Music itself through the same app on the road.
Thanks John, another informative and interesting subject 👍🏻. Your channel is the only one I subscribe to where the ads kick in at the ad break. I'm so sick and tired of YT bombarding me with ads. Unlike Netflix and other subscription services, YT doesn't create the content but is nevertheless trying to monetize the platform. How much money do these buggers need??
I've been using Plex for several years and love the freedom it gives. Does Roon offer any real benefits over Plex? Is sound quality better, for instance? I would love to see a direct comparison of the two.
Same here. I’m paying Apple Music (which I only use with my Hifi system) and Spotify (for everything else), which is extremely annoying. Love the Spotify ecosystem, but their lack of commitment with their HiFi promises makes me question if the hassle is worth it
I stream Spotify 320kbps to Chord Mojo 2/Poly and listen via Beyerdynamic Amorim Home headphones. Sounds amazing, also have tidal which sounds better but both still very good.
Yeah I felt the same and then I got too angry about broken hifi promises and moved to Tidal. I missed Spotify for a good couple of months, but not anymore.
Spotify is great because there are public playlists e.g. created by radio music journalists. Unfortunately I started using Roon and I I had to switch to Tidal. Ok I can pay for both but I really don't like paying to much for very similar services. For me Spotify is great! ❤️But Roon...
Good video. I've been pretty blown away by ARC- I bit the bullet on Roon lifetime a few months ago and it's been so rewarding to get such an immense upgrade. It's not perfect, but, especially considering it's v1.0, it's very impressive.
But when you say Roon costs as much as Spotify, that’s kind of irrelevant because paying for Roon is 14.99/month plus you would need to pay for a streaming service anyway like Qoboz or Tidal, which would set you back another 10-15/month.
This is great. I've a ton of CD and vinyl rips and dark-corner-of-the-internet downloads that are definitely not on any streaming service. Thanks for sharing!
Those dark-corner-of-the-internet downloads is a unique generational item many youngsters will never experience haha! I have a big library of music as well and this solution is ideal. I may have to bite the bullet and pay up now! :)
I use roon and I didnt realize ARC was a thing until I watched this today. Thank you very much, this is absolutely amazing and my Roon software already has it setup which is great.
Apple Music with iTunes can Upload your private catalog of music in Lossless or AAC in the Apple iCloud to be streamed and/or downloaded through Apple Music interface, without compromising the personal space of iCloud that the user has. I already have 80GB of music with this function. You can even mix playlist with your personal music and Apple Music catalog.
Tried it Plexamp is way ahead especially with the DJ algorithm, it is far beyond ahead of Roon. Also Roon misses tons of stuff when indexing, on Plexamp I just make sure my albums are processed through Picard first and then upload, Roon still misses these How? In addition with the discount we get with Tidal there is no beating my 192K experience at home and anywhere I go.
Thanks for the great video, John. That explained it nicely. I was struggling to see the point of ARC before, but your examples got me thinking...(and wanting!)
We’ll Arc was a good idea. I had to change my home network to get it to work, but the the Roon airplay became very unreliable, despite it working with Apple Music. So I ditched Arc, and swapped back my network to the original settings. The reliable AirPlay was more important than the remote listening using ARC. Never got a response from tech support. Also 2.0 has to have internet access all the time, unlike 1.8
Roon is worth the price for me as well as everything covered here with Roon I can play hi-res files my Sonos cannot play natively as it converts the file down to a sample rate Sonos can read. so now don’t need to replace my kitchen speaker and buy one that can play 24 bit 96kHz, yes that would sound better but this is for my kitchen.
Welcome, to the past? I thoroughly enjoy your videos and attitude towards music and audio gear. Very insightful and helpful. I would like to note though that in late 2012 I purchased a Synology DiskStation and the same unit has been running without issue to this day. I installed DS Audio and DS Video and have been able to stream music (supports FLAC, M4A (non-alac) M4B, MP3, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis) or videos to my cell phone ever since and download music or videos to take with me as I choose. I do not have Roon today but if this is easier to use/maintain (not that managing the DiskStation is difficult) I might look into it.
Interesting video. I was considering getting Roon a while ago and checked their prices. I noticed that they advertised their annual price as 'save 30%', when it was actually only a saving of 23%. I thought this must have been an innocent mistake, so I pointed it out on their forum expecting them to apologise and correct the error. Instead they said they could claim the discount was whatever percentage they liked, regardless of reality. After that I decided I wouldn't give them any money. They still haven't changed their advertising.
Hi John. Just wanted to drop a quick comment on the latest beta feature for Roon Arc that now includes a custom USB driver for bit perfect playback on android and IOS. Apologies if you've already covered elsewhere.
U can upload your own music with apple music as integrates apple match This would also come though on your apple tv and not require yet another subscription So you would have hi res audio, music videos, dolby atmos music AND your own uploads for £10 per month!
I’m an Apple fan the Apple TV hdmi to my Yamaha Aventage reciever sounds great especially the spatial audio selections. I can turn on party mode and as I move around it sounds great everywhere
I never thought I would bother with ARC. I used Qobuz when on the move. This was OK but not always straight forward to find what I wanted. In Roon ARC, my Qobuz albums are there alongside my own rips and organised in a way that is intuitive to me. I can also, relatively easily, move from listening to something at home to listening on the move and then back again (it would be great if Roon made this even easier!). Where I live the mobile data plans are generous and the coverage is OK for my regular journeys. The download function will be of some use for the longer journeys and I out of range of the mobile phone networks.
and also: is there gapless playing in ARC? can I listen to Strauss's Zarathustra with ARC in the street without interruptions between parts? another important feature to consider especially for classical music lovers
I knew you’d be tackling this subject as soon as I read the Roon 2.0 email. I have enjoyed your increased video output, but am curious what spurred the change.
I'm champing at the bit. I use a 4g/5g mobile router attached to a Mesh network ( live in an old farmhouse with superthick walls miles from a telephone switch box) and can't get Arc to work despite all the help in the online guides. Super frustrating. Am waiting till things settle down a bit and then will reach out to Roon support. Meantime I can only be jealous of all you folks with your Roon Libraries in your pockets.
Drop the bloopers. I’m already ready for my next video in the queue… 😉(If this was the movie Cannonball Run, it would be a different opinion.) Love the channel though. Keep ‘em coming.
Roon Arc rocks! A 256kbps stream via roon arc in the car whips the pants off Apple Qobuz and Tidal at full lossless. It's fuller and more musical. I guess I also have my hard drive connected to a very good usb card which adds to the quality of the stream.
What car are you driving that you can tell the difference between 256 kbps via roon and Tidal at full lossless? Is it a Bentley or Rolls Royce? And how do you even stream Tidal lossless in your car?
I revelled in this freedom years ago with the rebirthed audiogalaxy (which Dropbox bought and decommissioned). Been looking for something like this ever since.
Where are we with portable digital audio players nowadays? I like to dump whole bunch of music onto an SD card to take it with me, and my smartphone is showing its age. New ones don't seem to bother with SD cards, so I'm wondering if you have any recent experiences with PDPs or whatever they're called now.
I had seen this Roon Arc on the day of its publication, and the only doubt (perhaps unmotivated) is that you must obviously leave a door open (that of the system or one of your choice) on your router to allow two-way communication to the end point. (phone). I don't know, it worries me a little to know that I "opened the door" to my home system if some digital pirate wanted to be smart. Anyway I think this Roon Arc should be the basic interface for high level audiophile DAPs (the usual names).
Despite audio quality, (which if I may note, has taken substantial leaps), Apple Music works similarly. I drag my local library files into my Apple Music library and they exist forever, in the original file format synced via cloud across all my Apple devices. That's the only caveat really - you have to primarily exist within the Apple ecosystem to take advantage. As someone that has been making music as well, I have all my demos and references just airdropped and dragged into my Apple library within seconds and it appears via the Apple Music App on my iPhone, on my Apple TV, etc. I have 50+ tracks from other artists that have never been released or rips that exist like any other searchable song via my Apple Music library. Biggest downsides is - again, you need to exist in the Apple system and they don't have discoverability from your uploaded files so no continuous radio based on those offline uploaded files. I haven't seen anyone speak about this ability with Apple Music, so I wanted to put my information somewhere before I make a video revealing the straightforward process at some point.
John, just a data point for your viewers. Many Wifi Routers in the USA, for example, AT&T U-Verse Pace routers, do not allow or permit configuration of UPnP or NAT-PMP, so Roon 2.0/ARC doesn't work.
This sounds like a far less secure way of achieving something that a VPN to your home firewall has been able to do for many many years. Opening port 55000 open to the internet with your hard drive and all your precious music on it is a risk I definitely wouldn't be taking or advising people to take. The process you want to look at is setting up a certificate based VPN to your home router so you are effectively inside your home network whilst out and about and you can get to your hard drive without unnecessarily exposing it to the internet.
The VOX application does what Roon Arc does for a much lower price and in a more efficient way (and without having to have a recent system for the Roon core).
VPN may be an alternative solution. When VPN is configured on mobile phone/PC, it can connect to any home media server (still using Squeezebox LMS on a RsspPi) and benefit from native audio quality. Unfortunately VPN availability depends on home Router capabilities that exceed port forwarding required for, and some tech knowledge to configure it.
Sorry an Apple sheep here. I have apple match that allows me to have my own content i.e. CDs records etc. That is much cheaper than Roon. I do like how you get that great content display on your TV through the Apple TV and wonder what app allows that. Always a simulating presentation.
John (and team!) great video, again. I’ve been interested in Roon for quite a while but have struggled to justify the cost (and additional technical challenges/cost for a Roon Core). I have a NAS drive (Synology) and can do all these things that Roon/Roon Arc does through the DS Audio (and others) app. I can download music to my iPhone (also via tidal and Apple Music I believe?) as well as listen in native ripped CD quality. Both Apple Music and Tidal also have some form of ‘radio’ functionality to enable music discovery. So I’m not sure what Roon adds here? Other than the excellent interface? Happy to be challenged! Thanks again. Enjoy your well earned break.
Talking of Masters, I'm sure there was an early video of yours where you refer to a site that discusses the quality of a recording. Part of the conversation was the fact that many newer remasters were just shoddily done to up the volume somewhat, perhaps to enhance poorer listening habits like cheap IEMs and low quality streaming. Which video was this on? Am I correct in my recollection? Cheers
Plex did offer the same already.. or am I wrong about that. I’m using my plex server as Spotify … With my own music … mp3 320knos And a separate server hi-res and flac and even wav What’s the benefit than for Roon? Is the Plex experience les the room one ? Grateful for your TH-cam channel Wonderful video’s and reviews
I'll just say if you really care about music and don't mind spending money to enjoy it, do yourself a favor and do a trial of Roon. I know after 1 day after setup it was far superior to Plex for music. But you have to try it for yourself.
@@RickyCash superior how? Plex is pretty straightforward and the quality is lossless. Seems any improvements would be more of a user preference, such as UI experience, etc.
What isn't mentioned in this video is what a pain in the ass ARC can be to set up. I spent a day tweaking my router, setting up port forwarding and a static IP address and still could not get it to work. I think it works well for a lot of people but the Roon community forum is full of people having issues similar to mine. I've given up and deleted the ARC app.
On a side note, I installed Plex Media Server on to my Roon core Mac, went to work and opened up the Plex app on my work PC and it works perfectly. I can stream my local music files without issue so I know my router is capable of doing what ARC wants.
I’m a true believer in Roon and now Arc. I do have a question a bit off topic. I use my Nucelus as a streamer, wondering if you have tried your Nucelus as a streamer and what you thought of the SQ? Wondering if a separate streamer is worth the investment? I’ve been very happy with this set up but always chasing possible improvements. Thanks
I bought a lifetime prescription to roon years ago. An initial Investment that is now paying for itself. For me the killer feature for me is the roon AI. I particularly like the fact you can select just your own music for this, which reintroduces me to tracks I totally forgot about. But mixing it with Tidal is even better. It's better than Tidal native AI. Until now I never thought of getting a Music server, but I can see how this could be quite useful. Or is it just as easy to download all your tracks onto your phone? Now phones have terabytes of hard drive space.
I wish roon could have a server on ipad. I have a few ipad pros usb c unused and it’s portable powerful and energy efficient. Also I can connect usb DAC too
So if i were to integrate say a Bluesound Vault would i be able to roughly duplicate what you have done here...Excellent videos by the way..super informative....FYI I am also an audiophile what likes electronica music
But. Apple have this with your library. It was called iTunes Match and now is embedded inside Apple Music. I also have my personal cloud streaming service
You do but you are limited to 256kb/s AAC for your uploaded audio which is not really comparable from a sound quality perspective to what you could have stored and therefore streamed from your Roon library. Apple will also attempt to match (hence the name) your upload audio with what they already have within their database so you would lose the particular mastering that you want and is contained within your Roon library. iTunes Match is certainly a cost effective solution that offers some of what Roon ARC offers (I like it and used it extensively until the release of ARC) but it is not equivalent.
GREAT VIDEO, thank you for sharing your experiences. I've been fan for quite some time...Thank you. A little over a year ago I ripped my 500+ CD's to a hard drive music server using FLAC codex.(COVID gave me the time to do it.) I looked into ROON at the time, and I also looked into JRiver. I went with JRiver and never looked back. I'm a technogeek at heart so I didn't mind configuring and setting it all up. JRiver also lets you access your music server over the internet...FANTASTIC for all the reasons you've mentioned. If you ever get a chance give JRiver a bit of your attention...great product not subscription based!
Hi , ARC looks promising but: I’m the only one that think downloads sorting is a mess? Why not use artist, album& playlist alphabetically ordered? I’ll mostly use arc for offline playing so the lack of a proper sort method is a little annoying
Thanks for the review! I'm wondering which internet provider you have at home, though? I'm on Vodafone, and there's no option to purchase a static IP - which, as far as I can see, is required for ARC?
"Does Vodafone have static IP address? Vodafone offers a Single Static IP address, which you can order at any time for use with your Vodafone Enterprise Broadband Service. If you order a Single Static IP address, we will send you the address details once your Vodafone Enterprise Broadband Service has been activated." Users who only get a dynamic IP address across WLAN usually find it remains the same even ever reboots and a short time disconnected.
I love the idea of Roon but in reality, Tidal connect and my phone is all I really need. I would like a designated hard drive to transfer all of my physical music.
Why not just fill an SD card full of your rips pop it into your phone and your good to go. Great for in the car via Bluetooth or android auto, great for headphones.
I thought all phones did! I have my entire music collection on my SD card, mostly flac. Use black player ex to play via Chromecast to Nvidia shield or Ldac to Sony amp at home
Ah, and I thought I might try the trial to find a way around the problem, but unfortunately, a free trial is available only when I use my non existing credit card. *sigh*. I guess I'm going to try to give Plex a try..
Lifetime Roon subscriber. Not interested in ARC. In Canada data plans are usually only a few Gig. 10Gig is costing me $100 per month with zero phone cost as I own the phone. Until Canada gets more competitive cellular service ARC is a non starter. 😢
Well I tried Arc did the setup with my internet provider and guess what the whole thing bugged badly. I will not use Arc until they fixe all the bugs!!!!
interesting. Suggests that Roon now is also a FLAC player on iPhone, as it seems to be able to play stored FLAC on iPhone. So far used Flacbox for that, but may simplify life that way. Just wonder how one points Roon arc on phone to the already stored files on phone. Navigating files on iphone is infamously impossible. hmmm ...
PLEASE READ *before commenting*!
1) All comments here are moderated by a third party
2) Polite comments that advance the conversation are most welcome
3) No URLs, racist/sexist remarks or conspiracy theories, please
Now I've figured out how to configure my router, I'm going to get 10 times the use out of my Roon subscription. Good stuff!
I love Roon so much. Has been a great discovery. Utter game changer for finding music, organising music and enjoying high quality streaming music. Brilliant.
This channel has made me rediscover my love of music. Thank you.
Great video, Roon Arc sounds ideal for me given the amount of CD singles I have ripped. Really good review, thank you!
This sounds like a great route back owning our own music collections, which was always part of the pleasure of purchasing music back in the day 👍🏻
Try Plexamp thank me later does everything Roon does but better and cheaper.
Great video - Thank you, John! I have been using Roon Arc since the first day it became available. I love the flexibility it brings along with all the features you mentioned. One feature that is not yet available is Integration with Apple Car Play. I understand that is being targeted for a future release. For those of us who like to have our music with us as we drive that will be a very welcome feature.
Great video, as always! I am so happy about Arc - it finally frees me up from having to use other interfaces for listening to music. This is the killer feature for me: only one interface no matter where I am, one favorites list, one single set of playlists. Love it!
Personally I don’t have any music on hard drives at all, but this might change that…
I have the same core requirement, my killer feature that I've been wanting for ages - one interface for all my music - but unfortunately for me where I differ from you is that when travelling I don't stream, I convert all of my lossless CD rips and downloads to AAC 320kbs and store the whole lot in Apple Music on my iPhone. If/when Roon adds the ability to compress file downloads (in the same way that it can already compress streaming content) then I will be able to reach the same audio nirvana as you, one interface everywhere (and me not having to compress and re-tag files myself to create my AAC shadow copies). Until then I'm sitting on the side lines watching intently for every new version of Roon ARC that is released.
Just downloaded it on my phone. I am going to say this is really cool. I only use ROON at home with my FLAC rips (I cancelled my Tidal and Qobuz services as I rarely used them), so now I have my music all the time. Thanks again!
Would you consider a follow up - film? A trouble shooting video about setting up ARC? Explaining the actions required on your router to allow the outside in ?
I'd like to see that too. I spent almost 2 days trying to get ARC to work without success.
Hi John. Once again, a great video. One possible use for your audience. Some of us are “returning to office” and having to switch out Roon’s better interface, AI and discovery at home for Tidal in the office. And yes, I could load a Roon core on my work laptop, or carry my personal laptop but that’s not really ideal. Sounds like Roon ARC solves this problem.
iTunes Match is a cheaper option with less (none) options, but it does allow one to stream CDs that aren’t available on Apple Music itself through the same app on the road.
Thanks John, another informative and interesting subject 👍🏻. Your channel is the only one I subscribe to where the ads kick in at the ad break. I'm so sick and tired of YT bombarding me with ads. Unlike Netflix and other subscription services, YT doesn't create the content but is nevertheless trying to monetize the platform. How much money do these buggers need??
I've been using Plex for several years and love the freedom it gives. Does Roon offer any real benefits over Plex? Is sound quality better, for instance? I would love to see a direct comparison of the two.
I cant leave Spotify. I like the ecosystem too much. But it really is getting annoying. Spotify promised hi-fi looooong ago and they need to deliver.
Same here. I’m paying Apple Music (which I only use with my Hifi system) and Spotify (for everything else), which is extremely annoying.
Love the Spotify ecosystem, but their lack of commitment with their HiFi promises makes me question if the hassle is worth it
@@G-rig6969 That's true, but much of the music I like IS on Spotify and not on Tidal. And that's really unfortunate!
I stream Spotify 320kbps to Chord Mojo 2/Poly and listen via Beyerdynamic Amorim Home headphones. Sounds amazing, also have tidal which sounds better but both still very good.
Yeah I felt the same and then I got too angry about broken hifi promises and moved to Tidal. I missed Spotify for a good couple of months, but not anymore.
Spotify is great because there are public playlists e.g. created by radio music journalists. Unfortunately I started using Roon and I I had to switch to Tidal. Ok I can pay for both but I really don't like paying to much for very similar services.
For me Spotify is great! ❤️But Roon...
Good video. I've been pretty blown away by ARC- I bit the bullet on Roon lifetime a few months ago and it's been so rewarding to get such an immense upgrade. It's not perfect, but, especially considering it's v1.0, it's very impressive.
But when you say Roon costs as much as Spotify, that’s kind of irrelevant because paying for Roon is 14.99/month plus you would need to pay for a streaming service anyway like Qoboz or Tidal, which would set you back another 10-15/month.
Ill love ARC once I get it working! Glad to see you’re still enjoying chill out !
This is great. I've a ton of CD and vinyl rips and dark-corner-of-the-internet downloads that are definitely not on any streaming service. Thanks for sharing!
Those dark-corner-of-the-internet downloads is a unique generational item many youngsters will never experience haha! I have a big library of music as well and this solution is ideal. I may have to bite the bullet and pay up now! :)
I use roon and I didnt realize ARC was a thing until I watched this today. Thank you very much, this is absolutely amazing and my Roon software already has it setup which is great.
Apple Music with iTunes can Upload your private catalog of music in Lossless or AAC in the Apple iCloud to be streamed and/or downloaded through Apple Music interface, without compromising the personal space of iCloud that the user has. I already have 80GB of music with this function. You can even mix playlist with your personal music and Apple Music catalog.
iTunes Match!
Great video!! I am now more interested in exploring streaming. I can’t help notice those awesome looking Mission loudspeakers. 👍🏻
Great in depth video, this explains Roon very good, better than I could find on the net! This might pull the trigger for me, vielen dank!
Great album rip choices. I think you are displaying your rave roots there..
Set all the great content aside , you’ve introduced me to some really great music most notably Brendon Moeller, you’re a great DJ
Tried it Plexamp is way ahead especially with the DJ algorithm, it is far beyond ahead of Roon. Also Roon misses tons of stuff when indexing, on Plexamp I just make sure my albums are processed through Picard first and then upload, Roon still misses these How? In addition with the discount we get with Tidal there is no beating my 192K experience at home and anywhere I go.
Thank you for telling your impressions.
Same, it blows my mind people are paying $15 a month for roon, plex with plexamp is amazing.
I like that Darko might take his phone to a friends house, and they might not let him onto their wifi.
Your brilliant mate. Long time subscriber keep up the AMAZING work.
Thanks for the great video, John. That explained it nicely. I was struggling to see the point of ARC before, but your examples got me thinking...(and wanting!)
We’ll Arc was a good idea. I had to change my home network to get it to work, but the the Roon airplay became very unreliable, despite it working with Apple Music. So I ditched Arc, and swapped back my network to the original settings. The reliable AirPlay was more important than the remote listening using ARC. Never got a response from tech support. Also 2.0 has to have internet access all the time, unlike 1.8
Roon is worth the price for me as well as everything covered here with Roon I can play hi-res files my Sonos cannot play natively as it converts the file down to a sample rate Sonos can read. so now don’t need to replace my kitchen speaker and buy one that can play 24 bit 96kHz, yes that would sound better but this is for my kitchen.
I'm not sure why you want to pay for a service to stream your songs you already own.
Welcome, to the past? I thoroughly enjoy your videos and attitude towards music and audio gear. Very insightful and helpful. I would like to note though that in late 2012 I purchased a Synology DiskStation and the same unit has been running without issue to this day. I installed DS Audio and DS Video and have been able to stream music (supports FLAC, M4A (non-alac) M4B, MP3, WAV, and Ogg Vorbis) or videos to my cell phone ever since and download music or videos to take with me as I choose. I do not have Roon today but if this is easier to use/maintain (not that managing the DiskStation is difficult) I might look into it.
+1. Do you really need room to download your files to your phone while on the move (to prevent data costs) ?!
Interesting video. I was considering getting Roon a while ago and checked their prices. I noticed that they advertised their annual price as 'save 30%', when it was actually only a saving of 23%. I thought this must have been an innocent mistake, so I pointed it out on their forum expecting them to apologise and correct the error. Instead they said they could claim the discount was whatever percentage they liked, regardless of reality. After that I decided I wouldn't give them any money. They still haven't changed their advertising.
Hi John. Just wanted to drop a quick comment on the latest beta feature for Roon Arc that now includes a custom USB driver for bit perfect playback on android and IOS. Apologies if you've already covered elsewhere.
I've always wanted access to my (ridiculously) large library outside of my house. This is amazing. I'm sure the app will improve over time.
U can upload your own music with apple music as integrates apple match
This would also come though on your apple tv and not require yet another subscription
So you would have hi res audio, music videos, dolby atmos music AND your own uploads for £10 per month!
I’m an Apple fan the Apple TV hdmi to my Yamaha Aventage reciever sounds great especially the spatial audio selections. I can turn on party mode and as I move around it sounds great everywhere
I never thought I would bother with ARC. I used Qobuz when on the move. This was OK but not always straight forward to find what I wanted. In Roon ARC, my Qobuz albums are there alongside my own rips and organised in a way that is intuitive to me. I can also, relatively easily, move from listening to something at home to listening on the move and then back again (it would be great if Roon made this even easier!). Where I live the mobile data plans are generous and the coverage is OK for my regular journeys. The download function will be of some use for the longer journeys and I out of range of the mobile phone networks.
Love your take on Roon Arc. I love it also and am about to offload Plexamp.
and also: is there gapless playing in ARC? can I listen to Strauss's Zarathustra with ARC in the street without interruptions between parts? another important feature to consider especially for classical music lovers
I use iBroadcast. Unlimited uploads, original quality playback. Gapless. Works great, responsive developer. Whole lot cheaper than Roon.
This is awesome for ROON to make their personalized streaming app. But, I'm sticking with Plexamp for now since I paid for the lifetime subscription.
A video on the do's and don'ts of ripping cds would be great! I seem to have variable levels of success : S
I hope you have the contents of the HD backed up safely !!
I knew you’d be tackling this subject as soon as I read the Roon 2.0 email. I have enjoyed your increased video output, but am curious what spurred the change.
I'm champing at the bit. I use a 4g/5g mobile router attached to a Mesh network ( live in an old farmhouse with superthick walls miles from a telephone switch box) and can't get Arc to work despite all the help in the online guides. Super frustrating. Am waiting till things settle down a bit and then will reach out to Roon support. Meantime I can only be jealous of all you folks with your Roon Libraries in your pockets.
Love your podcast man … love it from Australia…hope you get bigger .half the stuff i don’t understand but it’s great … reallly good listen
Mind bomb The The. Is still available on Apple music. Both the original and the digitally remastered version.
Drop the bloopers. I’m already ready for my next video in the queue… 😉(If this was the movie Cannonball Run, it would be a different opinion.)
Love the channel though. Keep ‘em coming.
Roon Arc rocks! A 256kbps stream via roon arc in the car whips the pants off Apple Qobuz and Tidal at full lossless. It's fuller and more musical. I guess I also have my hard drive connected to a very good usb card which adds to the quality of the stream.
What car are you driving that you can tell the difference between 256 kbps via roon and Tidal at full lossless? Is it a Bentley or Rolls Royce? And how do you even stream Tidal lossless in your car?
I revelled in this freedom years ago with the rebirthed audiogalaxy (which Dropbox bought and decommissioned). Been looking for something like this ever since.
Now I'm going to book a vacation just to listen to my files somewhere else.
Where are we with portable digital audio players nowadays? I like to dump whole bunch of music onto an SD card to take it with me, and my smartphone is showing its age. New ones don't seem to bother with SD cards, so I'm wondering if you have any recent experiences with PDPs or whatever they're called now.
Conceptually yes but much more features and better reliability.
I had seen this Roon Arc on the day of its publication, and the only doubt (perhaps unmotivated) is that you must obviously leave a door open (that of the system or one of your choice) on your router to allow two-way communication to the end point. (phone). I don't know, it worries me a little to know that I "opened the door" to my home system if some digital pirate wanted to be smart. Anyway I think this Roon Arc should be the basic interface for high level audiophile DAPs (the usual names).
Despite audio quality, (which if I may note, has taken substantial leaps), Apple Music works similarly. I drag my local library files into my Apple Music library and they exist forever, in the original file format synced via cloud across all my Apple devices. That's the only caveat really - you have to primarily exist within the Apple ecosystem to take advantage.
As someone that has been making music as well, I have all my demos and references just airdropped and dragged into my Apple library within seconds and it appears via the Apple Music App on my iPhone, on my Apple TV, etc. I have 50+ tracks from other artists that have never been released or rips that exist like any other searchable song via my Apple Music library.
Biggest downsides is - again, you need to exist in the Apple system and they don't have discoverability from your uploaded files so no continuous radio based on those offline uploaded files.
I haven't seen anyone speak about this ability with Apple Music, so I wanted to put my information somewhere before I make a video revealing the straightforward process at some point.
You are also limited to 256kbit/s AAC for your own files
You don't have to be Appled up. I do this using windows and android.
John, just a data point for your viewers. Many Wifi Routers in the USA, for example, AT&T U-Verse Pace routers, do not allow or permit configuration of UPnP or NAT-PMP, so Roon 2.0/ARC doesn't work.
Thanks for sharing 🙏
Roon 2.0 made me buy the lifetime subscription
This sounds like a far less secure way of achieving something that a VPN to your home firewall has been able to do for many many years. Opening port 55000 open to the internet with your hard drive and all your precious music on it is a risk I definitely wouldn't be taking or advising people to take. The process you want to look at is setting up a certificate based VPN to your home router so you are effectively inside your home network whilst out and about and you can get to your hard drive without unnecessarily exposing it to the internet.
The VOX application does what Roon Arc does for a much lower price and in a more efficient way (and without having to have a recent system for the Roon core).
Darko - I love your music taste. Do you have a playlist i can access?
Only if you are patreon member
VPN may be an alternative solution. When VPN is configured on mobile phone/PC, it can connect to any home media server (still using Squeezebox LMS on a RsspPi) and benefit from native audio quality. Unfortunately VPN availability depends on home Router capabilities that exceed port forwarding required for, and some tech knowledge to configure it.
Sorry an Apple sheep here. I have apple match that allows me to have my own content i.e. CDs records etc. That is much cheaper than Roon. I do like how you get that great content display on your TV through the Apple TV and wonder what app allows that. Always a simulating presentation.
John (and team!) great video, again.
I’ve been interested in Roon for quite a while but have struggled to justify the cost (and additional technical challenges/cost for a Roon Core).
I have a NAS drive (Synology) and can do all these things that Roon/Roon Arc does through the DS Audio (and others) app. I can download music to my iPhone (also via tidal and Apple Music I believe?) as well as listen in native ripped CD quality. Both Apple Music and Tidal also have some form of ‘radio’ functionality to enable music discovery. So I’m not sure what Roon adds here? Other than the excellent interface? Happy to be challenged! Thanks again. Enjoy your well earned break.
Another nice video! :) John, I'll be in Berlin next week; mostly in MItte. Can you recommend a record store in that area?
All of that is unfeasible for 98% of people in the street.
I run Roon Core on my NAS. Runs good.
Talking of Masters, I'm sure there was an early video of yours where you refer to a site that discusses the quality of a recording. Part of the conversation was the fact that many newer remasters were just shoddily done to up the volume somewhat, perhaps to enhance poorer listening habits like cheap IEMs and low quality streaming.
Which video was this on? Am I correct in my recollection? Cheers
You could get a very similar result if using a NAS and run Plex from it, for those who cant justify roons $700 price tag
Are you going to visit Warsaw Audio show this month?
Plex did offer the same already.. or am I wrong about that.
I’m using my plex server as Spotify …
With my own music … mp3 320knos
And a separate server hi-res and flac and even wav
What’s the benefit than for Roon?
Is the Plex experience les the room one ?
Grateful for your TH-cam channel
Wonderful video’s and reviews
I'll just say if you really care about music and don't mind spending money to enjoy it, do yourself a favor and do a trial of Roon. I know after 1 day after setup it was far superior to Plex for music. But you have to try it for yourself.
@@RickyCash superior how? Plex is pretty straightforward and the quality is lossless. Seems any improvements would be more of a user preference, such as UI experience, etc.
What isn't mentioned in this video is what a pain in the ass ARC can be to set up. I spent a day tweaking my router, setting up port forwarding and a static IP address and still could not get it to work. I think it works well for a lot of people but the Roon community forum is full of people having issues similar to mine. I've given up and deleted the ARC app.
On a side note, I installed Plex Media Server on to my Roon core Mac, went to work and opened up the Plex app on my work PC and it works perfectly. I can stream my local music files without issue so I know my router is capable of doing what ARC wants.
I’m a true believer in Roon and now Arc. I do have a question a bit off topic. I use my Nucelus as a streamer, wondering if you have tried your Nucelus as a streamer and what you thought of the SQ? Wondering if a separate streamer is worth the investment? I’ve been very happy with this set up but always chasing possible improvements. Thanks
Yeah I'm stuck with amazonmusicHD. Would love to learn this though.
I bought a lifetime prescription to roon years ago. An initial Investment that is now paying for itself. For me the killer feature for me is the roon AI. I particularly like the fact you can select just your own music for this, which reintroduces me to tracks I totally forgot about. But mixing it with Tidal is even better. It's better than Tidal native AI.
Until now I never thought of getting a Music server, but I can see how this could be quite useful. Or is it just as easy to download all your tracks onto your phone? Now phones have terabytes of hard drive space.
I agree. I tell people my lifetime membership in Roon is the best value I've received as an music consumer, either hardware or software.
This is very intriguing to me
Will look at running Roon on a virtual machine. I’m in the Sonos at home eco system along with Kef LSX.
Apple airplay though?
I wish roon could have a server on ipad. I have a few ipad pros usb c unused and it’s portable powerful and energy efficient. Also I can connect usb DAC too
So if i were to integrate say a Bluesound Vault would i be able to roughly duplicate what you have done here...Excellent videos by the way..super informative....FYI I am also an audiophile what likes electronica music
I joined an online library under their lifetime plan and the library closed after a few years! How do you know that will not happen with Roon?
Wish I wasn't trapped behind double NAT problems :( This would change my life.
O2 has unlimited bandwith with 10mbit/s for 39,99€ a month. I use this subscription plan to stream lossless when im outside.
But. Apple have this with your library. It was called iTunes Match and now is embedded inside Apple Music. I also have my personal cloud streaming service
You do but you are limited to 256kb/s AAC for your uploaded audio which is not really comparable from a sound quality perspective to what you could have stored and therefore streamed from your Roon library. Apple will also attempt to match (hence the name) your upload audio with what they already have within their database so you would lose the particular mastering that you want and is contained within your Roon library. iTunes Match is certainly a cost effective solution that offers some of what Roon ARC offers (I like it and used it extensively until the release of ARC) but it is not equivalent.
GREAT VIDEO, thank you for sharing your experiences. I've been fan for quite some time...Thank you. A little over a year ago I ripped my 500+ CD's to a hard drive music server using FLAC codex.(COVID gave me the time to do it.) I looked into ROON at the time, and I also looked into JRiver. I went with JRiver and never looked back. I'm a technogeek at heart so I didn't mind configuring and setting it all up. JRiver also lets you access your music server over the internet...FANTASTIC for all the reasons you've mentioned. If you ever get a chance give JRiver a bit of your attention...great product not subscription based!
Vince Guaraldi trio!
What headphones are in the travel bag then John?👍
can arc be run on multiple devices under a single account?
do you have to have your core roon open at home if you want to use roon arc outside
Hi , ARC looks promising but: I’m the only one that think downloads sorting is a mess? Why not use artist, album& playlist alphabetically ordered? I’ll mostly use arc for offline playing so the lack of a proper sort method is a little annoying
Thanks for the review! I'm wondering which internet provider you have at home, though? I'm on Vodafone, and there's no option to purchase a static IP - which, as far as I can see, is required for ARC?
"Does Vodafone have static IP address?
Vodafone offers a Single Static IP address, which you can order at any time for use with your Vodafone Enterprise Broadband Service. If you order a Single Static IP address, we will send you the address details once your Vodafone Enterprise Broadband Service has been activated."
Users who only get a dynamic IP address across WLAN usually find it remains the same even ever reboots and a short time disconnected.
@@geraldmcmullon2465 yes, it's for Enterprise customers = Businesses. For private users it isn't available.
🤔That is why we still need microsd slot in our phones😱
1Tb microSD cards. I don't ever want my entire library, 3.7Tb, of audio (music and podcasts) on my mobile phone or tablet.
I love the idea of Roon but in reality, Tidal connect and my phone is all I really need. I would like a designated hard drive to transfer all of my physical music.
Why not just fill an SD card full of your rips pop it into your phone and your good to go. Great for in the car via Bluetooth or android auto, great for headphones.
Ah, the good old days when phones had SD card slots. Miss those
Or just use a DAP?
or just use a discman?
@@barneyrubble9309 that's what I do
I thought all phones did! I have my entire music collection on my SD card, mostly flac. Use black player ex to play via Chromecast to Nvidia shield or Ldac to Sony amp at home
It's videos like this which make me feel like I should get out of audio because I'm too old and this all makes no sense to me.
Ah, and I thought I might try the trial to find a way around the problem, but unfortunately, a free trial is available only when I use my non existing credit card. *sigh*. I guess I'm going to try to give Plex a try..
Lifetime Roon subscriber. Not interested in ARC. In Canada data plans are usually only a few Gig. 10Gig is costing me $100 per month with zero phone cost as I own the phone. Until Canada gets more competitive cellular service ARC is a non starter. 😢
wow! That's shocking. I'm in the UK and I pay £7 pm (CAD11) for 8GB.
Well I tried Arc did the setup with my internet provider and guess what the whole thing bugged badly. I will not use Arc until they fixe all the bugs!!!!
but Arc worked a couple hours as I was outside my home
but as soon as arc work I will use it because it's very valuable for me
interesting. Suggests that Roon now is also a FLAC player on iPhone, as it seems to be able to play stored FLAC on iPhone. So far used Flacbox for that, but may simplify life that way. Just wonder how one points Roon arc on phone to the already stored files on phone. Navigating files on iphone is infamously impossible. hmmm ...
Roon will only see the files you download from your own server with ARC. They won't mix with existing files.
I saw that M.Cunningham album. 😏