ROON KILLER

[Mike in NY]

Tried it again last week and it annoyed me too much within 5 mins it was disabled again.

Which means you approached it in a way that produced a foregone conclusion.

So, briefly, what makes Roon so great?

I dunno, if the goal is to actually listen to music then I don't see how Roon is better than other less expensive options. If the goal is endless metadata/information, constant searching, and music only as a background activity then Roon is great, assuming one likes the Roon Core memory leak that requires periodic reboots just to continue functioning.

In LMS you can have a library of local and streamed items - can't get more unified than that, can you?

Good point, many folks seem to think thats somehow a unique feature of Roon.

I prefer PlexAmp over LMS it and is now my backup choice but doesn’t still come close enough to being Roon.

That's very interesting, I guess horses for courses then, I absolutely hated all things Plex and think it's frustrating mess.

 

[Mike in NY]

As long as Roon will be present on the market I will remain glad using it and will do so. If there will come any for me important changes due to the new ownership it will be early enough to think about.

Absolutely fine, and mostly accepted by the audio enthusiast market segment. Everyone should be allowed to like what they like and enjoy it. What becomes tiresome for many of us is the massive Roon cheerleading that suggests it is the one and only viable solution and light years ahead of anything else. This is simply untrue if the goal is to listen to music.

So, lets stay side by side listening to music and remain happy that the situation is how it is and gives us such a choice.

For sure and many of us are not married to one thing at all. I've got LMS, and DLNA/UPnP in the form of JRiver, and AssetUPnP too for the server side, while endpoints range between Sonicorbiter (Sonore/Small Green Computer), piCorePlayer, Moode, Volumio, and now WiiM as well. I have not futzed around with the CLI for any of that, and once configured these are pretty damn well set and forget, though I do concede the initial setup/learning curve is not as easy as Roon is.

 

[d6jg]

I find this topic quite intriguing.
I am, as most will know, firmly in the LMS camp probably because I purchased SB devices and “bought in” long before either Roon or Plex even existed but it does not mean I am oblivious to the strengths of those products. I have tried both Roon and Plex but although I run a Plex server for video I don’t use it at all for music. I find LMS to be a more rewarding experience.
What about Roon? I thought that it was good and better in terms of metadata exploitation than LMS but I didn’t think it was worth the cost not only in terms of subscription but in terms of its higher spec hardware requirement. But that was my opinion for me and me alone. I can fully understand if you have the cash and no inclination to learn any Linux then for such people it will be well worth the money. My 2p only.

 

[castalla]

I find this topic quite intriguing.
I am, as most will know, firmly in the LMS camp probably because I purchased SB devices and “bought in” long before either Roon or Plex even existed but it does not mean I am oblivious to the strengths of those products. I have tried both Roon and Plex but although I run a Plex server for video I don’t use it at all for music. I find LMS to be a more rewarding experience.
What about Roon? I thought that it was good and better in terms of metadata exploitation than LMS but I didn’t think it was worth the cost not only in terms of subscription but in terms of its higher spec hardware requirement. But that was my opinion for me and me alone. I can fully understand if you have the cash and no inclination to learn any Linux then for such people it will be well worth the money. My 2p only.

LMS runs on a pi (using picoreplayer to install - Linux skills not needed). It also installs on Windows.

 

[CrystalGipsy]

I find this topic quite intriguing.
I am, as most will know, firmly in the LMS camp probably because I purchased SB devices and “bought in” long before either Roon or Plex even existed but it does not mean I am oblivious to the strengths of those products. I have tried both Roon and Plex but although I run a Plex server for video I don’t use it at all for music. I find LMS to be a more rewarding experience.
What about Roon? I thought that it was good and better in terms of metadata exploitation than LMS but I didn’t think it was worth the cost not only in terms of subscription but in terms of its higher spec hardware requirement. But that was my opinion for me and me alone. I can fully understand if you have the cash and no inclination to learn any Linux then for such people it will be well worth the money. My 2p only.

I use Linux every day and more than capable of maintaining LMS did for years. Just didn’t suit my needs and wants at the time. Also lots of the core base of users are Linux using people.

Roons whole approach of integration of streaming and local library was unique as was many other areas it had that no others offered or could match at the time. It also was a lot more WAF friendly in operation and was focused on getting in hardware which appealed more than diy that LMS became. Overall it was just a better more polished experience. I’m not made of money but could see its worth and what it brought to the table.

I had already give up on UPnP/DLNA at that point and as I had a Squeezebox eco system and it supported it, it was a simple transition as I was using a Touch, Radio, a few pis running picore player as well as an old O2 Joggler running SqueezeOs.

Yes LMS now offers some integration of library and streaming now but that’s pretty recent and still is basic in comparison but a big improvement on what it was but not enough to pull me back. It still feels like the same old thing just a new skin which worked okay but not amazing on my phone. This level of integration is also offered in Plex as well as Innuos which is even more expensive as you need their hardware.

So no, it’s not about having lots of money or being put off by Linux. It just happens to suit some people better, same reason you continue to use LMS as it suits your needs just fine. Horse for courses in the end it’s all about the music, well is for me and currently Roon enriches my experience with it.

 

[d6jg]

I use Linux every day and more than capable of maintaining LMS did for years. Just didn’t suit my needs and wants at the time. Also lots of the core base of users are Linux using people.

Roons whole approach of integration of streaming and local library was unique as was many other areas it had that no others offered or could match at the time. It also was a lot more WAF friendly in operation and was focused on getting in hardware which appealed more than diy that LMS became. Overall it was just a better more polished experience. I’m not made of money but could see its worth and what it brought to the table.

I had already give up on UPnP/DLNA at that point and as I had a Squeezebox eco system and it supported it, it was a simple transition as I was using a Touch, Radio, a few pis running picore player as well as an old O2 Joggler running SqueezeOs.

Yes LMS now offers some integration of library and streaming now but that’s pretty recent and still is basic in comparison but a big improvement on what it was but not enough to pull me back. It still feels like the same old thing just a new skin which worked okay but not amazing on my phone. This level of integration is also offered in Plex as well as Innuos which is even more expensive as you need their hardware.

So no, it’s not about having lots of money or being put off by Linux. It just happens to suit some people better, same reason you continue to use LMS as it suits your needs just fine. Horse for courses in the end it’s all about the music, well is for me and currently Roon enriches my experience with it.

Perhaps it’s not about those things for you but clearly it is for others. Horses for courses.

 

[saberger1]

I can't get LMS to install on a different port then 9000, which is where I believe Wiim is installed. I used LMS for years but after getting a new laptop recently and trying to load it that's the issue I'm having. I admit I'm a neophyte when it comes to this stuff. Any help appreciated. I really like Roon, but would like to be able to use LMS also.

 

[Mike in NY]

I can't get LMS to install on a different port then 9000, which is where I believe Wiim is installed. I used LMS for years but after getting a new laptop recently and trying to load it that's the issue I'm having. I admit I'm a neophyte when it comes to this stuff. Any help appreciated. I really like Roon, but would like to be able to use LMS also.

If you use piCorePlayer for LMS, it's under the Tweaks tab.

 

[saberger1]

If you use piCorePlayer for LMS, it's under the Tweaks tab.

Don't use that or anything else other then Windows. This never happened before loading Wiim.

 

[Mike in NY]

Don't use that or anything else other then Windows.

'Till death do you part then? My condolences.

 

[saberger1]

'Till death do you part then? My condolences.

Just keeping it as easy as possible. If I can be provided with an easy solution to get LMS back I'd like to use it, but I'm certainly not suffering using Roon(or Wiim Home app) as it achieves what I want to achieve, is have it everything in one place.

 

[d6jg]

I can't get LMS to install on a different port then 9000, which is where I believe Wiim is installed. I used LMS for years but after getting a new laptop recently and trying to load it that's the issue I'm having. I admit I'm a neophyte when it comes to this stuff. Any help appreciated. I really like Roon, but would like to be able to use LMS also.

If you install LMS and 9000 is already in use it will automatically move up one to 9001

 

[saberger1]

If you install LMS and 9000 is already in use it will automatically move up one to 9001

I thought it would but for some reason it’s evidently not.

 

[d6jg]

Have you checked your Windows firewall is allowing it?

 

[saberger1]

Have you checked your Windows firewall is allowing it?

Not sure how the Firewall would allow this? I turned the Firewall off temporarily but that didn’t help.

 

[saberger1]

Well LMS loaded up without issue on the older laptop, so I suppose I'm going to use it for awhile(at least for streaming needs) With Wiim and LMS, there really is no need for Roon for my purposes. I like it very much, but I like saving a few bucks more.

 

[Yanto]

Silly question time. Are Roon and LMS services for those who have large libraries of stored music files only?
If one only streams from a service provider such as Qobuz etc, is there any point/advantage to getting either of the above mentioned services please?

 

[Balthazar B]

Silly question time. Are Roon and LMS services for those who have large libraries of stored music files only?

Roon works most completely for those who have large libraries as well as use Qobuz and/or Tidal as a streaming service. LMS is also useful for combining those functions/services and others, but feels a bit more cobbled together.

If one only streams from a service provider such as Qobuz etc, is there any point/advantage to getting either of the above mentioned services please?

The value-add would be subtle at best, and in the WiiMosphere, you could replicate most of what Roon or LMS would get you. If Qobuz delivers on Qobuz Connect this year, using its interface would arguably provide a better experience than Roon, LMS, or WHA itself.

 

[Yanto]

Roon works most completely for those who have large libraries as well as use Qobuz and/or Tidal as a streaming service. LMS is also useful for combining those functions/services and others, but feels a bit more cobbled together.

The value-add would be subtle at best, and in the WiiMosphere, you could replicate most of what Roon or LMS would get you. If Qobuz delivers on Qobuz Connect this year, using its interface would arguably provide a better experience than Roon or LMS.

So for someone such as myself, it just wouldn’t be worth using because I only stream using a dedicated service provider? Thanks

 

[Mike in NY]

So for someone such as myself, it just wouldn’t be worth using because I only stream using a dedicated service provider? Thanks

What does "worth using" mean? LMS is free software, and it runs on hardware as humble as a $35 Raspberry Pi.

The software offers many things, not the least of which is streaming to multiple endpoints ("rooms" or "zones"), any combination of local server content (i.e. your own music library should you own one), or streaming services such as Qobuz, Spotify, Deezer, as well as internet radio, different streams to different rooms simultaneously, or synced multiroom play.

Whether or not you've already got those bases adequately covered via the WiiM Home app and WiiM endpoint devices is a question only you can answer. If you find you are lacking something, then perhaps that something is better served by using the WiiM device solely as an endpoint "player" (in it's Squeezelite mode), and adding the very capable and low cost LMS solution on something as inexpensive and low energy consumption as a Raspberry Pi.