Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Should Roon Support Squeezebox?

I've been a keen supporter of Roon supporting Squeezebox hardware. I have 3 or 4 devices and think it would make a great interface.

The more I have been thinking about it though, the less I think that Roon should use their limited resources for this task. The reason for this is:

* I imagine that everyday, there is less operating Squeezeboxes than the day before. They are a dying technology.

* If an improved alternative is released then a number of people will replace their devices and the need could change quite rapidly

Any thoughts?

Cheers
Tom

Actually, it might be the other way round with SqueezeLite which runs on loads of platforms, including Raspberry Pi.

Thanks Joel - I was referring to the hardware. I assumed that Roon would replace the software so in your example that would be providing support for the Pi rather than the Squeezebox.

Cheers
Tom

Firstly, addressing resources, and with my experience of Roon, they absolutely & unequivocally HAVE to dedicate more resources to Reliabilty / Robustness / Stability. That must be the primary goal. There are still way too many bugs....

Conversely, SqueezeBoxes are certainly now "frozen" technology, but they're still alive & kicking, and there are literally thousands of them in use. Note that the Touch can output 192KHz/24bit & the Duet is limited to 44/16 - but I'm not sure about the rest.

With respect to Roon + SqueezeBoxes, immediately opening the door to thousands of (reasonably tech-savvy) customers has to be an enticing prospect.
My main system is connected to Roon by ID41 card, but I have Touches & Duets in my Bedroom / Kitchen / Bathroom / Roof-terrace & Office - so - full disclosure - I don't want to pay 5*£500 to "update" my system with MS200's if I don't need to !

Depends on how hard it is to do.

The Roon guys have a very good understanding of the tech involved.

The number of SB3's and SBT's etc out there is huge. Order of magnitude more than Sooloos hardware.

I think if they can provide support for it then it would be awesome.

The more we can use one platform officially to drive legacy kit and new kit the better.

Totally agree with what's being said. If it's easy, Roon should do it.

The Sooloos 'extra zone' price is still too high (and also not intrinsically wifi capable)

I'm totally with you, but what would you buy if one of the Sboxes failed?

That makes some sense but it also means that you pretty much have to continue supporting this kit with each enhancement, which will increase the development costs, which in turn could slow down the release of enhancements.

Maybe there's a market research exercise that needs to be undertaken first.

That does assume that the Sooloos is the only alternative!

It's a shame that Slim Devices sold out. I'd bet a new Squeezebox would be fantastic with the more recent technology improvements.

Cheers
Tom

A Raspberry Pi2, or similar - a "dumb" endpoint.

Specifically regarding SqueezeBoxes & LogitechMediaServer, of course the users have to decide if they're prepared to relinquish the huge flexibility & plug-in library that gives it it's extraordinary practicality & usefuless, over a very slick (but - currently - far more limited) user interface.
Perhaps the Roon team can do something clever so that both Roon & LMS can access the SqueezeBoxes simultaneously... or maybe most SBS users would be quite happy to completely ditch LMS... who knows?

That's a good point / another reason why not to develop the product!

* Roon does not currently offer the current functionality that Squeezebox LMS supports which may discourage dedicated Squeezebox users from migrating.

Cheers
Tom

I'm super keen to use roon, but have a SBT .. and use it wirelessly.
I would like a better user interface than LMS, especially as it does tidal no real justice
To do so, I would have to use a USB to SPDIF adaptor on my main computer and run a long digital line to my Devialet .. not a missonł, but wouldn't prefer the wireless to the SBT
So I too wish roon would support the SBT.

I would LOVE it if Roon supported the newly announced Chromecast Audio as an endpoint. A £30 wireless doodad with optical output? Bargain while I save for a Meridian endpoint.