Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming QNAP software

I do wish I understood what you are talking about! I have spent a little time trying to get to grips with Roon, simply by playing around with it. Unlike Sooloos, which I found very straightforward and intuitive, at least for the simple things I want to do (search for and play music and store and access my own collection), one really has to work at Roon because of its power and complexity. I have even benefited from some absolutely invaluable personal help from a very talented and knowledgeable Meridian Unplugged member, but I struggle to go beyond what he has helped me do. As my school report said, I really must try harder.

Apologies I am not trying to appear judgemental here. However, Sooloos was driven by an album browser that had a couple of ways to be sorted.

Just use Roon/albums browser and it behaves exactly the same way.

I use that 99% of the time and get to what I want in a couple of clicks using the filter (funnel icon top right)

You can just really ignore any of all of the other stuff. Get your zones set as you want them away off we go.

IMHO it doesn’t have to be used in a complex way.

The more I get to know Roon the more I realise how to use it in just a simple way, not drawing on all of its capabilities. The difficulty I am gradually getting over is that I have had to become much more knowledgeable than I think should be required of a novice in order to know how to use it simply.

Sooloos was to my mind much more of a consumer product. I mastered it easily, but it does only what I want - and I can understand that others may want a lot more, or be like me and be content with less.

Even I like Roon's ability to deal with a wide range of endpoints (a killer advantage for me) and my only disappointment functionally is I can't use my earlier generation iPads as controllers, as I have already noted.

To reach the widest markets I would certainly advise Roon to offer it (no need for different prices) with a simpler initial interface with a "switch" that unlocks the full power for more experienced or ambitious users. They have done that in terms of hardware with their Nucleus and with ROCK, the implementation of which on an i7 8th generation Intel NUC I found a piece of cake using their simple instructions. Let's have a similar (temporary if required) option in the software.

I may have missed it but have you considered Logitech Media Server, Squeezebox, set up? Free, uncomplicated, good controller via iPeng?

Yes, I have a Squeezebox and I use iPeng. But I also use Roon with the Squeezebox, which illustrates Roon's wide capability with endpoints. I have used iPeng for a few years and like it not least because I am full of admiration for its originator. What a great guy and a true example of the power of the individual over corporate sloth, incompetence and narrow mindedness.

Hi all,

Newbie forum member here.

My Sooloos system has been working fine for ages but I've now had a failure (not-Sooloos brand) and searching the internet I found out that Meridian no longer support their hardware and I found this forum too, so hopefully, someone can help?

I have a failed QNAP TS-251 that has a failed motherboard (due to an incorrect PSU being plugged into it). I have been able to procure a s/h model, and I want to transfer the HDDs from the failed unit to the s/h one.

But to access the music via my Control:10, I need to re-install the Sooloos app, which I don't have and it is no longer available on the Meridian website

1) Can you (or any other member) advise which version of QNAP firmware will allow the Sooloos plugin to work? (the F/W on the s/h unit seems to be v4.2.0 so hopefully it is compatible?)

2) And secondly does anyone have a copy of the Sooloos plugin for a QNAP NAS box that they would be happy to email to me?

Many thanks in advance
Tom

Tom

You could use your C10 as the Sooloos core, did you have a backup of your library that was on the NAS, how big is your library?
There is some good information here on migrating data to a new QNAP NAS you should be ok and be able to just move the drives.

I can’t help with the Sooloos QNAP packages but am sure someone will be able to.
You may want to consider Roon as an alternative to Sooloos?

Hiya

Thanks for the reply and QNAP info - that's a helpful piece of advice.

I have moved the original HDD's over, and they are working (and yes I do have a back-up of the music files on a 4TB USB external drive) - but there is no trace of the Sooloos "plug-in" on this s/h NAS, so I don't know where it was "stored" - I assume there is a reserved space on the HDD for the plug-ins - or the plug-ins might be installed in the firmware on the old mobo, which is dead.

So, I'm hoping that if I can find a copy of the plug-in then it'll work with the s/h NAS firmware? Hence my question about which QNAP firmware supports the plug-in - I've seen reports on this forum, that later QNAP firmware doesn't work - but there also other reports saying that it does?

The C10 doesn't have any "storage" (such as HDD) so I can't use it to access my own music collection, as that was on the NAS. I'm not sure how using it as a "core" would help?

No worries.

I've seen a lot about Roon - even that it's the same people who originally developed Sooloos and left Meridian, after Sooloos was bought. So it is an option for me to consider... but for now, I'm just concentrating of being able to listen to my music.

I do have a separate Sonos system as a backup (which was used at my office but has been moved to my home since the NAS failed), but due to it's hardware limitations, it cannot access all the music on the NAS, due to (IIRC) the 65,536 file limit in the Sonos firmware.

The Sooloos system has been used at home for ages. It has a better UI and all my music was on the NAS - that was until a different PSU (with the same type locking 4-pin connector) was plugged into the QNAP and it stopped working.

Regards
Tom

If you can get the Sooloos core plugin you should be ok, if you can only get the storage plugin then using the C10 as core and the NAS as Sooloos storage would work.

Hi

That was a quick reply

That was my plan - basically to put the system back together as it was but with the s/h NAS (and original HDDs) in place of the dead one. I didn't setup the C10+NAS orignally, so I need to check if the C10 was set as a core - I guess it was. Will need to power it up again and check.

So, as you saying there are TWO different Sooloos plug-ins for the QNAP?

But presently, the C10 and NAS box do not see each other on the network, though I can access the NAS directly (via a PC) so I know it is working OK.

Regards
Tom

There used to be two versions but they were amalgamated into one and you had the choice to run it as either Core and or Store, this is no longer available from Meridian and if you currently run it then their advice is not to upgrade the NAS or indeed the iOS on any ‘I’ device as any issues so caused will not be fixed, if you still want Sooloos you have to hope someone here has a copy which is quite likely as we tend to hoard just in case!
Without the plugin on the NAS the C10 will not see it.
If you get the plugin it should have a pdf installation guide, if not this guide may help?

Thanks for that.

So, if anyone DOES have a copy of the "amalgamated" plugin, would they be kind enough to get in touch (by replying here or by PM) and I can then get my Control:10 to "see" and work with my re-built QNAP.

Edit: Two kind forum members have been in touch via PM, so I think I am Ok now...thanks to anyone who might have been searching their archives for this plugin - I think you can stop now ;-)


Yup - this is the problem I have at present. NAS is operational, C10 is working but one doesn't see the other. And thanks for the guide info.

Regards,
Tom