Brimstone Core R1 update – native Meridian playback, the full Store installer and simpler downloads
4 November 2026

Hi everyone,

A proper update for those following Brimstone, and a thank-you to everyone who has been testing it and sending feedback.
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The main news is that Core is now at R1 release candidate 1.0.0-rc.2, direct native MS200 /ID41 /MD600 / Twinstore playback is working, and Brimstone Store now has a complete Debian installer rather than a collection of files to assemble yourself. The website has also had a much-needed clear-out.

The aim remains the same: keep good Meridian equipment useful, keep ownership of your music collection, and improve the software around it rather than require everyone to replace their system.

Native Meridian playback

The important distinction is that the tested MS200 route sends audio directly from Brimstone Core to the receiver over Ethernet. It does not require the old Sooloos library broker to act as the audio intermediary. This is native Meridian receiver communication, not an AirPlay or DLNA route with a different label.

Local-library playback has completed real track transitions through the normal Core playback path. Play, pause, resume, seek and stop have also been exercised on the physical MS200. The latest work adds podcast playback to that native route, with smooth listening confirmed on the attached receiver.

Meridian settings now identify and retain individual devices, their names and enabled preferences. Two boxes are not treated as the same unit simply because they share a model name. Discovery handling has also been corrected so an older discovery announcement does not, by itself, make an otherwise reachable saved receiver disappear from the available outputs.

ID40, ID41 and MS600 are included in the shared receiver-protocol implementation and software tests, but they still need their own physical acceptance tests. The MS200 is the hardware reference actually tested so far. That is not a claim that every model, firmware revision, sample rate or multiroom arrangement has been qualified. Native volume and mute are also separate from the transport controls already exercised.

There is another distinction worth making: sending audio to Meridian equipment is not the same as making an original Control 15 or Sooloos application browse Brimstone as though it were a Sooloos server. That discovery, catalogue and controller-compatibility work remains a separate development task. I am not presenting the current release as a complete drop-in replacement for every original Sooloos component.

Current release notes

Library, metadata and everyday listening

A fair amount of the recent work has been on the less glamorous things that make the system nicer to live with.

Core now prefers a suitable copy in its own library before consulting a remote library. That avoids waiting for an old or unavailable Sooloos broker when Core already has the selected music. Edition choices and explicit version selection are still respected; the intention is not to substitute a different release just because it is easier to reach.

The release retains the artwork, compilation and enhanced-metadata work, alongside manual corrections and the album/artist reading features on supported clients. Metadata availability still depends on the material and configured sources; a cover image is not being passed off as a complete booklet.

Recent fixes also address large-catalogue publication memory pressure, playback-position reporting and lyric timing. Longer-running background-scan and endurance testing remain part of qualification; I am not claiming that one successful listening session proves every workload is finished.

Podcasts have had particular attention. Missing or zero timings in feeds previously prevented some programmes from playing properly. The DruidCast test kept the complete 234-episode programme available while the selected episode played through the MS200. That is a retained queue, not a claim that all 234 episodes have been listened through as a test.

Radio, podcasts, audiobooks and owned live recordings remain part of the wider library alongside albums. Support for a particular source and output still matters; a screen appearing in the interface does not imply that every possible combination has been tested.

Feature overview

Core, Store and Control

There are three roles, rather than three competing music systems.

Core maintains the main catalogue, metadata, queues and playback.

Store provides dedicated storage when you need it.

Control is the family of interfaces used to browse and operate the system.

A separate Store is optional. Core can still use its own storage or suitable network shares. The point of Store is to let storage grow separately, not to force everyone to buy or run another machine.

Store now has a full Debian installer

Store Beta 1, build 1.0.1-debian.1, is now available as a bootable x86-64 ISO of approximately 1.11 GB. It installs Debian and Store together on a dedicated computer NOT a virtual machine.

This is ordinary writable Debian. There is no immutable operating-system root, no A/B/C slot layout and no recovery-slot switching for Store. Normal Debian administration and package management remain available. This is deliberately different from Core's protected appliance/update design.

You boot the ISO, follow Debian's installer, create the machine account, select and confirm the system disk, and restart into the installed system. First-boot setup loads the included Store services. There is no Git checkout, no separate Debian installation to do beforehand and no manual service build.

Internet access is required during installation for Debian packages. The Store runtime is included in the ISO. A unique Store web-administrator password is generated rather than shipping the same factory password to everyone.

Store includes NFSv4, encrypted SMB 3.1.1, HTTPS WebDAV and DLNA/UPnP services. Pairing with Core uses an Add Store code; NFS access remains closed before valid pairing.

The fresh BIOS installation test passed with a writable system, all four Store services healthy, working administrator login and the ZFS module loaded. A separate disposable test disk was left unchanged. The Store source regression suite passed 250 tests, with two warnings. Full UEFI installation, physical storage hardware and populated-library commissioning remain separate checks.

Please keep valuable media disks separate from the installation target. The installer does not automatically adopt your existing collection, and a tested installer is not a substitute for a backup.

Store installer and installation guide

Installing or updating Core

Existing Core installations should use the current signed R1 1.0.0-rc.2 update, rather than reinstalling the operating system. The application update is approximately 6.87 MB and is intended to retain the existing library, accounts and manual metadata.

On a Core already equipped with the trusted slot-C updater, the normal update screen queues the update, backs up state, boots maintenance C, updates the inactive system slot and returns to Core. Earlier installations follow the route supported by their installed updater. An ordinary application update does not silently add the newer privileged recovery worker.

For a fresh Core, the published route is still the tested QA106 ISO followed by the current RC2 update. The newer all-in-one RC2 Core ISO is built but has not completed its fresh-install qualification, so it is not being offered as the tested installer. No intermediate historical patches are required for the documented fresh-install route.

For Core, the current recommendation is a dedicated 128 GB or larger system drive and 8 GB RAM, with media kept separately. Do not reinstall merely to update an existing system.

Fresh Core installation

Updating an existing Core

Streaming services

Spotify retains its beta Connect and personal-library integration.

Apple Music uses official MusicKit playback and the user's own authorisation; normal users no longer need to supply their own Apple developer key. The protected playback still belongs to the authorised Apple playback route, not a new headless Apple Music decoder running on Debian.

TIDAL retains catalogue/library integration and the official playback handoff. General native full-track playback through Core is not being claimed while provider authorisation and qualification remain outstanding.

Radio, Audius, Bandcamp and Jamendo retain their documented supported routes. Accounts, subscriptions, permissions and output capabilities still determine what can play where. Direct MS200 support does not automatically mean that every streaming service can be sent to it through the same path.

Roon/RAAT receiving, OAAT integration and a replacement Sooloos catalogue server are not new features of this Store release. They are separate interoperability work, not something silently enabled by installing the storage software.

Streaming services and provider status

Control apps

Apple Control access remains through the existing TestFlight invitation for iPhone, iPad and Mac. The invitation shows what Apple currently makes available to your account; a development build or successful upload is not automatically a public beta release. CarPlay remains part of the iPhone Control work.

The public downloads also retain the Windows Control installer and signed Android beta. Windows Control is currently an unsigned review build, so Windows may show an unknown-publisher warning. The Android download is the available signed public beta, not a newer development build relabelled as released.

Standalone macOS Core and Windows Core development are paused, and their older previews are no longer promoted as current downloads. Mac Control is separate from Mac Core and remains part of the active controller work. tvOS development remains paused; there is no new Apple TV release being announced here.

Control downloads and Apple TestFlight access

A simpler website

The downloads page now separates Core, Store and Control, with a clear distinction between a fresh installer and an update.

Superseded packages, old previews, duplicate installation choices and the source-deployment route have been removed from public download access. Older material has been retained privately for rollback rather than left there to confuse new users. Current installation guides, update instructions and checksums remain available.

The goal is less time deciding which of fifteen similarly named files to install, and more time actually listening.

Current downloads

Where things stand

Core is a release candidate, not the final 1.0.0 release. The current target for 1.0.0 is 14 November 2026, subject to the remaining qualification work. Store is a beta with its own installer and its own testing requirements.

The immediate priorities are broader Meridian hardware testing, reliable storage commissioning, longer-running playback/library tests and the remaining installer checks. Keeping original Sooloos controls useful is still an important objective, but it will be described as working when that end-to-end controller path has actually been demonstrated.

Thanks again to everyone testing and reporting the awkward cases. Reports from ID40, ID41 and MS600 owners are especially useful: please include the model, firmware, Core build and whether the source is local music, a podcast or a streaming service.

Brimstone is an independent project, not an official Meridian or Roon product.

Chris

Various music kit, lots of IT stuff