Author Topic: Roon Labs  (Read 12053 times)

Offline richidoo

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2015, 12:08:53 PM »
mp3tag doesn't automatically import art like rippers. It is just an editor. But it can edit the art metadata to replace or add art manually.

If you get dbpoweramp, it installs a tag editing feature in Explorer that lets you right click on any file in explorer and edit the tag.

mp3tag is good for mass editing. Like when track numbers of an album are messed up, or if you want to use the Song Titles to create filenames automatically, etc.

If I was gonna sit down and correct my library for an hour I'd use mp3tag. But if it was just the wrong title on one track, I'd use the dbpoweramp edit feature installed in explorer.

Actually I just noticed mp3tag also has a right click menu item so you can easily edit a track from within Explorer. That looks even easier than dbpoweramp's But they are both very easy.

dbpoweramp gets art automatically, but you can also add art or change it before ripping.

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #16 on: December 09, 2015, 12:16:26 PM »
If you use EAC for ripping, it will offer to pull in cover art for you.   Pretty sure dbpoweramp does as well but it's been awhile since I used it for ripping.  

MP3Tag also provides a means for pulling in artwork - from Amazon I think.  But it's not automatic (which may be a good thing).

Too many tools, not enough braincells  :duh

I've got a buddy who has just starting down this path and is feeling totally overwhelmed by the effort.  Pretty sure that's exactly how I felt years ago when I started doing this.

Offline Nick B

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #17 on: December 11, 2015, 08:24:55 AM »
I think I'll be giving dbpoweramp a try. Reasonable cost and the artwork feature which is a necessity for me. When I switched from a cd transport to streaming in about 2007, I paid an AC guy named Tim to do the ripping. He did a pretty good job considering some of the unusual cd's I have. Nowadays, I'm not nearly as technically challenged and it should be quite a bit easier
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
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JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #18 on: December 20, 2015, 10:34:32 AM »
Here's an interesting video that gives a taste for what Roon does best...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrRfhWcLoqA

Offline richidoo

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #19 on: December 20, 2015, 12:17:47 PM »
Thanks for posting that Mike, that's cool!

Offline Nick B

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #20 on: December 20, 2015, 10:46:43 PM »
Thanks, Mike. I also enjoyed some of Mr HB's other reviews
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #21 on: December 21, 2015, 08:06:47 AM »
Roon support of squeezebox devices just released... can't wait to give this a try tonight. 

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/roon-1-1-build-88-is-live/5676

Another thing I really appreciate with Roon Labs is their proactive support of their forums.  They are quite engaged and responsive.

Note also they are now supporting HQPlayer... anyone try that?

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #22 on: December 22, 2015, 07:42:48 AM »
Wow, I am impressed.   Roon works with all my Squeezeboxes.  The interface is clean and does allow syncing them.   Roon essentially emulates LMS.  I could tell no difference in SQ between LMS and Roon. 

The downsides (for now)...

-- no internet radio
-- LMS must be turned off in order to use Roon to stream to the Squeezeboxes
-- the Squeezebox display & SB remotes are limited in functionality

Still, a pretty slick accomplishment that no one else has done.  While LMS is a solid and mature piece of software, it is showing it's age.  I'm not ready to stop using it yet but congrats to Roon for stepping up to this challenge.

Offline Nick B

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #23 on: May 28, 2016, 10:36:09 AM »
Nick,

Quick answer: Roon doesn't actually change your music tags as far as I can tell.  It stores such info in it's own db.  But it does make it very easy to find possible problems in your tags (or at least, where they differ from the Roon metatags).  Think of Roon as a music reference rather than as a tagger.

Longer answer:  I'm still learning, but it appears that there are two ways Roon can be used - it can either "watch" your music folders looking for additions and changes, or it can manage your music directly in what they call 'Organized Folders'.  I haven't tried the latter so I'm not quite sure how that works.  

On initial scan with watched folders, it either identifies your albums or it does not.  For those not identified, there's a feature called 'Focus' that lets you quickly see those it couldn't identify.  It's then usually pretty easy to figure out why.  For example, I had messed up the track order on an album.  I easily corrected it in MediaMonkey and Roon immediately saw the change and found an exact match on the album.  As Rich pointed out, MP3Tag is another great tool for that kind of fix.  Roon doesn't replace these.  It just makes it easier to see where you need to use them.

One problem I've found in a few of my albums is that track lengths in Roon's metadata don't match mine which can lead to an album not being identified.  My guess is that's probably because I didn't handle gaps correctly in my early ripping adventures thus having track lengths a bit off.  But, Roon makes it quite easy to see if that's the case and if so, let's you force the album match assuming all the tracks and track order are correct.  

There are also quite a few cases where Roon is aware of several different versions of an album (orig, US vs UK release, remastered, bonus tracks, etc...).   In these cases, it let's you walk thru the different versions and shows the differences relative to your version so that you can pick the best match. Pretty easy to do.

Of course, you can just as easily leave an album "unidentified", which is not a problem at all.  It just means that Roon is not going to provide any metadata about the album and just rely on your tags.

I've still got a lot more to learn, but so far, I like what I see.



Any additional comments for us now that you've had Roon for a while?
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS

Offline mdconnelly

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #24 on: May 29, 2016, 07:34:44 AM »
I have really enjoyed using Roon Labs for 6 months now.  But until they released v1.2 about a month ago, it wasn't sufficient to replace using LMS with my multiple squeezeboxes.  

That all changed with 1.2.   I now have an iPhone control app.  I can now listen to internet radio streams.  And there have been numerous other improvements that just keep making it better and better.

So with 1.2, I made the decision to stop using LMS and switch fully over to Roon and so far, no regrets at all.

All I can say is that if you haven't tried it and you're into streaming music, it is a must-demo.  Yes, some will think it has a high pricetag.  I bought the lifetime license during their December sale last year at 30% off and it was well worth it.  I've spent far more on stuff that now sits in the closet.

I'm extremely impressed with their approach to integrating other hardware vendors (RoonReady devices), their willingness to support all squeezeboxes and anything that runs Squeezelite such as rPIs, their adoption of Roon control on any tablet or phone, and their extremely open and engaged approach to customer support.

IMO, Roon has become what Logitech should have done with the squeezebox environment.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2016, 07:36:55 AM by mdconnelly »

Offline Nick B

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Re: Roon Labs
« Reply #25 on: May 31, 2016, 09:20:54 PM »
Glad it's working out for you. I'm still working out some bugs on my new Aries Mini. Once that's worked out...and Roon and Auralic are compatible... I'll give Roon a try
Orchard Starkrimson Ultra amp
Supratek Chardonnay preamp
JMR Voce Grande speakers
Border Patrol SEi dac
Holo Red streamer
Hapa Aero digital coax
WyWires Silver cables
TWL Digital American II p cord
Audio Envy p cords
Roon, Tidal, Qobuz
PI Audio UberBUSS