Alternative to Roon....

[Roger_]

You may not necessarily need Roon endpoint functionality. I use Logitech Media Server (LMS), which is free. It connects to all of my devices, two of which include Roon functionality, but it connects via UPnP/DLNA. LMS also will stream via Chromecast, SlimProto, AIrplay, etc.

Give it a try. Like I said, it's free. So, if it doesn't work out for you, no money lost.

Thanks for the tip. I used LMS years ago when we had two Logitech audio devices. But after we didn't use them anymore I ditched LMS (it was also not anymore directly supported on a Synology NAS if I remember it correctly). But can LMS directly connect to a Denon AVC-X4800h AVR to play multi-channel FLAC-files?

 

[Berwhale]

But can LMS directly connect to a Denon AVC-X4800h AVR to play multi-channel FLAC-files?

Looks like you can push to the Denon with the LMS uPnP plugin... https://www.reddit.com/r/heos/comments/skjrlp
I don't know about multi-channel, I'll try with my X1700h if I get some time.

*edit* I think you need to use the UPNP Bridge plugin which will essentially turn your X4700h into a Squeezebox player. More details here:

Announce: UPnPBridge = integrate UPnP/DLNA players with LMS (squeeze2upnp) - Squeezebox : Community : Forums

This plugin/app integrates UPnP/DLNA players found on your network and let LMS use them as if they were regular Squeezeboxes (they appear as a modified squeezelite instance). The stable version is now part of the 3rd party plugin built-in list, so you should find it in the plugins page. If you...

forums.slimdevices.com

I run LMS in a docker container and I won't be able to get this working without a lot of reconfiguration, so I don't think i'll get around to trying it anytime soon.

 

[Roger_]

Looks like you can push to the Denon with the LMS uPnP plugin... https://www.reddit.com/r/heos/comments/skjrlp
I don't know about multi-channel, I'll try with my X1700h if I get some time.

If you could give it try that would be great. However after reading the post I suspect that the LMS plugin will actually use the HEOS hardware in the AVR. Which is limited to stereo only.... But maybe we are lucky.

 

[Berwhale]

Also, this might be useful if you wanted to setup something like PiCore Player running on a RasberryPi connected to the Denon...

GitHub - aesculus/denonavpcontrol: LMS plugin for Denon/Marrantz receivers

LMS plugin for Denon/Marrantz receivers. Contribute to aesculus/denonavpcontrol development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

 

[Berwhale]

If you could give it try that would be great. However after reading the post I suspect that the LMS plugin will actually use the HEOS hardware in the AVR. Which is limited to stereo only.... But maybe we are lucky.

Well the thread is still active after almost 9 years, so you could ask Or maybe go down the PiCore Player route I mentioned above...

Brief description (with pictures) of my Touchscreen Pi based PicorePlayer streamer...

@tonycollinet - I have a RPi 4 sitting around doing nothing, you have inspired me to do something with it :)...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[terryforsythe]

Thanks for the tip. I used LMS years ago when we had two Logitech audio devices. But after we didn't use them anymore I ditched LMS (it was also not anymore directly supported on a Synology NAS if I remember it correctly). But can LMS directly connect to a Denon AVC-X4800h AVR to play multi-channel FLAC-files?

I installed Docker on my Synology NAS, and installed LMS in Docker. It works great and streams my FLAC files, which are stored on my NAS.

I don't know anything about the Denon, but would be surprised, even shocked, if it exclusively only supports streaming from Roon, and doesn't support any other streaming protocols. My Yamaha AVR supports UPnP/DLNA, Chromecast and Airplay, all of which LMS can use to stream. LMS also supports the protocol my MiniDSP SHD uses, but I don't recall which protocol that is. SlimProto maybe? In addition, LMS streams flawlessly to my KEF LS60 Wireless speakers.

 

[Berwhale]

@Roger_ This is a bit old, but maybe another option... Archimago uses a cheap Android TV box as a Kodi player to stream MCH FLAC to his AVR... https://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/07/summer-musings-2-multichannel-and.html

 

[terryforsythe]

Thanks for the tip. I used LMS years ago when we had two Logitech audio devices. But after we didn't use them anymore I ditched LMS (it was also not anymore directly supported on a Synology NAS if I remember it correctly). But can LMS directly connect to a Denon AVC-X4800h AVR to play multi-channel FLAC-files?

Review p. 103 of the owners manual. It supports DLNA. You may not even need Roon or LMS, though. It looks like it has its own streaming software.

 

[Roger_]

@Roger_ This is a bit old, but maybe another option... Archimago uses a cheap Android TV box as a Kodi player to stream MCH FLAC to his AVR... https://archimago.blogspot.com/2019/07/summer-musings-2-multichannel-and.html

Thanks for the tip. But I want to play the multichannel music directly by the Denon AVR. Not via a seperate box which I already have (Nvidia shield pro wth Kodi)

 

[Roger_]

Review p. 103 of the owners manual. It supports DLNA. You may not even need Roon or LMS, though. It looks like it has its own streaming software.

Thanks. Let's wait and see if it supports multichannel audio.

 

[hansha]

I still cannot find the player or server controller that would suit me. I don't think my needs are that unique so I am quite annoyed.

• Roon - to expensive for my semi-audiophile needs
• Audirvana - works buggy with music on NAS
• Plex - werks well but I can not send it directly do DAC as it doesn't show in the player list (Maranz). The whole thing needs to go over AirPlay and it stutters etc.
• HEOS - OK, but I cannot run in on comupter (Mac)

Any of you in the know have a suggestion? I need nice interface I can control the library on the NAS and send it to play on the DAC ...

Thank you

 

[terryforsythe]

I still cannot find the player or server controller that would suit me. I don't think my needs are that unique so I am quite annoyed.

• Roon - to expensive for my semi-audiophile needs
• Audirvana - works buggy with music on NAS
• Plex - werks well but I can not send it directly do DAC as it doesn't show in the player list (Maranz). The whole thing needs to go over AirPlay and it stutters etc.
• HEOS - OK, but I cannot run in on comupter (Mac)

Any of you in the know have a suggestion? I need nice interface I can control the library on the NAS and send it to play on the DAC ...

Thank you

Logitech Media Server is what I am using.

 

[hansha]

Logitech Media Server is what I am using.

Thank you for your suggestion. While I believe it does it's job the web interface seems kinda from the last decade or sooner hehe

 

[somebodyelse]

Thank you for your suggestion. While I believe it does it's job the web interface seems kinda from the last decade or sooner hehe

Was that the default theme, or with the Material Skin plugin?

 

[Snoopy]

I still cannot find the player or server controller that would suit me. I don't think my needs are that unique so I am quite annoyed.

• Roon - to expensive for my semi-audiophile needs
• Audirvana - works buggy with music on NAS
• Plex - werks well but I can not send it directly do DAC as it doesn't show in the player list (Maranz). The whole thing needs to go over AirPlay and it stutters etc.
• HEOS - OK, but I cannot run in on comupter (Mac)

Any of you in the know have a suggestion? I need nice interface I can control the library on the NAS and send it to play on the DAC ...

Thank you

Jriver ?

 

[terryforsythe]

Thank you for your suggestion. While I believe it does it's job the web interface seems kinda from the last decade or sooner hehe

I agree (even with the Material Skin plugin).

The menu structure could use some design changes. Tabs for quick access to the different menus would be nice.

The Tidal plugin needs a lot work, in my humble opinion. Ideally, it would look and feel at least as good as Tidal Connect. Better yet, if they could integrate Tidal Connect as a plugin, that would be even better (don't know if it is possible).

On the other hand, it's free. It's hard to develop good apps with no money to do so.

 

[ahofer]

For classical music, IDAGIO beats the pants off of any of the other streaming services.

(I’m a dedicated Roon user, but if you want a variety of classical recordings with robust search and genre categorization and good ‘radio’ consistency, IDAGIO just works better)

 

[Bamyasi]

I still cannot find the player or server controller that would suit me. I don't think my needs are that unique so I am quite annoyed.

• Roon - to expensive for my semi-audiophile needs
• Audirvana - works buggy with music on NAS
• Plex - werks well but I can not send it directly do DAC as it doesn't show in the player list (Maranz). The whole thing needs to go over AirPlay and it stutters etc

Do you have DLNA server enabled in your Plex MS settings? It is disabled by default.

Alternatively, you can use Plexamp as headless renderer if you can install it on you player. This uses native Plex protocol which supports gapless playback with crossfades and other goodies.

 

[Sashoir]

Musicbee is windows only, so that is a non starter. But I also feel that my question has been misunderstood.
I am aware of Plex, Emby and Volumio. I have used both Plex and Emby.
What I am looking for is not just an alternative music server.

What I am looking for is a better way to find music in the big amorphous blob that is Spotify and Tidal. Especially when it comes to Classical music.

There Roon has a killer feature. It allows you to do the following:

- Select a composer, eg "Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart:
- Be presented with a list of pieces by that composer. In that list you can select eg. "Eine Kleine Nachtmusik".
- You are then presented with a list of recordings of that piece, by various orchestras and conductors. This allows me to explore different recordings of the same piece. You select what you want to hear, and then stream it from Tidal.

Classical music is different from modern music, in the traditional way of Tidal and Spotify to present music is not really suitable. The way that Roon presents Classical music, even though not perfect, is for me its main killer feature.

And I would be interested in knowing if anyone else is also offering this however.

perhaps try presto or idagio? they are streaming services, however, not roon alternatives.