Plex vs Roon

[BDWoody]

I use and like both...

Saw this earlier today about some apps to control the plex database that were just introduced.

https://www.reviewgeek.com/40348/pl...um-apps-to-manage-your-music-and-your-server/

 

[thejck]

have you ever tried to do an a-b comparison between plex and roon? without any dsp
does roon provide any advantages in sound quality?

i use kodi boxes and an addon called plexkodiconnect. you can then control various kodi devices in your house from the plex app or web browser. similar to roon.

it even allows you to do a path replace so the file is played directly from your file share as opposed to through the plex server.

 

[BDWoody]

have you ever tried to do an a-b comparison between plex and roon? without any dsp
does roon provide any advantages in sound quality?

I've not done anything even close to a proper controlled test to *really* see if I could tell a difference, but I have definitely done a few *listen really hard* sessions, and I couldn't tell a difference.

I will also admit that I was pretty biased towards the 'probably can't hear a difference' result, so take what you will from that.

I will listen through whichever is easiest for me to access from where I am.

 

[Eetu]

I use Plex for my collection of 500+ films but prefer Roon for music & Tidal integration. Haven't attempted to do a serious a/b comparison sq-wise.

 

[TimW]

I couldn't stomach paying $120 for another year of Roon and currently I can't justfy spending the $700 for a lifetime subscription. So today I'll be wiping ROCK from my NUC and loading Windows onto it for use as a Plex server. I have a miniDSP SHD that is stuck with Volumio so hopefully I can get Plex to work with it. I also have an Allo Boss streamer that I will have to load a new image onto. I'm not sure what to go with since it needs to support Plex and the Boss hat, and I would like to be able to use my Flirc IR receiver as well. And I would like it to be cheap or free. Thankfully I have multiple Chromecast audio's so if I run into issues I have a backup streaming option.

Looking forward to trying out Plexamp which means I need Plex Pass. Will probably just start with a month for $5. If it sucks then hopefully my luck turns around and I can afford Roon again.

 

[SKBubba]

I have tried them all. Plex is not a serious music playback system. Roon is. JRiver is a distant second place, only because they reject streaming and their UI is Windows 95.

 

[mrdrewk]

@TimW I have almost that exact setup:
Plex premium (unraid nas docker)
Roon premium (unraid nas docker)
RaspberryPi plus Allo Boss DAC, with Volumio
Roku with Plex on "big TV"

I never use Plex to cast except on the big TV. For the "big stereo," I use Roon and Spotify Connect via the Allo DAC. It works swimmingly.

If you have an Allo Boss DAC, then I assume you also have the Raspberrypi that goes with that? Use that as your network streamer. You can put Moode or Volumio on there. Volumio has an app, Moode has a decent web interface. I haven't been able to cast Plex audio to either. Both suck compared to Roon or Spotify Connect (even this sounds awesome through that Boss DAC!)

I think your DSP might be redundant, and I'd leave that in the drawer.

You can run Rasplex on the Raspberrypi with the Allo Boss dac
https://www.rasplex.com/
But I'm not sure if that will work as a Spotify endpoint...

The Plex server does need some cpu heft for transcoding, so putting that on the NUC is a good idea.

Let me know if you have some specific questions or thoughts. I'd be happy to help anyway I can!

 

[TimW]

Let me know if you have some specific questions or thoughts. I'd be happy to help anyway I can!

Thanks for the offer!

I think your DSP might be redundant, and I'd leave that in the drawer.

The miniDSP SHD is what I use as my Preamplifier/Streamer/DAC/Crossover/Dirac room correction machine in my main system. It has a streamer built in that runs on Volumio. My Boss DAC Hat is just something I used in a secondary system, and yes it is installed onto an RPi in the aluminum Allo case. I don't think I can change the SHD to a different operating system, and I'm not sure I like Volumio. Although I might run Volumio on the Boss player just for consistency, but only if it works well. Can you cast to a Volumio device from Plex? If I have two devices with Volumio installed, do I have to get a MyVolumio subscription?

You can run Rasplex on the Raspberrypi with the Allo Boss dac

I have seen this and I may try it with the Boss player. I was also thinking of trying Kodi or Plexamp on this device.

 

[big4570]

@TimW I have almost that exact setup:
Plex premium (unraid nas docker)
Roon premium (unraid nas docker)
RaspberryPi plus Allo Boss DAC, with Volumio
Roku with Plex on "big TV"

I never use Plex to cast except on the big TV. For the "big stereo," I use Roon and Spotify Connect via the Allo DAC. It works swimmingly.

If you have an Allo Boss DAC, then I assume you also have the Raspberrypi that goes with that? Use that as your network streamer. You can put Moode or Volumio on there. Volumio has an app, Moode has a decent web interface. I haven't been able to cast Plex audio to either. Both suck compared to Roon or Spotify Connect (even this sounds awesome through that Boss DAC!)

I think your DSP might be redundant, and I'd leave that in the drawer.

You can run Rasplex on the Raspberrypi with the Allo Boss dac
https://www.rasplex.com/
But I'm not sure if that will work as a Spotify endpoint...

The Plex server does need some cpu heft for transcoding, so putting that on the NUC is a good idea.

Let me know if you have some specific questions or thoughts. I'd be happy to help anyway I can!

I run something very similar also. Plex for video and with the new app I also have gone to it for music. I use Volumio on a rasberry pi but really only for offline use out at my trailer, I just leave it running with its own hotspot.

I disagree that plex is not serious for music. You can stream it over anything with a web browser, the new music app is very good and I can't listen to my own collection of flac anywhere in the world. Honestly how much more serious can you get.

 

[SPOautos]

I am going through a trial period of Audivarna with dlna to my preamp and it sounds fabulous. Also the Android app works superbly. I like it much better than Emby, JRiver, Minimserver. I liked Plex okay except that it doesnt seem to work very well with the dlna. The preamp would pick up files from Plex where I could play them from the preamp side but I couldnt push from the server side to the preamp (which is what I want to do).

Anyway, I highly recommend trying Audivarna. It installed perfect with no hiccups, everything works well, it just feels effortless and is nice and clean, uncluttered, easy to navigate, and sounds excellent.

 

[ernestcarl]

I have tried them all. Plex is not a serious music playback system. Roon is. JRiver is a distant second place, only because they reject streaming and their UI is Windows 95.

Sure...

 

[SPOautos]

Have any of you tried Plex since they have added their new mobile app specifically for music called PlexAmp? I just now installed it on my phone and its pretty sweet! I have both my own library from my Unraid server and my Tidal subscription showing up in it. On wifi it plays my personal library with total passthrough, then if I'm on cellular it will transcode the resolution to something appropriate for my connection speed (just like the regular Plex does for movies).

With Plex Pass (which I have for movies), the PlexAmp app/service is free.

Its a really nice looking app with a lot of features. I'm listening to Miles Davis right now which is stored on my Unraid, with my phone connected to a Chromcast audio device to my 2 channel stereo system and playing it in 192/24 and it sounds fantastic.

It will be hard to convince me to spend $120/year on Roon when I have this app.....the only real advantage I'd have with Roon is that for some reason Tidal wont play Master (MQA) resolution in any Plex services, but it will in Roon. So with Tidal tracks, I only have their HiFi, but not Master resolution. That is a bit disappointing.....but I'm not sure I'm willing to spend $120/yr for it.

 

[m8o]

Ya, I just read about that, Plexamp. I was pretty jazzed to learn of it. Going to have to cut a Plex image and give it a go.

I bought into the Roon ecosystem w/a lifetime membership. But it aggravates me that there is a huge chorus of owners requesting similar functionality. But they fail to deliver it to us.

SPOautos, or anyone... is there any problems if I install Roon Core and Plex Server on the same hardware? I.e. are both 'nondestructive' to the music files in their runtime, and do not alter the music files when indexing the library? Else one may mark the music binary as 'corrupted' after the other processes it. No idea, just asking.

 

[BillG]

I quickly reviewed Plexamp last week just for my comparison against my current favorite, Emby. I liked its interface a little bit more not by much. I disliked the fact that remote streaming required a Plex Pass (i.e. paid subscription). That feature is free in Emby and I use it on a semi-regular basis, like when I'm grocery shopping or commuting via public transportation.

Unfortunately for some users, Emby only supports TuneIn (internet radio) as an additional music streaming service at this point. So that kills it for anyone looking for Tidal and Qobuz integration. Perhaps some developers will implement these via a plug-ins in the near future, though.

A screenshot of the Emby Android client application showing links to metadata databases:

 

[oldsweatyman]

Here to give a massive +1 for plexamp. I use it on a daily basis for music, running it off of a simple unRAID server that I have on 24/7.

I already have bought the plex lifetime pass for $120 and I've had it for months because I needed it for the movie section of the software. $120 is far less than the $700 for Roon.

Plexamp on my phone, laptop, and desktop does really everything I need. Any complaints are really minor. I think the bonus that Roon may have is controlling from any device, but, with plex, you can install plex in just about any device that I know of, and control audio on it (TV/Roku/Apple TV/etc). You can also cast to devices. Point being here that this Roon bonus is not useful to me with these alternatives.

I think its cool to have all of my media in one place. Movies, shows, music.

Plexamp's interface is very polished now with recent updates. The regular plex interface is admittedly not as good as it could be, but it does the job. Plexamp has added moods, radio stations, more genres. The standard plex interface has the artist reviews and backgrounds thing as well, and some kind of algorithm from some source that places most popular songs on the artist page, like Spotify does.

The biggest bonus is that I can stream my own music from anywhere at any time. Huge. I think Plex now has Tidal integration too, not sure if it works on plexamp yet though.

In theory, there shouldn't be any difference at all in sound quality, right? With all of that, after reviewing what Roon does, I see no reason to switch at all.

 

[BillG]

I've just reviewed Roon again for third or fourth time due to their recent $1USD for 3 months offer:

I'm still not impressed with it, especially given its normal price, compared to Emby whose freeware version is more than sufficient for my needs and even includes remote streaming as part of that offer.

While I can appreciate Roon's ability to apply DSP per individual device/group, I'm not seeing anything other than that to justify the expense for me personally. Perhaps if I were running a whole host of outputs throughout my home I'd appreciate it more, but I'm running four as it is - two mobile devices and two stationary systems - and I never feel that I'm lacking in my ability to control them all remotely.

The integration of Tidal and/or Qubuz into my library as if they were local content would be a good feature, if I actually used those services. I don't. My choice of streaming services is more underground - Soundcloud and Bandcamp to be exact - and very few media players offer them as an extension or fully integrated. I can only think of one currently and that's MusicBee with Soundcloud support built in.

Roon's metadata display? Emby includes a brief biography on its Artist display page and Web links to various databases to accommodate access to more comprehensive information via a single click. So, I'm not lacking there either.

I've also found Roon to be a bit sluggish compared to Emby. Granted, it will be performing a few more tasks than the latter if DSP per output enabled. Even with that disabled the sluggishness is noticeable, though.

That audio chain display was interesting, but after five minutes my curiosity was satisfied, and I had no need to refer to it again. If I had more complex setups I'd probably appreciate the information more, but I'm using two Chromecasts in conjunction with two integrated amplifiers and they just work with rarely an intervention on my part.

All and all, I'm just going to shrug and says, "That's nice.", to the people that find Roon worthwhile.

 

[oldsweatyman]

Agreed. Back when I first started I chose plex just because it seemed easier to use and more polished than emby at that time, but it seems they're pretty equal at this point.

The only other future alternative I think I'd consider is Jellyfin if they ever get good apps and all the functions that plex/roon/emby have, because it's completely open-source.

Quick edit to say that Plex admittedly has been taking a very weird route with free movies that have ads with sneaky implementation to confuse users and "live tv." E.g. annoying profit-motive behavior. It's not an issue for me at all, more of a possible omen.

 

[Eetu]

For me the ability w/ Roon to have streaming services+local music and switch EQ/ DSP presets on different end points via phone is a great feature that, AFAIK, is not possible with other services.

I can listen on my main system with room correction, then switch to headphones and their Oratory EQ preset. Then in another room I have a Chromecast Audio connected to JBL 305P mkII EQ'd after ASR measurements.

If there's other solutions to achieve this I would love to hear about them.

 

[oldsweatyman]

That is a pretty great feature.

Right now, I listen only with headphones so I use parametric EQ software on my phone/laptop/desktop to get oratory EQ settings as well.

I think if if/when I EQ my speaker set up I'll use an app on my Apple TV, which sends music to my speakers. I imagine that probably exists.

 

[Apesbrain]

If there's other solutions to achieve this I would love to hear about them.

LMS with Inguz EQ plugin will also do what you describe: per-player EQ/DSP configurable via tablet/phone.