Category Archives: Audio

Audio, Computers, Software, Technology

Modern Home Audio & Video – Roon and Plex

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I am in the process of updating our home audio and video distribution and am of the opinion that Roon is the way to go with music, and Plex is the way to go with video. You could go with a whole-home system like Crestron or Control4, but Roon and Plex are more focused applications with deeper functionality, and they play nice with each other and with hardware most people already have.

Roon is a great way to explore and send music around the home, including sending high resolution music to high quality endpoints. Probably best from a large touchscreen computer, but also great using an iPad to control. I have the server running on a small hackintosh with files sitting on NAS. I am re-ripping a few CDs to replace lossy files with lossless ones now using dBpoweramp, which is the way to go, good for meta data and lets you check accuracy of rips. I maintain an iTunes library on an old Mac Pro, and sync the library out to the NAS every once in awhile. Roon also includes integration of our TIDAL account. I have written more on Roon in another post, for serious listening I am using a Meridian endpoint with Meridian DSP speakers.

Plex seems like a great way to browse and distribute video content, and I recently set up a hackintosh Plex server with 24TB (4x6TB WD Reds) of storage in RAID0, and another 24TB (3x8TB Seagate archiving HDs) of storage for a backup. I use RipIt to move DVDs to the hard drive, and then Handbrake to create m4v files for Plex. In the rare case where there is a problem with Handbrake I use MakeMKV to create mkv files, which Handbrake can then transcode to m4v. I also use MakeMKV to create mkv files from BluRay discs, and then Handbrake to create reasonably sized m4v files. I am tossing all of my DVDs and keeping the RipIt generated copies on the Plex server. BluRays for now I am keeping the discs, mkv files are just a little too big. For things I have purchased on iTunes, I use Tune4Mac iTunes Video Converter Platinum to strip off DRM and put copies in the Plex library. I use Plex Home Theater (running on my Roon server) to send video to the main screen in the house (75 inch Samsung) with audio going to the Meridian system (Plex Home Theater interface is not so great, I find it is easier to control it remotely using the Plex app on an iPad). The Plex server can also be accessed using tablets, and unlike Roon server can even be accessed outside the home, transcoding to deal with the more limited bandwidth for that. Very slick. I used to think it would be nice to have a Kaleidescape system, but now I think Plex is better and at a small fraction of the cost (PRIMA Cinema is still pretty cool for stuff in theaters, but crazy expensive, more for people who have to worry about Paparazzi). I went overboard with my Plex server, it is an i7 4790 with 32GB of memory, and as I described already, a lot of storage. Pic below.

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Audio, Computers, Technology

Roon, Meridian, and High-End Distributed Audio

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Long time Meridian fanboy and owner here, I think their DSP speakers sound great and the preservation of the digital path until the last possible moment appeals to my inner nerd. Our gear is getting a bit old but still sounds great, a 568.2MM with DSP5500 mains, a DSP5000C, and DSP33 rears. For distributed audio we were early Sonos adopters and have five additional zones in our home, and use the Sonos to feed the Meridian system with lossless files on a NAS and also Tidal hi-res streaming. Works pretty well, though multiple remotes are involved, a MSR and an iPad. The Sonos zones are decent quality ceiling speakers, for non-critical/casual listening.

My wife and I are in the process of having a new home designed which we will then have built, so I have been doing some thinking about how we will handle audio in the new home. Which home will be a bit smaller so maybe fewer audio zones, so thinking to have higher quality speakers and more tightly integrated systems would be nice.

I think the reason we went Sonos instead of Sooloos was mainly that I don’t much care for expensive proprietary boxes that are little more than cheap computers, albeit with some good software. Sonos might have had the UI going a little bit earlier too.

Meridian ditching the proprietary Sooloos boxes, allowing the core to run on a QNAP, got me more excited about doing Meridian DSP in-walls for a few zones in the new home, so I got a MS200 to be able to play with that for a bit now. But Meridian has been slow to deliver on the QNAP core (though I saw it running in their NYC office a couple of months ago), and then I stumbled on Roon, developed by the Sooloos people, ready for prime time, not tied to any particular hardware, but plays nice with Meridian, I was sold. I didn’t even bother with the trial, I plonked down for a lifetime subscription.

I hooked the MS200 up to our 568 with a Reviver, loaded Roon server up on a quad-core i7 hackintosh we use as a HTPC, and it was pretty much off to the races, we have the server watching the music on the NAS and our Tidal account is linked up. The 568 does not power on/off with the Roon app, but volume control working fine. My wife and I are still getting used to the Roon app (actually we are still getting used to the Tidal app too), but my sense is that this is what we will be using in our new home, probably moving the server to a large touchscreen PC, seems like people are using Lenovos or HPs, 27″ might be a little big for living area, I am thinking a 24″.