Roon 1.3 Adds Multichannel DSD & PCM Playback

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bmoura

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The wait is almost over, Roon 1.3 is about to hit the finish line.....

roon-v1.3_2-580x326.png

End users wanting to stream multi-channel content to a multi-channel DAC – like those offered by Exasound (e28, e38) or Merging Technologies (NADAC MC-8, NADAC Player 8) – will also be looked after in Roon 1.3 . The new version will offer channel mapping and downmixing to stereo zones as well as support for DSD content.

http://www.digitalaudioreview.net/2017/01/coming-over-the-hill-the-monstrous-roon-1-3/
 
That's great news re multichannel playback !

Multichannel playback has been under development at Roon for sometime.
They have tested it and validated it with Multichannel DACs like the exaSound e28 and the Merging Technologies NADAC MC-8.

So there will be some DACs on the market that will play Multichannel DSD and PCM files on day one when Roon 1.3 arrives later this month.
 
So with 1.3 will that mean I can play my PCM multichannel music using the Onkyo receiver which I feed via optical cable ? Or will only the specific ones listed be able to do so ?
 
So with 1.3 will that mean I can play my PCM multichannel music using the Onkyo receiver which I feed via optical cable ? Or will only the specific ones listed be able to do so ?

If your receiver's DAC uses an external music program like Roon, JRiver, HQ Player, etc than it would work fine.
In other cases, there are AV receivers have their own software for file playback vs. an external music program like Roon.
 
So with 1.3 will that mean I can play my PCM multichannel music using the Onkyo receiver which I feed via optical cable ? Or will only the specific ones listed be able to do so ?

If you mean Toslink, I doubt it as that would require compression to a compatible format like DolbyDigital or dts. HDMI is more likely.
 
With the release of Roon 1.3 with Multichannel playback now available, Roon and NativeDSD Music have two promotions to celebrate.
They offer a 30 day free trial of Roon 1.3 (usually a 14 day free trial) and a new Roon DSD Sampler in Stereo DSD and Multichannel DSD.

"Roon Labs has released Roon 1.3 which now includes Multichannel DSD playback! Just the thing to enjoy the over 860 Multichannel DSD albums at the Native DSD Music store.

To celebrate, Roon and NativeDSD have partnered to bring you two exciting offers. First, visit the new Roon and NativeDSD page on the NativeDSD web site (see link below) for an offer code that will let you try Roon 1.3 for 30 days at no cost.

Second, a new Roon DSD Sampler is now available from NativeDSD Presents. It has 5 excellent selections from the NativeDSD collection in both DSD Stereo and DSD Multichannel with artists including Breno Viricimo and Friends on Just Listen, Joachim Eijlander on NAVIS Classics, New Amsterdam Voices on Just Listen, David Elias on Sketti Sandwich Productions and the BFO - Budapest Festival Orchestra conducted by Iván Fischer on Channel Classics Records. You can pick up both editions of the sampler album for 6.60 Euros using our ST+MCH deal. Roon owners can pick up a code from the Roon Team to add the album to your collection at a further savings.

We invite you to try Roon 1.3 with the new Roon DSD Sampler and music from NativeDSD. A winning combination!"

The Roon DSD Sampler - NDSD008 - 50.jpg

https://www.nativedsd.com/information/roon
https://nativedsdpresents.nativedsd.com/albums/NDSD008-the-roon-dsd-sampler
https://www.nativedsd.com/new_browse/#channel=multi
 
I use both J River and now Roon. I have converted all my surround music over to 5.1 PCM Flacs.

Roon works fine with multichannel flacs - but I have an issue with playing stereo tracks in Roon, that is not an issue in J River.

I am only able to play stereo tracks in stereo - I want stereo songs to be matrixed to 7.1 which to me still sounds better than straight stereo.

I suspect this is something that wasn't considered with Roon. It's not a huge deal as I use J River for all concerts and movies and I'll also use for 2 channel music.
 
I am only able to play stereo tracks in stereo - I want stereo songs to be matrixed to 7.1 which to me still sounds better than straight stereo.

I suspect this is something that wasn't considered with Roon. It's not a huge deal as I use J River for all concerts and movies and I'll also use for 2 channel music.
Hmm. It was considered as there was a survey asking what multichannel features were wanted and, specifically, how users listen to stereo files. I guess that upmixing was not wanted by enough of us. :rolleyes:
 
Hmm. It was considered as there was a survey asking what multichannel features were wanted and, specifically, how users listen to stereo files. I guess that upmixing was not wanted by enough of us. :rolleyes:


thanks for an explanation..

rather surprising that they would make this intentional decision, unlike J River where you have the option. Those that want straight stereo can make this choice on their preamp/receiver.


and they could have explained when I posted this on the Roon forums..
 
thanks for an explanation..
rather surprising that they would make this intentional decision, unlike J River where you have the option. Those that want straight stereo can make this choice on their preamp/receiver.
and they could have explained when I posted this on the Roon forums..
I do not take it as a final decision but, rather, that it was not of high enough priority to include in the initial release. Frankly, I have no interest in such a feature but letting them know of your interest can only encourage them to get around to it.
 
Hmm. It was considered as there was a survey asking what multichannel features were wanted and, specifically, how users listen to stereo files. I guess that upmixing was not wanted by enough of us. :rolleyes:

Button on receiver will do exactly that, no need for it in a player.
 
Button on receiver will do exactly that, no need for it in a player.

to clarify, ROON doesnt need to do any upmixing - my preamp cannot upmix the stereo due to the way Roon sends the stereo signal. It is 2.0 in a 5.1 container. The preamp then sends empty channels to the side surrounds and empty to the back surrounds.

with J River you can either bitstream or tell it to output the same number of channels as the source, so the preamp only gets a stereo signal.
 
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