Roon/Plex
Jul 5, 2022 at 6:49 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 17

JJF_888

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In a Darko Audio video, he mentioned that he runs Roon and Plex/Plexamp to setup a system where he can access his audio files from his cell phone anywhere. It was not clear to me why he needs both. Anyone have an insight as to the why? Is it Plex that allows the access from a cell connection to his private server? The video link is here:

TIA.
 
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Jul 5, 2022 at 8:22 AM Post #2 of 17
Yes, Plex allows connection to your personal media library from a mobile device from outside your home network. I use it for movies, not my music library... For my purposes, I don't have or use a Plex Pass.
 
Jul 5, 2022 at 10:29 AM Post #4 of 17
Does Roon allow you to download files to your phone from your own file server, or does it simply stream them?
You mean Plex? With the free version, it streams them. To download, I think you need the Plex Pass.
 
Jul 5, 2022 at 10:59 AM Post #6 of 17
Yes, but if you're talking about downloading lossless files from your home device to your mobile, wouldn't it be faster and easier to do the local transfer/seed first? I'm not aware of your full use case--but if you've got lots of files, it will not only be dependent on your mobile's DL speed but your home UL speed.
 
Jul 5, 2022 at 11:09 AM Post #7 of 17
Yes, but if you're talking about downloading lossless files from your home device to your mobile, wouldn't it be faster and easier to do the local transfer/seed first? I'm not aware of your full use case--but if you've got lots of files, it will not only be dependent on your mobile's DL speed but your home UL speed.
Yeah, I was just thinking this through while taking an exercise walk. Instead of giving all these different entities my listening habits, and not being paid for it, it might be easier for me to setup a ChronoSync sync to a variety of memory cards and then ensure I have all the music on the devices at all times. Privacy may become more and more valuable and the memory cards are super cheap compared to even a few years back.

For you, do you keep all your files on the devices?
 
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Jul 5, 2022 at 11:16 AM Post #8 of 17
I keep local music on my phone and tablet--but as far as Plex, I only stream it. If I'm traveling and concerned I might not have great bandwidth, I pull the files off my NAS and put them on my phone/tablet/laptop ahead of time.

My Plex server is always on--it's run off a Synology with battery backups so unless my Internet is out at home, I always have access to it.
 
Jul 5, 2022 at 11:18 AM Post #9 of 17
I have both setup. Roon only works at home, and only streams music. Plex works anywhere, and allows streaming/downloading music files that are in your library.

One thing to note is that Plex is currently limited to 44.1/16 playback and will down-sample Hi-Res files. (See following conversation)
 
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Jul 10, 2022 at 5:57 PM Post #10 of 17
I have both setup. Roon only works at home, and only streams music. Plex works anywhere, and allows streaming/downloading music files that are in your library.

One thing to note is that Plex is currently limited to 44.1/16 playback and will down-sample Hi-Res files.
I believe that the latest versions no longer have this limitation
 
Jul 10, 2022 at 10:24 PM Post #11 of 17
I believe that the latest versions no longer have this limitation
You're right! I just tried it out and my DAC reported receiving 96kHz and 192kHz input when I streamed via USB from the Plex app on my phone. However, when streaming from the Plexamp app my DAC still reported receiving 44.1kHz. Hopefully it's just a matter of updating the app settings. (See solution in following conversation)
 
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Jul 11, 2022 at 3:36 AM Post #13 of 17
I'm a long time Plex user with a Pass.

PlexServer is great but I avoid the Player has it lacks features and quality is not on par with UAPP, Neutron or other player.
I asked the team about this point but responded it was a bitperfect player so I did not insist.

Not sure how Roon place itself in this setup as it goes much further in features set.
 
Jul 15, 2022 at 5:35 PM Post #15 of 17
If only Plex/plexamp allowed use of HQPlayer as a backend like Roon does, it would be a game changer. I like Plex's music library much better than Roon's but I like the SQ of HQPlayer much better. Maybe one day...
 

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