Another Roon Heavy Handed Policy

Perhaps they're referring to the resources to make devices Roon Ready - that could be significant in terms of development time (man-months) depending on individual hardware and software architecture.

Edit: On second thought, a more likely scenario is that the hardware manufacturer you talked to relies on a third party to make their devices Roon Ready. Many traditional audio companies have expertise in hardware, but would seek external help for streaming / software.
 
There are a number of companies that tend to deride other technologies alleging poor sound quality or whatever (like non-existing certification costs) when in reality they just don’t have the know-how to do it themselves or just want folks to use their own proprietary (often inferior) product.
So they come up with all kind of “reasons” (i.e., excuses) why they don’t do it. I recall a company saying that they will never use room correction on their products citing sound quality concerns. In reality that company did not have the technology know-how to do it on its own. Eventually that company bought/licensed somebody else’s product, rebadged it with its own brand and now sells that product as their top of the line.
So my experience has been that when an old-school/traditional manufacturer uses a “reason” why they don’t adopt certain new technology, I am always a bit skeptical.
 
Jack said:
Other than Danny trying to throw his weight around what is there reasoning for needing the non-Roon modules?
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I asked and they said they wanted to give people options. Aqua also said the modular approach allows them to maybe one day be able to build a better Roon module and upgrading would be plug & play.


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I have read the whole exchange. I hope Aqua reconsiders their stanace and restarts working with Roon to have the unit certified. LinQ seems like a great product.
 
Mike

I meant what is Roon's reasoning for demanding to get there hands on and test modules that don't have anything to do with Roon. I understand Christian's stance on why multiple modules.
 
From Roon COO above:

“We will do whatever needed to stop you from distributing our intellectual property without a license to do so. Either you do this the right way, or you don’t do it.”

Don’t see what’s the point frankly. Roon Labs has and can easily block any unauthorized products from working with Roon. As a consumer and Roon subscriber, I would not bother buying a product that at any moment can stop working with Roon.
 
Jack said:
I meant what is Roon's reasoning for demanding to get there hands on and test modules that don't have anything to do with Roon. I understand Christian's stance on why multiple modules.
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Roon is speculating that LinQ might have issue when switching between different modules and hence they want to test it. In my opinion, that's not Roon's problem - that is for Aqua to fix and Roon's demand on testing with a 2nd module seems unreasonable. In that way, for a streaming device you need the whole shebang of things (network cables, switches, routers, modems, etc) that makes a network streaming device either work or not work.
 
I sort of see Roon's point on this one. People understand that networking problems, cables, etc., are not Roon's issue or fault, but when it comes to a Roon certified device they will definitely blame Roon.

An add on card can and many times do cause issues with or affect performance of other cards within a particular device. Their certification is for the device and therefore if a firmware change or an add-in card can affect the device then it is very much their business.

I do not understand why Aqua is having such an issue with it. It is not like they have built a good working relationship and from history know they can count on their updates, etc. I would also assume that down the road Roon might not be as restrictive with add on's, knowing from history how Aqua works.

There is a very good reason why all these hardware manufactures want to be able to list Roon Ready, Roon certified, etc., on their products. They obviously believe it is a highly respected product and something that will increase sales of their hardware.
 
Devg said:
Roon is speculating that LinQ might have issue when switching between different modules and hence they want to test it. In my opinion, that's not Roon's problem - that is for Aqua to fix and Roon's demand on testing with a 2nd module seems unreasonable. In that way, for a streaming device you need the whole shebang of things (network cables, switches, routers, modems, etc) that makes a network streaming device either work or not work.
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Agreed, the Roon guys are trying to control too much. This tactic only works for companies like Apple who own the entire ecosystem.

To grow they need to be as flexible as possible toward device manufacturers since they sit in between them and the end user. Limit the number of devices supported limits your customers base.

That being said, they need some controls so the experience is not negatively impacted. Seems like they are going to one extreme quickly without taking small steps to recify any issues they may be facing with rogue devices.
 
nicoff said:
From Roon COO above:

“We will do whatever needed to stop you from distributing our intellectual property without a license to do so. Either you do this the right way, or you don’t do it.”

Don’t see what’s the point frankly. Roon Labs has and can easily block any unauthorized products from working with Roon. As a consumer and Roon subscriber, I would not bother buying a product that at any moment can stop working with Roon.
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I also would not consider any product that is not Roon certified!
 
I don't think it is unusual or unreasonable for a certification process to include other aspects of the device's hardware and software that could have an impact on the features or functionality of the portion being certified. I know other certification programs either cover those things or have a shared API / integration requirements that ensure other parts of the product won't have a negative impact.
 
And not surprisingly the usual suspects believe Roon to always be right and think that the world of digital streaming cannot survive without them. Beat a dead horse often as if we all don't know what your opinions on any Roon related subject are.
 
Jack said:
And not surprisingly the usual suspects believe Roon to always be right and think that the world of digital streaming cannot survive without them. Beat a dead horse often as if we all don't know what your opinions on any Roon related subject are.
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Exactly. It won't be long before someone will say "Excuse me but what is Roon ?" ;)

Roon should really slow down and improve their playback quality issues (a real issue) that all these high-end streaming devices is supposed to be certified with.
 
NekoAudio said:
I don't think it is unusual or unreasonable for a certification process to include other aspects of the device's hardware and software that could have an impact on the features or functionality of the portion being certified. I know other certification programs either cover those things or have a shared API / integration requirements that ensure other parts of the product won't have a negative impact.
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its only an audio playback s/w, not a FIPs certification :rolleyes:
 
Jack said:
And not surprisingly the usual suspects believe Roon to always be right and think that the world of digital streaming cannot survive without them. Beat a dead horse often as if we all don't know what your opinions on any Roon related subject are.
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It really isn't "beating a dead horse". There is a subject being discussed and many people give their opinions, on either side of the discussion. I don't see any reason a snarky comment is called for? Oh well, I guess it will happen every time their is a lively discussion going on. Sort of learned to expect it now :(...
 
Devg said:
its only an audio playback s/w, not a FIPs certification :rolleyes:
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Yes, but when people pay top dollar for software, which I believe Roon is, they expect certain things. Roon is protecting themselves, or more importantly doing their best to assure their customers are getting the experience they are paying for. This is not an uncommon practice with software companies. Adobe and Corel have done similar things for many years.
 
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