2. amps-preamps
  3. 157617-17345

McIntosh Roon Tested, what does it mean?

I've spent way too much time reading and trying to understand the difference between Roon Ready and Roon Tested. Either I'm an idiot or everyone's marketing department is terrible. Has anyone used a 'Roon Tested' (formerly 'Roon Compatible') product? What else is needed to use this?
What I'm trying to do: buy an integrated amp with a quality DAC I can stream high quality music to from my laptop/phone/ipad from either Tidal or Amazon Music HD, using the DAC on the amp (and not on my device which is what I understand that AirPlay does, but I could be wrong).

I've looked at NAD C368/388 which is in the $1500-2200 range, does all of this with their BlueOS. But if I want to bump up to the next level, I'd be interested in the NAD M32 or McIntosh 5300 (there are others, but for simplicity sake and to stay on topic let's leave it at those two, also want a built in phono and headpone amp).

I feel like I understand the BlueOS w/ NAD: it's a built in OS, and seems equivalent to 'Roon Ready'. But with the McIntosh it is Roon Tested. 
Does this mean I just need to install the Roon software on my device, pull up music on Tidal, pick the McIntosh from a drop down and stream the music?
How is that different than what I'd be doing with 'Roon Ready'?  Is it just shifting the OS from the 5300 to an app on my device?
With 'Roon Tested', will it use the DAC in my device?  Or the DAC in the 5300? Is there anything else I need like a media server? I would assume not since I plan on using streaming services? Is there another Roon thing I need to buy and connect to an input on the 5300?

Help!
ds4000
erik_squires
16,444 posts
 
Unfortunately the Roon PR splash page is garbage. What you need to look at is this one:

https://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_partner_programs

And for the consumer it's still difficult to parse.  As I can tell, there's one set of standards for a network player (i.e. streamer): "Roon Ready" - Essentially devices that plug into your home network.

The designation : "Roon Tested" seems to apply to DAC's. The issue seems to be around USB DAC's and their handshaking, which is unfortunately more trouble than you would otherwise imagine.

So, assuming you bought these separately, you'd want a Roon Ready streamer, along with Roon Tested DACs (though the latter may work without the approval).

Best,
E
djones51
4,947 posts
 
devise can not be a Roon endpoint unless it is either Roon tested or Roon Ready.
It may be better to stick with tested or ready devices but I have used a couple that were neither and they worked fine. I am using an integrated amp now as the roon endpoint which is neither tested or ready attached to a raspberry pi4 roon bridge and it works great.
erik_squires
16,444 posts
 
Hi OP,
So to tie together what I was saying, the Mc MA 5300 integrated amp has no network capability at all.  So, it's a DAC, and is Roon Tested.


https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/integrated-amplifiers/MA5300


You'll need another device to go from your network and streaming services to it.

The NAD M32 is the same, unless you purchase the optional BluOS module.

Best,

E
ds4000 OP
7 posts
 
Thanks! That makes sense, so 'tested' is even less that what I thought. I get the NAD needs the module, but for some reason I was hopeful that the MC 5300 did in fact have an endpoint on it that would accept the stream, but sounds like I would need to buy another separate device and connect it to the MC in order to stream music from my laptop/ipad/phone (assuming I'm just using the Roon software on the device).

That's where the Roon documentation falls short. I looked at all their marketing and that link that erik_squires sent and it doesn't explain it, but these answers have...thanks.
erik_squires
16,444 posts
 
OP:

You can kind of tell by the connections. You want to look for an Ethernet jack, or an antenna. If it lacks both of them, it is not a streamer.

Best,
E
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