Roon has an architecture that is slightly different from what you might be used to. Instead of everything happening on one device, Roon separates the work of managing your music, controlling Roon, and playing audio. Understanding these three parts can help you see how the devices in your Roon system work together.

Roon is made up of three main parts:

• Roon Server: manages your music and does the main processing.
• Control: the Roon app you interact with on a computer, phone, or tablet.
• Output: the device where the music plays.

These don't necessarily have to be three separate devices. A Mac or Windows computer can provide Server, Control, and Output functionality all on one machine. Learn more about the different Roon Software Packages.

For another overview of how these parts work together, see Roon Architecture Explained.

New to Roon? If you're looking for step-by-step help setting up Roon, please see Getting Started with Roon.

Roon Server

Roon Server is the brain of your Roon system. It manages your music library, handles playback, and keeps your Roon apps in sync.

Roon Server can run on a Mac or Windows PC, Linux machine, NAS, or dedicated device such as a Nucleus. See Roon System Requirements and Hardware Recommendations for details on what each option needs.

It manages your music

Roon Server keeps track of the music in your library. This includes:

• Finding your music files and noticing when files are added, deleted, or changed.
• Reading metadata, such as artist, album, and track information, from your music files.
• Identifying your music so Roon can enhance your library with information such as artwork, credits, reviews, and other metadata.
• Keeping that information up to date as new information becomes available.
• Performing background audio analysis of your music.

It manages playback

Roon Server gets music from your library or streaming services, prepares it for playback, and sends it to your audio devices.

It also manages the queue and playback controls for each Zone. A Zone is an audio output or group of outputs where you can play music. If you have multiple Zones, Roon Server can manage them independently or keep compatible Zones synchronized when they're grouped together.

Behind the scenes, Roon Server retrieves the audio from your local files or streaming services and decodes it into audio formats such as PCM or DSD. It then sends that audio to the selected Output.

It keeps your Roon apps in sync

Your computer, phone, and tablet can all communicate with the same Roon Server. The Server provides information to each Control and responds to requests such as browsing or starting playback. It also keeps your library, queue, and playback information synchronized across your devices.

Roon Server also handles Roon software updates.

For a deeper look at why Roon uses a central Server, please see Starting with Roon Server.

Control

Control is the Roon app you use to interact with your Roon Server. You can use it to browse your library, search for music, choose what to play, manage your queue, and control your Zones.

You can use Roon from supported Windows and Mac computers, iPhones and iPads, and Android phones and tablets. You can have one Control or several, and they can all connect to the same Roon Server over your network.

For example, you could browse your library and start an album on your computer, then switch to your phone or tablet to control that same music. Because each Control communicates with the same Roon Server, they stay synchronized in real time.

Roon's Control software is built from a shared code base across supported platforms. This helps provide a consistent Roon experience across computers, phones, and tablets.

The communication between Roon Server and your Controls works the same way no matter which device you use. This is true whether you're on the computer running your Server or another device on your network.

Please see FAQ: Can I control Roon remotely? to learn more about using Roon away from your Server.

Output

An Output is where Roon plays your music. This could be your computer's speakers, a DAC connected by USB, or a networked audio device elsewhere in your home.

Roon is designed to support both single-room and multi-room audio systems. You can use one Output or many, and each can appear in Roon as a Zone.

Roon supports many types of audio devices, including:

• Roon Ready networked devices
• USB DACs, sound cards, and built-in audio outputs
• AirPlay devices
• Chromecast devices
• Sonos devices
• Squeezebox devices
• Meridian networked devices
• HQPlayer

For Roon Ready devices and other supported networked Outputs, Roon can send audio over your network. Roon's own streaming technology, RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport), sends high-quality audio streams to Roon Ready devices. It also reaches Outputs connected to computers or devices running Roon, Roon Server, or Roon Bridge.

What if you're using a traditional stereo system?

Roon handles the digital side of music playback. A traditional analog stereo system still needs that digital audio converted to an analog signal before it reaches a preamp or amplifier.

A typical setup might look like this:

Roon Server → DAC or network streamer → preamp/amplifier → speakers

The DAC may be a separate device or built into another component, such as a network streamer or integrated amplifier.

The exact setup depends on the audio equipment you're using. But the basic idea stays the same: Roon sends the music to an Output, and your equipment handles the rest of the path to your speakers.

If you have questions about how Roon fits into your system, please visit the Roon Labs Community.