Exclusive Mode

Exclusive Mode

The Exclusive Mode setting tells Roon to take exclusive control of your audio device.

During this time, it can't be shared with other applications. This allows Roon to precisely control every aspect of the playback without any interference from the operating system. This is a basic requirement for achieving audiophile-grade playback.

The audiophiles in the room are nodding their heads.

This concept only applies to connected outputs – i.e. USB DACs, sound cards, or built-in outputs connected to Roon, Roon Server, Roon Remote, or Roon Bridge. If you are using a networked output (AirPlay, Squeezebox, Meridian, or Roon Ready), the device takes care of this implementation detail internally.

That said, there are plenty of reasons not to use it. If you need to hear system notification sounds during playback, or you like to watch YouTube while listening to music, it's not necessarily a great idea to use this setting – since Roon will keep those other things from working properly. As with many aspects of computer audio, there is often a tradeoff here between convenience and sound quality.

Not all outputs have an Exclusive mode setting. Sometimes this is because we always use an exclusive access mode on that output, and sometimes it is because the output is not capable of supporting exclusive access. This is an overview of the situation: 

PlatformTechnologySupports Exclusive ModeAlways Exclusive Mode
WindowsWASAPIYesNo
WindowsASIOYesYes
Mac OS XCoreAudioYesNo
Mac OS XASIOYesYes
LinuxALSAYesYes
AndroidOpenSL ESNoNo

In general, we support exclusive mode wherever it is possible.

    • Related Articles

    • FAQ: What's Exclusive Mode?

      Exclusive mode allows Roon to take full control of the audio device when music is playing, bypassing the operating system mixer (on your desktop or laptop computer) and interrupting any other applications using the device. Running with Exclusive mode ...

    • Audio Setup Basics

      Accessing Audio Settings To access audio settings, first enter Roon's main settings screen, then choose the Audio tab. Inside the Audio tab, you'll be presented with a list of audio output devices, grouped by type, and in some cases, by which ...

    • Sound Quality

      Overview Roon is built from the ground up to produce extremely high-quality output, however, Roon works differently from other software, so you may not be able to drop it into an existing setup and get the same results immediately. Like most things ...

    • File Tag Best Practice

      Achieving Great Results From File Tagging Roon and file tags Roon has always read a significant amount of information from your file tags. Along with track timings, Roon uses tag information, such as your album and track titles, artist names, unique ...

    • Roon Optimized Core Kit

      Let's first explain what Roon OS is, and then we can talk about Roon Optimized Core Kit. Roon OS is a custom Linux based operating system, tailored for running Roon Server and providing a best-in-class, appliance-type user experience to host the Roon ...
    Visit the Roon Community!
    Need help? Thousands of Roon subscribers and audio enthusiasts are chatting over on our community site right now, join them! You don't even need a Roon subscription to sign up.