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 allows Roon to get the highest possible sound quality from the audio device and is our recommended setting for external USB DACs.
Click the speaker icon in the bottom right corner of the Roon app, and then click the gear icon
In the menu that appears, click on the "Device Setup" button for your audio device
Inside of this setup menu, you'll find the Exclusive mode setting, which generally will default to "On"
You can access the Exclusive mode setting for a zone connected to your computer using these settings: