Making Roon Sound Better

tmallin

tmallin

WBF Technical Expert
May 19, 2010
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I have long experimented with using Roon instead of the native Lumin App to play my music through my Lumin X1 streamer/DAC. The tradeoff has always been the superior sonics of the native Lumin App for all music—whether internet radio, my music files, Tidal, or Qobuz—vs the superior GUI and search functions of Roon, plus Roon’s Muse electronic equalization functions which seem as transparent as any electronic equalization I’ve tried.

Roon Labs has been acquired by Harmon. That could be a good thing--or not. But that may explain the delay in introduction of the new Roon Nucleus models as well as the huge price increase—to $3,700—for the announced new top Nucleus model, the Titan. I sold my Roon Nucleus Plus a while, back, never finding its sonics particularly appealing compared to the native Lumin App, even when using the Keces P8 LPS instead of the stock SMPS to provide DC power to the Nucleus Plus.

Very little hard information about the Titan is yet available. It appears to be mostly a cosmetic change. I haven't found any technical specs. The price is also $3,700, much higher than the old Nucleus Plus. I looked, but most Roon dealers no longer have stock of the Plus and there are few being offered as used or like new online.

How Roon integrates with the Lumin X1

With the Roon Nucleus or Nucleus Plus, from any Windows or Mac computer, the Windows Explorer or Mac Finder can see the Nucleus on your network. Music files can be added to any internal or external storage devices physically attached to the Nucleus by just copying and pasting from your computer.

A computer or at least an iPad is needed, for the initial selection and set-up of the Roon Core. The Roon Core is what runs the Roon software and send music to your endpoint device, ideally a certified-by-Roon Roon Ready streamer. The Core is then told to monitor in real time one or more specific directories for newly added music. I have a terabyte USB thumb drive with all my music files on it. I stuck that into one of the USB ports of the Nucleus Plus I had. When I’ve used my desktop Mac Studio computer as the Roon Core, I used the Mac’s internal 4 TB storage for my music files.

After set-up of the Core, nothing more than your iPad or iPhone used as a Roon controller is necessary. It handles all the display and music selection of music through Roon and Roon then plays through my Lumin equipment. On the Lumin, I just turn on the Roon Ready function via the Lumin App’s Options menu for the X1. After that, I don't even need to open the Lumin App. The Roon App takes over, feeds music to the Lumin X1 and uses the Lumin's Leedh-processed volume control to control the volume even though the Lumin App is not open.

I cannot use Roon at all unless I turn on the Roon Ready option in the Lumin X1 streamer/DAC's options menu. Lumin has designed its equipment to offer the very best sound quality possible through the native Lumin App. To do that, all non-Lumin source options are defeated by default. Thus, without turning on an option, I cannot use Roon or stream from non-native internet radio stations such as Sirius/XM. The Lumin App handles my music files, Tidal, Qobuz, and all internet radio stations accessible through Tune-In as "native."

Thus, if I haven't enabled the Lumin's Roon Ready option, when I go into the Roon Audio settings menu to enable my Lumin X1 as an audio device, I won't even see the Lumin X1 as an available device. Once I turn on the Lumin's Roon Ready option, then I can enable the Lumin X1 as an audio device in Roon. Then, when I play music through Roon, I use Roon to control everything; the Lumin App can be closed and I usually have it closed when using Roon. However, the Roon Ready part of the Lumin makes sure that the Lumin's Leedh-processed volume control is still the volume controller for the signal. The signal path display in the Roon App shows the Lumin X1 and its Leedh-processed volume control in the path.

So, to get the best possible sound from the Lumin App after listening through Roon, I first disable the Lumin X1 as an audio device within Roon, close the Roon app, open the Lumin App, turn off the Roon Ready option, then select my source through the Lumin App. This all takes less than 30 seconds.

Thus I can easily compare the sound quality of particular source material via Roon vs. the Lumin App. The Lumin App has always been a bit better sounding. But the gap in sound quality is narrow enough that for most listening the superior Roon GUI is perhaps worth the slight downtick in sound quality Roon imposes. I've flip flopped on that judgement over the years. There is no doubt that both the Lumin App and Roon sound quality have improved with system changes I've made.

Prior Roon

I wrote an entire thread about Roon, the Roon Nucleus Plus, and their capabilities about four years ago here. The story continues in my Lumin X1 thread starting on page 3 here. Then, even more recently I’ve written about streaming issues and Roon in my Graham LS8/1 and New System thread here.

In recent months I had been using my Apple Mac Studio computer as my Roon Core. My comments about the sonics of this method compared to using the native Lumin App are in this post.

If you take the time to read all that, you’ll see, just as I said in a prior paragraph, that I’ve flip flopped a lot over the years on the issue of whether the Lumin App’s audible-but-relatively-subtle sonic superiority is worth eschewing the better Roon GUI, its superior cataloging and indexing of all music, and its electronic EQ. One thing that has held steady over the years, however, is that to my ears the Lumin App always seemed at least slightly superior to Roon.

One-Box Solution?

I have not seriously looked at the one-box Roon solution (Core and Roon Ready player in a single box) myself since these days Roon seems to clearly state that its sound quality is maximized by having the Core in one room and your audio system in another.

I don't think there are many boxes which qualify. One is from Mytek, but I was not impressed by the Stereophile test results of that unit. See https://www.stereophile.com/content/mytek-digital-brooklyn-bridge-ii-roon-core-preamplifier

While theoretically all streamers and CD players are little computers, the emphasis is on "little." The processing power necessary to snappily run all Roon's functions in real time is considerable--thus the use of full-fledged Intel PC chips like the i7. Having such processing power in the physical vicinity of other audio equipment may end up placing a lot of EMI and RFI noise in the air and wiring of your audio room, causing more sound degrading effects than if the Roon Core is at some greater physical distance.
 
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New Roon Clone with SMPS

I recently decided to give Roon another shot based on what I'm hearing from using my Apple desktop computer as the Roon Core. I'd also like to have the Roon EQ functions available.

I ordered a Roon Labs Poor Man’s Nucleus Plus Clone ($699 plus $50 shipping) from Poland. The Clone is somewhat smaller and lighter than the Nucleus Plus I owned. It also runs cooler. As the Audiogon listing states, while it is less expensive than the prior Roon Nucleus or Nucleus Plus models, it runs the same Roon ROCK software used in the Roon Nucleus and Nucleus Plus, has twice the memory of the Nucleus Plus, uses a faster SSD, and uses the same Intel i7 CPU used by the Roon Nucleus Plus.

Following Roon’s current recommendations, I put the Clone and its power supply downstairs in my family room inside my TV cabinet and connected it to my router via ethernet. The SMPS which comes with the Clone includes both AC and DC cables which should be long enough for most any installation.

When I first started up the Roon Clone with its stock SMPS, it started right up once I pushed the little button in front, the side with the two USB ports. It took a couple of hours to load all my albums from my Terabyte stick, but that's to be expected. I thought it was done, but then it started up again with the rotating circle. The second time it was integrating all my ripped albums with all my favorited Tidal and Qobuz ones. That took another 20 minutes or so. Music was playable all during the loading.

The sound was immediately definitely better than my old Nucleus Plus and also better than using my Apple as the Core: More three dimensional and dynamic, without edge. Blacker background. It definitely seemed fine that way, without any after-market linear supply.

The packing of the Clone was okay; not as bomb-proof as some, but double boxed nicely with degradable (wash them down the sink after spraying them with water) foam nuggets between the two boxes and hard foam inside the inner box holding the unit away from the box sides. Intact and cosmetically perfect. It looks very nice and seems very sturdy and well-constructed.

The only tricky part is transferring from one Roon Core/Server (in my case, my Mac Studio) to another (the Nucleus Clone). This is not a problem with the Clone, it's just the Roon program. You can do all this from an iPad running the Roon App. You don't need to be at a computer screen.

Unless you want to start from scratch in terms of your Roon settings, you should make sure you are using the current version of Roon Server on your current Core and your new Roon Core (the Clone). Then you backup your Roon Database and transfer a copy of that to the new Clone. To do that, I followed the instructions here. Read those over a few times to familiarize yourself with the process.

However, you also need to know that to start the process you'll need to Disconnect Roon from your original Roon Core/Server. Go to Settings>General>Roon Server and click on Disconnect. You can only use one Roon Core at a time. You don't have to delete your old Core, just disconnect it. Then you find your new Roon Core, and update it to the current version.

Actually, you may be able to find the Clone on your network by going to Settings (gear symbol) > Setup > Find Roon OS. You're looking for the "Roon Optimized Core Kit" which is the Clone. Then click on the address, then choose Reinstall the Operating System. That will automatically update your Clone to the current version.

I used a copy of my Roon Database on a USB stick to make the transfer. Since I'm also storing my ripped music for Roon on a separate USB stick, that simplified the process. (For some reason, Roon did not allow copying the database directly to a USB stick. I copied it to my Apple hard drive and then copied it from there to my USB stick.)

I realize these instructions may be clear as mud. Sorry. Having done it this way, I have to wonder whether it might just be simpler to start from scratch and set up Roon as you currently want it on the new Roon Core. That would avoid all the rigamarole with transferring the Roon Database.

The only glitch I encountered with the result on the new Clone was that somehow the Roon Database transfer duplicated some of my radio stations in My Live Radio. That was easy enough to fix by just deleting one of the duplicates.

Adding the Farad Super3 LPS

About the same time I ordered my Roon Clone I also ordered a Linear Power Supply (LPS), the Farad Super3 (about $768 with upgraded DC cable) a Dutch unit recommended as the best for the Clone by Adam, the manufacturer of the Clone.

I'm using the Classic Level 2 DC cable upgrade that Farad offers. That's a copper cable; I avoided the more expensive silver version since I generally find the sound of silver wire to be too bright/edgy/aggressive. I'm using one of my "standard" Absolute Power Cord MkII power cords to connect it to the wall outlet. Those are the same power cords I’ve long used on most of the rest of my audio equipment.

The Farad Super3 LPS is quite small, less than half the size of the Clone, but feels like a brick at 3.5 pounds. Fit and finish, like the Clone, is really excellent. There were no problems at all hooking it up. You use this unit, the included DC cable, and your own AC power cord (unless you want to buy an AC cord from Farad) in place of the Clone's included SMPS and cabling.

My initial sonic evaluation was, yes, this is better sounding Roon in my Watkins system. I immediately noticed that with the Farad Super3 there was more bass, warmth, and midrange fullness. Any hint of the highs being too strong relative to the bass was gone. There was added "thrust" to the sound, especially in the bass, and further added low-level detail. Focus was improved, as was three-dimensionality and envelopment. Within an hour of turn-on, it sounded a bit bassier and fuller than music via the Lumin App.

With the Watkins Generation 4 speakers I’m using right now, what I initially heard from the Farad Super3 is the more-meat-on-the-bone direction I want to push the sound balance in my room. In addition, all the improvements in the sound I heard with the Clone’s stock SMPS were still there. But now I heard imaging and staging that were fully the equal of what I hear from the Lumin App. For the Graham LS8/1 speakers, I'll have to experiment later. They already are plenty meaty.

(As an aside, I'm really not sure if the Watkins Gen 4 sound has yet fully stabilized. There for a while, via Roon I was adding 6 dB to the bass end and reducing the highs by 2 dB. Then that started to sound excessive and I reduced the bass boost to 4 dB, then 3.7 dB and reduced the treble reduction to minus 1.1 dB. But then, during the last few days before I received the Roon Clone, even that amount of bass boost had sounded a bit excessive and the reduction in the highs did not seem to improve the sound. Thus, I'd been tending to run the system with no EQ even when it was easily available when listening via Roon since the subjective tonal balance seemed to have improved without EQ. Strange. I'm not sure if my ears are accommodating to the Watkins, or the Watkins are still breaking in.)

But the Farad LPS comes with an extra sheet of instructions about break in/settle in of the unit. It states that 300 hours of playing time are required before the sound settles down to its ultimate capability. And, indeed, as I listened to the sound of Roon with the Clone plus the Farad Super3 LPS over the next two weeks, the sound did vary quite a bit before it settled down around day 11 or 12. What I now hear is a big, bold, beefy sound which is a great match for the Watkins speakers. In addition, the subtleties of detail, depth, imaging stability and focus, and envelopment I get from listening via the Lumin App are all there in spades. For the first time I have sound from Roon which I feel is overall superior to that I hear via the Lumin App!

Functionally, the only downside to Roon vs the Lumin app via the Roon Clone is that the Lumin App loads music from my music files, Tidal, and Qobuz a second or two faster than Roon and loads some internet radio stations five to ten seconds faster. Even when I’m in a channel surfing mood, usually this Roon “slowness” does not tax my patience. This “slowness” has been there with Roon from the beginning and is not a peculiarity of the Clone. In fact, the Clone loads music faster than prior Roon Core units I have used.

The Muse Parametric Equalization function of Roon works as effectively as ever. The momentary muting of the sound when the equalization is changed is still there, but I’d say that the muting is of a bit shorter duration than it was with prior Roon Cores I’ve used.
 
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I have been reading your posts comparing Roon to the native Lumin App, especially the Lumin App Roon Ready function and I have been wondering if you are familiar with the fairly new #ROONONLY function. “In Roon Only mode, all forms of non-Roon network playback are removed, including Lumin app native playback (UPnP, OpenHome, internet radio, multi-room), Lumin app settings control, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, AirPlay, etc.”

In my modest system using a NUC Roon Rock via Etherent to a Lumin D2 server as a streamer only, the #ROONONLY difference was amazing. The SQ was cleaner, clearer, purer, and much more musical. I didn’t realize how just good the Roon RAAT network system was until I used this function.

And you can still access Qobuz and Tidal from the Roon app.

This is a link to the information about #ROONONLY published by Peter Lie Firmware Lead of LUMIN Network Music Players only the Roon forum in May of 2022:

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/lumin-luxman-roon-only-mode-esoteric-teac-raat-mode/202753

If you haven’t tried the #ROONONLY function I would encourage you to experiment. And if you read the entire document, you can successfully go back to your original settings. I have done it several times to get the right settings in the Lumin App before activating this function.
 
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Yes, I have known about the Roon-only function since it was released. I have not tried it, however, since it does not meet my needs. I need to access Airplay, internet radio, and other functions.

Besides that, and contrary to what I said in post #2 above, further listening and continued comparison of Roon vs. the Lumin App have led me back to the conclusion that the Lumin App is still higher in fidelity than Roon. Roon is closer now, but the Lumin App is still overall superior, especially in terms of clarity and three dimensionality. Thus I find myself continuing to mostly listen via the Lumin App.

When I listen via the Lumin App, I usually have all the Lumin App options disabled, including Roon Ready, upsampling, multi-room, Lumin Streaming, and MQA. MQA is no longer needed since Tidal has now dropped MQA material. Disabling these options increases the sound quality of the Lumin App.

Further Lumin App sound quality improvements are enabled by putting my iPad controller into Airplane Mode. Better yet, once volume and program are set, turning off the iPad controller altogether further increases sound quality from the Lumin App. Roon is not usable in Airplane Mode or with the iPad turned off, but the Lumin App is usable and sounds better yet.

Yet further sonic improvements for both Roon and Lumin App streaming include turning off your iPhone, iWatch, all computers, and all video streaming for TVs. Would that it were not so, but such machinations make as much difference in streaming systems as they did in 1970s analog-only listening. See my discussion at this link.
 
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tmallin said:
New Roon Clone with SMPS

I recently decided to give Roon another shot based on what I'm hearing from using my Apple desktop computer as the Roon Core. I'd also like to have the Roon EQ functions available.

I ordered a Roon Labs Poor Man’s Nucleus Plus Clone ($699 plus $50 shipping) from Poland. The Clone is somewhat smaller and lighter than the Nucleus Plus I owned. It also runs cooler. As the Audiogon listing states, while it is less expensive than the prior Roon Nucleus or Nucleus Plus models, it runs the same Roon ROCK software used in the Roon Nucleus and Nucleus Plus, has twice the memory of the Nucleus Plus, uses a faster SSD, and uses the same Intel i7 CPU used by the Roon Nucleus Plus.

Following Roon’s current recommendations, I put the Clone and its power supply downstairs in my family room inside my TV cabinet and connected it to my router via ethernet. The SMPS which comes with the Clone includes both AC and DC cables which should be long enough for most any installation.

When I first started up the Roon Clone with its stock SMPS, it started right up once I pushed the little button in front, the side with the two USB ports. It took a couple of hours to load all my albums from my Terabyte stick, but that's to be expected. I thought it was done, but then it started up again with the rotating circle. The second time it was integrating all my ripped albums with all my favorited Tidal and Qobuz ones. That took another 20 minutes or so. Music was playable all during the loading.

The sound was immediately definitely better than my old Nucleus Plus and also better than using my Apple as the Core: More three dimensional and dynamic, without edge. Blacker background. It definitely seemed fine that way, without any after-market linear supply.

The packing of the Clone was okay; not as bomb-proof as some, but double boxed nicely with degradable (wash them down the sink after spraying them with water) foam nuggets between the two boxes and hard foam inside the inner box holding the unit away from the box sides. Intact and cosmetically perfect. It looks very nice and seems very sturdy and well-constructed.

The only tricky part is transferring from one Roon Core/Server (in my case, my Mac Studio) to another (the Nucleus Clone). This is not a problem with the Clone, it's just the Roon program. You can do all this from an iPad running the Roon App. You don't need to be at a computer screen.

Unless you want to start from scratch in terms of your Roon settings, you should make sure you are using the current version of Roon Server on your current Core and your new Roon Core (the Clone). Then you backup your Roon Database and transfer a copy of that to the new Clone. To do that, I followed the instructions here. Read those over a few times to familiarize yourself with the process.

However, you also need to know that to start the process you'll need to Disconnect Roon from your original Roon Core/Server. Go to Settings>General>Roon Server and click on Disconnect. You can only use one Roon Core at a time. You don't have to delete your old Core, just disconnect it. Then you find your new Roon Core, and update it to the current version.

Actually, you may be able to find the Clone on your network by going to Settings (gear symbol) > Setup > Find Roon OS. You're looking for the "Roon Optimized Core Kit" which is the Clone. Then click on the address, then choose Reinstall the Operating System. That will automatically update your Clone to the current version.

I used a copy of my Roon Database on a USB stick to make the transfer. Since I'm also storing my ripped music for Roon on a separate USB stick, that simplified the process. (For some reason, Roon did not allow copying the database directly to a USB stick. I copied it to my Apple hard drive and then copied it from there to my USB stick.)

I realize these instructions may be clear as mud. Sorry. Having done it this way, I have to wonder whether it might just be simpler to start from scratch and set up Roon as you currently want it on the new Roon Core. That would avoid all the rigamarole with transferring the Roon Database.

The only glitch I encountered with the result on the new Clone was that somehow the Roon Database transfer duplicated some of my radio stations in My Live Radio. That was easy enough to fix by just deleting one of the duplicates.

Adding the Farad Super3 LPS

About the same time I ordered my Roon Clone I also ordered a Linear Power Supply (LPS), the Farad Super3 (about $768 with upgraded DC cable) a Dutch unit recommended as the best for the Clone by Adam, the manufacturer of the Clone.

I'm using the Classic Level 2 DC cable upgrade that Farad offers. That's a copper cable; I avoided the more expensive silver version since I generally find the sound of silver wire to be too bright/edgy/aggressive. I'm using one of my "standard" Absolute Power Cord MkII power cords to connect it to the wall outlet. Those are the same power cords I’ve long used on most of the rest of my audio equipment.

The Farad Super3 LPS is quite small, less than half the size of the Clone, but feels like a brick at 3.5 pounds. Fit and finish, like the Clone, is really excellent. There were no problems at all hooking it up. You use this unit, the included DC cable, and your own AC power cord (unless you want to buy an AC cord from Farad) in place of the Clone's included SMPS and cabling.

My initial sonic evaluation was, yes, this is better sounding Roon in my Watkins system. I immediately noticed that with the Farad Super3 there was more bass, warmth, and midrange fullness. Any hint of the highs being too strong relative to the bass was gone. There was added "thrust" to the sound, especially in the bass, and further added low-level detail. Focus was improved, as was three-dimensionality and envelopment. Within an hour of turn-on, it sounded a bit bassier and fuller than music via the Lumin App.

With the Watkins Generation 4 speakers I’m using right now, what I initially heard from the Farad Super3 is the more-meat-on-the-bone direction I want to push the sound balance in my room. In addition, all the improvements in the sound I heard with the Clone’s stock SMPS were still there. But now I heard imaging and staging that were fully the equal of what I hear from the Lumin App. For the Graham LS8/1 speakers, I'll have to experiment later. They already are plenty meaty.

(As an aside, I'm really not sure if the Watkins Gen 4 sound has yet fully stabilized. There for a while, via Roon I was adding 6 dB to the bass end and reducing the highs by 2 dB. Then that started to sound excessive and I reduced the bass boost to 4 dB, then 3.7 dB and reduced the treble reduction to minus 1.1 dB. But then, during the last few days before I received the Roon Clone, even that amount of bass boost had sounded a bit excessive and the reduction in the highs did not seem to improve the sound. Thus, I'd been tending to run the system with no EQ even when it was easily available when listening via Roon since the subjective tonal balance seemed to have improved without EQ. Strange. I'm not sure if my ears are accommodating to the Watkins, or the Watkins are still breaking in.)

But the Farad LPS comes with an extra sheet of instructions about break in/settle in of the unit. It states that 300 hours of playing time are required before the sound settles down to its ultimate capability. And, indeed, as I listened to the sound of Roon with the Clone plus the Farad Super3 LPS over the next two weeks, the sound did vary quite a bit before it settled down around day 11 or 12. What I now hear is a big, bold, beefy sound which is a great match for the Watkins speakers. In addition, the subtleties of detail, depth, imaging stability and focus, and envelopment I get from listening via the Lumin App are all there in spades. For the first time I have sound from Roon which I feel is overall superior to that I hear via the Lumin App!

Functionally, the only downside to Roon vs the Lumin app via the Roon Clone is that the Lumin App loads music from my music files, Tidal, and Qobuz a second or two faster than Roon and loads some internet radio stations five to ten seconds faster. Even when I’m in a channel surfing mood, usually this Roon “slowness” does not tax my patience. This “slowness” has been there with Roon from the beginning and is not a peculiarity of the Clone. In fact, the Clone loads music faster than prior Roon Core units I have used.

The Muse Parametric Equalization function of Roon works as effectively as ever. The momentary muting of the sound when the equalization is changed is still there, but I’d say that the muting is of a bit shorter duration than it was with prior Roon Cores I’ve used.
Click to expand...
I also have a NUC Clone but mine requires 18/19v and 3.4A. I didn't think the Farad LPS's went beyond 12v. What voltage does your NUC require?
 
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tmallin said:
Yes, I have known about the Roon-only function since it was released. I have not tried it, however, since it does not meet my needs. I need to access Airplay, internet radio, and other functions.
Click to expand...
Does the Roon only function allow Roon Radio?
 
Thank you @tmallin for initiating this thread.

I want to share what I've done to my Nucleus Titan, and how my optimizations with my prior Nucleus Plus RevA informed my decisions for the Titan.

I first started with a Plixir Elite BDC 4A LPS. Then tried 32GB of Apacer Industrial RAM in the N+. Then began to experiment with 3M AB7000 series EMI/RFI absorber fabric on the SATA drive housing and inside the chassis's bottom plate.

Each of these steps made a significant and obvious increase in sound quality.

I took advantage of Roon's Nucleus Trade-in program in favor of a Nucleus Titan in Stone. I'm glad I did.

Right out of the box, the Titan immediately presented as more open, weightier, more refined, and more insightful than the N+. With the standard SMPS (which is a quality, laptop style power brick of the same output specs as my N+'s wall-wart). Simply adding my Plixir Elite BDC really changed the game. Increased sense of space, separation, punch, refinement, etc.

This immediately sent me down the rabbit hole. Apacer Industrial RAM, 3M AB7050/7020 fabric inside the chassis, Apacer Industrial SATA SSD (music storage), Ghent Audio JSSG360 Gotham GAC4/1 UltraPro DC cable, etc.
 

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Nice job.

If you can I would recommend running copper foil around the EMI/RFI absorber on the RAM and NVMe M.2 drives and electrically star ground it to the chassis. It helps with further improvements you're currently seeing.
 

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SlapEcho said:
Nice job.

If you can I would recommend running copper foil around the EMI/RFI absorber on the RAM and NVMe M.2 drives and electrically star ground it to the chassis. It helps with further improvements you're currently seeing.
Click to expand...
Fantastic reply. Thank you!

I assume one would want conductive adhesive on the copper foil tape?
 
If the foil is cut or pieced together, conductive adhesive would make more sense but if it's a continuous piece, probably less critical.
 
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tmallin said:
My Poor Man’s Nucleus Plus operates on any voltage of 12 through 19. I have the 19 volt version of the Farad.
Click to expand...
Just installed a Farad Super 3 with my intel NUC. The instructions with the Farad say to anticipate at least 250 hours for break in. Was that the case with yours?
 
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Yes, definitely, at least that much time. I'd say give it at least three weeks of constant on-and-playing time to fully settle in sonically. I think you'll be pleased in the end.

I have another Farad Super3, the 5-volt version, which first powered a TrendNet ethernet switch with fiber optic slot feeding my Lumin gear, and now powering my GigaFOILv4 Inline Ethernet Filter which feeds the ethernet input of my Lyngdorf TDAI 3400. I observed the same lengthy breakin/settle in pattern with that one, too.
 
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tmallin said:
Yes, definitely, at least that much time. I'd say give it at least three weeks of constant on-and-playing time to fully settle in sonically. I think you'll be pleased in the end.

I have another Farad Super3, the 5-volt version, which first powered a TrendNet ethernet switch with fiber optic slot feeding my Lumin gear, and now powering my GigaFOILv4 Inline Ethernet Filter which feeds the ethernet input of my Lyngdorf TDAI 3400. I observed the same lengthy breakin/settle in pattern with that one, too.
Click to expand...
OK, thanks. The Farad has already made an audible positive difference. The PS that came with my NUC was producing a litle static and I suspect was failing so that's part of the improvement. Still, a real uptick in SQ.
 
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gionaz said:
this is not conductive? can it also be applied to the back of a motherboard? does not short-circuit anything?
what improvements have you perceived by using it?
Click to expand...
The pressure adhesive that 3M uses is not conductive. The material itself, is.

Technically, one could apply it to the rear of a MB, but I would be concerned with puncturing the adhesive layer. I would likely recommend applying on the nearest parallel flat surface, instead.

I used it on my Lumin A1 to superb success, as well.

So far, I've heard the same kind of improvements that upgrading to a high-quality power supply brings; blackness, space, natural delineation, increased punch/slam, more air, richer/fatter tonal structure, etc.

I was an early adopter of the Plixir Elite BDC power supplies. The improvement via 3M AB7050/7020 in my Nucleus Titan was roughly equal to moving from Roon wallwart to Plixir Elite BDC 19V/4A with a Statement DC cable.

I applied to M.2 NVME boot/OS drive (both sides), Apacer Industrial Wide Temp RAM (both sides), and two layers/side to my Apacer Industrial Wide-Temp SATA SSD. Also applied to the inside of the bottom cover (facing the MB) and to the SATA ribbon itself. I would consider this a fairly extensive application for a new device, under warranty.

Pics of my Lumin A1:

IMG_2658.jpeg
IMG_2659.jpeg

IMG_2667.jpeg
 
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NaimYourTubes said:
I was an early adopter of the Plixir Elite BDC power supplies. The improvement via 3M AB7050/7020 in my Nucleus Titan was roughly equal to moving from Roon wallwart to Plixir Elite BDC 19V/4A with a Statement DC cable.
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wow that's something very impressive!!! i'll have to try them out a bit everywhere! if they were to be punctured (micro holes possibly) do you think they wouldn't be conductive? i wouldn't want to short-circuit my motherboard, but i could risk it, it's an old PC that i only use as a control :)
 
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gionaz said:
wow that's something very impressive!!! i'll have to try them out a bit everywhere! if they were to be punctured (micro holes possibly) do you think they wouldn't be conductive? i wouldn't want to short-circuit my motherboard, but i could risk it, it's an old PC that i only use as a control :)
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Puncturing the adhesive layer wouldn't be terribly far off from laying a bare copper strip on the board. I would be VERY careful.
 
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tmallin said:
One-Box Solution?

I have not seriously looked at the one-box Roon solution (Core and Roon Ready player in a single box) myself since these days Roon seems to clearly state that its sound quality is maximized by having the Core in one room and your audio system in another.

I don't think there are many boxes which qualify. One is from Mytek, but I was not impressed by the Stereophile test results of that unit. See https://www.stereophile.com/content/mytek-digital-brooklyn-bridge-ii-roon-core-preamplifier

While theoretically all streamers and CD players are little computers, the emphasis is on "little." The processing power necessary to snappily run all Roon's functions in real time is considerable--thus the use of full-fledged Intel PC chips like the i7. Having such processing power in the physical vicinity of other audio equipment may end up placing a lot of EMI and RFI noise in the air and wiring of your audio room, causing more sound degrading effects than if the Roon Core is at some greater physical distance.
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I'm not sure why you believe you need a high - performance CPU to run ROON, unless you're performing DSP and / or up sampling. I'm running ROON on a DIY Windows - based server I built that runs no up sampling and no EQing whatsoever and while playing music the CPU usage is ~<5%. Yes, it is heavily optimized but nonetheless quite capable and predominantly always idle.
 
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