Researching an "affordable" Roon server/streamer, and my choice is ...

CeltmanJPD

New Member
Dec 9, 2020
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Researching an "affordable" Roon server/streamer, and my choice...​


I learned a lot while researching (ie, torturing myself) for this project, researching an "affordable" Roon server/streamer. I DID NOT want to run the Roon Core on a computer. Obviously there are many other choices like Auralic, Lumin etc and I’ve read reviews until my eyes bled. Oh, to have an unlimited budget!

Items 1-6 are what I considered and eliminated. Obviously if you have $3000 to >10,000 to spend, there are other choices. Your mileage may vary. I really wanted something made in the USA or EU, not China (though I would bend that rule for a Denafrips DAC, maybe). If I had super big bucks, some of the DAC/preamps/streamers that have Roon server capability built in look amazing, like SimAudio Moon, but they are *really* expensive, and still require a Roon server. I decided I want to spend more money on an amp upgrade by spending less on the Roon server/streamer, so I set a budget of around $1500. Don’t need/want anything with an onboard DAC.
  1. Bluesound Node 2i: Many owners are reporting hardware and software problems and frustrations. I wanted both a Roon core and endpoint, and it isn’t.
  2. I originally thought I’d get an Aurender N100 until I decided I want Roon, which it doesn’t do. Then I read about problems with Aurenders after power losses and other issues. Nope. Nice units, especially the one for $6k with ripper.
  3. Then I settled on the Innuos Zen III, but it’s made in Portugal and they don’t have a US service facility. In addition, in reading the fine print they don’t guarantee that with the Zen you can run it well as both a core and streamer, and it only has an i3 (or slower) processor, which some claim isn’t powerful enough. They don’t offer an SSD drive until the Zenith, which is $4k+. It’s out, for a one box solution. I wanted an i5 processor, which means their high end unit for a lot more money.
  4. Roon Nucleus -- i3 processor in the std Nucleus, expensive for what it is, just a server box. I'm sure it would be fine, but I am budget conscious.
  5. Salk Streamplayer -- Looks nice, has an i5 processor, and the maker is very nice on the phone. Only available in the mid-level with an HDD drive, and I wanted SSD. No internal ripper drive either. So no.
  6. The Wyred4Sound MS is my alternate choice, given more money. One box, many connection options (I2S, SPDIF, USB), built in ripper. $3500 for the i3 processor and 2TB of SSD, I recall. Very nice unit, but more than 2X the cost of my choice.
  7. THE ONE I CHOSE: Small Green Computer Sonictransporter with 2tb onboard SSD and a Microrendu streamer (the UltraRendu is more and maybe I should have done that?). About $1500, a great value I think. No, not a one box solution but that’s okay, and not really a compromise except for that. Has an i5 processor, comparable to the Roon Nucleus+ which is 2x the price. Should work great with Roon using DSP if I want to. No onboard ripper drive, but just plug a CD reader in and works the same. MOST bang for the buck that I have found, so I hope I am happy with it. The proprietor Andrew Gillis was very helpful and patient with me as I decided. www.smallgreencomputer.com
UPDATE: Finally got my SGC server and SonoreRendu streamer set up. It was very easy to do. It sounds excellent. I am SO excited to finally have Roon + Tidal, and start ripping my CDs to the server.

SETUP:
I put the Sonictransporter server on the computer desk in the corner of my listening room on the opposite wall from the hi-fi rack and speakers, because my router/ethernet is there and I don’t have to run an ethernet cable halfway around the room. Plugged it into the router and fired it up. Hooked up the Rendu streamer to the nice linear power supply (both are in the hi-fi rack), into the network via ethernet, and plugged it into my DAC/preamp with a good Audioquest USB cable.

Logged in to SGC’s website to do the setup via the network (Roon is preloaded on the server) and to download other apps to server. Took 10 minutes. I’d already set up my Roon trial account, which was a mistake because the SGC comes with a 60-day free Roon code but I can’t use it with the Roon 14-day trial. SO--wait to create your Roon account after you get everything hooked up to use the 60-day code. Doh!

I bought a 10" Kindle Fire tablet to use as a remote for Roon. Don’t want to use laptop or phone. On Roon forums rich guys will tell you to get an iPad Pro because it works in portrait mode, but a $1000 for a tablet to use as a remote? Nope! The Fire tablet was $150 and works fine so far.

THE SOUND: It sounds great! I don’t have other server/streamers to compare it to like the Roon Nucleus, the Wyred, Innuos etc but to me it’s excellent and a bargain. Roon unfolds the first fold of MQA so Tidal Masters are coming through at 48/96 ... better than Redbook. Non-MQA tracks sound great too ... as good as my Rega Apollo playing CDs.

I am very pleased with Small Green Computer and their product (it’s only been a day, of course, but I hope for excellent reliability). I still like in a way a one box solution in the rack, like the Wyred 4 Sound Server, but it would have been $1500 more and I’d rather put that towards the monoblocks I am saving for. Maybe I will upgrade from the MicroRendu to the UltraRendu at some point. Maybe. Or the OpticalRendu.

NOTE: If you want a server to pair with your Roon endpoint streamer like a Lumin etc, I think the SGC Sonictransporter is a more affordable choice than the Roon Nucleus---faster processor and smaller footprint for less money. I know the Nucleus is good too, and some people want that Roon logo on the box. :)

Andrew Gillis at SGC is great to deal with, and very patient. I recommend them. https://www.smallgreencomputer.com
 
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rblnr

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 3, 2010
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I'm a dealer for both Roon and Bluesound, so take this as you will. I use a Roon Nucleus+ and have Bluesound all around the house, and have sold a lot of both. Have not seen any of the hardware/software you refer to from any clients on Bluesound. Maybe the software versions from four years ago, but not now.

Value is a little tough to judge on the Roon hardware. There are definitely cheaper options out there and obviously a lot of more expensive ones too. Haven't heard the Taiko people love here on WBF, but have A/Bd the Nucleus+ vs. several others and have not heard any difference.
 

CeltmanJPD

New Member
Dec 9, 2020
3
4
3
123
I'm a dealer for both Roon and Bluesound, so take this as you will. I use a Roon Nucleus+ and have Bluesound all around the house, and have sold a lot of both. Have not seen any of the hardware/software you refer to from any clients on Bluesound. Maybe the software versions from four years ago, but not now.

Value is a little tough to judge on the Roon hardware. There are definitely cheaper options out there and obviously a lot of more expensive ones too. Haven't heard the Taiko people love here on WBF, but have A/Bd the Nucleus+ vs. several others and have not heard any difference.
I am sure I would be happy with the Nucleus+ but it's a lot more than the std Nucleus. I wanted to get that from my main dealer, because I like giving them my business. The SGC box is an i5 processor (vs an i3 in the standard Nucleus) for less money. I am cheap! I did decide that having the Roon core running in a server rather than on a computer works best for me, and many say it sounds better. Cheers.
 

Hear Here

Well-Known Member
Feb 14, 2020
735
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155
Portsmouth, UK
The Roon site offers alternatives to the Nucleus and Nucleus+ using Intel's NUC mini-PCs. You'll need to add the HDD or SDD you want and download Roon's Core software/. All Roon approved - they even offer links to the items you need on Amazon.

Or you could go slightly off-piste and get a complete Nucleus clone such as this


Just download the Roon software.
 
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Hear Here

Well-Known Member
Feb 14, 2020
735
433
155
Portsmouth, UK
That's a cute little fanless NUC but at £759.00 its more then the sonicTransporter i5!
Not much in it pricewise. Remember the UK price includes 20% VAT and the $ price is 990.

I think I'd prefer a, Intel NUC as the basis of a Nucleus clone as this is what Roon recommends and take a look at the ventilation. The Transporter appears to be a closed box while the other has loads of slots - important with a fanless unit. And the Nucleas+ equivalent unses an i7 computer rather than an i5 - for what that's worth. Take your pick - I'd go for the one that needs the least amount of technical effort from me!
 

agillis

Well-Known Member
£759.00 is without VAT. So you are correct $1000. Similar to the sonicTransporter i5.

We use the whole case as a heat sink. It's a solid block of aluminum! Work really well at keeping the cpu cool.

The Nucleus+ is similar in price to the sonicTransporter i9 optical. The sonicTransporter i9 has a much faster i9 CPU and also copper heat pipe cooling.

Plus a built in optical Ethernet port as a bonus!
 

Hear Here

Well-Known Member
Feb 14, 2020
735
433
155
Portsmouth, UK
I'm a dealer for both Roon and Bluesound, so take this as you will. I use a Roon Nucleus+ and have Bluesound all around the house, and have sold a lot of both. Have not seen any of the hardware/software you refer to from any clients on Bluesound. Maybe the software versions from four years ago, but not now.

Value is a little tough to judge on the Roon hardware. There are definitely cheaper options out there and obviously a lot of more expensive ones too. Haven't heard the Taiko people love here on WBF, but have A/Bd the Nucleus+ vs. several others and have not heard any difference.

Are you also a dealer for NAD? If so, can you advise whether the new M33 will work with Roon? I'm told it is not yet certified, so Roon will not recognise it, but I'd like this confirmed, or otherwise!

Fortunately I also have an M50.2 that certainly is Roon Ready so I could presumable match Roon with the M50.2 and that would feed the M33 acting as DAC/ amplifier only. Thanks Peter
 

Hear Here

Well-Known Member
Feb 14, 2020
735
433
155
Portsmouth, UK
£759.00 is without VAT. So you are correct $1000. Similar to the sonicTransporter i5.

We use the whole case as a heat sink. It's a solid block of aluminum! Work really well at keeping the cpu cool.

The Nucleus+ is similar in price to the sonicTransporter i9 optical. The sonicTransporter i9 has a much faster i9 CPU and also copper heat pipe cooling.

Plus a built in optical Ethernet port as a bonus!
OK so it appears that the Transporter i5 is similarly priced to the higher spec'd Inside-Tech i7 with genuine NUC. The Transporter i9 is much more costly at $2600 excluding storage - and presumably tax. The Inside-Tech still seems a good buy, particular to Europe-based users.

Both seem good alternatibes to the Nucleus though, although the Nucleus has a much better heat-proofed case than either clone! Peter
 

agillis

Well-Known Member
Yes you are correct the Inside-Tech and sonicTransporter i5 are the same price. Of course the sonicTransporter is a plug-and-play Roon server that includes tech support and the Inside-Tech is just an empty box that you need to configure and support yourself.

The sonicTransporter i9 optical has copper heat pipes and huge cooling fins! This is a much better cooling solution then the Nucleus+. Of course this is required as the i9 is a 65w TDP CPU and the Nucleus+ has a much slower CPU with a lower TDP.


The sonicTransporter is not a "clone" of the Nucleus at all. It has a lot more features. The sonicTransporter includes a DLNA server, HQPlayer, and may other audio relates apps.

Over all the sonicTransporter is better then cheap NUC clones or the Nucleus. It's cheaper and has more features!
 

rblnr

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 3, 2010
2,151
291
1,170
NYC/NJ
Are you also a dealer for NAD? If so, can you advise whether the new M33 will work with Roon? I'm told it is not yet certified, so Roon will not recognise it, but I'd like this confirmed, or otherwise!

Fortunately I also have an M50.2 that certainly is Roon Ready so I could presumable match Roon with the M50.2 and that would feed the M33 acting as DAC/ amplifier only. Thanks Peter

I am a dealer and the M33 will work as a Roon output. PM me for more info, thanks.

Update: the above is incorrect, sorry. The M10 works with Roon, I expect the 33 will soon.
 
Last edited:

JRim

New Member
Mar 14, 2021
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0
1
57
I'm a dealer for both Roon and Bluesound, so take this as you will. I use a Roon Nucleus+ and have Bluesound all around the house, and have sold a lot of both. Have not seen any of the hardware/software you refer to from any clients on Bluesound. Maybe the software versions from four years ago, but not now.

Value is a little tough to judge on the Roon hardware. There are definitely cheaper options out there and obviously a lot of more expensive ones too. Haven't heard the Taiko people love here on WBF, but have A/Bd the Nucleus+ vs. several others and have not heard any difference.
Have you set up a NAD CI580v2 with a roon Nucleus? I‘m reading online it doesn't work. I have a 4 zone amplifier and need a 4 zone preamp thats roon ready. Or 4 node2i’s, but just really want to run roon, don’t need the bluesound app.
 

agillis

Well-Known Member
Have you set up a NAD CI580v2 with a roon Nucleus? I‘m reading online it doesn't work. I have a 4 zone amplifier and need a 4 zone preamp thats roon ready. Or 4 node2i’s, but just really want to run roon, don’t need the bluesound app.

Have you looked at the whirlaudio whirlwind? It has 4 Roon Ready high end DACs built in and it also has an i7 CPU that you can use for Roon Core.

So it's an all-in-one i7 Roon core + 4 DACS. Basically it's equal to 4 node2i’s and a Nucleus+. It's already Roon certified as a Roon Ready player and Roon Server.

 

marty

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2010
3,025
4,172
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United States
  1. THE ONE I CHOSE: Small Green Computer Sonictransporter with 2tb onboard SSD and a Microrendu streamer (the UltraRendu is more and maybe I should have done that?). About $1500, a great value I think. No, not a one box solution but that’s okay, and not really a compromise except for that. Has an i5 processor, comparable to the Roon Nucleus+ which is 2x the price. Should work great with Roon using DSP if I want to. No onboard ripper drive, but just plug a CD reader in and works the same.
Nice line of reasoning to get to your purchase decision. My only comment pertains to the utility of a ripper. I felt the same way when I first got into computer audo and having a ripper was one of the reasons I chose an Innous Zenith III. I've since moved on and now have a server without a ripper as I found it was not a feature I found very useful after all. I still have a Meitner TX2 transport for playing CDs and in particular SACD, but can't remember the last time I used it! I think the silver disc is on its was to extinction and hi rez streaming is rapidly becoming the best option for music sourcing. I miss my liner notes, photos and credit details of my CD packaging, but that's improving constantly as well on streaming services. My point is, I think your need for a ripper might be overly ambitious and unnecessary especially when all or most of the material you will rip can probably be found in numerous inexpensive streaming services. Better to sell your used CDs perhaps? (or donate them, as I do, to a library).
 
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agillis

Well-Known Member
@marty Are you using Roon as your player software? I really like the way they give you a lot of the info that used to be on a CD cover. Even for a streaming track.

We do sell and external CD ripper for the sonicTransporter. Having it external is nice because once you rip your collection you can disconnect the drive and store it.
 
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Echolane

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Apr 24, 2018
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Researching an "affordable" Roon server/streamer, and my choice...​


I learned a lot while researching (ie, torturing myself) for this project, researching an "affordable" Roon server/streamer. I DID NOT want to run the Roon Core on a computer. Obviously there are many other choices like Auralic, Lumin etc and I’ve read reviews until my eyes bled. Oh, to have an unlimited budget!

Items 1-6 are what I considered and eliminated. Obviously if you have $3000 to >10,000 to spend, there are other choices. Your mileage may vary. I really wanted something made in the USA or EU, not China (though I would bend that rule for a Denafrips DAC, maybe). If I had super big bucks, some of the DAC/preamps/streamers that have Roon server capability built in look amazing, like SimAudio Moon, but they are *really* expensive, and still require a Roon server. I decided I want to spend more money on an amp upgrade by spending less on the Roon server/streamer, so I set a budget of around $1500. Don’t need/want anything with an onboard DAC.
  1. Bluesound Node 2i: Many owners are reporting hardware and software problems and frustrations. I wanted both a Roon core and endpoint, and it isn’t.
  2. I originally thought I’d get an Aurender N100 until I decided I want Roon, which it doesn’t do. Then I read about problems with Aurenders after power losses and other issues. Nope. Nice units, especially the one for $6k with ripper.
  3. Then I settled on the Innuos Zen III, but it’s made in Portugal and they don’t have a US service facility. In addition, in reading the fine print they don’t guarantee that with the Zen you can run it well as both a core and streamer, and it only has an i3 (or slower) processor, which some claim isn’t powerful enough. They don’t offer an SSD drive until the Zenith, which is $4k+. It’s out, for a one box solution. I wanted an i5 processor, which means their high end unit for a lot more money.
  4. Roon Nucleus -- i3 processor in the std Nucleus, expensive for what it is, just a server box. I'm sure it would be fine, but I am budget conscious.
  5. Salk Streamplayer -- Looks nice, has an i5 processor, and the maker is very nice on the phone. Only available in the mid-level with an HDD drive, and I wanted SSD. No internal ripper drive either. So no.
  6. The Wyred4Sound MS is my alternate choice, given more money. One box, many connection options (I2S, SPDIF, USB), built in ripper. $3500 for the i3 processor and 2TB of SSD, I recall. Very nice unit, but more than 2X the cost of my choice.
  7. THE ONE I CHOSE: Small Green Computer Sonictransporter with 2tb onboard SSD and a Microrendu streamer (the UltraRendu is more and maybe I should have done that?). About $1500, a great value I think. No, not a one box solution but that’s okay, and not really a compromise except for that. Has an i5 processor, comparable to the Roon Nucleus+ which is 2x the price. Should work great with Roon using DSP if I want to. No onboard ripper drive, but just plug a CD reader in and works the same. MOST bang for the buck that I have found, so I hope I am happy with it. The proprietor Andrew Gillis was very helpful and patient with me as I decided. www.smallgreencomputer.com
UPDATE: Finally got my SGC server and SonoreRendu streamer set up. It was very easy to do. It sounds excellent. I am SO excited to finally have Roon + Tidal, and start ripping my CDs to the server.

SETUP:
I put the Sonictransporter server on the computer desk in the corner of my listening room on the opposite wall from the hi-fi rack and speakers, because my router/ethernet is there and I don’t have to run an ethernet cable halfway around the room. Plugged it into the router and fired it up. Hooked up the Rendu streamer to the nice linear power supply (both are in the hi-fi rack), into the network via ethernet, and plugged it into my DAC/preamp with a good Audioquest USB cable.

Logged in to SGC’s website to do the setup via the network (Roon is preloaded on the server) and to download other apps to server. Took 10 minutes. I’d already set up my Roon trial account, which was a mistake because the SGC comes with a 60-day free Roon code but I can’t use it with the Roon 14-day trial. SO--wait to create your Roon account after you get everything hooked up to use the 60-day code. Doh!

I bought a 10" Kindle Fire tablet to use as a remote for Roon. Don’t want to use laptop or phone. On Roon forums rich guys will tell you to get an iPad Pro because it works in portrait mode, but a $1000 for a tablet to use as a remote? Nope! The Fire tablet was $150 and works fine so far.

THE SOUND: It sounds great! I don’t have other server/streamers to compare it to like the Roon Nucleus, the Wyred, Innuos etc but to me it’s excellent and a bargain. Roon unfolds the first fold of MQA so Tidal Masters are coming through at 48/96 ... better than Redbook. Non-MQA tracks sound great too ... as good as my Rega Apollo playing CDs.

I am very pleased with Small Green Computer and their product (it’s only been a day, of course, but I hope for excellent reliability). I still like in a way a one box solution in the rack, like the Wyred 4 Sound Server, but it would have been $1500 more and I’d rather put that towards the monoblocks I am saving for. Maybe I will upgrade from the MicroRendu to the UltraRendu at some point. Maybe. Or the OpticalRendu.

NOTE: If you want a server to pair with your Roon endpoint streamer like a Lumin etc, I think the SGC Sonictransporter is a more affordable choice than the Roon Nucleus---faster processor and smaller footprint for less money. I know the Nucleus is good too, and some people want that Roon logo on the box. :)

Andrew Gillis at SGC is great to deal with, and very patient. I recommend them. https://www.smallgreencomputer.com
I started with SGC and I think you made a perfect decision. Really, perfect. The only reason I still don’t have my SGC is my audio guru (my nephew) insisted on me getting a Roon Nucleus, a product he knew vs the SGC he didn’t know. So I dutifully complied and he got me a Roon Nucleus that had been used once only as a demo setup at an audio show.and since it was at a very good price, I’ve had no complaints. Though this reminds me that I should sell the SGC, though honestly, I hate to, it is probably the better product.
I also started with the Naim Uniti Core because it has a built in ripper. I’m still using it because of its convenience as I am still acquiring CDs. I’m one of those that subscribes to Tidal and Qobuz but I still like to own the music I like.
Best wishes with your new system.
 
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