Roon Labs Future?

wil

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Jul 22, 2015
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I heard disturbing news from an industry insider, that early this year Roon "fired it's 2-channel guys." The two prominent names mentioned are Steve Silberman and Bill Leebens. He believes that this is no coincidence that the latest software release, by many accounts, took Roon's sound quality down a notch or two.

I was told they are shifting focus to "home integration" at the expense of 2-channel audio.
 

Kalman Rubinson

New Member
May 14, 2020
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I heard disturbing news from an industry insider, that early this year Roon "fired it's 2-channel guys." The two prominent names mentioned are Steve Silberman and Bill Leebens. He believes that this is no coincidence that the latest software release, by many accounts, took Roon's sound quality down a notch or two.

I was told they are shifting focus to "home integration" at the expense of 2-channel audio.
Nonsense. These are both PR guys. They have little or nothing to do with the development and operation of Roon.
 

wil

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Jul 22, 2015
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I hope you're right. Just reporting what I was told by someone I consider reliable. The abiding message was Roon was moving away from a 2 channel focus to something like "Home Integration". I'm not trying to start rumors.

Do you have reliable information about what going on with Roon to be able to label this "nonsense"? Their latest software upgrade doesn't bode well for a sq orientation.
 

Kalman Rubinson

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May 14, 2020
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Do you have reliable information about what going on with Roon to be able to label this "nonsense"? Their latest software upgrade doesn't bode well for a sq orientation.
I know both of these guys and what they do. So, their departure may mean anything but it certainly does not signal a change in corporate direction.
 
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Ovenmitt

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Nov 21, 2017
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The are some people on WBF who are saying they like the new Roon update based on their listening experiences.
 

wil

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Jul 22, 2015
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I know both of these guys and what they do. So, their departure may mean anything but it certainly does not signal a change in corporate direction.

From what I've been told it does signal a change in culture and also could be leading toward an acquisition. Whether they functioned in PR may not be important. What I understand is that they are part of the audiophile world and they see a negative direction from Roon relative to the interests of people whose interest is foremost on sound quality.

I double checked with my source on this to make sure I was getting his message right.
 

Kalman Rubinson

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May 14, 2020
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From what I've been told it does signal a change in culture and also could be leading toward an acquisition. Whether they functioned in PR may not be important. What I understand is that they are part of the audiophile world and they see a negative direction from Roon relative to the interests of people whose interest is foremost on sound quality.

I double checked with my source on this to make sure I was getting his message right.
That still makes them their presence or absence a result, not a contributory factor.
 

wil

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Jul 22, 2015
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Agreed. The larger point that I'm interested in is that they, and other "2 channel guys," who come from an orientation of valuing sound quality over, say "Home Integration," are reportedly on the outs at Roon. They are talking about a corporate culture shift for the worse if you value sound quality.

I love the Roon program, have a life account, and hope I can keep using it without compromise in the future.
 
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AndrewChen

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Jul 27, 2018
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I never thought sound quality was where they shined anyways - it was all about that interface.
Exactly. Roon was never about sound quality to begin with, even back to their pre-Meridian Sooloos days; at a fundamental level, they've always been about the User Experience and Bit-perfect transport at a minimum. If there are sonic quality changes, I would look elsewhere, not Roon's corporate strategy or direction.
 

christoph

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Dec 11, 2015
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As long as roon can output through HQPlayer I'm not too worried :cool:

Atm, I'm not even using HQP though because I find roon on it's own has narrowed the sonic gap to HQP 3.x quite considerable :D

Or has the time come to give HQP another try to see if HQP version 4 has widened the gap to roon alone again? :oops:
 
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matthias

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Mar 14, 2019
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Last edited:
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spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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If "new" Roon is substandard for Extreme, surely that extends to most all other streamers too?
I ask because in the sub $5k market, only Innuos and SGC/Sonore are Roon Core, leaving choice if you want an all in one Roon solution to these limited choices.
However if this poorer sounding Roon is gonna be audible on Zenith or i5/Rendu setups, then maybe it's time to look at the wider choice of streamers that aren't Roon.
Only a select few can go w Extreme and any Emile custom fix option for Roon.
 

matthias

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Only a select few can go w Extreme and any Emile custom fix option for Roon.

IMO, the Windows version which @Taiko Audio uses for Extreme is the best sounding one.
So a software player must be compatible with Windows, IMO the best options are Audirvana and JPLAY.

Matt
 

Ovenmitt

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Nov 21, 2017
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Does anyone have any current experience with Aurender and how their streamers and interface compares sonicallly with Roon and some of the other options in today’s market?

I had their next to top unit, that was a generation removed from current, and sold it. I like it’s interface but thought my SSD/NAS, running Roon sounded better. I wonder if that’s still the case?
 

matthias

Well-Known Member
Mar 14, 2019
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Does anyone have any current experience with Aurender and how their streamers and interface compares sonicallly with Roon and some of the other options in today’s market?

I had their next to top unit, that was a generation removed from current, and sold it. I like it’s interface but thought my SSD/NAS, running Roon sounded better. I wonder if that’s still the case?

No personal experience with Aurender but reading a lot here and on AS.

IMO, when considering to buy a new server I would go for Taiko Audio.
If the Extreme is too expensive there is an upcoming Extreme Mini for about half the price.

Just my thoughts :)

Matt
 
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Steve Williams

Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
No personal experience with Aurender but reading a lot here and on AS.

IMO, when considering to buy a new server I would go for Taiko Audio.
If the Extreme is too expensive there is an upcoming Extreme Mini for about half the price.

Just my thoughts :)

Matt
Not only is it a must consideration if one is considering a server because you’d be hard pressed to find not only nothing better but it comes with total dedication by Emile to not only produce the very best server with the icing on the cake being Taiko customer service second to none. I don’t know when Emile sleeps because he is always available to fix or update any problem with his server. All done promptly by his accessing your server remotely. He is like the Duracell bunny. He just keeps on going.
We are all very lucky to enjoy the fruits of his labor
 
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pjwd

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Jun 22, 2015
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A good friend believes that euphony / stylus provides better SQ than roon and he does put in the effort in comparing players !
It also supports youtube which I see as a big advantage( bandcamp would be great as well)

Perhaps it is a more music focused approach

Has anyone done a direct comparison - I presume roon would still be better on the "discovery" and metadata side of the equation

cheers,

Phil
 
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stephen_volker

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Nov 2, 2015
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I have been super curious a out Euphony and plan to test it out in the next couple weeks. Wish I could find some videos on setup, library management, HQ Player integration and how to use it with a CD Ripper.
 

Jesus R

Well-Known Member
May 6, 2016
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If "new" Roon is substandard for Extreme, surely that extends to most all other streamers too?
I ask because in the sub $5k market, only Innuos and SGC/Sonore are Roon Core, leaving choice if you want an all in one Roon solution to these limited choices.
However if this poorer sounding Roon is gonna be audible on Zenith or i5/Rendu setups, then maybe it's time to look at the wider choice of streamers that aren't Roon.
Only a select few can go w Extreme and any Emile custom fix option for Roon.
There is not evidence to support the notion that a server on the network can affect the sound of an endpoint. The only real way the server affects the sound at the endpoint is if the server implements digital signal processing to resample things or add filters. This is why team Sonore had a dedicated team designing and testing the endpoints so they are a clean source for USB devices. In our system use whatever home computer, NAS, music server, or internet source you want and stream to a Rendu over the network. We do recommend that you use a clean power supply on the Rendu because that can the sound at the output of the DAC.
 

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