Selecting a remote device for Roon : iPads vs iPhones vs Tablets ...

[CKKeung]

I'm not an alpha-tester of XDMS.
I have patience and prefer to wait for the finalized version, or at least the beta version.

Therefore I want to find a best/better remote device for my Roon on Extreme Server.

Last week, I went to Volent Hong Kong, the local Taiko Audio dealer to do an experiment together with Ben Lau and John, the boss and staff of Volent HK respectively :


Top left : iPad Air 4
Top right : Samsung tablet (model forgotten )
Lower left : iPad Air 5
Lower right : iPad Pro 2021

Two iPhones were also tested & compared but I didn't take photo of them :
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro

To give WBF brothers an ultra-simple summary :
My favourite was the iPad Air 5.
It gave the most all-rounded sound among all the 6 devices.
The sonic performance of the two iPhones was not bad but their smaller screens were inconvenient.
When we played music files stored in the Extreme Server, the performance difference persisted and remained the same

The sonic difference between the 6 devices was not large but clearly audible.
And this is what an audiophile should strike for!
The cost of a suitable iPad is nothing when compared with that of an Extreme Server.
IMO all CAS audiophiles should not overlook the importance of remote devices.


WBF brothers : Please share with us your experience in this aspect.
Many thanks in advance!

 

[ecwl]

I’m really having trouble wrapping my head around this scientifically. I use my desktop PC to feed my streamer which sends signal via Toslink to my Chord DAC and I’ve never heard any difference amongst my iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro as the wifi remote device for Roon.

But the more I think about it, I guess Roon server and the wifi remote communicated quite a bit of data, such as where you’re at in the track, the database you’re browsing and whatever info you’re seeking, e.g. lyrics. So the amount of data pulled from the server can certainly affect the power fluctuations at the server. Moreover depending on how much wifi interference you have, the wifi router would also generate varying amounts of power fluctuations. So if your DAC/streamer has a direct wired connection via USB/Ethernet to the router and/or server, some of this noise can get through? But that would mean that the sonic effect is not 100% wifi remote device dependent and cannot be generalized. Meaning just because iPad Air 5 sounds better in this system environment, it’s possible that the iPad Pro would sound better in another system. It would explain why iPhones also sound decent because you’re probably pulling less data onto the small iPhone screen. And then there is the question of what if you only have one wifi remote connected to the wifi network at a time instead of having all of them connected. With less load on your wifi router, would that diminish the difference between the devices? Really not sure. Anyway, I’m lucky I don’t have this problem. For those who do, maybe just pick the wifi remote you already own that sounds the best to browse through Roon?

 

[ecwl]

I also started wondering if the Taiko is connected via Optical SFP Ethernet or has an Ethernet network filter like EtherRendu or Nordost Qnet network switch, Melco S100 whether these difference between wifi remote devices would still be audible because presumably the “noise” that affects playback might be coming from the Ethernet connection (ground loop leakage current noise), rather than internal noise coming from the Taiko.

 

[darkfrank]

That is the "fault" of ROON, it has been coded for different profiles among remote devices such as android, IOS tablet/mobile phone and Windows. The differences is due to the data communication amount.

 

[jasond]

There has been a new Roon version just a week or so ago changing the communication.
would be interesting to compare the effects.