To Roon or not to Roon, that is the question...

[manisandher]

Thoughts out there?

I've discovered a lot of music through 'Roon Radio' lately. Choose and play a track that you already like (the 'seed' track), and Roon Radio will then use some sort of algorithm to select further tracks from your local library or from Tidal/Qobuz.

I tend to do this while I'm in the gym, and then listen to anything that I found particularly interesting properly later on.

Mani.

 

[the sound of Tao]

^ Yes, also really loving this relatively recent feature. Roon Radio is a great plus, it’s a really sharp algorithm and it very often nails the selections it offers up.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Guys, the gist of this thread is not streaming or not streaming. This is going to happen. But streaming is only really of use to me, not to organise my current cds, or find those simple hits. It's to find the two dozen mutant offspring of Magma or Brand X I'm not finding now w physical media.

I would never have come across Niels Frahm on my own. Would I have found him easiest via Roon? Or Last FM? Or Tidal's own protocol?

 

[manisandher]

With 'Roon Radio' I've discovered a whole bunch of new artists/music on Tidal that interest me, including Nils Frahm.

Mani.

 

[Number9]

This is kinda like buying a shirt or a pair of pants. You just need to try them on to see if you like the fit.

 

[spiritofmusic]

But Roon is n/a on every server.
Melco and Fidata, eg.
I'd hate to just try on a shirt, but not pants, and walk out of my door.
As my Ra would say, NO LOL!

 

[JimmyS]

I was skeptical about Roon at the beginning, and the sound quality was not there in the early days compared to my dedicated NAS / minimServer solution. Over time, the Roon software evolved and their sound quality improved (a good sign that they are working on continuous improvement).

The fact that I have one app to control 8 music endpoints in the house pleased the wife, and that made the decision final to invest in Roon. So, if you plan to have multiple systems stream music I’ve not found a more friendly solution.

 

[asiufy]

IMHO, this is a pointless exercise. The UI that you use to access your digital music, be them internet streams or your own files, is very important. You need to choose one that'll be part of the enjoyment, and not a pain, so you dread picking up the iPad to dig for digital.
Unfortunately, most apps' UI is in the second category (pain). Roon has by a country mile the best UI, which can, very much, improve your enjoyment of digital, regardless of how good the DAC/streamer combo sounds. This is, obviously, IMHO, as there are folks out there still using UPNP/OpenHome/JRiver and assorted proprietary apps, and enjoying it very much. I don't dispute that fun can be had with other apps, it's just that, to me (and most of the people I know), Roon is just more fun.

 

[Ron Resnick]

To Roon or not to Roon?

No need to Roon (for me) because I won’t have hard drive music files and I don’t need all the background information Roon provides.

But, Marc. you probably will like that background information.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ron, these are not the reasons to go Roon in my case. For me it's where a search based on eg Alice Coltrane will take me. Is Roon the best vehicle for this journey? Will I find another several gospel/soul jazz artists I'm not familiar with? And a bunch of unexpected leaps in the dark? Or is Bill correct in saying eg Last FM is the better option here?

I actually started this thread to hear of alternatives to Roon, but Roon seems to be the majority choice.

 

[Vicov]

I use the Melco Music HD App with my N1 which serves me perfectly well. I’ve not trialled Roon simply because I haven’t felt the need to. The Melco App will offer me similar artists when/if I click on “more” when streaming Qobuz. It also sorts music by genre unlike some other control apps that I’ve tried.
I have no doubt that Roon is well sorted & it seems universally liked by those who commit to it. In the case of the OP it’s got to be worth a free trial if your equipment is Roon compatible.

 

[KeithR]

I would never have come across Niels Frahm on my own. Would I have found him easiest via Roon? Or Last FM? Or Tidal's own protocol?

Easy answer: me

Haha. In all seriousness, and with a bit of irony, the music forum gets no traction despite myself and others posting lots of cool music.

Once you are streaming, you can share albums easier with friends so the interface doesn’t mean that much.

As Alex said, Roon is more a really good UI front and foremost.

 

[the sound of Tao]

Easy answer: me

Haha. In all seriousness, and with a bit of irony, the music forum gets no traction despite myself and others posting lots of cool music.

Once you are streaming, you can share albums easier with friends so the interface doesn’t mean that much.

As Alex said, Roon is more a really good UI front and foremost.

The share function is a great one... I’ve had Nils Frahm on my album list (for so many years now I don’t even think of him as obscure) but it was a mate that shared one of his albums first with me ages ago rather than it coming as a suggestion from any app or streaming service. So yes, very much agree suggestions from friends are also a big part of it but it’s even easier if they also use Roon and Tidal or Qobuz as the share is linked.

You do have to have multiple sources of info even if you set your foundations essentially in one platform. But equally surfing regularly ‘what’s new’ for albums on the streaming sources and finding new gold is pretty much a full time occupation.

Much gets saved then ultimately becomes largely shelf bound so later going back and deleting stuff is some housekeeping that I might need to pay more attention to going forward.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Are any of you guys using/recommending Last FM, as Bill has?

 

[the sound of Tao]

^Not yet but will also check it out for sure (thanks Bill)

 

[caesar]

The fact that I have one app to control 8 music endpoints in the house pleased the wife, and that made the decision final to invest in Roon. So, if you plan to have multiple systems stream music I’ve not found a more friendly solution.

8! That's fascinating! What is your networks architecture? Where is your roon master installed? Which streamers and servers are you using? Thanks

 

[spiritofmusic]

Can someone explain something to me?

In the good old days (yes, those days), one bought a cdp, or transport and dac. Sure, you made a choice on 16 bit, 18 bit, 1 bit, etc, or dual sacd compatibility.

But every cd played on every machine.

Fast fwd to 2019. And we now have a panoply of boxes. Servers, streamers, renderers. And a spread of OSs, not all boxes covering all bases incl Roon.

Indeed not every streaming consumer has just the one box to go with their dac.

So for me, as someone w no feel for computers, I could easily adjust to a single server box via ethernet out of the wall, usb into the dac, all supporting things like Roon.

But the panoply of seperate boxes where maybe half the servers out there don't fully support Roon, makes my entry into this area feel more stressful and indecisive than it should.

So, I fully get the promise of Tidal/Qobuz universe of music at my fingertips. I'm just struggling w the fact there are so many mutually exclusive options out there. Making my jump into this pool feel more blindfolded than it should.

 

[spiritofmusic]

One guy will have half a dozen boxes and no Roon capability. Another will have two boxes, and rely on Roon fully.

I get choice. But choice here feels a bit tyrannical.

 

[the sound of Tao]

I get what you are saying Marc but I also think you are seeing it as a bit more dramatic than it is really.

Many have taken the leap and most have indeed survived.

There are options in approaches in everything in this hobby... integrated amp, separates, pre, no pre, valve, SS, push pull, OTL, single ended, balanced, hybrid, phono, line stage only, SET, PSE, KT150, 845, 300B, EL34, triode, ultra linear, mosfet, bipolar transistor, class d (more shivers)... hardly scratched the surface and could keep going here for pages and pages without even leaving the amplification stage... implementation for digital file and stream is just the same level of difficulty and choice as any other component strategies, it’s just that now it’s more unfamiliar to you that’s all hence the frustration and some anxiety.

There is risk in every first purchase choice, if you want to limit your risk maybe don’t aim for the stars in your very first go. If you are comfortable with that risk give it a shot. If not at all stay where you are. The fact so many have already done the pioneering thing before you to help guide you with it is a bonus.

All the advice that you have received has all seemed fairly reassuringly sensible to me at any rate so not sure if there’s really that much more to investigate without taking the first basic step which you seem to have decided which is the Innous Zenith. Not the only way to go but definitely seems a good choice. The dac will follow, the iu platform is a obligation free trial... there will be some moments of pain as you try to learn but that is just your brain trying to make new synapses, there will also be victories and joys.

 

[caesar]

One guy will have half a dozen boxes and no Roon capability. Another will have two boxes, and rely on Roon fully.

I get choice. But choice here feels a bit tyrannical.

Yes, there are too many options. You don't know if the guy with a dozen boxes and dozens of wires is a frigging idiot or has a particular taste he's chasing and has achieved it. So looking at it from the perspective of atomized components and trying to pick them out of the soup is bound to be frustrating...

That's why the best approach is to find the sound you like, and emulate the approach. If you like Totaldac, they do it one way. MSB does it slightly differently, and Chord.... The choices are properly constrained for you via this approach.