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

[asiufy]

I agree there are too many options. That's why dealers exist. To go through all the options, and work on a systems approach, and advise the person the best option, depending on one's situation and goals, and of course, their existing system.

Copying other people is always risky. You can hit gold, or not...

 

[Kenc]

Familiarize yourself with the workings of the native software included with your server/streamer or what have you for a couple of months first. Then take on a trial of Roon and see if it fills any gaps. Speaking only of the DS app for the Auralic products I use, Roon has its pros and cons. As an example, I find it easier to manage playlists and favourites on the DS app. I find it more cumbersome to navigate through my library with Roon....and Roon seems to add titles to my library which I don't like but which I might have inadvertently set up this way . Roon, at least the way I have it set up with Core running on a dedicated mini-computer (NUC), is more stable than the DS app, has a much better user interface and the metadata will get you as close to poring over a gatefold album cover as you can experience digitally.

As for deep digging, Roon will not automatically do this for you...Roon Radio is fun and new finds are to be had but the results often inexplicably stray from the straight and narrow so patience is required here. With both apps, you will likely need to Google and then do directed searches. I've found them to be equals in this regard.

 

[asiufy]

Roon will help you tremendously with what you called "deep digging". It won't click on links for you (or add albums to your library, like you claim), but it'll show you this:

First screen is Alice's own page, in Roon. If I keep scrolling down, I'll see all her albums, under her name, that I have in my collection (not pictured), then albums in which she only guested (picture #2). That's a great way to find new music! But you do have to click on the album titles, Roon won't click for you
And finally, at the very bottom of Alice's pages in Roon (picture #3), we see the real entry to the "rabbit hole". "Similar to", "Followed by", "Influenced by"... I mean, on this one artist alone, on this page alone, there's enough music to explore for at least a whole day. Notice how under the "Similar to" section, there's an "+ Expand" button. If I click that, another *8* artists appear...
Again, why would anyone want to deprive themselves of all this simplicity, truly beats me... But as I said, there are folks happy with other UIs...

 

[JimmyS]

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

In my home office Network Closet is the cable modem to ASUS 5300 (handles routing/wireless network for now but Ubiquiti upgrades are planned for these functions), which has a bonded pair to an Ubiquiti 24-port managed switch. At this switch I have 3 different NAS setups connected via bonded pairs. One of the NAS setups is for my music storage (currently 7T worth). Also connected here is my Roon Core, which is an Intel NUC 8th gen I5 running Linux.
A bonded pair feeds another managed Ubiquiti switch in the basement which feeds my stereo room, hobby room, TV room. A second ASUS router is used for Mesh setup to allow the detached garage to receive wireless.

Roon endpoints consist of:
dCS upsampler (stereo room)
Lumin D2 (living room)
Auralic Mini (Office)
Chrome cast audio ( master bedroom, guest bedroom, TV room)
Apple airplay (garage, hobby room)

I’ve been experimenting with the various configurations feeding the dCS upsampler: direct from basement switch, buffering with a second switch, adding a gigafoil isolation filter, and trying some various “audiophile” Ethernet cables. No conclusions yet, but the various configurations do produce different effects.

Send me a message if you have any questions or want more details.

Cheers,
Jimmy

 

[morricab]

Just to throw an inexpensive solution out there: get a Bluesound Node 2 and Qobuz. The interface is good on a Tablet or smart phone, searching is easy and works well and running digital out to a good Dac the sound quality is quite good. I have the original Bluesound vault (I ripped my favorite cds on it), which I run off a big Li ion battery pack and that way even the internal Dac sounds surprisingly good. But generally I feed Kassandra Dac from the digital out. Qobuz sounds the best of the streaming, IMO.

 

[Bodhi]

I thought i'd share this informative article on Roon by UK Dealer Audio Therapy fyi - https://www.audiotherapyuk.com/brands/roon-labs/

 

[spiritofmusic]

A fascinating read. Roon Radio not a million miles from Last FM.

If I can confirm Bluesound is fully Roon'ed up, I'm very minded to go down the all in one Vault 2i route. I need to really dip my toes in the water, and a £1.5k budget for one-box solution and tablet/cbls package makes most sense for me personally right now.

 

[Alpinist]

I’ve had Roon for eight months using my Roon Nucleus Plus and my MSB Select II with Renderer v2 and I couldn’t be happier. After making some tweaks to my network (DJM GigaFoilv4 Ethernet Filter and Keces Power Supplies), I’m getting world class sound. The best part is the Roon Nucleus Plus is totally turnkey, I’ve literally had zero glitches and the simplicity and utility of the Roon software is amazing.

I don’t know what’s wrong with being able to check the names of the performers on every album, read the history of the album or get the lyrics for nearly every song, just with a simple touch of the IPad. You can ignore these features if you want. I’m the most non-computer savvy guy around and even I was able to effortlessly build twenty playlists. The Roon software is totally intuitive. I tip my cap to Roon Labs. A wonderful experience in every way.

Ken

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ken, no argument from me. I am of yr mind. It's just that it was made known to me that not everyone prefers Roon, and additionally not every server has Roon Core or Roon Endpoint. This thread was to try and tease out more non Roon ideas. But it's ended up confirming Roon seems to be the default choice for most.

 

[Alpinist]

Ken, no argument from me. I am of yr mind. It's just that it was made known to me that not everyone prefers Roon, and additionally not every server has Roon Core or Roon Endpoint. This thread was to try and tease out more non Roon ideas. But it's ended up confirming Roon seems to be the default choice for most.

I’m fine with folks using any software and server they want that works best with their system. I just wanted to share that my experience with Roon has been an entirely favorable and I couldn’t be happier.

Ken

 

[morricab]

A fascinating read. Roon Radio not a million miles from Last FM.

If I can confirm Bluesound is fully Roon'ed up, I'm very minded to go down the all in one Vault 2i route. I need to really dip my toes in the water, and a £1.5k budget for one-box solution and tablet/cbls package makes most sense for me personally right now.

To my knowledge it’s not running Roon but seems to have similar functionality.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Looks like it's compatible, but not a Roon core product. So a laptop will have to be running in my room.
My decision is thus going to be getting my toes wet on a very affordable but non Roon Core product. And following Bill's advice to get my deep searches via eg Last FM, Tidal or Qobuz ap. Or sticking out for a pricier option like Roon Nucleus and dac, allowing me Roon Core from Day One. My local dealer is looking at options around £3-3.5k, and I am in close contact with a guy developing a server.

 

[morricab]

It's on the Roon forum as compatible.

Oh ok , I just use mine with the Bluesound software and sesrching, playlists, info, etc. is easy. We compared it sound wise with a top Auralic and it won easily (digital out not built in Dac). The Auralic sounded thin and screechy by comparison.

 

[morricab]

It's on the Roon forum as compatible.

You can check out the servers from Lukasz Dumansky as well. Pricey but very good sounding. We used one in our digital room last year and it sounded Goooooddddd.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Brad, I am aware of Lucasz' server. His Nano is just in my price range at £4.5k to incl LPS. The Mini at £7.5k maybe out. Ditto full size at £12k, well now we're pricier than s/h SGM territory €8-10k, this at LDMS Mini price bracket. Also £7.5k is a sweet spot for many established servers like Antipodes, Pink Faun 2.16 etc.

 

[bonzo75]

Oh ok , I just use mine with the Bluesound software and sesrching, playlists, info, etc. is easy. We compared it sound wise with a top Auralic and it won easily (digital out not built in Dac). The Auralic sounded thin and screechy by comparison.

That's exactly how Auralic is

 

[spiritofmusic]

Auralic unlikely to happen. I'll either chance Bluesound Vault 2i without Roon, or any number of Roon Nucleus/LPS combinations w MDHT, Lab12, Kitsune Holo Springs or Chord dacs. Lucasz Nano/LPS as outlier

 

[marty]

I’ve had Roon for eight months using my Roon Nucleus Plus and my MSB Select II with Renderer v2 and I couldn’t be happier. After making some tweaks to my network (DJM GigaFoilv4 Ethernet Filter and Keces Power Supplies), I’m getting world class sound. The best part is the Roon Nucleus Plus is totally turnkey, I’ve literally had zero glitches and the simplicity and utility of the Roon software is amazing.

I don’t know what’s wrong with being able to check the names of the performers on every album, read the history of the album or get the lyrics for nearly every song, just with a simple touch of the IPad. You can ignore these features if you want. I’m the most non-computer savvy guy around and even I was able to effortlessly build twenty playlists. The Roon software is totally intuitive. I tip my cap to Roon Labs. A wonderful experience in every way.

Ken

+1 for Roon. The big surprise is Roon Radio. Previously, I thought Pandora had the best algorithms for understanding the music's "DNA" and matching it to play the next selection, but Roon Radio does a surprisingly good job here as well.

If you're a music lover, Roon is the Borg. You will be assimilated. Resistance is futile.
Fuggetabout anything else.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Marty, I did wonder what Captain Picard listened to when he was assimilated by The Borg.

Obv "Only The Best" via Roon Radio.

 

[marty]

I think I've uncovered a Roon issue and would like to know if anyone's experience mimics mine. Has anyone ever played a DSD256 file using Roon?

To be clear, you can set Roon to convert DSD files to PCM files first,, but I want to know if anyone has ever played a DSD256 file in roon using only the standard DSD over PCM (DoP) protocol? I was unable to play 256 files using my Meitner DA2 and its not because the Meitner doesn't accept DSD256. It does (although it converts them to DXD 384; at least until the DA2 mod is out late this summer which will allow native DSD256 to be played). However, I checked EVERY DAC Roon lists and Roon does not allow any of them to be configured for DSD256 input, but only DSD128, even those DACs that we know accept native 256 such as MERGING NADAC.

So again I think I discovered a minor Roon glitch- it cannot play DSD256 files regardless of the DAC one uses. Does anyone see this differently?.