I’m currently trying Roon and Audirvana to play my library on my uniti star.
I installed them on a laptop (Intel Core I7, 8Go Ram, Windows 10, SSD), the files are stored on a usb hard Drive.
The laptop is currently connected via WIFI, this is not optimal but for now i just want to try the two solutions in terms of functionalities to see which one i will keep (if any).
I had 0 issue with Roon, very easy to set up and works very well, gorgeous UI and plenty of useful functionalities…but not cheap at all.
With Audirvana…well that’s something else…
The main issue being : when i want to change the volume on the audirvana remote app (android phone), it quickly jumps to unsafe high levels or very low. Very dangerous… Definitly a deal breaker, and i didn’t manage to find a solution for now, too bad because the not so good UI and poor handling of metadata put aside, it could be a good solution for me (and cheaper than roon).
If anyone use audirvana and have a solution it would be marvelous
I had the same problem with my N272 using an Android phone and also a Macbook. Scary. Assume you’re using Audirvana Studio?
I gave up with AS for that reason (and a few others) and reverted to Audirvana 3.5 which I’d already purchased. No runaway volume issues with 3.5, but I don’t think it’s still offered by Audirvana.
If you can use 3.5, it does work well (most of the time) and obviously a lot cheaper than Roon.
To avoid very high levels reduce the maximum volume setting in the Naim app > Settings > Audio Settings > Maximum Volume (default is 85 I think).
It won’t stop the behaviour in Audirvana’s app but will protect you from very high levels you’d not want.
Naim have previously said that the maximum volume setting has no apprciable effect on audio quality.
I find the same issue with the desktop Audirvana app - sometimes you drag the slider and it doesn’t release instantly, in fact Mrs AC got annoyed last night when I accidentally turned the volume too high.
Yes i’m using Audirvana Studio, latest version. Incredible to leave such a bug in this version…i read some threads about this issue, no solutions posted so far…
I downloaded the 3.5 but i can’t use it since i don’t have a licence (still in trial period)
Good point, will do thanks, i wouldn’t risk a 85% volume on the star, at this point this isn’t music no more but pure danger for ears and hardware . Another option would be to deactivate the volume adjustment in audirvana (i can deal with the volume with Naim’s remote) : do you know if it’s possible ?
I’m not looking to disable volume control on the uniti per say, just disable volume control in audirvana so i can only control it via the Naim’s remote.
A little digression from the subject : i did some A/B testing sound-wise with both softwares with the same hardware and conditions to check if there was any difference (though i don’t see why there would be any but i am curious) :
→ Roon and Audirvana Studio both running the latest updates on my Windows 10 laptop and reading the same files without any Dsp/volume adjustments or whatever. → Standard usb cable → Fiio M15 → Focal clear MG headphones
Very surprised to hear differences between the two softs and a little annoyed to prefer audirvana giving the volume control issue and more surprised to hear that thoses differences are clearly audible and reproductible, it is subtle though but clear enough to be a deciding factor for me. Both deliver high quality sound but they are definitely different, i would describe Audirvana being on the warmer side, more energy on the bass area and maybe more texture and Roon being more straight forward, lighter, maybe more “airy”.
Not sure about the Uniti, but I didn’t manage to disable Audirvana volume with the 272 in UPnP mode. Maybe can be done if you’re streaming directly from your laptop, but that defeats the purpose of the Uniti…
If an AS subscription allows you to run 3.5, then maybe worth paying for a month to see if 3.5 works for you. I use 3.5 to get Qobuz on my NDS and still think it offers better SQ than the alternatives.
Roon has a polished interface and frankly a far bigger development team compared to Audirvana’s one (Damien) or possibly a few developers/support personnel.
Roon sound quality is average at best in my view, it just works however with a nice interface.
I have both but rarely use Roon these days. Both are subscription model software now.
Hello again : i updated Audirvana Studio to 1.9 hoping that maybe the volume control issue would be gone : well… yes because now the remote android app won’t connect anymore Not a big deal for now since it doesn’t prevent me from playing songs from the Windows App and at least the danger about volume is no more
About SQ, i did some extensive A/B (between roon and Audirvana, same hardware, same files…) on my uniti star : to my ears, Roon sounds good and probably identical to Naim’s app (i need to do more A/B to confirm this but i get the same global feeling).
Audirvana sound…awsome ! Well, in fact i found that both are equals in terms of pure quality but they seem to have a different “sonic profile”, Roon being slightly brighter and a little bit better on clarity , Audirvana being warmer and maybe less “transparent”. In fact, listening with Audirvana i feel like i’m listening to vinyl, a little less clarity but much better impacts, bass presence, textures…
. Another option would be to deactivate the volume adjustment in audirvana (i can deal with the volume with Naim’s remote) : do you know if it’s possible ?
and a little annoyed to prefer audirvana giving the volume control issue 
and more surprised to hear that thoses differences are clearly audible and reproductible, it is subtle though but clear enough to be a deciding factor for me. Both deliver high quality sound but they are definitely different, i would describe Audirvana being on the warmer side, more energy on the bass area and maybe more texture and Roon being more straight forward, lighter, maybe more “airy”.
