Been Rooned so what next?

Streaming Audio
1

Roon has lured me in and I am hooked, especially with the QOBUZ integration! I have the core running on my server which is a little underpowered so I will be setting up a ROCK on an Intel NUC, which should be delivered next week. My endpoint is an Allo DigiOne (not signature) which feeds my Unitiqute 2 driving PMC 20.21s. Great but I now have the urge to upgrade! I will take my time and will work with my dealer but it is fun looking at my options. I would really like your opinions on my currently preferred choices. Firstly is the Nova; nice neat 1 box but I don’t really need the display. The second option is the ND5 XS 2 into a Supernait 2. From what I understand both options will act as roon endpoints. What are the pros and cons of each, incl. sq and WAF. Are there other options I should be considering for similar money?

Looking forward to your thoughts

Mark

2

There should be an update soon (!) to turn off the display on the nova just to add to the mix

3

Welcome to the Room club. The worlds your oyster now as it opens tons of possibilities not just from Naim. I have the Atom for my main zone and it works great with Roon. Good WAF as it’s reasonably small, looks good and it sounds great. The Nova is supposed to be a big step up from this in terms of SQ, I cant say how much as never heard it. I’d.imagine its a bigger step up from you current system than the Atom though. The advantages of the Uniti range are they are all in ones so offer a neat solution.

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4

I use an Allo Digi-One (not Signature) on my UnitiQute2 as well, and think it’s fine. No need or desire to upgrade just for the sake of using Roon. (I have a NAP 100 on the Qute2). But if you want more oomph or generally want to upgrade, getting something new that’s already Roon-Ready would be a fine idea.

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5

Hi there,

I currently use a Nova predominantly as a roon end-point. For reference, my ‘system’ consists of the following :

Server :
Apple Macbook Pro i7 16GB RAM and 512GB of SSD
USB connected via an Audioquest Jitterbug 8TB External Seagate HDD with my ripped music collection
Roon 1.6 Core
Qobuz Studio Subscription
Network : Google Wi-Fi Mesh WiFi network

Living room roon end-point:
Naim Uniti Nova only using WiFi
Chord Company Epic speaker cables
Harbeth SHL5+ 40th Anniversary speakers on Something Solid XF stands

For full disclosure, I will be ‘trading’ up to an NDX 2 and Supernait 2 pairing next Tuesday (probably… I’m booked in to audition the combo against my Nova).

My experiences thus far with the Nova: It’s excellent as a Roon end-point, complete integration into the roon app, with the ability to change volume, and start-up activate via the roon app. The Wi-Fi reception is okay and easily able to support high bit rate hi-res streaming from the roon core over wi-fi with no drop outs at all. It obviously helps that the Roon core is also doing buffering activities on a Qobuz stream.

Talking of Qobuz, since there are no Naim streamers / network players able to natively support Qobuz Connect, the Nova, like the NDX2, ND5 XS2 etc must rely on the built-in Chromecast or UPnP renderers, which is fine, but can sometimes be a bit of a headache to get the Qobuz app to present the hi-res versions through Chromecast and UPnP, but when using Roon, it’s super easy to pick the Hi-Res version of the track / album and send it - just a nice feature of Roon, rather than a new platform Naim streamer thing obviously.

When I used to use Tidal, via roon and via the Tidal app (which the Nova - and by extension the ND5 X2 , NDX 2 etc, can handle natively) I used to notice a slight SQ difference: the Tidal app directly to the native Tidal renderer sounded slightly more dynamic than the Roon Todal renderer for some reason to my ears.

Another nice feature of the new streamers is the ability to label the inputs. The Nova obviously has a set of analogue and digital inputs, that when labeled makes it very easy to operate. Most of the time, the Nova will automatically select the correct input when it senses the signal.

From a wife acceptance factor perspective - if your wife is like mine, fewer boxes greater than many boxes, which makes the Nova a good choice, but if you are like me and like the idea of growing, upgrading the system in time, then…

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6

I have to say this is not at all what I have experienced. If anything, I am finding that Tidal via Roon sounds slightly better than via any of the other control apps I have used.

7

Interesting. When you listen to MQA content unfolded in Roon, versus the normal FLAC version, do you also experience better SQ? I found the MQA version generally flatter and less dynamic.

8

I definitely find the MQA versions (certainly in most cases) to be better all round when played via Roon. I find them to sound more ‘natural’ and less ‘digital’, but with no accompanying loss in detail or dynamics.

Pretty much the same as the difference I often (but not always) find between hi-res and standard res PCM files.

9

Just started a 60 day free trial of Roon; offer from Qobuz. Looking forward to trying this for myself…

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10

I am about to be Rooned and am glad to read about others who have. I have a couple of questions.

  1. Familiar with the volume control in my ND555 and how it affects SQ, particularly on Hi Rez material. Roon also controls volume. I presume that the Roon Volume control does so in a manner that does not have the same effect as the one in the ND555. Hence the Naim recomendation to use a preamp and not go straight into a power amp. Did the test and Naim are right.

  2. The biggest reason for Room for me is to have access to streamed Hi Rez material so as it exists and is available. Do you notice a benefit from the hi rez material? Which ones stand out?

  3. I have TIDAL HiFi. Will I be able to stream the Masters/Hi Rez material from TIDAL?

  4. I like the idea of the Nucleus. I know its more expensive, but I am plug and play when it comes to IT. Seems like my kind of Tool. Anyone with a Nucleus or Nucleus+? (I have a linited music collection–100 cd’s, the main system and 2 Qb’s and will probably want to play with REW–will the Nucleus handle this or do I need to get the Nucleus+?

  5. I am not going to tie into my computer for my audio. Its worth it for me to have a separate device.

  6. Other than ripping cd’s, the Naim Unity Core with Roon continues to store ripped cd’s? I assume that other downloads now get stored on the Nucleus?

Sorry for so many questions, but just want to make sure this is the right purchase for me. I realize this is also a Roon item, so have also posted same questions there.

Thanks in advance for any help

Bailyhill

11

I can’t answer all of your questions because I don’t have an ND555 or a Unity Core, but I can have a go at answering some of them. I will answer from the perspective of my system that includes a Linn Klimax DS/1 because that is the closest to the ND555 in terms of resolution and character.

  1. Benefit from hi-res material.

I generally find that hi-res downloads sound subtly better than the equivalent CD quality downloads or rips. Not an amazing difference in that I don’t often ‘hear lots of detail that wasn’t there before’ in the way that some people claim, but rather a more relaxed and more enjoyable sound with less listening fatigue. In general, I find that many Tidal MQA masters (but not all) offer the same or similar benefits.

  1. Will you be able to stream Tidal Masters in ‘hi-res’?

Yes, and if you use the Roon app you will be able to identify the MQA Masters - some (but not all) are listed in the Tidal ‘New Music’ section. Others will have to be found by other means.

Roon can be set to perform the 1st MQA unfold which I find to be the most beneficial and will potentially be able to provide files up to 24bit, 96KHz resolution depending upon the resolution of the original source material. I find resolutions above this to be of only marginal (if any) benefit in any case.

  1. the Roon Nucleus:

No doubt this will be pretty good and also will be plug ‘n’ play, but it is substantially more expensive than the purchase of a NUC (mine is the NUC8i5BEH) and an installation of Roon Rock on the NUC. Configuring a NUC with Roon Rock is not difficult, but if you don’t mind paying extra and you really don’t want to get involved with configuration of any sort then go for the Nucleus.

I am pretty confident that the standard Nucleus will be fine for your needs, although I guess it depends how many items from Tidal you will eventually set up in your ‘Library’ alongside your own collection.

  1. Separate control device - you will probably want to get an android tablet, Windows 10 laptop or Apple iPad to make most use of Roon and it’s features.

  2. I have no idea if Roon will be able to see items on your Naim Unity Core. Perhaps someone else with experience of using one will be able to help.

Good luck - but if you choose to go with the Nucleus it’s quite a financial outlay. Have you tried Roon and are you sure you will make use of it?

12

Roon cannot control volume on a Naim preamp via system automation, so you would still need the remote or Naim app for this.

Roon does not, in itself, give you access to hi res music. It just gives you an alternative way to access your own library, Tidal and Qobuz in a way you might prefer.

You can use either the Naim Core, Nucleus, or other network storage for your downloads. Either the Core, or Roon, will be able to access them.

13

Thanks for your reply. I agree with 1-4.

Item 5, I have an iPad Mini which I hope to use. Its a few years old, so I hope it will run the Roon Ap since the heavy lifting would be done by the Nucleus.

Last Item: Try Roon and financial outlay–yes that is so. This is why I am doing my diligence to make sure this is the right way to go. From what I read on this Forum, which I trust very much, it seems like the best game in town and its quite mature.

ChrisSU; I was not wanting Roon to control the volume of my preamp, as it is not a Naim. However, what I was wondering if it enables the volume control in the ND555–which I do not want it to do. I gather that it does this volume control in the Nucleus in a proper way?

That is good news that the Name Core can be used for storage of my downloads with Roon. That saves buying the storage drive for the Nucleus. I have a 2TB SSD in the Naim Core already.

Bailyhill

14

I have a feeling the Roon app requires a relatively recent version of iOS to work, maybe iOS11, so you may be out of luck. Best check with Roon.

15

It can control the volume on the streamer but if you set it to fixed volume in the device setting not device then it wont.

16

Roon will only run on 64bit iPads, basically Nov 2013 onwards.

.sjb

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That’s about when I got the iPad. I will check when I get back home for the iOS there. Right now I am off site of my system. No Music–Boo Hoo. So I spend time planning my next move. Probably to Roon.

Thanks CrystalGipsy for clearifying that with the Naim Streamer set to Fixed Volume, that does not get reset by Roon. However, is the output of Roon itself variable in volume with the Ap?

Bailyhill

18

I’ve been on a Roon trial for just under a week together with a Nova and B&W 707 S2’s. Prior to Roon I flipped between the Qobuz app on iPad and Bubble UPnP on Android. The recent update on the Qobuz app was becoming my go choice to especially as I was finding Chromecast better than UPnP with the latter having a nasty grate to the top end.
Here are my impressions so far:

  • As expressed by most people the interface is extremely good and the best I’ve encountered.

  • The sorting and managing of libraries creates a more immersive and enjoyable browsing experience.

  • Discovering new music or music buried within your own library adds to the fun.

  • And the big revelation for me, sound quality. I had not expected anything other than parity with what I already use, the hike in quality has been huge. Every aspect has improved, soundstage, detail, balance, bass, mid, top… smooth and silky… sounds wonderful. Maybe the previous apps have some issue but whatever, Roon is contributing to the best sound I’ve so far extracted from my set up.

Based on these early impressions, it looks like I’m going to become a subscriber in 54 days time, once the trial ends.

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19

Have it on 14 day trial at present, nice but not entirely necessary and yet another subscription cost. Would one commit to a lifetime subscription or maybe just try for a year and then see?

20

So why don’t I just get a new iPad Pro with some power instead of the Nucleus, and load/subscribe to Roon on to it and use it to do all the processing and control, or does the ap control have to be on a separate machine?
Bailyhill