Roon - do you use it? (Poll)

Roon have recently added Wikipedia as well as a source but indeed you are correct allmusic is the other provider and both can be accessed outside roon.

I’m a Roon lifer since 2016 so it’s al good for me.

.sjb

This is where I’m at. Need to run another comparison, but my current thinking is to not renew the annual subscription in April. Essentially, it comes down to sound quality and going back to my original reason for having the Uniti Core - keeping the audio separate from a noisy computer environment. I do like the Roon UI, but sure I can relearn the basics of the Naim app (which has its own benefits such as scalable grid displays and volume control for my NDX2). The cost of a lifetime subscription will pay for the Fraim base for the 552, and we are trying to reduce our number of subscriptions, as they soon add up.

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Indeed, comparing a stream from my Uniti Core direct to the NDX2 on the Ethernet controlled by the Naim app has more detail and space over the same file streamed and controlled via Roon. So I guess that confirms I’ll switch back to using the Naim app and reprogramme my brain again for finding music. The fact that I now have a much more revealing system (552 and 300) may be a factor in this comparison.

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Snap!

and I use Roon, so maybe not………

.sjb

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I wonder if the other factor is that I run Roon from an iMac, and that might be a relatively noisy environment? Before I had the Uniti Core, I used the iMac as the music server, and the Core was an improvement of that.

Nice system, but differences are also fairly clear on my humble DACV1 / 282 / 200 system (noting this is Roon vs. Squeeze, not the Naim app in my case, as I use an Antipodes server/streamer/PS and believe that this is quite a nice clean source).

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As i said previously. I first tried roon on my mac and heard the difference straight away, more closed in and less dynamic. I even asked questions on the roon forum as i thought i might have the settings wrong, but i didn’t.
It was there that i got the answer to try a roon nuk, so i borrowed one and still found it to be the same.
So obviously left it at that as for me i didn’t want to spend £2k and make my streaming sound worse.

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I guess it’s unlikely to change your mind - but you can do this from Roon too.

Can you, I’ve never been able to do it like I can on my Nova? Maybe using the variable volume setting, but that reduces sound quality.

I guess I read that as ‘control volume of NDX2’ which would be using its variable volume, rather than ‘volume control for NDX2’ which could imply system automation.

Roon can definitely control the internal volume of an NDX2 (unless it’s processing is different to the ND5XS2); I think it can be configured via system automation, but haven’t tried it.

Philistine that I am, I use Roon with volume levelling turned on, so any stream is levelled using 64bit float, then converted to 32bit before being sent to my ND5XS2 using Roon’s RAAT protocol, then processed at 40bit on the ND’s SHARC processor.

I’d hope the ND5XS2 (and NDX2) variable volume is processed at 40bit, but I have no way of knowing that.

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Took my first attempt at Roon this past week. Setup Roon Core on my 2012 Mac Mini. Immediately heard the same affects on sound quality: Roon sounded veiled by comparison to streaming straight to the ND5 XS 2 with the Naim app. I like what Roon provides with regard to information and finding new music, but it’s not worth the hit to sound quality.

Prior to using Roon the Mac mini was not included in my system. I play local digital files stored on a thumb drive attached to the ND5 or stream Qobuz.

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We aren’t the only ones, lots of people have also found it to be the same

Have you tried HQPlayer (and HQPlayer NAA)? It’s been integrated tightly with Roon, and has a strong following, many seasoned Roon users think of it favorably.

IMO, the optical or USB out to your ND5 XS 2 is a weak link, you would probably need a some sort of USB isolator between the MM and the DAC (if you use a USB cable).

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I have not used HQPlayer. I’ll check it out. Thanks!

I was connecting the Mac mini to the Naim byway of Ethernet through my modest switch. The Mac is in a different room.

My guess for the sound quality difference, since the ND5 uses the same switch, was due to the difference between PCM over Ethernet vs FLAC over Ethernet. Maybe FLAC is less sensitive to Ethernet/switch noise relative to raw PCM. But I’m sure the Mac mini itself is causing its share of problems.

To put it simply, any DAC regardless of what it is can only handle PCM or DSD data.

Last summer I demo:ed the Italian Aqua streamer that use NAA instead of RAAT and it was closer to good UPnP. The drawback was controllers (play, pause…) was slightly laggy.

I haven’t tested Roon with Linn streamers but it is referred to as using “Linn streaming” rather than RAAT.

Now Roon is more a developer of software systems than they are a music/hi-end audio company so it is a bit unfair to expect perfection.

Sorry, I wasn’t being clear. I was thinking that performing FLAC to PCM in the device and just before the DAC might be better than performing FLAC to PCM in another device then sending PCM through Ethernet cable and switch before getting to DAC. I have no idea though, just a speculation.

I see, now I got you.

FLAC is just compressed PCM, but your observation is very interesting, from what you are saying, sending compressed PCM (FLAC) sounds better than uncompressed PCM via Roon RAAT? It is contrary to common intuition, because the streamer/DAC would have to work harder in decompressing the compressed PCM stream.

Roon uses FLAC by default, you can send uncompressed PCM if you wish though.

Just checking the obvious here… you are using RAAT (ie Roon Ready) rather than Chromecast or Airplay? Volume levelling turned off?

Could you post a screenshot of your signal path from Roon?

(RAAT is uncompressed pcm, irrespective of the source format. Roon will always transcode for a Roon Ready endpoint - without worrying about what it might do with dsd, which seems to catch everyone out)

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