True Pete_the_painter, but that is why I want the lifetime option before the preannounced increase date. I only need them to survive 4 years (the payback period compared to monthly), and concerns about increases goes away. They have changed their model (some say for the better), but to date have honored their lifetime option through the changes.
Roon has some good points and some bad ones as a solution.
The bad ones.
. Is a subscription model.
. Requires additional hardware to run the server software.
. With additional hardware it comes with additional costs, one example more electricity costs, a dedicated server or a NAS.
. Requires constant internet connection, no internet, no local file access.
. Lifetime license is expensive and increasing from time to time.
. If Roon goes out of business your investment dies with it.
. Sometimes is slow and has bugs.
. Support is difficult to get.
. Only two streaming services.
The good ones.
. Roon Ready is not a requirement.
. Works with a lot of hardware, and a lot of brands support roon natively.
. Has apps for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, Android.
. One pleasing interface that is easy to understand and explore that turn your music an interesting experience.
. It can display covers and lyrics on a TV with a chromecast or Apple TV, great for parties.
. Has multi room support.
. Has multiple user support, shared playlists between users, and separated stats for each user.
. It can play different streams to multiple devices at the same time.
. Decodes DSD and makes the first unfold on MQA for non MQA dac’s or streamers.
. Has DSP and other additional features.
. Recently Roon implemented streaming on the go with ARC.
. The software is always evolving and getting new features and better library management.
. Has a lifetime license, at a price I agree.
For sure there are more quicks and prós, but I remembered these.
Converts DSD to PCM on the fly and makes the first unfold on MQA. On the Naim gear I prefer to convert DSD to pcm because for me sounds better than sending direct DSD.
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I edited to make the first unfold.
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That is not true. They have raised lifetime pricing twice in 7 years they have been running. The reason is when they stated they needed lifetimes as they have grown it’s become less attractive to them as they need constant revenue to maintain development, it’s not cheap and Roon now isn’t anything like it was when it started. The yearly sub has remained the same until this year so that’s 7 years without any price hike. Monthly sub is pretty new and again hasnt changed until this announcement.
Naim gear goes up every year and often by ridiculous amounts. Sorry but this isn’t a big rise in the whole scheme of things, for existing lifetime it’s nothing, for yearly it’s a few cups of coffee or pints of beer. Things go up and at the moment running costs are high, people need I earn a decent wage. I don’t begrudge them that. If the product stood still I would not be happy but it doesn’t they continue to develop and move forward.
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Same here, Roon just runs headless on its device don’t have to touch it ever unless I am powering it down.
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All of that’s good if you require the service however as I’ve mentioned I don’t. The key things Roon does my Naim app and Core already manage. My music is all ripped on my server or I stream Qobuz and I can multi play to my 3 Naim devices, my Naim app does all those things seamlessly.
I have tried it and found I didn’t need it.
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Not saying you do, I was correcting you on your quote on their pricing that’s all.
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Interesting comparison - are the companies changing or having to adapt to the realities of modern consumer purchasing trends?
I’ve been paying annually for Roon for a few years and would probably just have broken even had I gone for a £500 ‘lifetime’ option.
As with many things I’m simply re-evaluating their worth due to general cost of living increases. To me, things like a Roon/Audirvana/Tidal/Audible/Amazon whatever subscription are ‘low hanging fruit’ to cull when I don’t use them much or find them non-essential, especially when you can re-subscribe quite easily in the future. For too long I’ve kept several services I’ve been able to afford but don’t use that much, but I’m no longer happy to do so.
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Sure it’s been asked before, but for Roon users, what’s the benefit of a dedicated end point?
I’ve got an Audiostore Prestige music server (powerful, fanless and doing nothing else other than Roon) acting as core and endpoint directly feeding my DAC, and it sounds darn good to me. Is there any benefit adding a separate endpoint, and if so what?
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With regards to Roon pricing, I have to wonder if the monthly/annual pricing could be more competitive - specifically I wonder if there could be a cheaper entry level option just to collate/curate available local/streaming audio with more advanced features such as DSP, even number of multi-endpoint ‘seats’ available provided as add-on purchases.
A more basic Roon at maybe 30-40% of current costs might attract significantly more subscribers who would otherwise not bother, admittedly they then lose 60-70% of the current fixed revenue stream, but with things like Roon I believe price-points are crucial and many will appreciate the basics but not find it vfm for features they never use.
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As alley cat said above, with finances being tighten things like roon subscriptions will be amoung the first items to go and the longer it goes on for the more roon themselves will struggle to keep afloat, especially as they now rely on yearly subscriptions to keep going.
The ability always to be able to play music, no matter how hard times may be, is one of my core dislikes of the subscription model and why I want my own music collection at home. Of course, if times get so tough that I can’t even afford the electricity to play - or power is rationed - then the awful could happen and no music…. Few of us know today what our financial circumstances will be in the future, whether that be 10 years’ time, or next year - or it seems even a month from now. To me buying outright is best (and if I were to ever decide on Roon, I guess that in effect means lifetime one-off “subscription” - as long as it will keep working if Roon themselves disappear).
What a logic, its just an offer for lifetime. You dont need to do it, But if you so, you can save money. You act as a grumpy child.
I paid half lf what Lifetime cost today and right now i am in plus. Sometimes you loose, sometimes you win.
Do you have the same kind of thinking about Naim? What of Naim goes away? I sit her with useless black boxes? Or what if your Braun toothbrush with an app goes bank corrupt?
Roon is great and as you see on their forum people are very happy and very engagded in their software.
They asked you about if you use Roon or not. Not if you wanted to be a troll.
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Not sure what you were taking from @Dunc’s post? I read it as identifying a risk that Roon will go under because of its reliance on subscriptions, which are likely to reduce as the cost of living rises sharply, forcing people to find things to cut from their outgoings as money gets tight.
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Correct as for the other post then all i can say is chill
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I have heard about Roon going under the last 5 years. Its still here, its still been developed in a great way. Since i bought my lifetime, i have now Roon for free, its a risk like in everything else, buying a Naim NDX2 is also a risk that independant on software. What if Naim goes under?
Sorry if i was harch, but its not like Roon is alone in this what if it goes under.
Lots of things can and will probably disappear next year if things get bad, i can see a lot of shops going and other businesses, especially once that are in the luxury/ not really needed sector.
If naim went up it my 500, 552, Superline and supercap wont over night stop working, plus i am sure when needed i can get it serviced as lots do it already, can you 100% be certain that if roon went bust its software would continue? I very much doubt it would as it would still cost money to run.
Why people fight and argument if any piece of software is a good or a bad move, the software we use is a personal decision or taste, not something that we argue with another person that is good or a bad move.
We are discussing something like the color of a new car, if I want a black car or a orange car do I need to argue with other potencial purchasers that black or orange color is bad or wrong, it’s simply a personal decision on what we choose for ourselves.
I see too much unnecessary arguments, what I think is that everyone is right and at the same time wrong.
Simply use what you like and works for you, and that does not mean it will work for others, I am not defending roon or any other software, is simply a choice like any other.
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I just can’t figure out how so many people that don’t use Roon and don’t seem to like Roon are so concerned about Roon going under.
It’s really touching around Christmas time to see such concern for us poor Roon users.
.sjb
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