My present streaming set up is via my ndx being served from a uniti core with Tidal integration. It’s not that I don’t like what I have now as it’s working perfectly and enjoy the performance including the Naim app. Essentially I am intrigued with what I’m reading about Roon and just thinking I would like to give it a go just to see what all the fuss is about.
From what I’m reading it appears the Sonore brige seems to be a good way to make my NDX roon ready at a reasonable cost. I’m looking for input from those who’ve tried this and have some questions including:
how difficult is it to install the bridge to the NDX and get the roon software working? From what I gather it’s just a matter of connecting the bridge to the NDX, downloading the Roon software and the following the Roon software prompts to find the NDX and Uniti core. Is it really that simple?
can I switch between using the Naim app and the Roon app with bridge seamlessly (ie do they operate independently or does introducing room and bridge removing the functionality of the Naim platform)? Is it possible that i can somehow mess up my set up that is working perfectly now? I’m not a Luddite but hardly tech savvy.
Thanks in advance for sharing you experience and suggestions?
It is pretty straightforward @dave709, although I’m not a Luddite, I’m also not massively techie, maybe took me less than half an hour by the time I had tweaked a couple of settings to get it working with my Innuos as Roon Core -> NDS
There has been quite a few threads on the forum about how it works, this is one example:
As mentioned above, no problem to use the Naim app still, I tend more towards Roon app + my NDS remote most of the time.
@Guinnless asks the pertinent question though- what will you be running your Roon Core on?
Thanks @ChrisH and @Guinnless this is helpful. My plan is to use my MacBook Air to see if I can get this working. If I like it I’ll probably invest in something stand alone.
It might be closer to 5 There are a couple of things you need to enable within Roon and then the Sonore Bridge is just plug n play really. I probably lost the most time figuring out why it wasn’t powering on – because there is a power switch in the ac cord!
Yes, easy.
The SonoreUPnP Bridge sits on a device on your network. There is no direct connection to the Naim Network player.
If you are new to Roon and need a device to run your Roon Core on, you could go for Small Green Computer SonicTransporter i5 or Vortex Server, which runs both Roon Core AND the SonoreUPnP Bridge.
Alternate get yourself a NUC and build a ROCK server, and the dedicated SonoreUPnP Bridge device from SGC.
There are Black Friday deals and free shipping on offer from SGC.
Then once you have the Roon Core up and the SonoreUPnP, it is just GUI settings (I have posted the settings I use for both, in different threads).
After that Roon initiates Playback and the SonoreUPnP Bridge makes the stream serve as a Bit perfect input to the Naim Network player over the Ethernet input
The sonicTransporter is a good(if a little pricy) way to ROON your NDX, I set if up for a friend and it’s brilliant, it’s the core and UPnP streamer all in one.
Thanks @simon.pepper my plan was to start by using my MacBook as my core with the bridge. If I find I like Roon I’ll probably invest in a better solution than my MacBook. Am I correct that the bridge and MacBook should be sufficient to get me up and running?
Here’s a recent thread with the Bridge settings. Simon kindly provided them in answer to a question about using one of my other Sonore devices as a bridge
A MacBook should be fine to run the Roon Core, as long as it’s not too ancient and preferably has an SSD.
If you use multiple Roon endpoints, or play hi-res material, you may need a wired connection for it.
Keep in mind the Bridge software can’t be purchased on its own, if I’m correct, so you’ll need the Bridge device and/or a used microRendu to run it (I moved on to a great deal on a Sonore opticalRendu Roon Lite model but kept my mR around just to run Bridge to my UQ in the office). A MacBook Air will run Roon, but it may struggle depending on how robust (or not) your WiFi is and the size of your library. Roon suggest wired ethernet for best performance. But at least you can trial it on the Air and get a feel for it.
Yes, once you Roon Core running on your network and the Bridge you should be good.
On 1st installation and the initial load, identification of all albums and track by track analysis of your library the work needing to be done by the Roon Core is quite heavy. Let it work on this, and let to get through this stage before using the GUI and making playback, particularly on a non-dedicated device.
I had Roon Core running on a laptop for a year or so before ROCK was released and I could move it to a NUC based server. But then my library was under 10k tracks, now over 85k
Thanks Simon. My intention is to get it working and see how I enjoy the experience to see if it’s worth the investment I’ll likely set up something that’s solely dedicated. Cheers, Dave
Hello everyone,
I can’t get Roon Remote app to see my Superuniti
I have Roon Server setup on Synology DS420+ NAS.
I have just purchased Sonore UPNP Bridge and installed it on router shared with my Superuniti.
I have configured the bridge for the Naim SU as it can see the SU.
Just can get the Roon Server to see the SU.
I have my NAS plugged into a different router (I have a total of 6 routers in my house but all on same network and all connected through ethernet).
What can I do to debug this? - Can I log into the Rooms Server from the NAS and check if I can see Sonore UPNP Bridge manually?
I have got it working now. The solution was rebooting the NAS (Roon Core), the other router that the Sonore and Superuniti was connected to, the Sonore and the Superuniti in the right order. After I did this then the steps above became possible.
I have a new problem now when I press play on an album or playlist or song, it can take a long time for the system to get going and the Room player can skip over the song before anything starts playing. It can sometimes skip 10 songs before it starts playing. Most annoying as you can be sat there for 5mins plus trying to get the track you want to start playing.
Doesn’t matter if it is my FLAC library or Tidal. Only a problem with the Superuniti + Sonore.