thanks for that i clearly did not understand how roon endpoint works
either a) get a USB to spdif convertor and wait for melco roon endpoint upgrade so can try it out
or
b) get a upnp bridge device (does this connect inline to the NDS via ethernet i take it i.e. would wire it Switch > Melco > upnp bridge > NDS)
any suggestions on good sound quality hardware for a (sonore ultra digital???) & b (sonore upnp bridge??)
thanks again appreciate the clarification and advice
mat
Which Innuos? as with some of their models you can connect to a streamer/dac via ethernet. Would you be able to do this?
would be the innuous zenith mk3 as can run roon core on it aswell as use it as a server has ethernet output for streamer or USB for DAC
my confusion was i thought the melco/innuous would output roon via ethernet to the NDS so could use roon???
regards
mat
What do you mean by “output roon” ? can the melco or nds be used as roon endpoints?
i meant integrating the NDS into roon by introducing a roon endpoint (see crystalgipsy reply above he does far better job of explaining it)
Hi @mbj666, its simpler than wiring it inline.
You just wire it into your switch with ethernet cable (see picture), which is on the same network as your NDS.
In my case I have an Innuos Zen Mk3 hardwired to the network which then feeds my NDS by ethernet cable.
Sounds great to me!Melco as a roon endpoint ? Just updated my Melco to 4.0.2 but no roon functionality here. How did you get that?
Thanks!
The question is, if I understood well: If Melco or Innuos, with Nds, can have Roon without any additional software as Nas, Pc, …
@simon.pepper should respond.
But I think you have to run Roon on something, like a pc or Nas.
Yes you do FR, Roon Core needs to run on something.
In my case it’s preloaded on the Innuos.
Others use NAS, laptop, Roon Nucleus, but there are lots of options.
Not sure about the MeIco though.
Maybe Ive confused things by throwing Innuos in to the conversation when the interest was about Melco 
Melco are looking at adding Roon Ready status to their hardware. This will.mean it can act as a Roon endpoint but only via USB out. It can’t reroute it via ethernet to a legacy streamer or infact a new streamer. Innuos can act as Roon core server and a Roon endpoint , same applies if using it as an Endpoint it’s usb only apart from the cheap one which has spdif output. So none of them are of use as Roon endpoint to old Naim streaming kit with out a USB to Spdif converter unless you get the cheap one.
I can tell from my experience that roon sounds better if you run it seperatley f.ex. on Nucleus or Sonic and not on Innous…I have an i5 Sonic, works perfectly.
I see that the point 3 of the OP post is about Innuos. So you are not out topic. 
Phew, I thought I had committed a ‘faux pas’ for a minute, thanks for the support FR!
As @CrystalGipsy says re SPDIF converters, although they are not that expensive if you need one. The cheaper Innuos servers are hard disc (Roon say Roon Core should be on SSD) and probably a little under powered to do any significant DSP, so that is something to be aware of.
To run over Ethernet you would need a UPnP bridge; there are plenty of threads on here that describe how you can do it yourself, but you can buy a Sonore UPnP Bridge like that @ChrisH uses.
Another option is one of the Audiostore servers. They have the Sonore UPnP Bridge already built in, run Roon Core and are also Roon Ready. That would enable you to run Roon over Ethernet directly, and give you all the other options that other servers provide. Again there are plenty of threads on here that describe these. When I wanted to Roonify my NAC 272 that is the option I went for, and it works very well.
However, not sure where the Melco fits in though.
An expensive Nas/switch option I guess, and if you believe the Melco hype.
Curious to understand the value proposition of a Melco in a Roon system. The Core would be on another device? So allowing for the traffic, where does the value of the Melco’s expensive storage come in? Is it just a very expensive Roon USB bridge?
Hi been messaging Melco guys as sorting Ex upgrade for my Melco n1a/2 and they said that melco was going through its final testing to become a roon endpoint and would be released for the version 4.0 firmware in a future update
A Melco server is still NAS like device, and the on-board disks can be read & indexed by a Roon Core. If you then get a UPnP Bridge (either the SGC dedicated device pictured above, or the SonoreUPnP Bridge on a Rendu or SGC Server, or a DIY PI based solution) you should be able to serve what is stored in the Melco to your NDS without having to run Twonky etc.
I would still connect the ‘Ethernet out’ of the Melco to the NDS, and have the UPnP Bridge on a device connected to the Network side of the Melco, along with whatever is running the Roon Core.
I believe that this the configuration that served @RipVanRadio well for a while before going all ND555
thankyou simon really really helpful above approach for me trying roon out (think would be the SGC or sonore bridge i would go with, not sure if any difference quality wise?)
in terms of only bit am missing is what good way to run ROON core on a standalone unit i could insert into my audio part of the network (don’t want to have desktop PC in the loop, i can use my laptop in interim to see how it goes/try it out). guessing something like a micro PC with a small SSD (again any suggestions of something sensible/reasonable for this with good Sound quality properties appreciated)
Well, one solution is the SGC SonicTransporter, which will provide the Roon Core and run the SonoreUPnP Bridge.
See https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/audio-server/products/sonictransporter-i5?variant=20893269700
The other is the range of Roon capable servers from Vortexbox in the UK (importers of the SGC and Uptone products see https://www.vortexbox.co.uk/High_Performance_inc_Roon/cat317979_4201682.aspx
Another is a NUC based server for the Roon Core, running ROCK, and then the dedicated device for the SonoreUPnP bridge - https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/accessories/products/upnpbridge?variant=6964135395362
