Please help me understand why I would want Roon. What does it do for me?
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You dont
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It does what the WiiM app does for free but asks for $600.
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Do you want Roon and not know why? Or Do you want to know if you will want Roon when you know what it is? Regardless, the search tool is your friend, as they sayā¦
I suggest reading the following very recent thread, one of many, then come back with any remaining questions:
Nah, thatās to easy.
Best to start a new thread and repeat all the stuff said before.
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Roon does look like a very nice full featured and polished product. Although personally I have never been drawn toward it due to the availability of similar software for free. See Moode Audio and Volumio. I use the former paired with a very nice IOS app called Rigelian which supports music library and Qobuz integration.
Nothing, its a waste of money
Martin
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Some will say you donāt, itās rubbish. Some will say you should get it because itās great. But ultimately, both are providing the answer they came to for themselves and both are right.
In other words, only you can answer the question. You need to download it and make use of their 30 day trial and then you too will be able to answer the question that is relevant to your needs and preferences.
If you do go for the demo, make sure you donāt connect the device with the server to the DAC directly via a USB as that doesnāt sound great. Connect the server (laptop or computer) to the network/router as well as the streamer, via Ethernet ideally or WiFi if thatās not possible. The Roon forums have loads of advice on best setup.
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Two reasons for me:
- A single user interface over different product ecosystems: Meridian, Naim and B&W, using Sooloos, RAAT and Airplay protocols respectively
- Great music discovery via the metadata and roon radio
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Exactly! LOL!
I really donāt understand why some harp on about the cost of Roon. I pay $150 (Aus) per year which works out to $2.90 per week. My Mrs spends $7 PER DAY on coffee!
Its a drop in the ocean compared to what a lot of us spend on hi-fi/music.
Roon is really good and its REALLY cheap.
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The point is not that Roon is expensive, it is about why it is needed and justified, with all the extra PC, hard drive, cables.
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I think the only way to find out if its needed and justified is to try it for oneself.
I would expect that most people would have a PC, hard drive and the necessary cables already, so you shouldnāt need to spend much to trial it.
Once you decide to keep it you can then look at pulling the pin on a dedicated server such as a Nucleus or Mac Mini etc.
Just FYI - I am a Roon lifer, bought the lifetime license back in 2016, but by hindsight I think I do not really need it, it is just an addon if you have cash to burn.
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Really good is a matter of opinion as to what it does. I certainly found nothing of interest to me that wasnāt in other packages, and there have been allegations that its sound quality isnāt as good as other packages, though I have not evaluated that for myself, As for really cheap, there are significantly cheaper alternatives that do all that some people want or need. In addition, in my own case I have a rooted objection to relying upon a subscription to be able to continue to hear music, so any subs-only software is a nob-starter.
If that was my wife Iād buy her a coffee machine! Much more convenient than buying out, and even an expensive one would pay for itself quite quicklyā¦
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Everything we post on here is a matter of opinion, which is why we all love it. As I posted before my only advice with Roon is to try it if your interested. The cost is inconsequential if you like it.
Iāve had the coffee machine debate, she informs me that a coffee always tastes better when its made for you. Iām in no position to whinge when I have a $100,000 hi-fi set up! Peace always comes at a cost 
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Iām a big fan. I love the music discovery I get via Roon.
I get bored if I only listen to my own albums. So I frequently listen to internet radio through Roon. If I hear a track that I love, I can often click through to the album, as long it is available in Roon via my streaming subscription. If Iām suitably impressed, I can then add the album to my Roon album collection (added in the sense that itās backed by the subscription service).
Thereās also Roonās own algorithmic music discovery service, Roon Radio, which I use sometimes as well.
Iām starting to let go of the habit to then purchase the album in a physical format. I did that for many years, but due to the rate of music discovery via Roon, Iām way behind. Iāve started to question whether I should bother or notā¦
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To the uninitiated, the answer isnāt clear. A major problem seems to be that no one can easily explain Roon to anyone who hasnāt used it. So there really must be something being offered that the free options canāt provide. Certainly, the Roon converts seem to think there is. try out the free trial of Roon. It might turn out that Roon is exactly what youāre looking for.
As for your question, Google search answer; You might want to use Roon if you are:
- Someone with massive digital music collections.
- Someone who values organization and artwork but doesnāt want to spend countless hours organizing, renaming, and updating files.
- Someone who wants to easily play an automatically curated (genre-related) āradio stationā from their music collection.
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As several folks already stated: go for the trial period. Then decide for yourself. You are the only person that can decide based on your wishes and experience while trying this out.
While youāre at it you might want to trial other options as well (JRiver, AudirvÄna for instance).
Personally I liked AudirvÄna most as SQ in my set up and to my ears (important nuance) was great and it was friendlier for my purse.
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I am also a Roon lifetime subscriber. It is a nice to have rather than essential.
It comes into its own when you want to curate listening sessions easily and manage collections across local, Qobuz and Tidal as a seamless whole.
If you just use a service like Tidal with their Tidal Connect app, you might find it not adding muchā¦ though Roonās meta data often goes deeperā¦ and extends to some works of music, such as classical piece descriptions which is nice.
There are some musical features like being able to create eq profiles, particularly useful for headphonesā¦ and profiles for Audeze headphones are included.
But as said by others take out a free trial and decide whether it sufficiently adds to your musical listening experience. Running the Roon server/core is easy to do on a Mac or PC should you wish to try
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