Roon

[Ralph]

Hi Guys (and Gals)

A lot has changed in the last few years regarding computer audio or streaming (as it is commonly called).

I have installed a Roon nucleus and I have found it to be possibly the best value for money input source.

Anyone else running Roon as a computer/ streaming master?

Ralph

[MattC]

No, but I've read a lot about it.

I'm still using a Linux distro called Daphile as a front-end for my computer-based playback system. But I've seen and read a lot about Roon.

I literally gave my entire collection of CDs away after ripping everything about 10 years ago - but I still have the inserts. Room would likely negate the need for retaining the inserts.

Tell us what you like about it.

Matt C

[Ralph]

Sorry if this reads like a marketing blurb.

Roon runs as an excellent network streaming service - It will pick up your networked music files from any format then as it streams it to the "end-point" (DAC/ Device), it will decode and optimise the file for the best possible performance from that end point. So if you would like your DAC to receive a WAV file, It can convert on the fly to make it into wav (or conversely downsample it to mp3 if you are using an ipad). I find it very difficult to pick the difference between a CD and the same track streamed via roon.

Roon integrates with Tidal and Qobuz, so that their streamed files are also optimised for the end point. The difference in quality between "raw' and Roon is not subtle. As a bonus - as you search your library it can include Tidal (and qobuz items assumedly) in your results.

The UI is fabulous, giving you selections by album, genre, tracks, artists and compositions (yes - Compositions!) Although Roon relies upon externally supplied information to determine a composition, it is not often wrong and you can select a symphony and it will play (in order) all the associated tracks. It is the only software that I know that can do this - there could be others. The interface is avialable on your desktop and via tablet or even smart phone (obviously the bigger the better). What I really like about the interface is the information and connections it gives on albums and artists. Sometimes the fineprint on CD inserts are just too fine.

The roon nucleus is effectively a dedicated linux NUC that runs Roon and nothing else. (Matt start looking at your linux server ) At home I can select 5 different tracks and play them to 5 different (or combined) end points. I know that's over kill but it can keep the wife happy upstairs with Enya while the blokes are downstairs, mastering Pink Floyd

[MattC]

Ralph, thanks for the rundown. I will have to digest it all.

Daphile is a single-use Linux-based distro, based on the Logitech Squeezebox. I've used it now for a while and quite like it (and especially the fact that it is free...but also because it works with folder view, which thus allows me to rip CDs to a folder, and then play the entire folder in numbered order - without having to worry about tagging, etc.).

Different people have different opinions about Linux sound quality - some preferring Volumio to Daphile for one reason or another, and others telling them that they're imagining stuff that cannot be heard. I don't feel that Volumio works as well with humongous classical recording catalogs, so I stay with Daphile for now.

What I don't have yet is a server. I do store a backup of my entire music collection (which is 2,000+ CDs plus 500+ recordings of radio broadcasts of orchestras that I've picked over the years from google and yahoo groups where these are shared) on a cloud server - but I'm using redundant individual hard drives at home. I back them all up from time-to-time but have never got around to installing a server. I guess that I should, especially as the cost of technology comes down.

[Ralph]

With that amount of CDs and their associated files, consider a NAS for storage.
It can be accessible to any computer or device 24/7 and you can still have it located in another room if you consider it noisy.
I use a Synology DS416play with 4x 2tB drives. With Raid, that mean I have about 5.3Tb available for storage
(58k tracks in Aiff format take up about 2.4tb)