Aurender vs Roon

I heard a diff when I was trying Roon vs Qobuz directly from the Lumin.  Roon is all software so it is in the Roon ready streamer and there is no way to get any closer to the server

JH

I’ll add that the worst SQ is Qobuz directly to the DAC via UPnP which suggests some software piece of this. In order from worst to best;

UPnP

Roon via MacBook 

Aurender (definitely best for critical listening).

but this is kinda like which crème brûlée is best. They are all good.

A MacBook wouldn’t be a fair comparison with N100SC. If you really want to access ROON sound quality, a purpose built dedicated ROON server feeding 501/Roon ready DAC would yield comparable sound quality. 

Okay, so I’ve read conflicting reports on if a dedicated server would improve SQ. It sounds like the answer is yes. Has anyone had experience going from an old computer to a dedicated server?

Has anyone had experience going from an old computer to a dedicated server?

Yes. Pretty much everyone involved in any decent level of commitment on this hobby has done that. Streaming from an "old computer" (as you say) general purpose noisy laptop or PC is not optimal for audio. It is not meant for audio.

op a dedicated server will beat any computer

as most pcs are not designed to eliminate digital noise.

we were an Aurender dealer until we heard an Innnous server that sounded significantly better

To  date we have tested aurender, an sotm server,lumin baetis laufer technik and the best we found was the 432evo servers from Belgium

Dave and Troy

audio intellect NJ

432Evo importers

Has anyone had experience going from an old computer to a dedicated server?

Yes. Pretty much everyone involved in any decent level of commitment on this hobby has done that. Streaming from an "old computer" (as you say) general purpose noisy laptop or PC is not optimal for audio. It is not meant for audio.

Yep try to get Roon Core onto something like a Small Green computer to maximize the SQ.   I moved off an old MAC mini and it was best thing I did for my digital setup.

Really? You think you can quantify the sound difference at 5% ? Remarkable. 

Kate Upton is also 5% hotter than Whitney Carson by my estimate but Whitney is a better dancer.  I think. 

Update: changed my Roon connection to fiber and now cannot hear much difference between the Aurender and my Roon core. Roon for me is a supior interface—out with Aurender! 

Update: changed my Roon connection to fiber and now cannot hear much difference between the Aurender and my Roon core. Roon for me is a supior interface—out with Aurender! 

there was a fairly recent thread on the sound (or lack of sound) of roon itself - it is all about how it is implemented... i agree that optical cleansing of ethernet feed is a big contributor in making roon or any streamer sound really top notch