I did some searching and didn't find any recent posts about Roon. I want to try streaming with my new dac which is made to work with Roon.
I'm able to stream with Audivarna which I had used previously. It sounds good, but there is a glitch that causes loud static when switching songs. After lots of Googling, I've failed to come up with a fix.
I'll do the free trial and try Roon, but I wanted to get people's opinion on Roon. I've read that the interface is one of the best. Is it reliable? Good sound quality? I've read that Audivarna sounds better, but those could be old comments.
Roon is functioning very well. No noise between songs, etc. The GUI is great. I like it better than the Innuos Sense app.
I'm running it on a dedicated laptop with good speed and memory. No issues using it with Roon.
My son and I just did a comparison. He felt that the sq is similar, but I give the advantage to the Innuos streamer. Things seem a little softer and less defined with Roon. That could be the fault of the streamer built into my dac. Idk.
I really wanted to use Roon, but unless I have something set up incorrectly, I'll be using the Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer and it's Sense app.
As to a one box Roon (core/streamer) solution that’s done properly, we’re talking Grimm MU1 and MU2, Merging Technologies stack, etc….all north of $15,000.
You ate not achieving that level of performance with a home built nuc or even a Roon Nucleus…don’t bother….
I agree a one box solution can equal or surpass a two box solution. At issue is the quality of the output or interface (usb, I2S, spdif, etc) of streamer. For instance if one is using a laptop for Roon, no brainer to adopt a two box solution, this means adding usb isolation devices which also go by the name renderer, endpoint, streamer; Sonore MicroRendu is one example of these devices, many other manufacturers as well. These devices isolate computer noise that travels along usb cable from contaminating dac. End result is lower noise floor, greater resolution. This is exactly why Roon offers a two box solution, therefore, Roon Core on computer, Roon Endpoint on the outboard usb device, computer now goes by the name server, no longer a streamer since it only serves the core to the actual music player streamer which is the Roon Endpoint. Limitation of Audirvana is that it can only be a one box solution, has no separate Endpoint last time I looked. I'm not surprised people have glitches when using Roon with general purpose computers, Roon requires a relatively large measure of processor resources,having other apps and such running on computer can overtax processors leading to all kinds of issues. As these music players continue to evolve they only tax processors more greatly, the user interfaces, analysis of huge libraries, dsp use up resources, you best have a powerful processor, large RAM for a glitch free experience.
Moving into a dedicated streamer may or may not preclude the need for the above device, depends on quality of interface within streamer. Highest quality streamers go a step further by further optimizing these interfaces within the streamer, in this case no outboard devices likely needed. Everything determined by how far one wants to take it, streaming can be a complex or simple undertaking, optimization of streaming interfaces and many other streaming components extremely variable.
I prefer BubbleUPnP to mConnect after using them both. But neither are preferable to a decent native streaming app. If you don't have one try a different streamer.
Innuos + Sense App provides a very good streaming experience. Sense app is well laid out but lacks the bells and whistles of Roon. I don’t think you loose much of sound quality streaming through Sense + Innuos but once you implement Roon properly you will not like anything else. So take your time exploring options with Roon hardware.
OK, correct menu items are "Device Setup" then "Resync Delay"
That will probably fix most problems.
Under Show Avanced options however you should check the maximums to ensure that Roon doesn't think your DAC can do what it cannot, and also worth setting the buffer size to maximum. This slightly increases the time to play the first track but also makes your DAC less sensitive to network issues.
@erik_squires Thanks for the reply. The static problem is with Audivarna. I had the same issue with my Gustard R26 dac. I did some internet searching, and it seems to happen to a number of people with no simple solution.
I have Roon working and it's pretty nice. No clicks or static between songs. The gui is great and I'm just getting familiar with it. I can see why people like it.
Once I have Roon optimized, I'll do a comparison with it connected through my dac and compare to my Innuos Zen Mk3 streamer.
Running Roon on a laptop is what I consider a basic set up. A good way to determine if you can get used Roon app interface and its features. If you like the Roon user interface (UI) then you can look into commercially successful hardware to take full advantage of its potential. I would read up on @snsposts. He has pretty much laid out the road map for anyone who wants to learn, build a SOTA streaming experience using Roon.
Some folks will make their case that running Roon render and server separately will yield the best SQ. That’s not my experIence. To my earlier comment, the devil is in the details. If you pick a component that has managed to carefully execute both functionalities (end point + server) in one box then running a Roon server remotely is not necessary and would also keep things simple.
I am using a one box purpose Roon render/server + DAC that allows me to take full advantage of Roon features and renders amazing sound quality.
This static problem may not be related to Roon. It's often a problem withe the DAC not syncing the right bit rate. For instance, playing 96/24 and then switching to 44/16. I've had some luck fixing this a couple of different ways. You can upsample everything to the same bit rate, for instance, 96/24. Then your DAC never has to switch. It's not a bad approach as some DACs simply perform better at higher sample rates.
The other approach is to go into the advanced (I think) settings of your DAC and increase the inter song delay. Also worth checking you have the correct maximum sample rates.
The answer to your query, YES! Roon got the best UI (user interface) and streaming SQ greatly varies on the choice of hardware used as an endpoint (render) and server.
The preference between Audirvana vs Roon is clearly dominated by end user experience. You will find people in both camps swearing by its superiority, based on their experience. In both instances, the bottom line is implementation and choice of hardware. Both software are capable of good sound quality. I would suggest that you focus on your choice of hardware and allow yourself to get fully acclimated to Roon. There is a bit of learning curve with Roon, once you do familiarize yourself with Roon, you won’t be disappointed.
I’ve been into computer based audio for over 15 years. I’ve tried pretty much all the software during that time; Pure Music (Channel D), Audirvana, JRiver, Bit Perfect, Roon, and probably others that I’ve since forgotten.
Based on my experiences, I purchased a lifetime Roon subscription when I first became available.
I periodically try other programs, but always come back to Roon for its sound quality, ease of use, and integration with Qobuz and HQ Player.
A few people claim Roon sound quality not up to par, most don't have issue. My argument is regardless of music player being used, streams should equal sound quality of cd's played via a quality cd transport, or rips on a hard drive. I've run Audirvana and Roon, both are capable of this.
@hgeifmanThanks for the reply. I think I've tried all of those things, but I'll try again. I like the program. I installed the remote app so I can run it with my tablet.
Audirvana has many audio settings. The issue of loud static when switching songs in Audirvana might be related to several factors. Here are some potential solutions:
1. Check Audio Settings: Ensure your audio settings in Audirvana are optimized. Try reducing the buffer size and adjusting sample rate settings.
2. Disable Gapless Playback: If enabled, try disabling gapless playback in the audio output settings to see if it resolves the issue.
3. Update Software and Drivers: Make sure both Audirvana and your DAC drivers are up-to-date.
I use Audirvana and like it very much. I suggest you investigate further to see what is going on. And maybe post this question on the Audiovana Community forum.
Roon is rock solid. Great UI, great features. Sound quality is good but it almost never sounds as good as streaming via native app.
Your Innuos will be better than the streamer in the dac but if you want to try Roon, go for it.
One other option to stream with your DAC network card is Mconnect. Download the app and you can use Qobuz or Tidal with it.
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