Roon/Bluesound Node - adding new DAC (non Roon-Ready)
Hi guys,
I'm currently at the start of the 14 day trial of Roon; Roon is running on my PC in a wired network, using my Node as endpoint, with the remote app on my android tablet.
All good at the moment, I'm enjoying using it, but in the next couple of days I'll be taking delivery of a new DAC; it isnt a mainstream DAC, it's a built to order unit from a tiny, 2 man company here in the UK. I don't think they even ship their units outside of the UK, so I doubt they Roon-Ready.
I will be slotting in the new DAC via SPDIF/Coax to my Node; my question is, how will the new DAC fit in to the processing stream if not recognised by Roon?
I'm obviously new to Roon so please forgive my ignorance. I've tried looking online, but I'm still not clear how the system will work after adding the new DAC, or if it will work at all?
For reference, the DAC is from a company called NJC Audio, and is the NJC Reference DAC. It has no software/drivers, and is plug and play.
Thanks for reading
If the Node is connected over the network, it seems to me that Roon will see the Node as the endpoint, and it doesn’t matter what is connected to the Node’s digital outputs. I have an Auralic Aries in my network and Roon recognizes it as Roon Ready, despite the Aries's digital output going to a unit Roon knows nothing about. |
If @painter24 is connecting his new DAC to the Node, and the Node (not the DAC) is connected to the Roon Core by networking, it is irrelevant whether the DAC itself is Roon-Ready. Roon-Ready applies to devices that Roon will control directly. In this case, it's the Node, not the DAC. The only thing necessary is that the DAC not have any quirks that make it incompatible with the Node. That is unlikely, but one could ask the maker or try it to be sure.
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Different users will prefer Roon or not. It’s worth a trial IMO. In the trial, try to use it extensively, as there is a learning curve. Roon’s at its best for finding music related to what you already like and for providing tons of metadata for a lot of music (but not all). It’s at its worst for classical music. Since Roon has no conception of what a sonata is, or a string quartet, you might imagine it has trouble finding those things, and you’d be right. As to connecting the DAC straight to the computer by USB, that’s often possible. However, not if the computer is in the other room, for example. I don’t think it’s a general rule, but I have had better results -- fewer noise problems -- when using a network-attached streamer (such as the Node) and then to a DAC rather than a direct USB connection from computer to DAC. |
