Roon is a great add on to Tidal, if you like how they organize your music which is quite good. Also IMO the main reason to have Roon is the discovery feature that shows similar music to what your listening. great way to find new music. DARCO did a very good review of Roon its on youtube.
Most people copy their CD's to their NAS. Or DL'd music
It takes forever to Copy your CD's so yes. Not really a money pit once its done you make a back up and your good. just the cost of the NAS and Streamer-computer
If you don't already have the Digital music you don't need a NAS, Unless you need to listen with out an internet connection (so your going to DL your music from the internet).
I'd just get a streamer with Tidal - Roon ready and be done.
I was going to go NAS but in the end Tidal seems to have everything I wanted anyway so IMO no reason to spend the time copying just stream.
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Another thing with Roon is they tell more about the band / musician so you get a bit more background info. |
So where did everyone get their NAS? Like can I pay someone $100 for theirs? Did yall pay $1 per song? Did you sit there and rip every one of your CDs? |
I acquired my 2 TB library from (1) hundreds of CD's I have purchased over 20 years. (2) traded with friends. I have meet several fellow audiophiles on Agon who also have large libraries. We purchased an external HD, copy our files to it, then send it to a friend who then copies it to their library. Then the friend deletes the HD and copies their files and sends it back. I have done this several times. (3) I have (as have my friends) purchased dozens of Hi Def files from HD Tracks or other sites and share or add to the library also.
As far as Roon goes, I use and love it. It organizes (into categories and sub categories) your entire library and also it integrates a streaming service (like Qobuz or Tidal) which I use, into your stored files. It gives background info on albums and artists etc. and makes suggestions on music you may like based on your listening history. I think Roon works best if you have a stored library and also use a streaming service. The way it integrates the two, categorizes and supplies info is what makes it so useful.
Also I don't use a NAS. I have a Innuos Zenith music server with 4 TB's of storage. Innuos makes it easy to rip your CD's and store them in your library. It's automatic with Innuos....Insert you CD, wait 4 minutes and it's done. It copies, attaches artwork to the file and stores it in your library. I had an Aurender music server for several years and their method for ripping and storing your CD's into your library was WAY more work (not automatic).
Having a large library doesn't have to be a money pit. You just have to meet people who are willing to share. That's also the fun part!
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Thanks @ron17. I don't have a huge collection of CD's unfortunately. I wish Roon offered a "streaming" only tier. I wouldn't get the full benefit of using Roon without having a NAS or downloaded music stored somewhere it doesn't look like.
Who's in Dallas and wants to give me their files?! ha |
I have several friends who use Roon with Qobuz or Tidal only. They like the information it provides and also how it recommends new music based on what you like.
Also when I bought my first music server, the dealer I purchased it from loaded his complete library on it before he shipped it to me. I have several friends who bought from other dealers who did the same thing for them....so I started out with over 1 TB of music files the first day I got it. There are lots of ways to get a music library without breaking the bank.
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I use a Synology NAS which I bought on Amazon. I have a Mac Mini that I used to rip my very small collection of CDs to FLAC and then loaded it on my NAS (about 1 TB). Sometimes I download music, never used Tidal or any other streaming service. I also use Minim Server on the NAS and a Lightning DS app as the endpoint since I have an Auralic Aries LE to stream to my DAC. I tried Roon twice and didn't like it. Didn't organize my files the way I liked and it wasn't worth all the trouble to get it to do what I needed it to do. Didn't really care for their content either. So me definitely a waste.
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I also use a Synology NAS I bought on Amazon. My files are my ripped CDs, about 800, and then files I've bought or friends have given me. Most of those are bootleg live shows, I have about 3.5TB of my own files plus I stream Tidal and Qobuz. I don't use Roon I use Lightning DS app from Auralic with my Aries Mini.
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I need better friends with files :(
I think, if I got Roon, I'd have to run it from a laptop... Then USB from lappy to my Cambridge CXN v2 as a digital input..
Isn't that correct?
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you do know you need to also run one of the streaming services as well ( if you do not have music stored locally) as Roon. Roon is only an interface and organizing program not a streamer in itself. so you will need a tidal, Spotify etc account as well as ROON. Also an internet conection.
I run a small form computer outputted to a DAC, running tidal-roon on the computer. I have a tv in my listening room so i can use that as a monitor and i added a wireless keyboard with a track pad. Works for me. I will be going to a dedicated server though eventually as it will sound better then the computer and its noisy power supply. |
I use a Synology NAS and converted my old INTEL NUC to a Roon Rock. I didn't shell out the 499, but decided to do the 120 per year to give it a full test. I think it is a great app and provides liner notes and artist info that otherwise I would never see when streaming. I do wish they developed an APP for Apple TV to stream the current song's info.
For endpoints I use my Sonos connects and I have one ultra Rendu I bought to experiment with Hi-REZ files from Quboz and Hi-rez downloads. I am not sure the Hi-Rez files by themselves are worth it, but found to be very recording dependent. Quboz didn't have enough of the titles I wanted and too few Hi-Rez. I am using tidal, but will eventually cease once I fill in my library with a few genres I neglected for many years - mainly early punk and progressive rock.
I am curious on the Innous - if that is tremendous improvement over NAS to DAC, or NAS, to Ultra Rendu to DAC. I am guessing marginal, but I am nonetheless curious. Just a lot of money to drop. |
One thing to note I would not post your looking for free music - coping someone else's music etc. as that goes against recording industry law. Pirating. Keep that stuff to your self |
Reviving this with new question.
I have the Anthem STR Integrated amp and Bluesound Node 2i. Am i correct to say, if I want to use Roon, I have to have an endpoint? Or a computer nearby always on?
I still have no NAS so it would only be for streaming.
I cannot figure out any benefit from Roon without a NAS. BluOS is awesome, would Roon really be better?
Again - NON NAS user here.. |
