I have compared Roon to the lumin app so far and found lumin app layout and playlist management really frustrating. Not to mention minimserver and the lumin app need to scan all your music while roon its just automatically populates. Also to save a file or album to a playlist you have to load the play list first. So many little annoyances. What software are you running if you are streaming? Can anyone compete with roon? I am in my 3rd year of annual roon membership and I didn’t want to have to go to lifetime as its really pricey ($700 USD). But at this time I don’t think I have a choice.
Roon Pluses and Minuses as I see them: + Great interface + Integration of local library with Tidal and/or Qobuz + Common denominator usable with so much hardware + Music discovery via Roon suggestions and Roon Radio AI + Potential for future development from Roon Labs - Streaming Service support currently limited to just Tidal and Qobuz - Investment in suitable hardware to support Roon Core - Subscription cost ... $119 annual or $699 lifetime
Full disclosure. I'm a very happy Roon user. Purchased a Roon Nucleus in November. Got lucky, and was able to pick up lifetime subscription just prior to the price increase. Prior to Roon, had been using Blu OS as my principal interface since 2014. Have also used Melco HD. In my opinion, Blu OS is very good. Melco HD has its uses but can be quirky. Roon is a definite step up. But you have to pay for it. Is it worth it? That is for you to decide. To me it is, and the ride is very much worth the fare.
I own a Lumin T2. I use Roon as my playback software. Lumin's app is very good but the dealbreaker for me was an inability to list my library by artist alphabetically. That drove me into the arms of Roon and I've never looked back as I consider the Roon interface superior in every way.
I'm surprised no one has given Roon a run for their money as an app based one time purchase for reasonable money would be a big deal I think.
I went from Bluesound OS which is great and I thought even better than Sonos to running the Lumin app with my Teac NT-505 and sound was a huge step up but interface was not nearly as nice.
Had a free 60 day Roon trial and it was definitely a huge improvement from the Lumin software. I haven't ponied up for a subscription yet as I wanted to go back first to see what I'm missing which is quite a bit.
Roon definitely isn't perfect but it does integrate your local library well and it also loops all your streaming devices together pretty much regardless of brand seamlessly which is really it's greatest strength.
I'll probably pony up for a year and then if nothing more exciting comes along go lifetime. That's really my fear is that you go lifetime and then someone else blows them out of the water and you're switching to the next big thing after having paid for lifetime with Roon.
I was using iPeng and I agree the sound of Roon is substantially better. I have Roon on my Music Server. I wonder how much better it would sound if I moved it to a nucleus or similiar device.
Besides the great user interface, the "killer app" of Roon in my opinion is that it lets you put your entire library together regardless of source. My ripped CDs and Tidal albums are all just there together instead of having to go into just Tidal or just locally stored files. I haven't seen other software that does that but I haven't explored lately since I've been on Roon about a year and a half and have no desire to change. Like the OP, though, I haven't bought the lifetime subscription because who knows what options will be out next year and I worry that Tidal could go under and make the value proposition of Roon tank for me. At least Qobuz is now an option but it still seems somewhat risky to me with the competition in music streaming services.
I just downloaded Roon and Audirvana the other day. I have say the Roon GUI is much better and it's easier to get things done. However, the sound is better with Audirvana. I never thought I'd be able to notice something like that but I can definitely tell. I want to keep Roon but having sound that isn't is good is sort of bothersome....
Tidal going under? Is this a possibility? I was more worried of Roon going under after they have used up all lifetime membership fees, The reason why I renew on an annual basis.
I pay for roon on the annual plan for the same reasons as others have stated, wonder about competition in the next few years. I really like roon for it's UI and their OS which to me improves the sound, totally subjective observation.
@jorgjean I don’t have any insider info on anything but Amazon music “HD” came out and suddenly I see a non stop stream of special offers for Tidal... 5 months for $5, 4 months for $4 (that’s total, not per month, and includes the hifi tier), discounted annual rates, 3 free months when you buy a Blue Sound product... It seemed like they were desperate for cash but that’s just a random interpretation.
I purchased an annual subscription of Roon. It’s about to expire and I won’t be renewing. There’s no question that Roon offers the best user experience - best GUI, library management etc. But, Auralic’s conductor app is also quite good. Auralic’s Lighting DS (LDS) is less good but still quite nice - more than adequate. More importantly, LDS sounds significantly better than Roon. I’m not the only who feels this way. My suspicion is the native app deals with buffers and cache better than Roon which has to work across multiple platforms. In any case, sound quality is first so I’m dumping Roon.
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