Fancy casework and branding is the main difference. I think built in storage is larger on some Nucleus, but you can add more to ST if/when you want. If you run along with your library on a NAS, you'll probably prefer to keep your whole library there anyway.
I've owned a STi5 and run it as Roon Core for about a year and it's great. 2minutes to setup up. It's connected to a switch near the NAS in the room where internet enters the house. Sonore opticalRendu in the listening room takes the ethernet from the wall and output to the DAC. I use Apple devices as Roon Remotes.
The setup is super-stable and intuitive to use. Although I've never had to re-install my Roon library database, it's easy to set auto-backups in Roon and store them on the ST(or elsewhere, like the NAS).
Andrew's youtube videos (Small Green Computer channel) are short and simple and will give anyone the confidence needed to implement even if networking, optical, etc. are completely new to you. Cheers,
Spencer
I've owned a STi5 and run it as Roon Core for about a year and it's great. 2minutes to setup up. It's connected to a switch near the NAS in the room where internet enters the house. Sonore opticalRendu in the listening room takes the ethernet from the wall and output to the DAC. I use Apple devices as Roon Remotes.
The setup is super-stable and intuitive to use. Although I've never had to re-install my Roon library database, it's easy to set auto-backups in Roon and store them on the ST(or elsewhere, like the NAS).
Andrew's youtube videos (Small Green Computer channel) are short and simple and will give anyone the confidence needed to implement even if networking, optical, etc. are completely new to you. Cheers,
Spencer