Sound quality of Roon

+1, @grannyring

I use both Roon and Sense.  I have a PS Audio Direct Stream DAC w/ Bridge II and Innous Zenith MKII streamer.  I bought the Zenith about 5 years ago and a life time Roon subscription.  

On the Zenith, I did A/B testing between Roon and Logitech Media Server.  I found LMS sounded better, but Roon’s interface is so much better so I stuck with Roon as my primary music management system. (I ran LMS from a NAS for years and years, long before I purchased the Zenith.)

Once I tried Sense in my music room system, there was no looking back.  I still use Roon for whole house stereo to Riva Wand wireless speakers on my first floor, second floor, and backyard.

In my music room, I did A/B testing using Sense via the Zenith into a Matrix DDC using i2s to the my DAC, and Roon into Bridge II in my DAC.  Sense sounds much better.  Using Roon and Bridge II, I’ve found that Qobuz HIRes generally sounds better than Tidal MQA, but not by much. 

For critical listening, I use Qobuz.  I listen to Tidal a lot because that’s where I started and have about 20 lengthy playlists that I’m too lazy to recreate in Qobuz.  And Tidal has more music to my liking (old school Soul/R&B, contemporary Jazz, and soft Rock) - and I think Qobuz playlists suck.  By that I mean, Qobuz mixes way too many music types into their playlists and their definition of Soul/R&B is mostly hip hop music which I can’t stomach.  Tidal’s focused playlist are so much better than Qobuz’s mixed bag playlists, and Tidal’s “My Mixes” playlists are awesome (IMHO) because they are automatically generated by Tidal based on the types of music that I play.

@nyev To me Sense sounds slightly too bloated or “filled-in” to me, with all of the space and air around vocals and instruments removed when compared with Roon.

I think you are the only person that likes Roon over Sense on a Zenith.  Just kidding 🤣!

It’s not that I dislike Roon by any means, I do listen to Roon on my main system sometimes.  I find the Sense sound “fuller” for sure, and Sense sounds a little “sweeter’ as well. 

My Roon core is running on a Mac-Mini, which sits in my upstairs office.  I’m still using the stock Mac power cord.  I’ve thought about getting a LPS for the Mac, but since I use it primarily for whole house stereo to Airplay speakers, I’m not sure I’d notice the difference.  

I’m using a Netgear Pro switch between the Orbi router in my office and my basement listening room.  The Mac-Mini plugs directly into the router.  I have considered getting a better switch, and an EtherREGEN for the listening room, but I’m not convinced the improvement would be worth the cost.