What exactly is ROON?

@manhattan1

There are many options so I suggest you continue your review.

+1, As posted above, I also suggest you consider Audiovana for the reasons described below. I have been using it for many years and agree it is excellent

“Audirvana is a high-quality audio playback software designed for audiophiles to enhance their listening experience. Founded in 2011 by Damien Plisson in France, it optimizes sound quality by minimizing CPU activity, shortening the signal path, and supporting high-resolution audio formats up to 32-bit/384 kHz. It works with various file types like FLAC, WAV, DSD, and more, and integrates streaming services such as Tidal and Qobuz.

Audirvana offers features like metadata editing, a user-friendly interface, and the Audirvana Remote app for control via smartphones or tablets. It supports playback through connected devices or streaming via UPnP and Chromecast but lacks AirPlay support. It is available for macOS, LINUX and Windows.

Audirvana improves sound quality compared to other players through several key features:

• Exclusive DAC Access: Audirvana bypasses the operating system’s audio processing by taking exclusive control of the DAC. This eliminates unnecessary sample rate conversions, jitter, and mixing with system sounds, ensuring a cleaner audio signal.

• Optimized Playback Path: It minimizes CPU activity and follows the shortest software path to the audio output, reducing interference and preserving the integrity of the audio signal.

• Dynamic Range and Clarity: Users report enhanced dynamic range, deeper bass, sharper highs, and more natural vocals when compared to native players like Qobuz or Apple Music. Instruments are better separated, and soundstage is improved.

• DSP Options: Audirvana allows for advanced digital signal processing (DSP) through plugins, enabling further customization for connected devices.

These optimizations result in a more detailed and immersive listening experience, often likened to upgrading hardware components like a DAC.

Audirvana’s digital playback process is unique due to its proprietary technology that prioritizes audio quality by optimizing every step of the playback chain:

• Bit-Perfect Playback: Audirvana bypasses the operating system’s audio mixer, ensuring the audio signal remains unaltered and transmitted directly to the DAC for playback without loss or interference.

• Direct and Exclusive DAC Access: The software takes exclusive control of the DAC, avoiding unnecessary sample rate conversions and ensuring precise audio output tailored to the DAC’s capabilities.

• Shortest Signal Path: It minimizes processor activity and uses the shortest possible software path to reduce noise and interference during playback.

• Kernel-Level Programming: Audirvana leverages low-level programming (e.g., WASAPI, Kernel Streaming) for both macOS and Windows, enhancing system efficiency and sound fidelity.

• Advanced Upsampling: The software uses high-quality algorithms like SoX and R8Brain for upsampling, allowing the computer’s powerful CPU to handle complex processing, relieving the DAC from additional tasks.

These features collectively ensure a clean, high-resolution audio experience that preserves the integrity of the original recording”.

I use Audiovana on my Infigo Audio IS-1 Streamer that uses LINUX. I use my Apple iPad with the Audiovana Remote to control it. I stream from QoBuz and everything works perfectly. I hope this helps.

I have no experience with Roon.   

 

 

 

Re Audirvana vs. Roon, I have lifetime licenses for both and can't tell the difference in terms of sound quality running it from a dedicated computer (Mac mini). At one point Audirvana had some annoying bug with playlists, so focussed on Roon. Could have gone the other way just as easily. I only use it for local files, don't stream, as I don't like to exploit artists.

THANKS TO EVERYONE.  LOTS OF USEFUL AND THOUGHTFUL INFORMATION.

@oberoniaomnia

I am sorry you had an issue with Audiovana playlists. I also had an issue with their playlist and posted my issue on the Community Audiovana forum. please see link below. I received their response in about 24 hours and was told what I needed to. In my case, it was my error, and, everything is working now. I used the Audiovana community forum several times and promptly received a very useful response. I hope this helps.

https://community.audirvana.com

This forum is meant to help Audirvāna users find answers and share their experiences. If you have a question, please search for it 🔍 or browse the related topics using the various tabs. You can create a new post/question using the button + New Topic.  

Want to add a couple of things. 

Roon is a split software system, with the core and end points.  The core is a little CPU and storage heavy.  This is partly because they index your music and add a lot of metadata to seamlessly blend music you own and music from streaming services.  The other part is that the core can do a lot.  It can do transcoding from one PCM resolution to another or DSD to PCM, and vice versa, so no matter what the limitations of your DAC, or your preferred data encoding method it will work.  The other thing that consumes CPU is the built in EQ via DSP capabilities.  Those are pretty amazingly thorough, to the point of users investing an enormous amount of time to do Dirac Live like convolutions. 

If you aren't fully utilizing the DSP or transcoding capabilities the CPU needs are quite lite.  Unfortunately (I think) this is still keeping Roon from embracing low power, high efficiency ARM based chips and mini servers.

My point is, I think the CPU needs of Roon are a little exaggerated.  You get a lot of convenience in integrating your music with streaming services and a great UI on most devices (Web, iPhone, Android) and as a subscription I never worry that it will be outdated like say, a TV that can't play Netflix anymore.