My ROON Core is located in my ROON Nucleus Rev B. All it does is allow me to choose between which music on Tidal or Qobuz that I would like to hear. The Nucleus has its own linear power supply, and has RFI eliminating filters front and back, which makes for a pretty clean signal before it travels into my Chord Hugo M Scaler and then to my TT2 DAC. Does it sound as good as any another streaming software being run through a dCS Vivaldi stack? Probably not. But it does sound as good as most high end CD transport or vinyl system that I’ve heard. What makes ROON great is its convenience and ease of use. Quibbling about perceived sound quality issues up in this rarified audiophile air is mildly interesting, but not the most important thing to discuss IMO. I don’t believe that the sound engineers at ROON are trying to cut any corners when it comes to providing the best product possible. But by all means if something sounds better to you, then use it and don’t look back.
Roon Streaming Service actually Degrades the sound
The purpose of this post is to put pressure on the Roon engineers
to make Roon a better product. How do I know Roon is less than ideal?
From a streamer maker who has the highest standards and
consequently refuses to go the Roon route. As he put it "I experiment with
my prototype and eliminate everything which holds the best sound back".
Sad to say he rejected Roon for exactly this reason.
I use Roon and do not want to learn a different, worse program.
Hence I want Roon to get better. Anyone listening Roon Folk?
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Debate over the best sounding player software has existed since digital audio playback became more mainstream. Roon is just another contender in the game. I suppose its popularity has made it an easy target. I don't see nearly the same discussion over the sound quality of Lightning DS, Lumin OS, Aurender Conductor, and other proprietary software. What is more agreeable is that Roon is one of (if not the best) library management tools available. It seamlessly allows a user to access both local media and streams from Tidal and Qobuz in an elegant and user-friendly way. |
@dougthebiker I also noticed the Roon experimental version sounded really good. I used it until I inserted a Matrix SPDIF-X between my Zenith MKII and DirectStream DAC to use i2s. For some reason, the experimental version will not recognize the Matrix. The SQ with i2s is superior to USB to my DAC. With Sense, I can take advantage of squeezelites superior SQ via i2s. |
Disclaimer: those who believe digital is zeroes and ones, “bit perfect” know-it-alls experts, either it works or does not, please do no read, and ignore:
Roon network protocol,RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport) is somewhat primitive, old, and been around for a while.
https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/raat#What_is_RAAT While it has been patched over several software updates, still a bit long in the tooth. I have heard from people well versed in network topology that it imposes very strict / hard demands to various network components comprising the streaming audio chain, with potential impact to SQ. Stressing “potential” here.
So here is that. I have a very strong feeling Roon folks know this, and likely address it in the next couple of years. Here is to RAAT 2.0!! |
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