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Thread: Anyone in house using Roon?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2012
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    Default Anyone in house using Roon?

    Just wondering if anyone here is using Roon particularly with tidal and if so your opinion on it.

    I have just signed up for a trial and like it so far but not sure if there is anything else out there that it can be replaced with and if Roon is really worth the life time subscription?

    Thanks

  2. #2
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    Oct 2017
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    I too am fascinated with Roon but haven't taken the plunge, so I'd be very interested in your observations and those of others. I've heard that a new streaming service called Qobuz (think I'm spelling that correctly) will be introduced in the U.S. next month and will be compatible with Roon, so there will be another streaming choice. Qobuz appears to have more high resolution music than Tidal. From what I've read, setting up Roon and using it to access your digital music library and best play music is a matter of some complexity and considerable debate. Having speakers as good as the Ascends does make you want the best possible source to play on them, and Roon looks to be an interesting way to go. There are other similar platforms like Plex, but it appears that they can't hold a candle to Roon, which operates something like a gaming program for information and uses RAAT to send a pure data stream of digital music to the endpoint in your hi fi system

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    I use Roon with Tidal as well as my own library, and I love it. I love it so much, I bought the lifetime subscription. I did not/do not think it was very difficult to setup. To me, the best thing about Roon is it's use of available meta data on the internet for the artists and songs. As an endpoint, I use an Oppo 205.

    In the past I have used JRiver, Kodi, Sonos, and Squeezbox...and played around with a few others.
    -curtis

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2014
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    82

    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    If you're struggling to justify the cost of Roon, Plex is a decent alternative to consider. They just rolled out their own integration with Tidal that integrates your own music with Tidal's catalog. I like Plex because it handles all of my media - photos, cell phone videos, movies, music and it also streams and DVRs live TV from my HDHomeRun.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    191

    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    I am a new Roon user. It can be complex to implement, depending on your background and what exactly you want to achieve with it. I needed to commit to something, long-term, so I did buy the lifetime subscription.

    I have read that Tidal might not be long for this world, and that Qobuz is a potential alternative that might be integrated in Roon, soon.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Oct 2017
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    I use Roon with Tidal as well as my own library, and I love it. I love it so much, I bought the lifetime subscription. I did not/do not think it was very difficult to setup. To me, the best thing about Roon is it's use of available meta data on the internet for the artists and songs. As an endpoint, I use an Oppo 205.

    In the past I have used JRiver, Kodi, Sonos, and Squeezbox...and played around with a few others.
    Do you connect wirelessly with your Oppo? Where do you store your library?

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    Quote Originally Posted by SteveM View Post
    Do you connect wirelessly with your Oppo? Where do you store your library?
    All my “important”/non-mobile stuff is hardwired, and that includes the Oppo.

    My music library is on a NAS.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    All my “important”/non-mobile stuff is hardwired, and that includes the Oppo.

    My music library is on a NAS.
    Curtis, would Roon work for us in our demo room? Would somebody be able to control the content (play a song, search etc) through an OPPO or must it be through a PC?
    .
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    Good Sound To You!

    David Fabrikant
    www.ascendacoustics.com

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    Quote Originally Posted by davef View Post
    Curtis, would Roon work for us in our demo room? Would somebody be able to control the content (play a song, search etc) through an OPPO or must it be through a PC?
    The brains of a Roon system is what is called the "core". It needs to run on a server...there are flavors for Windows, Mac, and Linux. There is even a purposely built piece of hardware sold by Roon called the "Nucleus", but it is kind of pricey.

    The core is then connected to a library and/or Tidal. In itself, a core can be an endpoint, and connected to a receiver or pre/pro, or send output to an endpoint.

    You can control content directly on the core, or through apps for Windows, Mac, iOS or Android. For instance, I mostly control content via my iPhone or iPad. I can not control Roon from my Oppo.

    But I can play/control content on my NAS via my Oppo, by-passing Roon if I wanted to, like you do in the demo room.

    You could put an iPad or Android tablet in the demo room for people to play music via Roon. You could run the Roon core right on one of your PCs. Then you would need an endpoint in your demo room.
    Last edited by curtis; 12-10-2018 at 06:19 PM.
    -curtis

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Feb 2013
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    Default Re: Anyone in house using Roon?

    Quote Originally Posted by curtis View Post
    ... In itself, a core can be an endpoint, and connected to a receiver or pre/pro, or send output to an endpoint.

    ... I can not control Roon from my Oppo.

    But I can play/control content on my NAS via my Oppo, by-passing Roon if I wanted to, like you do in the demo room.

    You could put an iPad or Android tablet in the demo room for people to play music via Roon. You could run the Roon core right on one of your PCs. Then you would need an endpoint in your demo room.
    Roon's "thing" is highest quality audio and content management. The OPPO 203 and 205 are "Roon Ready" devices and so can be "end-points", as Curtis said earlier in this thread. So you can play from Roon through a suitable OPPO, using their protocol (RAAT), but the OPPOs' maximum capabilities are then limited to "only" 24-bit, 192KHz, 2-channel (which matches my needs, nicely!). This is my TV system, where my S2s and F8 live.

    I run an Intel NUC as the Core and Server (no NAS). I control Roon play, to any available device, via a tablet (or phone) with the Roon app. My Core/Server and my remote OPPO 203 are connected via ethernet (over power wiring). My tablet connects to that same network via WiFi.

    The Core/Server sits adjacent to an OPPO 205, which I have connected via HDMI, directly, with the full HDMI input performance capability of the OPPO 205.

    Finally, I also connect from the Core/Server to a local Benchmark DAC3-HGC via USB, directly (up to 24-bit, 192 KHz, 2-channel and DSD-64 over DoP). The OPPO-205 and DAC3-HGC are in my main listening room.

    So those are some of the variations you can do. There are others, such as Apple AirPlay, but I find it less reliable, and the quality is more limited (16-bit, 44.1 KHz, 2 channel). I usually only use that to play from a phone, or occasionally, a remote Denon receiver.
    Last edited by jimb; 12-10-2018 at 11:16 PM.

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