Roon

Phil A · « **Reply #20 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:01 pm »

Quote from: JohnR on 14 Jul 2015, 02:52 pm

Phil, see I still don't get it, if I have a NAS already then why do I need another piece of software to "find" what's on it? JRiver already knows, as does any other player that I point to the NAS.

John, it will just give you lots more data (if you desire that - I'm not sure that I need it - have not gone to NAS yet - have music servers in separate systems with the second set of hard drives as back-up). For me, the most important thing is sound quality. I can live without more data as I have so many files to listen to (let along multiple systems and not even counting HT) that I'm not sure at least at this point how much value it holds for me. I just signed up to upgrade to JRiver 21 and I'm hoping to try the HQ Player at some point which is supposed to be better.

Just discovered that the Music Plasma site I referred to in a previous post is now liveplasma.com If you go there and type in a band you'll get a visual of what additional data can do (keep in mind the Roon will have much more detail).

JohnR · « **Reply #21 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:04 pm »

OK... so it's making your personal collection act/look like your online music subscriptions? (i.e click to find more info about the artist, more albums, etc)

Phil A · « **Reply #22 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:04 pm »

From the Tone article it's like spending all day at the record store but have a more convenient database

"It’s like spending all day in the record store
Listening to the classic trio of Al DiMeola, John McLaughlin and Paco DeLucia’s Friday Night in San Francisco, it’s merely a finger tap away from seeing all the other bands these guys played with, which of their albums are available in your current music collection and what else is available to either listen to, or add to your collection on Tidal. Roon’s creators wanted to create a “never ending musical experience.” That they have succeeded brilliantly is an understatement.
Starting with Al DiMeola, I was able to take a lap through most of his discography, added a few albums I didn’t have to my collection via Tidal and notice his birthday is coming up, recalling he was on Stomu Yamashita’s Complete Go Sessions, which led to another hour with Klaus Schulze, ending up with some early Santana. This interactional aspect of Roon has really rekindled my interest in music and again, always reminds me of spending a day in my favorite record stores with good friends, sharing knowledge and coming home with a big pile of new records to explore."

Phil A · « **Reply #23 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:07 pm »

Quote from: JohnR on 14 Jul 2015, 03:04 pm

OK... so it's making your personal collection act/look like your online music subscriptions? (i.e click to find more info about the artist, more albums, etc)

Yes - believe so - here's what is show on Live Plasma when you enter 'David Crosby- http://liveplasma.com/#/artist/David_Crosby/e90f9815-221d-4e10-8675-e75c07988113/

Keep in mind something like Roon has tons more detail.

Phil A · « **Reply #24 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:11 pm »

barrows just posted this in the other thread "It appears to me that ROON is for those who really want the most possible information at their fingertips, it is pretty cool."

JohnR · « **Reply #25 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:16 pm »

I suppose I could just try it. But I still don't know what it does.

barrows · « **Reply #26 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:24 pm »

ROON probably will not be for everyone. To me, it is for those who really want to go deep into the background of their music, and find more info about the players, careers and associations while they are listening (via a tablet interface). For me, while I am listening to music I really do not want to be browsing other information on a screen, I want to close my eyes and be taken on a journey without distractions. But in these days of "multitasking" and ADD I can see how ROON will appeal to many.
I guess you could consider ROON a playback software which also offers an intelligent, automatic, Internet search feature which finds all the info about your music collection and associated music for you.

JohnR · « **Reply #27 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:27 pm »

Thanks barrows. So in step 1, it replaces your current music player (A+, PM, JRiver, etc)?

Phil A · « **Reply #28 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:30 pm »

Quote from: barrows on 14 Jul 2015, 03:24 pm

ROON probably will not be for everyone. To me, it is for those who really want to go deep into the background of their music, and find more info about the players, careers and associations while they are listening (via a tablet interface). For me, while I am listening to music I really do not want to be browsing other information on a screen, I want to close my eyes and be taken on a journey without distractions. But in these days of "multitasking" and ADD I can see how ROON will appeal to many.
I guess you could consider ROON a playback software which also offers an intelligent, automatic, Internet search feature which finds all the info about your music collection and associated music for you.

I'm with you. When I listen I care about quality and the listening experience. Sometimes, but not often, I get curious about something and may look it up (I'm either using an iPad mini, an Android tablet for iPhone with JRemote) but am more inclined to take a listening break and just look it up on the PC afterwards. But I too can see the appeal of Roon. Depending on when I move to NAS playback, for what it costs in relation to everything else, it may be something to consider.

mikeeastman · « **Reply #29 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:37 pm »

SQ wise how does it compare to HQ , J River, PM or any of the other programs?

Phil A · « **Reply #30 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:42 pm »

Quote from: mikeeastman on 14 Jul 2015, 03:37 pm

SQ wise how does it compare to HQ , J River, PM or any of the other programs?

From my understanding reading the long thread at the Computer Audiophile, the jury is still out. The initial post on the Computer Audiophile was in April and some have reported some bugs that are being worked on. Hopefully with a longer history more comparisons will be done by people.

barrows · « **Reply #31 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:43 pm »

Yeah, my understanding is that ROON is a complete playback software and remote app. For streaming (Ethernet) playback, but like jriver it probably works for direct playback from a computer to a USB DAC as well.
For Ethernet based audio one would have the ROON software running on a computer on the network (clearly it is too powerful to run on most NAS alone), and then also have the ROON remote app running on your control point (iPad, etc). There would be no need for any other playback software or apps.

sts9fan · « **Reply #32 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:48 pm »

It seems it also makes your online and local music look the same. You don't have to move between apps. Is that with $120/yr? Not sure. What I need is a streamer that can use Roon and sync perfectly all zones.
Also, Roon has graphic requirements. I tried to use it with my CAPS whatever and the Atom MoBo can't handle Roon. I guess a "headless" version may happen but I don't know.

JohnR · « **Reply #33 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:54 pm »

Has anyone here successfully integrated Roon into their daily playback system?

sts9fan · « **Reply #34 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:55 pm »

only the media who say its THE BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!! BUY IT!!!

mikeeastman · « **Reply #35 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 03:57 pm »

Thanks Phil.

JohnR · « **Reply #36 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 04:03 pm »

I feel like starting a thread about the iPad generation. I'm pretty sure I'm not in it. I mean, I do have an iPad, I run an Internet forum or two... but... I just don't get it. It used to be that you knew what you were signing up for beforehand. Now, it seems to be sign up first, find out later.

randytsuch · « **Reply #37 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 04:50 pm »

So did you get your question answered John?

I ran roon for a little bit on a raspberry pi. If you have a file server, it lets something like a pi act as a little music pc. In my setup, I connected I2S directly from the pi to my dac, and it sounded pretty good for what it was. Not as good as my HIGHLY tweaked PC, but really quite good for the price and effort involved. Roon also supports other little embedded platforms. UI is web based.

I also used a program called picoreplayer, kind of does the same thing, but wants to talk to a squeezeserver type PC. Would be a good solution if you're already running a squeeze or slim server.

Did that help John?

EDIT

Nevermind, I was thinking of runeaudio, instead of roon. lol

DTB300 · « **Reply #38 on:** 14 Jul 2015, 04:51 pm »

Roon is a Music Player (Win & MAC for now) that has a ton of Details about Artists, Songs, Upcoming Concerts, who else played/performed/wrote a song, etc. Others have talked about the Roon Core and Roon Remote PC's (DAC hookup), but you can just use one for both tasks.

It comes from the Sooloos world if familiar with that product, but it does not require the Meridian HW. Cost is due to the licensing/using of MetaData information from various sources (your Roon Core talks to the Roon DB (at Roon) to get this information). Currently your album/song MetaData is not used, but that is an upcoming feature/enhancement. Right now there is an Android Remote Control App, with IOS Remote Control App currently in closed Beta and due out shortly - week or two. Headless versions coming soon (Linux support too). As some have stated, insufficient graphics on your PC (OpenGL support) keeps some from using Roon - Headless will address this. Plays most everything up to DSD256 if your HW supports it.

Hope this is not too much reading....

JohnR · « **Reply #39 on:** 15 Jul 2015, 12:58 pm »

Quote from: randytsuch on 14 Jul 2015, 04:50 pm

Did that help John?

EDIT

Nevermind, I was thinking of runeaudio, instead of roon. lol

Thanks Randy, actually I have been playing with volumio on an RPi and suppose I might try Rune as well.