[mresseguie]

I have a bunch music files on a couple of hard drives. I know about these three: Audirvana; Roon; JRiver. There are likely others as well.

I want to play my music files. I want to stream music from Tidal and other sites. [I already have TIDAL.] I've placed an order for an Eversolo T8 - ought to be delivered in about 2 weeks.

Which program do you use to play your music files?

Thank you for your input.

Michael

[Craig Young]

I have only around a couple of hundred cd's ripped to lossless flac files and I also bought a few albums from Qobuz and it all gets combined in Roon. I really like the display of Roon in that some songs will auto display the lyrics during playback. I have not experienced any other streaming platforms

[Rocket]

Hello,

Same here as I use Roon and then stream Tidal to my Bryson PI. It adds up though when you purchase Tidal and Roon together though.

Regards Rod

[mresseguie]

I have only around a couple of hundred cd's ripped to lossless flac files and I also bought a few albums from Qobuz and it all gets combined in Roon. I really like the display of Roon in that some songs will auto display the lyrics during playback. I have not experienced any other streaming platforms

Hello,

Same here as I use Roon and then stream Tidal to my Bryson PI. It adds up though when you purchase Tidal and Roon together though.

Regards Rod

Thanks, guys. Do either of you also use Roon Nucleus One or Nucleus Titan also?

[Craig Young]

I did not get the Roon Nucleus. I am using Mac Mini M4 for Roon, Qobuz, ripped cd's. I like the Mac because of the BAACH4Mac by Theoretica.

[mresseguie]

I did not get the Roon Nucleus. I am using Mac Mini M4 for Roon, Qobuz, ripped cd's. I like the Mac because of the BAACH4Mac by Theoretica.

Ooh, yeah! I forgot to mention I'm a Mac user. Does it matter which level of Mac Mini M4 is used (base model, M4-pro, 16GB vs 32GB RAM, etc.)?

[Craig Young]

I have the entry level at 16GB and it has proven to be more than enough power and my current OS is 26.2 . I am happy with how my setup sounds and performs.

[zoom25]

I use both Roon (w/Tidal and local files) and Tidal's native app for myself. I also have Spotify Lossless for the family which I'll occasionally use.

Roon and Roon Arc is the best for integration of local and streaming, along with DSP (Audeze headphones) or multizone playback. Tidal app is great for music videos, playlists, and autoplay recommendations. Quick and snappy.

I stopped using Audirvana altogether close to around 10 years ago when I first got Roon. JRiver never really got into it. Don't have a reason or desire to touch either honestly.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I use Audirvana Studio, it sounds way better than JR, and it sounds better than Roon.

[newzooreview]

It is much better to get an Intel NUC and use Roon's free Roon Server software to create a dedicated Roon Optimized Core Kit server than to install Roon on top of a general-purpose operating system, whether Mac, Windows, or Linux. A general-purpose operating system has hundreds of background processes running that interfere with streaming audio. You don't hear the degradation until it's not there, and you switch back.

https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/roon-optimized-core-kit#So_what_is_Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit_ROCK_then

I use Macs and own a Windows computer as well. Neither of them is as good as a computer running the dedicated Linux version that Roon created. The purpose-built, heavily pared-down Roon server Linux version augments one of the primary benefits of Roon: the Roon Advanced Audio Transport protocol.

https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/raat#What_is_RAAT

[Tyson]

Agreed with nzr.  Dedicated Roon server is cheap and sounds better than a stock pc or Mac.

[billc]

Totally agree, through experience, with above two posts recommending Roon w Nucleus.  I used to use a Mac Mini, then moved to a Nucleus and never looked back. The reduction in noise, which I was not fully aware of with the MacMini, was significant.  I now use the Nucleus Titan, which has a bit more processing power than the Nucleus One. The Roon software w Roon hardware is extraordinarily well matched, and it shows in the sound quality. As noted above, personal computers are not optimized for audio, and have many sources of noise and processing degradation.

[mresseguie]

Thanks, guys!

I'm looking into Nucleus One now. It looks as though it is pretty simple to set up. However, I believe there's a limitation. It will connect to my Holo Spring3 DAC, but not to my SW1X DAC (AES/EBU or SPDIF). I guess I could get an adapter (perhaps not)?

[mresseguie]

I just finished watching this video on The Hans Beekhuyzen Channel, and it really helped me better understand Roon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4xfATID59o

[Zuman]

I have both Roon and Audirvana Origin, running on a Pachanko Labs Constellation Mini SE server.
I've had Roon on a lifetime subscription since it first became available about ten years ago ($450 back then) and I added Audirvana's one-time purchase option ("Origin") when I bought the Pachanko server a couple of years ago.
They sound "different." In my system, Roon sounds airier, more crystalline, and more "exciting," while Audirvana is darker and more analog-sounding. Both image very well.
I find myself using Roon 90% of the time, and also use it to add music files to my headless server. The interface is more intuitive to me and I prefer the sound most of the time.

[shadowlight]

I have a bunch music files on a couple of hard drives. I know about these three: Audirvana; Roon; JRiver. There are likely others as well.

I want to play my music files. I want to stream music from Tidal and other sites. [I already have TIDAL.] I've placed an order for an Eversolo T8 - ought to be delivered in about 2 weeks.

Which program do you use to play your music files?

Thank you for your input.

Michael

Installing Roon ROCK on Intel Nuc is simple. If you need help ping me and I can help you with that. I use Intel Nuc 11th Gen for Roon.

I am 99% sure that Eversolo will allow you to hook up external USB drives or add 16tb of internal storage using 2x8TB NVME drives.

Look forward to your opinion on T8.

[JakeJ]

Micheal, you may want to look at the Singxer USB to SPDIF converter for the SW1X DAC.  They have good performance for the bucks.  I have used one in the past.

I no longer use Apple products to play my music as I am retired and cannot afford them.  JRiver is my go to now for software which has DSP and other tools built in.  That BACCH4Mac stuff requires much deeper pockets than mine.

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I have both Roon and Audirvana Origin, running on a Pachanko Labs Constellation Mini SE server.
I've had Roon on a lifetime subscription since it first became available about ten years ago ($450 back then) and I added Audirvana's one-time purchase option ("Origin") when I bought the Pachanko server a couple of years ago.
They sound "different." In my system, Roon sounds airier, more crystalline, and more "exciting," while Audirvana is darker and more analog-sounding. Both image very well.
I find myself using Roon 90% of the time, and also use it to add music files to my headless server. The interface is more intuitive to me and I prefer the sound most of the time.

I use Audirvana Studio and love it.  It has air and transparency but a fuller sound and slightly warmer.  I also have Audirvana 3.5 and it is airier and lighter sounding.  I also have HQP and prefer Audirvana Studio.

It is certainly worth it to download the trial version of Studio.  It is free.

[Mike-48]

I used JRiver for about 10 years, but when I added a streaming service (Qobuz), it made sense to switch to Roon, and I'm glad I did, for its consistency of interface and other reasons, among them metadata and ease of use.
I use a fanless Roon server that was built for me based on a Roon-approved NUC. I installed ROCK on it myself. It has been entirely reliable, and for those who are technically confident, that route can be considerably less expensive than buying a pre-built server (Nucleus) from Roon. The really tech-assured will assemble the NUC themselves . . . not so difficult, but not something I'm interested in doing any more.
Good luck with your setup!