Roon v1.5

[Paulq]

I felt I couldn’t tell the difference by using my Yamaha wxc50 or the Oppo 203 which is Roon ready but like you I didn’t know what file format the Roon was sending but do now but at the time my Pc died so never got the chance to see .

But got a fresh Pc now and waiting on 2x 4TB WD Black 7200 speed hard drives to arrive and I’ve managed to sort out the 2TB hard drive and that’s in the Pc now and working so I will have plenty of storage 10TB ones I start ripping CDs again .

Then I will look to see what Roon is outputting to the Oppo but I did feel when I had the other Pc when I did have some music to stream over to the Oppo and the Yamaha wxc50 I couldn’t tell the difference between them both and the Yamaha Wxc50 was using airplay which I thought sounded pretty good for airplay as Roon is meant to down sample airplay .

Have you tried the MQA files on tidal yet ?

@Blacksabbath

My understanding is that as far as Roon's integration into Linn is concerned then they don't use standard Roon protocols (RAAT) so perhaps that's the reason I can't detect any variation between the two (Roon and A+ with Linn network players). That makes me less likely to buy it particularly as, to me, there was no discernible difference in SQ.

I have indeed tried MQA and it works well with my Meridian stuff. Linn isn't compatible with MQA. I am a fan of Tidal Masters anyway but wouldn't say I notice quantum leaps in the improvement of SQ with MQA. I regularly use it and make use of its MQA capability but a lot of the time that's simply to give me an excuse to use my headphones and have some private listening rather than me feeling there's any great advantage to it. The limitations of my hearing probably outweigh improvement there may be

.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I felt I couldn’t tell the difference by using my Yamaha wxc50 or the Oppo 203 which is Roon ready but like you I didn’t know what file format the Roon was sending but do now but at the time my Pc died so never got the chance to see .

But got a fresh Pc now and waiting on 2x 4TB WD Black 7200 speed hard drives to arrive and I’ve managed to sort out the 2TB hard drive and that’s in the Pc now and working so I will have plenty of storage 10TB ones I start ripping CDs again .

Then I will look to see what Roon is outputting to the Oppo but I did feel when I had the other Pc when I did have some music to stream over to the Oppo and the Yamaha wxc50 I couldn’t tell the difference between them both and the Yamaha Wxc50 was using airplay which I thought sounded pretty good for airplay as Roon is meant to down sample airplay .

Have you tried the MQA files on tidal yet ?

@Blacksabbath

My understanding is that as far as Roon's integration into Linn is concerned then they don't use standard Roon protocols (RAAT) so perhaps that's the reason I can't detect any variation between the two (Roon and A+ with Linn network players). That makes me less likely to buy it particularly as, to me, there was no discernible difference in SQ.

I have indeed tried MQA and it works well with my Meridian stuff. Linn isn't compatible with MQA. I am a fan of Tidal Masters anyway but wouldn't say I notice quantum leaps in the improvement of SQ with MQA. I regularly use it and make use of its MQA capability but a lot of the time that's simply to give me an excuse to use my headphones and have some private listening rather than me feeling there's any great advantage to it. The limitations of my hearing probably outweigh improvement there may be .

The thing I like about Roon is that it will find all of your music and put it all in one library including iTunes music but in regards to sound quality I can’t tell the difference .

On the negative side I do think that Roon not so good at putting albums that contain 3 or more CDs into a one album cover collection that you have ripped from CD .

Some album artwork covers could be better and sometimes getting the right cover that is correct with what you own even though you can change the covers in the settings editor but sometimes the choice is not there .

So there data base needs improvement I think in order to get the correct information

 

[Paulq]

Yeah though I must admit I only had a few problems tag wise when I imported my library but I recall reading that you struggled a bit.

I terms of library then I must be a bit odd as, again, I like the way that Audirvana+ keeps them separate but easy to access. That's just particular to me as I tend to use Tidal for new music and the main library for the stuff on my NAS. I actually like the harder separation lines between them.

I am with you though - SQ is no different to me. I tend not to get hung up on stuff like that these days otherwise I'd drive myself daft and bankrupt looking for a 0.00001% improvement when in reality there's usually very little to be found IMO. I just focus on listening to the music, am pretty happy with the setup I have. I just tried Roon to see what all the fuss was about

.

Led Zeppelin on Tidal Masters is currently sounding rather good

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[Paulq]

Just a wee update this morning as I posted the same note regarding variations in streaming quality on the Linn forum. One of the Linn staff replied earlier today confirming that RAAT was not used when implementing Roon for Linn and that a custom protocol was used (he declined to say what that was). He went on to say that there will be no difference in quality between Audirvana+ and Roon.

That's the end of that for me then. Audirvana+ all the way.

 

[Andrewjvt]

Would you mind sending the link for a 6 week trial?
Thanks

 

[insider9]

Try this

HDF1-VJM7-WU9Z

No credit card info needed. Just register with an email.

Redeem this at

https://roonlabs.com/coupon.html

 

[insider9]

Just a wee update this morning as I posted the same note regarding variations in streaming quality on the Linn forum.  One of the Linn staff replied earlier today confirming that RAAT was not used when implementing Roon for Linn and that a custom protocol was used (he declined to say what that was).  He went on to say that there will be no difference in quality between Audirvana+ and Roon.

That's the end of that for me then. Audirvana+ all the way.

That's a shame about implementation. They've been sorting it out for about a year and one thread on Linn forum ended up being locked as people were so restless. Thread is still there, I believe you can check it out.

But if you're happy with A+ that's all that matters. As you can see Mac and Linn may be optimal to use A+. But that's a small market. Whenever A+ comes to Windows, I wouldn't mind trying it on my laptop as a comparison.

 

[BigH]

I'm not sure what the benefit of Roon is over Audirvana, Roon does seem quite expensive. Audirvana+3 is only Euro 64, with Tidal 3 months free, so in effect free if you subscribe to Tidal. Plus 1 month Quobuz free as well.

OK I now see Audirvana+ is only for Mac.

 

[insider9]

Try it, 2 month trial code posted above. Paul liked it and if it wasn't for the fact he's using Linn streamer it looked at one point that he liked it enough to buy it. But that's to how Linn wanted Roon implemented as opposed to Roon itself. Compromise was struck. Paul, please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is why Linn devices are not Roon Ready but only Roon tested. See below from Roon website.

Roon Tested DACs
Roon Tested devices from our partners have been profiled and tested by both Roon Labs and the device manufacturer for maximum compatibility.

Roon will recognize these devices and send them audio optimized for their capabilties.

 

[Paulq]

OK I now see Audirvana+ is only for Mac.

There is a Windows release due this year.

Having used both with Apple/Linn kit I would agree there's very little benefit opting for Roon over A+ unless you are dead set on the single library feature and nicer UI. Personally I find A+ very simple and the availability of Qobuz is a bonus.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Ok just got Roon up and running again now I’ve looked at what iTunes is outputting sound quality wise and this is using the Oppo 203 as a end point I am currently getting the lowest quality using iTunes music though the Oppo and this is not using airplay but my network

I have ripped 2 CDs only until my big hard drives come but I’ve set the ripping software to flac 24 bit And played that though the Oppo and now I am getting 24bit lossless which does sound better on a good quality sounding cd .

but I have set the iTunes settings to there lossless 24 bit settings but showing on the Roon software that I am still getting lowest quality 12 bit outputting which I do not understand and I’ve checked the 24bit and lossless bit in Roon as well .

Not sure if Oppo does MQA but going by Roon settings for the Oppo no .

 

[insider9]

Does MQA, 203 sadly not.

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Does MQA, 203 sadly not.

I guess I will not be listening to MQA then that’s a shame as there are lots of albums now on tidal anyway I just wanted to try but never mind flac 24bit sounds ok

 

[insider9]

Does MQA, 203 sadly not.

I guess I will not be listening to MQA then that’s a shame as there are lots of albums now on tidal anyway I just wanted to try but never mind flac 24bit sounds ok

With Roon you canlisten to unfolded MQA. I only metioned hardware support for MQA that was added to 205 but not 203. Try them some sound better, so not so. However, it is a good option to have.

 

[BigH]

Try it, 2 month trial code posted above. Paul liked it and if it wasn't for the fact he's using Linn streamer it looked at one point that he liked it enough to buy it. But that's to how Linn wanted Roon implemented as opposed to Roon itself. Compromise was struck. Paul, please correct me if I'm wrong.

This is why Linn devices are not Roon Ready but only Roon tested. See below from Roon website.

Roon Tested DACs Roon Tested devices from our partners have been profiled and tested by both Roon Labs and the device manufacturer for maximum compatibility.

Roon will recognize these devices and send them audio optimized for their capabilties.

I did try it before but got security warnings about their site. As I don't have Tidal now not sure there is a great need.

 

[insider9]

So you did, I remember now. These (antivirus warnings) are apparently not uncommon but dismissed by guys at Roon. I've read about it on Roon forum.

 

[Andrewjvt]

for the 60 day code etc

So Ive installed it and its imported all my Wav files on my music folder and not done too bad a job so far.

Ill use this instead of jriver for next few weeks before i give any opinion.

It has duplicated quite a few lps and artists though

nothing too serious for now.

the only reason for trying this would be a dedicated streamer funtion as all the control apps on dedicated streamers are bad imo.

so far cant see any advantage over jriver

 

[andyjm]

I have ripped 2 CDs only until my big hard drives come but I’ve set the ripping software to flac 24 bit.

Where did the other 8 bits come from?

 

[BigH]

So you did, I remember now. These (antivirus warnings) are apparently not uncommon but dismissed by guys at Roon. I've read about it on Roon forum.

I'm sure they do but I visit many sites and only very few have similar warnings, one was because they had not updated their registration or something, they soon sorted that out. It does not look good for a software company to have these issues. It may well be nothing serious but it is off putting and I'm sure will lose them business, so they should sort it out.

 

[insider9]

So you did, I remember now. These (antivirus warnings) are apparently not uncommon but dismissed by guys at Roon. I've read about it on Roon forum.

I'm sure they do but I visit many sites and only very few have similar warnings, one was because they had not updated their registration or something, they soon sorted that out. It does not look good for a software company to have these issues. It may well be nothing serious but it is off putting and I'm sure will lose them business, so they should sort it out.

Not, so sure. These are false positives.

Have a look on what COO of Roon had to say about the subject here

 

[Blacksabbath25]

I have ripped 2 CDs only until my big hard drives come but I’ve set the ripping software to flac 24 bit.

Where did the other 8 bits come from?

well I would of thought it was impossible to make a cd into a 24bit Cd but the software I was using to rip the 2 CDs converted those 2 CDs into 24bit flac files and Roon is saying that’s what they are but do not ask me how that’s possible

 

[Blacksabbath25]

Streaming from tidal though Roon though the Yamaha wxc50 it says highest quality flac 16bit 2 channel playing a new classical album called Dans ma main

 

[Strictly Stereo]

I have ripped 2 CDs only until my big hard drives come but I’ve set the ripping software to flac 24 bit.

Where did the other 8 bits come from?

well I would of thought it was impossible to make a cd into a 24bit Cd but the software I was using to rip the 2 CDs converted those 2 CDs into 24bit flac files and Roon is saying that’s what they are but do not ask me how that’s possible

The other 8 bits are most likely just padding. Best to rip CDs at 16 bit / 44.1kHz.

 

[Andrewjvt]

I've left everything standard as it is/should be.

So far and very early days I find the options quite limited compared to jriver but I've been using that for over 2 years so it's not fair to give a negative opinion.
One thing I like better in jriver is the theatre view so I changes pictures of the artist playing every few seconds.

 

[newlash09]

And give everyone a Lego set of British challenger 2 main battle tank, along with the schematic to build one. Half way through, the kids decide its too hard. And each wants to build their own Lego model they already have at home. And find that their set at home is more suitable to build their kind of toy.

This is how things have progressed here so far

I fondly hope insider9 is not already feeling guilty for having suggested roon in the first place here.

Roon is DSP + DRC + media library management + RAAT. Only if we use it full fat as per above , will we realize the benefits . A mini dsp ddrc-22D costs usd800 just for room correction in comparison