Discussion
Miserablegit said:
I’ve looked at Roon- £1000 for lifetime use seems to be expensive for “a pretty front end”
I can combine my NAS and tidal sources on the Naim app so I’m not sure what else Roon would give me?
Is there some fundamental benefit I’m overlooking?
It’s £680 for a lifetime allowance, it used to be a bit cheaper until the beginning of this year. Certainly never been £1,000 though. I can combine my NAS and tidal sources on the Naim app so I’m not sure what else Roon would give me?
Is there some fundamental benefit I’m overlooking?
Roon offers many things, the very nice front end and user interface, library management, cross-platform multi room streaming, DSP, etc etc. that’s all great and good, but if you don’t need or want any of that then the asking price is steep.
Personally, I think it’s great. I wish they would allow offline access to my own music library, that has kind of pi55ed me off a bit, but other than that it’s been good. ARC is good, although Tidal works much better on CarPlay.
Having recently got into active/wireless speakers, I was drawn to Roon as my speakers (KEF LS60's) were 'Roon Ready'. I have a moderately large library and Roon offers a very good way to blend Qobuz and my library seamlessly. And much of my listening is high res.... I also like going down musical rabbit holes, which Roon is designed for.
The DSP combined with clever and robust software make it easy to live with.
I don't know the NAIM system, will Roon read files on the uniti core? If so, try a Roon free trial.
The DSP combined with clever and robust software make it easy to live with.
I don't know the NAIM system, will Roon read files on the uniti core? If so, try a Roon free trial.
Multiroom streaming? Check
DSP? Check
Library Management? Check
Remote access to my library via a mobile app? Check
Optional support for Android Auto? Check
Supports a myriad of audio and video formats (DSD, DSF, MKV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, etc) which it can transcode on the fly? Check
CD rippling? Check
Multiple ISO support? Check
Supports DLNA ? Check
Supports Multichannel audio? Check
Costs £600? er no. How about a one off payment of $59.98.
JRiver does everything Roon does at a fraction of the cost. And, having used both, the only notional advantage Roon offers is that it subjectively looks better.
DSP? Check
Library Management? Check
Remote access to my library via a mobile app? Check
Optional support for Android Auto? Check
Supports a myriad of audio and video formats (DSD, DSF, MKV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, etc) which it can transcode on the fly? Check
CD rippling? Check
Multiple ISO support? Check
Supports DLNA ? Check
Supports Multichannel audio? Check
Costs £600? er no. How about a one off payment of $59.98.
JRiver does everything Roon does at a fraction of the cost. And, having used both, the only notional advantage Roon offers is that it subjectively looks better.
Sixtyten said:
Multiroom streaming? Check
DSP? Check
Library Management? Check
Remote access to my library via a mobile app? Check
Optional support for Android Auto? Check
Supports a myriad of audio and video formats (DSD, DSF, MKV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, etc) which it can transcode on the fly? Check
CD rippling? Check
Multiple ISO support? Check
Supports DLNA ? Check
Supports Multichannel audio? Check
Costs £600? er no. How about a one off payment of $59.98.
JRiver does everything Roon does at a fraction of the cost. And, having used both, the only notional advantage Roon offers is that it subjectively looks better.
JRiver looks and feels like using windows explorer, granted it’s cheap but the user experience reflects the price. It’s a multi media management tool, not an audiophile music player, hence why it uses DLNA (UPnP) rather than any proprietary tech. DSP? Check
Library Management? Check
Remote access to my library via a mobile app? Check
Optional support for Android Auto? Check
Supports a myriad of audio and video formats (DSD, DSF, MKV, FLAC, ALAC, APE, etc) which it can transcode on the fly? Check
CD rippling? Check
Multiple ISO support? Check
Supports DLNA ? Check
Supports Multichannel audio? Check
Costs £600? er no. How about a one off payment of $59.98.
JRiver does everything Roon does at a fraction of the cost. And, having used both, the only notional advantage Roon offers is that it subjectively looks better.
Each to their own though, they both work, in the same way a Nissan GTR does, but it’s still not a Ferrari.
Jriver is not an audiophile music player? Really? Roon and JRiver are audio wise, “bit perfect” and therefore should produce identical results. Whatever difference you ascribe to the respective pieces of software would more accurately be directed at the dac converting the digital source back to analogue.
Edited by Sixtyten on Saturday 18th March 20:36
Edited by Sixtyten on Saturday 18th March 20:39
Sixtyten said:
Jriver is not an audiophile music player? Really? Roon and JRiver are audio wise, “bit perfect” and therefore should produce identical results. Whatever difference you ascribe to the respective pieces of software would more accurately be directed at the dac converting the digital source back to analogue.
An audio player being ‘audiophile’ isn’t just about the sound or about delivery of bit-perfect streams. Edited by Sixtyten on Saturday 18th March 20:36
Edited by Sixtyten on Saturday 18th March 20:39
Sixtyten said:
An audio player being ‘audiophile’ isn’t just about the sound or about delivery of bit-perfect streams.
Of course not. Which is why I only use specially imported Japanese de-ionised air in my listening room. Too much ionisation destroys the transient attack on cymbals.
Way too enthusiastic Of course not. Which is why I only use specially imported Japanese de-ionised air in my listening room. Too much ionisation destroys the transient attack on cymbals.
The main positive for me was Roon's very slick interface and the selection of music it recommended, with the info on each artist, the ability to click on a drummer (for example) and be presented with other work he was involved with. It was very easy to go down a music rabbit hole for a few hours, which is a rather nice way to spend an evening.
However, I still cancelled after the trial as it was just too expensive. It's literally more than the music subscription service, who obviously have to pay royalties to the artists! So as great as it was, I binned it.
However, I still cancelled after the trial as it was just too expensive. It's literally more than the music subscription service, who obviously have to pay royalties to the artists! So as great as it was, I binned it.
Edited by RowntreesCabana on Sunday 19th March 22:13
I do love a quality offering like Roon.
The video shows a cool, intense man using it. Sitting on a £6,000 chair.
Glad it exists; the functionality, attention to detail, and usability seem great. Hope it filters down market.
https://www.nest.co.uk/product/knoll-barcelona-cha...
The video shows a cool, intense man using it. Sitting on a £6,000 chair.
Glad it exists; the functionality, attention to detail, and usability seem great. Hope it filters down market.
https://www.nest.co.uk/product/knoll-barcelona-cha...
RowntreesCabana said:
However, I still cancelled after the trial as it was just too expensive. It's literally more than the music subscription service, who obviously have to pay royalties to the artists! So as great as it was, I binned it.
If you buy the lifetime subscription it is very good value, I paid US$500 I think in 2016 or 2017, so my cost for Roon so far has been about £60/year and it's reducing the longer I use it. Even at the current price it's still great value.SteveKTMer said:
If you buy the lifetime subscription it is very good value, I paid US$500 I think in 2016 or 2017, so my cost for Roon so far has been about £60/year and it's reducing the longer I use it. Even at the current price it's still great value.
Just had a look and there doesn't appear to be a lifetime sub offered, but if it was $500 in 2016 I'd hate to think what they would want now. I just don't understand the pricing, I know audiophiles can be fools with their money and that's who it's aimed at, but charging more than the actual music sub just doesn't compute.RowntreesCabana said:
SteveKTMer said:
If you buy the lifetime subscription it is very good value, I paid US$500 I think in 2016 or 2017, so my cost for Roon so far has been about £60/year and it's reducing the longer I use it. Even at the current price it's still great value.
Just had a look and there doesn't appear to be a lifetime sub offered, but if it was $500 in 2016 I'd hate to think what they would want now. I just don't understand the pricing, I know audiophiles can be fools with their money and that's who it's aimed at, but charging more than the actual music sub just doesn't compute.It's not aimed at fools, they are not selling de-carbonised cable or gold plated fuses, they are selling a multi-room, multi-controller, multi-output music playing matrix which also offers a deep dive into the history of the music, artists and composers. To get started all you need is a PC or Mac - any will do, with a few hundred GB of storage and some music and an output of your choice, headphones, PC speakers etc.
You can use Roon with a Raspberry Pi with a cheap Pi DAC playing into a paid of PC type speakers if you want, or any of the various Roon ready devices you can buy, some quite cheaply, or you can use some more expensive kit like Chord DACs as I do, playing into Naim amplifiers, it's all relative, you choose your price point to fit your ear and wallet, Roon gives you the felxibility to be where you want to be.
It is quite serious money.
But looking around at the cheap/free options, a lot of it does seem to be quite shapeless.
You're reliant on apps that may not get updated for the latest version of Android, and companies/brands that come and go like Prime Ministers.
Maybe most of IT, we've got used to Microsoft, Apple and co doing all the hard work and charging it to business customers.
In audio/HiFi, there aren't the business customers to pick up the tab?
The reality is, if you want this kind of job done properly, it costs money.
And we're not looking for an ad-funded service are we?
I'm not sure I want what Roon does, but then there are lots of services I choose not to subscribe to.
But looking around at the cheap/free options, a lot of it does seem to be quite shapeless.
You're reliant on apps that may not get updated for the latest version of Android, and companies/brands that come and go like Prime Ministers.
Maybe most of IT, we've got used to Microsoft, Apple and co doing all the hard work and charging it to business customers.
In audio/HiFi, there aren't the business customers to pick up the tab?
The reality is, if you want this kind of job done properly, it costs money.
And we're not looking for an ad-funded service are we?
I'm not sure I want what Roon does, but then there are lots of services I choose not to subscribe to.
The people behind Roon developed the Soloos system which Meridian acquired as the basis of their music library system. As I'd owned Meridian stuff for quite a while (Lecson before that) it was a natural progression for me to move over to Roon when I offloaded most of my Meridian equipment although still have the 861V8 and a few other bits.
The music library, integration of Tidal and now Arc make it for me, a worthwhile expenditure. I did purchase the lifetime licence about 5 years ago. It may have been about £500 back then.
It's a small cost compared to the rest of my Hi Fi expenditure.
The music library, integration of Tidal and now Arc make it for me, a worthwhile expenditure. I did purchase the lifetime licence about 5 years ago. It may have been about £500 back then.
It's a small cost compared to the rest of my Hi Fi expenditure.
SteveKTMer said:
$829.99 for lifetime. Or $12.49/month. https://roonlabs.com/pricing
It's not aimed at fools, they are not selling de-carbonised cable or gold plated fuses, they are selling a multi-room, multi-controller, multi-output music playing matrix which also offers a deep dive into the history of the music, artists and composers. To get started all you need is a PC or Mac - any will do, with a few hundred GB of storage and some music and an output of your choice, headphones, PC speakers etc.
You can use Roon with a Raspberry Pi with a cheap Pi DAC playing into a paid of PC type speakers if you want, or any of the various Roon ready devices you can buy, some quite cheaply, or you can use some more expensive kit like Chord DACs as I do, playing into Naim amplifiers, it's all relative, you choose your price point to fit your ear and wallet, Roon gives you the felxibility to be where you want to be.
I know it's not massive money, and in audiophile terms its actually a miniscule amount, but it's the principle for me that the charge is greater than unlimited libraries of HD music provided by your chosen supplier, backed up with their own software interface, vast servers to power and store the music on, allowing buffer free playback and royalties paid to the artists. It's not aimed at fools, they are not selling de-carbonised cable or gold plated fuses, they are selling a multi-room, multi-controller, multi-output music playing matrix which also offers a deep dive into the history of the music, artists and composers. To get started all you need is a PC or Mac - any will do, with a few hundred GB of storage and some music and an output of your choice, headphones, PC speakers etc.
You can use Roon with a Raspberry Pi with a cheap Pi DAC playing into a paid of PC type speakers if you want, or any of the various Roon ready devices you can buy, some quite cheaply, or you can use some more expensive kit like Chord DACs as I do, playing into Naim amplifiers, it's all relative, you choose your price point to fit your ear and wallet, Roon gives you the felxibility to be where you want to be.
It's very good though, and I enjoyed it when I had the trial.
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