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My first few days with Roon - thoughts and questions

IN regards to minis I believe they have space for two drives so indeed one running mac os with roon server and one for storage.

Though in this regard mac minis offer no benefits what so ever, its just a very expensive way of doing it.
 
garyi, thanks for letting me know. There's plenty to think about. I've mulled over getting a Raspberry Pi 4 and they are easy to buy online.

I went into a well known hi-fi shop in London's King's Road the other day to ask if they stocked them, which of course they didn't. I got a pushy talking to about streamers after I said I'd heard that they can cost relatively little.

I mentioned to the salesman that some think a Pi with an Allo HAT can perform better than an expensive streamer. The guy then lectured me about how how some reviewers online and in print are on the take.

I told him I work as a journalist and used to write reviews of albums/CDs and gigs, so I am aware that they can be on the take. I was very polite about all of this.

As I opened the door to walk out I heard the salesman say to his boss "That guy's a w^^ker."

Don't think I'll be giving them any of my money. :)

Jack
 
Which shop Jack? I’ll make sure I don't go there as I’m quite near Kings Road, well a couple of miles away...

Sevenoaks. I've been in there before and chatted to the salesman's boss and he was fine. I know times are hard for shops, but it's weird to go into one and be treated like you don't know anything at all.

It's a shame because they stock some good gear.

Jack
 
I’ve been up and down that road for decades and never new there was a Sevenoaks there !!

my preference was the one on Old Brompton Road, just by The Bolton’s.
 
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I think for anyone contemplating really getting into hifh streaming there are two fantastic options out there right now for a server:

Free: Daphile. Built on the excellent LMS, it really is great software but I believe needs dedicated hardware, i.e. cannot set on your nas. could be wrong.

Not Free: Roon. Great software and a tweakers dream, can live on server side software including popular nases, windows, mac and linux.


For streamers the list of options is literally endless by now, it can be so many things particuarly if you have a USB dac, but certainly Raspberry pis are a great start. Sevenoaks wont want you buying that because its only a few quid and besides get it on amazon.

There is amazing kit on ebay as well, just think fanless PCs

I got one of these for instance:

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=254576328849

Install roon rock on it and it can behave as just the streaming section of roon. It has no fans and you'll want a power supply bringing the cost to like 80 quid tops. USB into your dac and you have a streaming solution. Or you can use the two above in tandem, i.e. install daphile on the fanless PC and have roon control it as an endpoint.

So many cool options out there for peanuts.
 
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I’ve been up and down that road for decades and never new there was a Sevenoaks there !!

my preference was the the one on Old Brompton Road, just by The Bolton’s.

I know the one you mean. The Sevenoaks in King's Road isn't far from the Mona Lisa cafe/restaurant.

Jack
 
You didn't let slip that you were a Chelsea fan did you.:D

I didn't. The salesman hadn't heard of Allo products and asked where they were made. I said France as far as I know. He looked them up on his laptop, grimaced, and it all went downhill from there.

Jack
 
Does Roon let you install the database/library on a SSD and store the music lbrary elsewhere, like an external drive? Does the latter have to be a SSD or is it possible to use a HDD?
Jack

Yes, no.

Or. more helpfully, the most common setup is to have the database on the SSD and the music library elsewhere, either on an external drive (which can be an HDD) or a NAS.
 
Yes, no.

Or. more helpfully, the most common setup is to have the database on the SSD and the music library elsewhere, either on an external drive (which can be an HDD) or a NAS.

Great and thanks. Would you happen to know how big in GB terms a medium sized database is?

Jack
 
Has anyone used the dCS Mozaic app for streaming? I’ve heard it’s good.
That depends on the upnp software you use...
A year ago, Asset and Mosaic with a Bartok was not a viable solution for me. Minimserver and Mosaic worked much better with the Bartok.

Otherwise the Mosaic app is OK but not a patch on Room.

If you can afford a dCS you really owe it to yourself to seriously trial Roon.
 
If you are doing nowt else with the SSD then a 40gig would be plenty, if you are running it on windows or mac a 120gig should be fine.
 


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