advertisement


Roon, tell me about it

Woodface said:
I do have a problem morally with streaming, how do new artists survive without physical product. Appreciate there are other factors but..
Click to expand...

I share your concern. Streaming has radically altered the music business. The fact is that the physical product is now merchandise rather than music. Streaming is not all bad news for new artists. It has lowered the barriers for entry, so now anyone can put out a record and instantly have access to a global audience.
 
Strictly Stereo said:
It has lowered the barriers for entry, so now anyone can put out a record and instantly have access to a global audience.
Click to expand...

Providing you've got a bloody good PR company and record label behind you. There is so much music out there now its frightening, and really hard to get noticed unless you get out there and tour your arse off.

I'm fortunate to be in a band signed to a label so we get pretty good (not amazing) press. Without that you're relying on your own talent and sheer good luck.

It costs a stupid amount of money to be in a successful band, most of it comes out of our own pockets.

The money we get from streaming services is the least of our worries!

Discussion for another thread though maybe!
 
Regarding Roon, you'll fall into one of two or three camps - not tried it and don't want to, tried it and don't like it, tried it and like it but not that much you'll spend on the subscription, and finally like it any pay for it.

There is a month free subscription, so those who have not tried it can do so easily.
 
marshanp said:
I wonder why Roon is so very expensive? I don't really need it - I listen to Classical music, and get most of my new listening prompts from Radio 3 - but I might have given it a chance were it more modestly priced.
Click to expand...

If you’re a classical music lover, (like me), it is Qobuz that you should investigate first imo. Someone gives you the keys to the biggest classical cd store in the world by far and says “Listen to anything you want ....” Riches beyond dreams. Roon is kind of the icing on the cake. Qobuz is the cake. Radio 3 is a nice biscuit.
 
I am probably alone here but I find that the Roon browsing experience distracts me from the music; for me, listening to music should be mindful experience and this requires full concentration. I'm not a big fan of background music, though I do put some on from time to time, especially when I am cooking or doing the house chores :D.

Roon = multitasking

But do try it.
 
tuga said:
I am probably alone here but I find that the Roon browsing experience distracts me from the music; for me, listening to music should be mindful experience and this requires full concentration. I'm not a big fan of background music, though I do put some on from time to time, especially when I am cooking or doing the house chores :D.

Roon = multitasking

But do try it.
Click to expand...

No reason you can’t listen intensely and mindfully having first used Roon to select your music, no reason whatsoever. One of the ways it enhances listening to music is that it makes it more likely that you will find and listen to new stuff and pay attention, rather than reaching for the same old same old.
 
I've been running Roon for probably 5 years now. My server is a home PC, which hosts circa 1500 albums as of the last count. I was impressed enough after the first year to buy a lifetime license, so haven't really thought much about it since. Probably worth mentioning that I don't ever remember having a genuine issue with it. Install it, tell it where your music collection is, then just listen.
Control is via any of our Iphones, Ipads or laptops, whichever is to hand. I use the digital equalisation available, which I do find very useful.

My Roon "end point" is a Meridian 861, which is a lovely sounding bit of kit. Plugs directly into my Quad artera power amp via balanced connections.

I've dabbled with a Tidal subscription and might do it again. I love the connections that Roon creates and the ability to wander around my collection and also the way that it will throw up say a live version of a track that you might not have heard in 2-3 years, only to think "wow", that's cool.

Clearly it's possible to do most of what does for free/very little.
However, I've never seen anything genuinely better than Roon, and in the context of the amount we spend on systems and music, it's really not a big deal.
 
Hi
Been reading through the thread and some interesting points. I have a Naim Nova with the Cds I wanted to keep stored on a 256gig sd card in the back of the Nova. I use tidal but would like to have access to the masters versions of some albums. Is there anything else that I could use other than Roon as having gone down the one box route to now have to purchase a pc to run the Roon core seems a bit of a pain.

Mike
 
AndyU said:
No reason you can’t listen intensely and mindfully having first used Roon to select your music, no reason whatsoever. One of the ways it enhances listening to music is that it makes it more likely that you will find and listen to new stuff and pay attention, rather than reaching for the same old same old.
Click to expand...

Can you resist the temptation of looking at Roon's suggestions after you've chosen a record/track?

I listen to classical so I'm mostly going for the same old anyway.
And I don't stream.

In my case, there's no advantage in using Roon over iTunes, except perhaps HQ Player integration on Roon. Not worth the money. I have my own tagging system, which is probably incompatible or hard to integrate with Roon, and I only listen offline.

Not saying that it won't work for many people, though. Like I said, I'm probably one of a few...
 
mikebh50 said:
Hi
Been reading through the thread and some interesting points. I have a Naim Nova with the Cds I wanted to keep stored on a 256gig sd card in the back of the Nova. I use tidal but would like to have access to the masters versions of some albums. Is there anything else that I could use other than Roon as having gone down the one box route to now have to purchase a pc to run the Roon core seems a bit of a pain.

Mike
Click to expand...
unfortunately the masters are MQA and the nova wont play them to their full extent
 
AndyU said:
If you’re a classical music lover, (like me), it is Qobuz that you should investigate first imo. Someone gives you the keys to the biggest classical cd store in the world by far and says “Listen to anything you want ....” Riches beyond dreams. Roon is kind of the icing on the cake. Qobuz is the cake. Radio 3 is a nice biscuit.
Click to expand...
Oh, I have Qobuz and am very happy with it. Plus a library of ripped and downloaded files, organised in a logical, easily accessed folder structure. I wake up to Radio 3 every morning and often use Qobuz to investigate music or performers first heard there.

I don't "subscribe" to software; that seems a peculiar idea to me. Either I buy it or I don't. That makes Roon a hefty investment for which I see little justification.
 
Last edited:
Woodface said:
I do have a problem morally with streaming, how do new artists survive without physical product. Appreciate there are other factors but..
Click to expand...
Physical product is irrelevant. They get paid per play. Of course you can argue that amount is too low, however artists getting bad deals with record companies is nothing new. There is nothing moral to consider. The reality is that artists are selling a product in a market place. You could argue the large labels have far less power than in the past.

Either way streaming is not going away.
 
zippy said:
I'm afraid I still don't see the need for such a complex set-up as Roon, that costs money, when I can get perfectly good functionality using a simple (and mostly free) setup.
Click to expand...
Well its not remotely complex. Install software, point at music location and play.

I have not come across any free software that is anywhere near as usable, slick or seemlessly functional.
 
tuga said:
I am probably alone here but I find that the Roon browsing experience distracts me from the music; for me, listening to music should be mindful experience and this requires full concentration. I'm not a big fan of background music, though I do put some on from time to time, especially when I am cooking or doing the house chores :D.

Roon = multitasking


But do try it.
Click to expand...

Well there is nothing forcing you to look at it. I often just press play, but it's very useful and interesting if you want to.

That's a bit like saying record sleeves distracted you. :confused:
 
Cereal Killer said:
I have three different streaming/digital data ways of playing music. All sound identical now.. BUT roon beats everything else hands down, on EVERY aspect.
Controversial i know, but i did notice replacing the NAS's SMPS which is my roon streaming + server brought about the equalisation

With the likes of QNAP (or Synology) you can install roonserver on it, which can then be controlled via the roon app (iPad/iPhone/Windows laptops) and use it as the streamer. Simply take USB out from the NAS to a DAC. NO need for a streamer or Pi whatsoever...

Buy a QNAP, flexible and powerful:
https://blog.qnap.com/create-the-ultimate-home-audio-system-with-qnap-and-roon/

QNAP TS-251+ with 8GB RAM c£300:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/SanDisk-...909175?hash=item5b54b0fcf7:g:UjkAAOSwmxVckiJN

Install roon to NAS £400:
http://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_Server_on_NAS

USB cable from NAS to DAC:
https://www.lindy.co.uk/cables-adapters-c1/usb-c449/1m-usb-2-0-type-a-to-b-cable-cromo-line-p11343
Click to expand...

as my Macbook Pro running Roon just died, this post is very useful. Maybe I'll try this method going forward instead of getting another full blown laptop. Thanks

edit: right now (and for many years) I've been using a Arq to backup my digital collection to Amazon Glacier. How would offline backups work on something like the QNAP?
 
This site contains affiliate links for which pink fish media may be compensated.
You must log in or register to reply here.


advertisement


Back
Top