The Dark Side; Digital audio equipment recommendations and setup.

[duke86fan]

yes. It does that but it’s major selling point is a beautiful user interface and a seemless integration of qobuz and/or tidal with your own existing audio files.

eh i just didn't know about using it as a main service because
1. that cost jesus christ
2. the whole having a main spot and moving it all over to different servers and stuff and having one PC on just for holding all the music
3. doesn't seem like as much for someone like me who just wants a one PC, all my files to listen to system

I think Roon is worth it if you have a ton of downloaded high-res music to keep track of with a NAS and a subscription to Tidal/Qobuz. It's not worth it at all IMO if you ONLY want to do multi-room audio. Multi-room audio is a perk for me because I didn't want to go down the Sonos route for multi-room audio.

i dont have a NAS so that is an unsure and MAYBE i will resub to tidal or qobuz but that depends on if i get a better DAC

 

[AnthonyI]

any so long as one end has a 1/8 connector or you buy that adaptor (or similar) for the end that’s going into the chromecast/airport express. I was operating under the assumption that you didn’t have one and would likely be buying anything you got new from bluejeans

I may grab a optical to 3.5 cable and forget the adapter all together, they don't seem too expensive and I only need a short run.

 

[Joe Mac]

I think Roon is worth it if you have a ton of downloaded high-res music to keep track of with a NAS and a subscription to Tidal/Qobuz. It's not worth it at all IMO if you ONLY want to do multi-room audio. Multi-room audio is a perk for me because I didn't want to go down the Sonos route for multi-room audio.

And even if you have Sonos Roon notices those speakers. I got a Sonos playbase ans 2 play 1’s to do wireless surround sound for my tele and that set of speakers appears as a zone in my Roon system.

 

[Joe Mac]

I may grab a optical to 3.5 cable and forget the adapter all together, they don't seem too expensive and I only need a short run.

If it’s the chromecast literally 1ft is overkill because it’s a puck that hangs behind the dac. For the airport it’s just the distance to wherever you seat it in relation to the DAC so no not long and yeah optical cables with a normal connector at one end and a 3.5mm optical connector at the other are pretty cheap and readily available.

 

[Joe Mac]

eh i just didn't know about using it as a main service because
1. that cost jesus christ
2. the whole having a main spot and moving it all over to different servers and stuff and having one PC on just for holding all the music
3. doesn't seem like as much for someone like me who just wants a one PC, all my files to listen to system

i dont have a NAS so that is an unsure and MAYBE i will resub to tidal or qobuz but that depends on if i get a better DAC

worth isn’t a set value.

is Roon worth it for what it provides? Undoubtedly imo. It’s an excellent product that does its job exceptionally well and is a joy to use.

Is Roon worth it for you in your situation? Probably not by the sounds of what you’re saying.

 

[AnthonyI]

If it’s the chromecast literally 1ft is overkill because it’s a puck that hangs behind the dac. For the airport it’s just the distance to wherever you seat it in relation to the DAC so no not long and yeah optical cables with a normal connector at one end and a 3.5mm optical connector at the other are pretty cheap and readily available.

It'll be the Chromcast I think, I have a, get ready for this one, a Monster Optical Cable from way back when, looking at the adapters, they'll cost just about what a cable would cost, so I may forgo the adapter and lose one "connection" in the process, now to search for a chromecast

 

[duke86fan]

note about my DAC: sounds fine, i feel like the bass and drums aren't as crisp as i like them to be, dont often move back to my laptops headphone jack but when i do maybe its the volume or something but it feels like the bass is more impacted.. maybe its just preferring a less hifi sound, though the high end does sound better

 

[MikeH]

eh i just didn't know about using it as a main service because
1. that cost jesus christ
2. the whole having a main spot and moving it all over to different servers and stuff and having one PC on just for holding all the music
3. doesn't seem like as much for someone like me who just wants a one PC, all my files to listen to system

i dont have a NAS so that is an unsure and MAYBE i will resub to tidal or qobuz but that depends on if i get a better DAC

Yea--I don't think it's worth it for you at this time. I got it because I have 600+GB of FLAC files along with Qobuz and as @Joe Mac says, the interface is super nice and the integration of all of those files is flawless. My computer, which is currently my Rooncore, is in my office area and my Roon end point is in my living room for streaming. I can just use my iphone or an ipad to control the living room setup.

And even if you have Sonos Roon notices those speakers. I got a Sonos playbase ans 2 play 1’s to do wireless surround sound for my tele and that set of speakers appears as a zone in my Roon system.

Yea--I mostly didn't want to go the Sonos route because of the price and I already have a ton of pairs of speakers that I liked. I spent the money I would have spent on Sonos on my digital setup pretty much. Sonos surround sound does pique my interest though at some point eventually...

 

[Joe Mac]

Yea--I don't think it's worth it for you at this time. I got it because I have 600+GB of FLAC files along with Qobuz and as @Joe Mac says, the interface is super nice and the integration of all of those files is flawless. My computer, which is currently my Rooncore, is in my office area and my Roon end point is in my living room for streaming. I can just use my iphone or an ipad to control the living room setup.



Yea--I mostly didn't want to go the Sonos route because of the price and I already have a ton of pairs of speakers that I liked. I spent the money I would have spent on Sonos on my digital setup pretty much. Sonos surround sound does pique my interest though at some point eventually...

Ive had it for 3 years now and while it was expensive the two positives of - 1. My tele isn’t connected to my hifi; and 2. No wires trailing to the rear speakers - have made me more than happy with my decision! I wouldn’t use any of their products for music though, hence no connect in the music system!

 

[AnthonyI]

It'll be the Chromcast I think, I have a, get ready for this one, a Monster Optical Cable from way back when, looking at the adapters, they'll cost just about what a cable would cost, so I may forgo the adapter and lose one "connection" in the process, now to search for a chromecast

K, well, cable will be here Saturday $6, Chromcast Audio off ebay for $40 shipped free, here on the 16th. A little disappointed the USB over Ethernet was a bust, but I'm sure this will work out fine. That being said, they do look nice together. On a side note, CDs seem to have a little more punch/dynamics to them, the CD1 and DAC1 use the same "DAC", I wonder if sending the single to the DAC with a Coax made that little bit of difference?

 

[Tyr]

If you are already in the Sonos ecosystem for casual listening, Roon is a definite plus IMO. Even if you integrate it into your hifi setup for high-res files, Roon is the way to go.

I got into the Sonos speakers early, before hoping into hifi. With 7 speakers throughout the house, all being fed by a NAS or streaming services, Roon was a no-brainer. @Thackeraye , like you, I have an extensive amount of digital music stored on the NAS. High res files, bootlegs, soundboard recordings, etc. I tried Roon for a year and loved it. Purchased the lifetime subscription after the first year and have had it for 3 years I believe. Definitely worth it. Then we I started getting into hifi components it made the experience even better. Just my two cents

 

[Joe Mac]

If you are already in the Sonos ecosystem for casual listening, Roon is a definite plus IMO. Even if you integrate it into your hifi setup for high-res files, Roon is the way to go.

I got into the Sonos speakers early, before hoping into hifi. With 7 speakers throughout the house, all being fed by a NAS or streaming services, Roon was a no-brainer. @Thackeraye , like you, I have an extensive amount of digital music stored on the NAS. High res files, bootlegs, soundboard recordings, etc. I tried Roon for a year and loved it. Purchased the lifetime subscription after the first year and have had it for 3 years I believe. Definitely worth it. Then we I started getting into hifi components it made the experience even better. Just my two cents

Agree totally. Just to remember Sonos isn’t capable of playing hi res files, it maxes out at 16/44, CD quality, because Sonos say the vast majority of their users don’t care about higher so they’re not investing in it.

There is a rumour that the new Sonos software ecosystem just launched will allow for hi res audio playback though, which would be interesting!

 

[Rowan]

eh i just didn't know about using it as a main service because
1. that cost jesus christ
2. the whole having a main spot and moving it all over to different servers and stuff and having one PC on just for holding all the music
3. doesn't seem like as much for someone like me who just wants a one PC, all my files to listen to system

i dont have a NAS so that is an unsure and MAYBE i will resub to tidal or qobuz but that depends on if i get a better DAC

If you go for roon you could go aaaaaall in a build a cheap nuc with either an internal ssd or a external to hold your cds for less than a Nas capable of running as a roon server would cost.

I like qobuz but as the TMR Vault sub also gives tidal Hifi for £5/$5 discount rate it kinda pushed me down the tidal route... Not that I can hear the difference between the two

 

[AnthonyI]

That might be the next step in on the digital side once it's set up next week I use Spotify, but I think we'll give Qobuz a try with it's free one month trial and see what the sound difference is

 

[MikeH]

That might be the next step in on the digital side once it's set up next week I use Spotify, but I think we'll give Qobuz a try with it's free one month trial and see what the sound difference is

I must say, I REALLY like Qobuz. Haven't used Tidal enough to compare and the difference might be more on the titles/library instead of the sound quality. But Qobuz has some really fantastic sounding titles in high res (higher than CD). I went from Apple Music to Qobuz and now almost exclusively use Qobuz. With a good DAC, a lot of titles sound awesome to me.

 

[AnthonyI]

I must say, I REALLY like Qobuz. Haven't used Tidal enough to compare and the difference might be more on the titles/library instead of the sound quality. But Qobuz has some really fantastic sounding titles in high res (higher than CD). I went from Apple Music to Qobuz and now almost exclusively use Qobuz. With a good DAC, a lot of titles sound awesome to me.

We have a Spotify family plan, but that's mostly streaming from my phone or PC, with the DAC hooked up now I'm curios of the sound quality. I've heard the library's are a bit different from service to service, but we'll see. If Tidal has a trial we'll give that a try as well and settle on one of the two and keep the Family Spotify account for those titles that may be missing. As I understand, Spotify has the better library, but lacks in consistency on the quality of the files.

 

[MikeH]

We have a Spotify family plan, but that's mostly streaming from my phone or PC, with the DAC hooked up now I'm curios of the sound quality. I've heard the library's are a bit different from service to service, but we'll see. If Tidal has a trial we'll give that a try as well and settle on one of the two and keep the Family Spotify account for those titles that may be missing. As I understand, Spotify has the better library, but lacks in consistency on the quality of the files.

Yea--that's why I kept Apple Music as well. Qobuz has a lot of music, but is still lacking in certain categories which is where Apple Music fits in for me. I also use Apple Music on the go more sometimes. Qobuz is a little slow to add certain new releases (and a little lacking in hip hop/indie music). I'm sure you can find a free month trial of Tidal too.

 

[Joe Mac]

We have a Spotify family plan, but that's mostly streaming from my phone or PC, with the DAC hooked up now I'm curios of the sound quality. I've heard the library's are a bit different from service to service, but we'll see. If Tidal has a trial we'll give that a try as well and settle on one of the two and keep the Family Spotify account for those titles that may be missing. As I understand, Spotify has the better library, but lacks in consistency on the quality of the files.

To be honest Spotify's sound quality is consistent, consistently bad

To be fair its great for commuting and on the go and does have the biggest library.

 

[AnthonyI]

To be honest Spotify's sound quality is consistent, consistently bad

To be fair its great for commuting and on the go and does have the biggest library.

Well that's exactly it, I use it when commuting from my phone because my car has Android Auto and it works really well......and for my car, sounds more than adequate. But, streaming through the system now, I would like to see where the sound can go, again, more importantly for me is how often I find myself using it. If it ends up being more a discovery tool, Spotify may suffice.

 

[MikeH]

Well that's exactly it, I use it when commuting from my phone because my car has Android Auto and it works really well......and for my car, sounds more than adequate. But, streaming through the system now, I would like to see where the sound can go, again, more importantly for me is how often I find myself using it. If it ends up being more a discovery tool, Spotify may suffice.

I don't think Qobuz is great at discovery of music, personally. That's also part of why I have kept Apple Music (and Spotify is even better at music discovery IMO). For me, Qobuz is used for when there are certain albums I want to listen to. It has an awesome jazz selection and lots of classic rock. A good selection of newer stuff too but not everything I want to listen to, whereas Apple Music and Spotify have nearly everything.

I almost exclusively use Qobuz when I am streaming music at home though through my digital setup.