Am I the only audiophile that doesn’t love Roon? + Music review
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- čas přidán 20. 08. 2018
- Roon, I don't get it? If you don't know what Roon is check it out here, roonlabs.com/ Sorry, I neglected to describe exactly what Roon is, I copied this: The Roon music server runs on either a PC or a Mac, but it can manage your music library wherever it’s located on your network: on the computer’s hard drive, on a NAS box, or in folders on multiple networked devices. And you can establish multiple user profiles so that each person in your household can compile their own lists of favorites and have their own unique play history and music recommendations
Willie Nelson's Teatro album, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teatro_...)
If you enjoy these daily videos please consider a dollar or two monthly pledge, here's where to do it, www.patreon.com/audiophiliac
I need your help Steve I've always used my 83 sansui se9 equalizer but I have to make adjustments on almost every song but once I dial it in it sounds great but so much time is wasted adjusting would I be better off just disconnecting my eq ?
My issue with this video is that it doesn't have anything to do with Roon. You're saying you would rather listen to records and CDs, that's fine, but that is not a problem with Roon. You just don't like listening to music you own that's not on physical media. This is like saying that you don't like Teslas because you'd rather take the train.
Totally agree.
Fun video. Totally understand the sentiment, the physical media…the tactile enjoyment. But…Roon is an awesome and amazing application for those of us who constantly want access to all of our music wherever and whenever. Steve…I can’t schlep my entire collection of vinyl and cds to Hawaii for a month, but my entire library goes with me on Roon using Roon Arc and I can stream it to my DAP and listen on great headphones or IEMs. I get there are some that have one “perfect” audiophile listening space with a high end turntable or cd player…Roon plays my music wherever I am, and whenever I want it to. And for discovering new music…the recommendations between Tidal and Roon radio are just fantastic.
Roon is great. I thought I would regret it but I totally don't. Thanks for the album recommendation, I added it on Tidal in Roon.
my willie nelson story was in the early 90's when he came to the golf course where i lived. i had the pleasure to load his clubs on the cart and see him off. as a kid, that was the coolest thing ever.
Interesting opinion; you seem happy with your methodology of finding things and stumbling onto finds. Good on you. For me, I am so organizationally challenged that finding something in my extensive library was an exercise in frustration. Roon has brought me back to listening for hours and hours a week. So grateful for finding a music server that facilitated me falling in love with music all over again. I can see what I mostly listen to and get a better overview and feel for my collection. The dedicated NUC Rock’s digital processing capabilities for room correction is impressive and with a click I can remove for late nights with head phones. Happy listening!
Thanks for the music review! I picked up a copy and was gobsmacked by how well it was recorded and the performance was so breathtakingly authentic in its artistry yet hauntingly beautiful. Wow! I've not been a big fan of Willie's music in the past, but Teatro is now a top ten favorite of mine. Thanks again for the review. I will be be paying far closer attention to your music reviews from now on.
Thanks for your review, timely, as I have been considering investing in a Roon system or something similar. So Steve, my issue is that I have a few thousand CD's copied to a network attached storage system. I have access through a Denon RCD-N7, a Denon AVR and of course a computer. My problem is I don't want to be tied to a computer and searching for an album through the Denon's are cumbersome at best. I'm looking for something that would make it easy to browse my collection through a media player or tablet. Roon may be more than I need but so far seems to fit the bill. Know of any other options that would allow easy browsing and selection of the next album to play? Oh, and I don't have unlimited funds ( I'm a budget audiophile). Thoughts? Suggestions?
Try roon for free and then decide
If you have a large vinyl or cd collection and enjoy the physical aspect of playing an entire album then you are set and awesome for you. Roon+Roon radio+Qobuz+Tidal has allowed me to actually enjoy the MUSIC by opening my eyes to the immense variety available which i would otherwise never had known existed because i would never blindly purchase an album i had never before heard of or grown into slowly via repeated exposure like this streaming combination allows. Yes i know i am only “renting” the music and i don’t actually own anything after however many years of use but I have made peace with myself on this hard fact. Happy listening all no-matter which way you choose to go.
I don't have Roon but I have just started a 3-month trial with Tidal and I am loving it. As it recommends music that I have totally forgotten about. Whilst throwing up artists that I have never heard of. I have a big CD collection and a small LP collection which I still add to. And for me streaming actually also makes me go out and buy the albums. I am happy to live in both worlds, to be honest. however, I did find it odd that you have a big song list in Apple music but you don't listen to it in Apple music. Isn't paying £10.99 per month like paying for a very expensive library card what's the point.
Could you make a video on eq vs no eq ?
Love the Silly Nelson album, thanks. Home Motel, Always on My Mind, heartbreaking stuff. Great recommendation Steve, keep 'em coming.
How do you get your current iTunes library to play in Roon? Is that possible?
Do you have anything from Mark Waldrep? AIX records recordings? If so how do you think they compare to vinyl?
AIX makes great recordings, but music doesn't move me. Digital recordings, even at their best aren't anything like the best vinyl.
Right after the end of this episode of the Audiophiliac, I played Willie Nelson's TEATRO album on Qobuz through Roon... Took me about 10 seconds to find it. ;-)
Could you show us a little more of the album . It was a quick glance ?? Thank you for what you do
As a mastering engineer for 20 years, nothing beats Roon for file management. I can find anything within a few seconds in my entire working catalog. For research, nothing beats it. Also, it has improved on the vinyl rituals of my youth - reading all the credits and copy, cross referencing artists and engineers... I unabashedly love Roon, take my money please!
I too love how Roon connects my music and I am exploring my collection like never before. I thought people would be crazy to spend $500 for a piece of playback software but I got interested. So I tried the free trial, and I was immediately hooked (Lifetime membership). Despite what Steve and some others have said, Roon does not mess with your files. So all you would really lose is some time if you don't buy or subscribe.
For me, the two primary reasons for Roon are:
1.) The very natural ability to browse through a large music collection in a non-linear fashion.
2.) Superb connectivity to a large and growing collection of hardware. I have wired and wireless receivers and speakers through out my house. Roon connects to them effortlessly.
Although I like Roon playback quality a lot, there are free and paid players that are equivalent to Roon.
I think that Roon excels by being a delightful combination of features that produces a product that is more than the sum of its parts. It is the best a/v product that I have bought in years.
Maybe someone should make a free version, or a a reasonably priced alternative. I'd pay 3 bucks a month like ring, or 100 bucks lifetime, but not what roon charges. They crazy.
if you think about it, it's cheaper than Tidal and about the same price as Spotify
@@YuriPetusko but it doesnt do what tidal and spotify do... it's not given you access to copyrighted material for a fee. And you need tidal and roon to use it well, otherwise you're only playing your own library, which is free...
Yes it doesn't give you any music that you don't have, but it gives you same great experience. Ease of use, discoverability, organisation, multi device, multi zone playback, highest quality, and if you add tidal to it then it's even better as you can create mixed playlists with music of music from various sources. Roon is one thing that actually made me finally stop buying more vinyl and cds
Today I listened to CDs, vinyl, a cassette, and streamed with ROON. I have a Qobuz subscription but really only use it for research. The physical media and the digital media all have their place in my musical enjoyment.
I gave it a 14 day try (free). I thought it was OK but I've been used to the FREE open source LMS ecosystem for years and am too lazy/busy to take the time to familiarize myself with Roon. When properly tweaked I find LMS does enough of what Roon does and in some ways is less controlling over the way I tag/organize my library and I save 500 smackeroonies to boot. That being said if LMS didn't exist I'd probably be running Roon.
What is LMS?
@@eespinosa64 Logitech Media Server
I'm new to a local collection and tried Roon, its performance was so bad after a week I moved to Logitech Media Server which takes a bit more setup and doesn't have as nice a UI, but it runs, without crashing, without analysis preventing playback, without constant rebooting.
I have a music server and I stopped using it. It's too much trouble to rip the CD's
So right!
How do you have Qobuz? It doesn’t launch in US till later this year
I have a press preview.
Can't wait to hear how you like it. I am going to RWMF where it's launch will be announced as I hear
To be honest I too have no need for Roon. I have most of the albums (close to 2500) I want. I understand the need for Tidal and Qobuz but what does Roon do? Or Blusound? I know my collection well. Every album brings back a memory including when and where I was when I purchased it. I can often listen to the music in my mind even without my speakers making a sound. My guitar teacher often plays a riff and I can reach into this collection of albums and find the song he was referring to pretty quickly. Never understood the value add for Roon unless I missed something. What am I missing?
Me either and those kz kza headphones still haven’t gotten here after a week it has shipped from China! 😤 anyone else having this long shipping wait?
Ditto.
Hi Steve - Does Qobuz work in the USA now? I am a UK subscriber and I love it. I have recommended to my American friends but they could not previously been able to access.
P.S. Thanks for the tip on the Willie Nelson album. I am a big Lanois fan and that version of The Maker sounds awesome streamed from Qobuz
I have Qobuz now as a press preview, but Qobuz launches in the US in October.
You are right Steve, Teatro is really wonderful. I think it’s one of Willie’s best! Did you know it was released on vinyl for the first time during Record Store Day in 2015? It came in a nifty 2 lp set pressed on gold vinyl.
Theatro is indeed a terrific album. I can’t believe it has been twenty years since I bought it Jeez, thanks for the reminder, Steve.
Adapter?
Respect your opinion. Did you change your mind about Roon?
do you prefer a landline as well?
Yes
Roon has infinitely improved my music listening life
From what I understand it is an all encompassing music streamer, it can play DSD, FLAC, ALAC, WAV MQA and many other formats. It's a server that can pull from the cloud or a local hard drive. It can stream groups the way SONOS does but you can also group with Apple TV, Roku Bluesound, DTS Playfi and others. If you have a mish mash of music storage, streaming services and end devices it becomes a useful hub/control center. But most people like the intuitive gui and if you are the type of person who loves to hear the stories behind the music or get great suggestions it's a great resource. Maybe you like the sax solo on a certain song, you can see who it is and find other work they have done etc.
No. you are not alone!
Software as subscription is something I can't accept. And the remote app scrolls in the wrong direction.
Foobar 2000 is good enough for me.
Your complaining about the cost not the functionality of the software. He is complaining about the software.
I use Foobar2000 and amazon prime if i feel lazy to cast in bluetooth . I can cast to my amp from my computer using foobar or use HDMI to use my TV as a 2nd monitor to my amp . Why pay for something you can do for yourself for free and is not hard to do ?
error079 rotate your iPad or iPhone 90 degrees and it will appear to scroll in the correct direction 👍
I felt the same way about Roon that you do. Now, I am able to explore a much richer, deeper and exciting universe. It’s like the difference between exploring your backyard and the world. Having Roon doesn’t mean you can no longer explore albums, as I do both. It is only an either/or if you make it that way.
Whenever I think about building a music server for 24 bit downloads as I'm a computer engineer and an audiophile, I just end up thinking how many LPs and CDs I can buy with the money instead and just do that ;-)
hmm... PC's as ripped CD music source got better than CD's over 5 years ago. I have a $1700 CD player that's just gathering dust, can't compete.
I don't doubt that I will do it one day, but that day hasn't arrived for me yet. I have to make my money go as far as possible, and CDs are currently SO cheap ;-) When I have the spare cash however, I'm building myself a dedicated server and NAS setup!
I on the other hand miss the phisical clicks of real buttons, dedicated display, disc tray, someting more concrete than efemere images that mimik buttons on the screen. That's perhaps because being a programmer for like almost 30 years now i came to dispise the cheapness of computer based user interfaces, even the better ones. I love the sound of a CD starting to rotate, it gives me the reassurance that there is something durable about my music, not just a rented service.
Indeed, I shall still be keeping my beloved CD player from Naim Audio. I can just see that it might come in handy to be able to download studio master audiophile music from labels like Linn and Naim et al in addition. Which reminds me, I've been using my Linn LP12 turntable for the past 36 years, so I don't like to make hasty decisions about these matters ;-)
@@MarkW_CSI My Revox B790 is about the same age as your Lynn, perhaps they even know each other. God are we young or what (at heart I mean :)
"Messing with my Stuff"? Steve, man I love your shows and am an avid watcher. My home is now full of Klipsch, thanks to you ;-) But surely it was Apple Music that messed with our files? Maybe I'm missing something but Roon for me brings some order out of the chaos of thousands of ripped CDs, the ever growing ripped vinyl (which sounds just like vinyl when done right) and delivers it so simply to my mish-mash of kit as best as they can play it to me in whichever room. Love the shows and thank you from the UK.
I never even heard of Roon before this.
Bethany Dawn Thompson
Took the words right out of my mouth.
I’m pretty computer literate, never heard of it either.
Me too. Lol I'm still non the wiser
dito
Roooon? Hell I can't even use tidal or Spotify in Korea (living a VPN life while I am here for another new months). Buying mqa's fron onkyomusic now and then. Roooooooo need to check it out.
I have not gravitated to Roon yet. I have a Qobuz subscription so I scroll through my favourites and hit play? Why do I need Roon?
So as expected a lot of you love Roon, great! But it also appears that a LOT of you don't love Roon, so I'm not the only one!
You are not alone, my lovely granpa...i am with you as a Roon hater. I refuse to pay every month for literal sorting software that is offered free in many products (Musiccast, Heos, volumio, etc)
@@wa2368 the UI just drive me nuts...tried it once cancelled it..gave it another try and just drivin me crazy...end of it
the interface is Roon's strong point. But the SQ is not up to par, and the price is rather pretentious.
I was going to be a smart @ZZ but decided what the heck Brother we all love our MUSIC!!!!
Love Roon and have a lifetime subscription. I understand some people don't like it and the price. But in another year I will essentially be getting it for "free" based on the yearly cost.
I also use the DSP fand multi-room functions. so it isn't just a player. Roon doesn't have to "mess" with anything in your setup if you tell it not to.
As far as randomly finding things, it also has a function that does just that - pulls up a random selection of your stuff so you see things you haven't looked at in a while: composers, bands, singers songwriters, labels, genres. Great for discovering your own collection. The way it integrates Tidal favorites into your own library is also fantastic. Makes streaming seem as if it is part of your own collection, not a separate source.
Danny Hoffman
You'll be 'getting it for free', based on the 'yearly cost'.
Uh-huh. Free based on cost.
Is that anything like 'Save by spending more'? My favorite advertising tactic. Don't knock it! It's a tried-and-true staple of good advertising.
That being said, I could see this scheme completely taking over in the not-so-distant future. D =
Edit: Seriously. No sarcasm.
To each his/her own. I really like Roon and feel it has improved my listening experience and enjoyment of my collection. To me the fee was worth it and the lifetime sub a small risk over paying the yearly subscription. They are continually adding features and making the software better, and they listen to users complaints/suggestions.
And although you disagree, the lifetime sub is a one off, in my way of looking at it, for every year they stay in buisiness the software gets less expensive and I get more. I have no problem compensating the team for their efforts, and don't see why a software company has to give it's products away for free, as some seem to think. Some of the posters here also don't realize that Roon's metadata and integration with Tidal are also costly features, both in terms of fees they pay and in terms of data handling by Roon.
@@DannyHoffman57
Good points, all.
I suppose what I mostly disagree with is big companies placing profit above all else, regardless of consequences.
I also disagree with the growing trend I see of everything going the route of paid subscriptions for vaporware. Even for those who don't mind such things, it is a disservice.
As you say, though, the important thing is that one enjoys one's music, not necessarily how one goes about enjoying it.
As for "lifetime subscriptions", I would be very cautious and skeptical about that if I were you. Do a little research and you'll find out they have a bad history.
Just remember, it's not your lifetime that's being referred to.
I did give Roon a go at one stage and I have to say that I did enjoy it a lot. It did a great job of helping me find music, which I find is MUCH harder on non-corporeal formats than just looking through CDs or records. However, like most digital players these days, it just couldn't do volume matching for old and new tracks. Seriously, if I have to adjust the volume for EVERY track, it is way easier to just pick a CD or album that I can put on, adjust the volume and play the whole thing. Of course with the occasional increment per beverage I have consumed :)
Isnt there some tech for handling that? Think it’s called ReplayGain, I don’t know exactly how it works though.
I downloaded Roon, and deleted it from my PC 15 minutes later. Here is a loaded question. I use my iPad Air and a Deezer (Hi-Fi) app to send FLAC audio to my DAC, using Bluetooth 4.0. I think it sounds good, but am I really getting the maximum Hi-Fi sound from my FLAC audio.? Is Bluetooth even considered to be an adequate medium or is it dramatically denounce by "true audiophiles" ? I listen to records when I can, but it is nice to have access to millions of records, and explore new horizons.
I'm using FLAC and am impressed with the best reorded albums. BT, absolutley not! I can't abide it for good quality and let me know how you get good ausio but stop the e.g. system noises, dings, etc form intruding. My car will love you for a solid solution to that!
If you are sending audio via your phone to your car and you hear noise, unplug the phone from your charger. The cheap 5.0 volt usb power supplies everyone uses act like an antenna. I am working on a good version, without noise. I think the 250Mbps transfer rate (BT 4.0) is more than adequate to send FLAC 1,411 Kbps (1.411 Mbps).
Roon is media management perfection, you can have clutter and Roon , one thing doesn’t exclude the other . Don’t hate on Roon .
Roon ? Heard of it but not sure what it’s supposed to do
Hi Steve - I have a high end system using a network streamer which I love for the convenience which I’ve used both Roon & Audirvana however although the IOS on Roon is far superior I do find the sound is better using Audirvana. I’m just about to buy the DCS Bartok which I trialled recently which really is incredible even compared to CD transports I’ve heard
The VH1 Storytellers album with WIlly and Johnny Cash was very good and was where I realized just how good of a guitar player he was. Also, I've gone back and listen to a bit of the Highwayman. It is a good illustration of how there is no Country, in Modern Country music.
I agree, the Willie & John album is terrific.
I have some reservations about Roon, not sure how well it works out for classical.
What about Roon vs Foobar?
But that room in the background. Did you mistakenly think this was radio?
Like your friend, I bought into Roon early on and love it. I learn from it all the time. But I think it is not Roon per se but computer playback that you dislike. And I completely agree about the magic of physical media.
Are you still using AOL for your email too? lol
Another way to Roon the tactile pleasures of audio. Willie is one of the very few living legends. The Red headed stranger album is the reason I stuck with guitar as a preteen. By the age of 12 I could play along to that album front to back and 30 years later I still play those songs around the campfire. I haven't listened to willy much since then, but the amazing structure of those songs is still my measuring stick and when I play folk music it's played on a classical guitar. Willy is in my top three influences as a guitarist along with tony Iommi and grant green.
Never heard of room until now. I won’t pay $119/year or $499 for lifetime to organize my music on my pc.
They just upped the lifetime fee to $700.
@@Smood47 ... and they'll probably go broke two weeks from Thursday. ;)
@@jimshaw899 I don't think so man because there is no software that is remotely close in terms of fluidity, functionality and meta integration. I do wish there was a free option.
@@Smood47 It does look nice and easy to use and I prefer paid software (for the great support, active development, spit and polish with no ads), but this price is really prohibitive.
Can someone enlighten me as to what is the difference of playing a rip of a cd vs the actual cd. Arent they both digital. Cd's are digital so why do audiophiles talk about CDs almost as if they're not.
Depends what format you Rip them to. I did most of my CDs years ago in MP3 format which was great for playing lots of tracks on my car CD player. Since having to dump my CDs and setting my Hi-Fi up again years later in my new house I wish I’d ripped in a less lossier format 🙁. But Hey, most are on Tidal anyway 🙂.
I can certainly sympathise with you, and not just because I'm in my 70th year. You're like me with books. I would much rather have my physical library of books than ebooks. Books are art objects in their own right and are so much richer than ebooks. However, all my CDs have now been relegated to boxes in the attic, and Roon rules as far as my music is concerned…
Geoff, I love books, but my paper books have limitations that ebooks don't. (1) They aren't searchable like an ebook library. (2) I can't carry very many of them in my pocket, to be read whenever I stumble into a downtime situation. (3) Nobody is giving away massive libraries of old books in the way that Gutenberg.org is giving away ebooks. === The situation with physical music media vs. digital is similar in many ways.
I think the Roon interface is too slow. I don’t want to endlessly swipe, scroll, and click; I just want to get to the music and play. Sometimes I get frustrated and just open an explorer window and click the file.
Yup, totally agree. Thank you for posting.
Great album review choice! BTW, it is pronounced tee-AT-row, Spanish for Theater. As it was a Spanish-language movie theater in Oxnard, California (just North of LA) before Daniel Lanois took over the space and recorded Dylan (Time Out of Mind) and Willie (Teatro) there. I highly recommend Lanois' autobiography "Soul Mining: A Musical Life" which documents all of this in vivid detail.
I am also old school. I do also have music files but it just does not compare to having the physical media and owning it. Either CD or records. Love the experience of touching it. It’s part of the enjoyment or music to me.
I do use Roon and yes, I do love it, but I also understand what you say about the ‘accidental discovery’ of rummaging through my vinyl collection.
Accidental Discovering of music through rummaging is just hardly efficient Nor effective.
It’s way easier to just download every song/album from a single artist, then set it to shuffle/random play if that’s what you want. You can’t do that with any physical format.
I like this. Sometimes you just have to say "I just don't like it"
if you don't say why, then its a rather un-informed position.
Willey is great seeing him even if he could really sing when I saw him. Full of stories and jokes😀
Cancelled my trial offer, didn’t present any added value for me and too cludgey in how it worked
I know what you mean about serendipitous discoveries while searching. Aside from music, as a child and teenager I loved browsing through physical (printed) encyclopedias and discovering interesting facts totally unrelated to my initial search topics. Although the internet also takes one on tangents, somehow it's just not the same!
Finally downloaded and I dont quite get the attraction. Dont need to stream to multi devices and dont need to pay for album credits. I can actually find new music all by myself! amazing!
That's what I found, I don't need all those features either. I listen to my CD's on my high end player, I don't feel the need to "rip" them. In Canada "no Qobuz", not paying this much just to listen to my Tidal music.
I had JRiver for 5 years and spent too much time editing metadata, doing updates (current version is 96) and it doesn’t merge with Tidal, QObus, etc.
I tried roon and it was great.
*I know nothing of Roon*
I'm trying (and not succeeding) to find a streaming service that doesn't completely exasperate me. I've tried Amazon Unlimited and Tidal, so far.
Wait a minute... to be clear, I like mostly classical music and jazz, with a frosting of vocals sometimes. It's probably different if you're into pop, rock, rap, blues, or such. So only read on if you understand the dilemma. Does anybody offer a service that lists music by composer, work titles, followed by movements, sorted by orchestra and conductor. I know, SOMETIMES Amazon does. But often, they will insert a rendition by Andre Rieu between two symphonic movements. There's a cold shower. I know, I know, be happy -- it could be Lawrence Welk.
I suppose I should try Qobuz. I haven't seen how they shuffle the deck, yet. *Does anyone know of a better service* to handle classical, jazz, and folk? I am comfortable with something that runs on my phone and my PC laptop, and connects by USB.
Sorry to interrupt.
Surprised by the lightweight nature of your feedback on Roon here, because you’re opinions are usually pretty cogent. Your issue seems to have nothing to do with Roon, but a dislike of digital files vs. physical media, which is a completely different position. I like Roon because I’m of the digital age and use Oobuz, and Roon is the best system I’ve found so far to give me some semblance of “bin-diving” from days of old. It’s really as simple as that.
Charles, you are right about his assessment. I'm like Steve with purchasing physical media. I'm not sure if he understands the true ability of Roon though.
I love Roon. Having Roon installed in no way prevents me, or you, from accessing your music files in any other way that you'd like. I Love that it integrates my music and Qobuz- all in the same app. The only thing better would be if it played my vinyl records, but I'm okay performing that function. And as for Willie Nelson, I saw him at the Fillmore in SF around twenty-five (?) years ago and we stood 10 feet from the stage. He is a consummate entertainer who indeed appeared to love playing in front of people and who played guitar fabulously.
I tried Roon and cancelled within a week. I don't burn CD's, I just listen to them. I use a high end Marantz CD player so they sound great. Qobuz is not available in Canada so it would be (Canadian) $150/yr or $850 lifetime to just use my Tidal music. I use Deezer Hi-Fi but they don't offer that. If they offered a lower priced people for "stream only" people I might consider it. Plus IMHO you can't beat the beauty of vinyl.
I loved Roon when I had it but didn't care for the sound quality. I personally use Audinirvana+
another overpriced piece of software unfortunately
no sound?
So you are missing one thing about Roon. It works as an overlay. It keeps a copy of your metadata but lets you keep discovery in your mess if you want it. It does a great job of finding music you are specifically looking for without searching your computer and multiple streaming services. If you have time physical albums are great. Roon appeals to people who want music to just work without as much trouble. There isn’t a wrong answer here, but that is why so many people like it.
There is a Western European equipment reviewer that has described his household streaming system. It is so complex, not mention expensive, it gives me a headache just thinking about it. Woe is him when tries to find that broken cable. Headphones, IEM's and my android DAP and I am a happy camper.
As far as I'm concerned YES!!!! I usually agree with you on most things but I absolutely love ROON and feel no other Music service can touch it!! As far as streaming goes I've grown to love the ease in which I can enjoy my music and with my NAIM Unity Atom and Heresy 4 speakers the Quality is amazing!!!
Many audiophiles of our generation still hold onto the romance and ritual of finding and buying a new LP, inviting a few friends over, opening a bottle or two of wine and sitting and actually listening to a whole album of music...maybe indulging in some actual appreciation of craftsmanship.
Today's digital format has reduced recorded music to commodity.. In modern living we have so much quantity and convenience but no need or opportunity to consider quality as all music is now considered equal and the same ... sonic wallpaper that not many listen to closely for the quality you and people like you do... anachronisms that we have become.
There is also a very real possibility that CD's are better than 192k digital files. Except unfortunately mastering engineers have been actively sabotaging music since at least 1990 by compressing everything flat and useless. So if someone mastered the vinyl well... then I can totally see why vinyl would sound better. It would at least have some dynamic range.
I've never heard of it, and at this point I'm not really interested in Roon, though I'm not against digital services as a rule (I do most of my listening via Spotify). What I really want to comment on is this album you've recommended. I've never really gotten into Willie even though I've liked nearly everything by him that I've heard by chance. I've always known a time would come when I'd dive in, but his catalog has seemed vaguely intimidating, so I automatically just ignored it. Well, you just changed that. I'm four songs in and I already know that the time when I finally have my Willie Nelson phase has come. Thanks for opening the door.
Get this album-- Stardust
I've never heard of Roon or Title. I like my physical media, but I do rip my CDs to both wav (quality) and mp3 (for on the go convenience) and put them on my file server. The best of both worlds that way.
TIDAL
No, you're not the only one.
Is that like maca roon? Only I'm a bit peckish at the moment.
Iv just bought my 2e Auralic (g1) after 3 years with great software (Lightning) that works with every streaming service and gives me the posibility to stream from my nas, iv tryed Roon but iT did not work for my and soundwise iT did not gave a improvement, no Roon for me
JRiver is still king although I also love Roon. If Roon added smartlists it would be a close call.
Audio quality side, room is 100x user friendly than jriver. And with the new dacs , audio quality also much better.
@@wisetank135 True Roon is definitely more user friendly but if you give your time to JRiver and learn the huge amount of available customisation options then it simply can't be beaten.
Roon hasn’t worked for last month since Catalina update when reading internal and external drives. Lots of frustration in the Roon forum and gone back you CDs. This can only happen again. Roon have been appalling and no fix on the horizon. Not replying when I asked for a refund.
It's personal preference 😊
I'm with you. I have 3045 albums of FLAC files (used by JRiver) plus hundreds of records, tapes and CDs.
I get new albums and CDs almost every week.
I may try it but I haven't done that yet.
Teatro is great only rivaled by Spirit as his strongest albums of the 90's
Streaming isn't for everyone but it's perfect for those of us that are into discovering new music by favorite artists and also discovering artists that we weren't aware of before.. Roon makes those experiences so much richer by providing the "liner notes" that aren't available when you don't actually own the physical media.
True, but *only* if it has that information. My library of ripped CDs is generally well tagged, but Roon knows relatively little about 20% of it, since that is a mix of Hong Kong, Taiwanese and Chinese artists. Also, I was not impressed when it attributed a symphony by Havergal Brian (the English 20th century classical composer) to Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys while correctly handling other recordings of the same composer's works.
I find I can easily find a lot the linear note info. elsewhere with little trouble.
I'm old as well. I have collected CD's and vinyl for decades. Now I use a dedicated laptop as a server for ripped CD's and digital downloads. I don't bother with Roon or Foobar as a media player for my digital files. Instead I use JRiver Media Center. A one time fee to own the software and it works and sounds wonderful. JRiver has the added bonus of an app for Android and Apple devices that allows your phone or tablet to work as a remote to all your music files on the server.
I realize this sounds like an advert but I'm not affiliated. I'm just a user and believer in JRiver as a player for my digital library because it works and sounds Sooooo good.
Think of Roon as software that does what J. River does but better, easier, and in a more enjoyable manner. I've been a J. River guy for many years but it has been dethroned.
At 1:37 you state you have tons of music in iTunes and you don't listen to them. If you are not going to listen to music you have stored on your computer of course you wouldn't like or need Roon.
right.
No, you are not alone. I signed up for a trial and by the end of it I decided it was not worth $500 for a lifetime subscription. In fact, I found it to be overkill for how I listen to music (no upsampling, DSD, or DSP). As a library manager it's terrific and if you use it to it's potential you might think it's a bargain at its price point.
Hi, Master... Allways the, music and the mucisian, make the life to the audiophile people, like you and I. But the feel of playing music can be incredible. Steave.. I Love in your work, that is incredible. Sorry form my English. From Chile. Clk.
I totally agree, but if your into your digital stuff it's the best option in my opinion if you have lots of albums in digital form still love my lps most of all and my old cassettes on the nakamichi deck
It is perfection. Simple as ! Changes PCM to DSD and is such a joy. Only worth it though if you have a large collection.
It is much much better than you think, gentlemen, I just bought a roon license and a dac supporting MQA, with good speakers and amp, the quality of the audio is much much better than CD, and I easily added my 5 t, tens of thousands dsd and flax files to roon, the files got labeled categorised, and added CD covers, also, when your roon lined to tidal, in Which MQA files providing marvelous quality of music ,you can find the meaning of classic music , versions by different conductors, symphony orchestras , for example, I had 5 versions of Bach , mass in B minor, I thought I knew enough, guess what by few clicks, I found, 534 versions of it, by different musicians! It all cost you $20 a month, personally I think it is definitely worth it! There is no where on earth can put whole human beings records of classic music CD s all at your finger click distance! Not mention any CD stores! Roon is providing the service of maintaining a huge database of classic , jazz , all kind of music , that is why it costs much, you can look at it as a music records international library, with any music that you can think of, just a click away. Is that expensive for $10 a month? I don't think so.
My friend is a huge classic fan also, he has tens of thousands hi res classic music files, through roon, not even one of them can't be found and details not there, you can imagine how much work roon company put in the place to get there, no one ever did that before. Without them , lots of us may not know some precious music ever in our life. Why? As your local CD store has no stock.
That Willie Nelson version of the Maker is fabulous.
Oh god that first intimate party and they look at you and say, "your album". 😬
Hi Steve I agree with you, I still love the physical format, especially LP's, the artwork is fabulous, & if you get a well record pressing, you can better the sound quality, another great video, the young people of today have missed out on the days where we used to browse record shop, I love those days 👍
Why does your love of LPs mean you can't also enjoy music that arrives via digital means?
My thought exactly. You don’t have to choose one and then totally crap on the other. Just dumb. I have discovered dozens of artists that are new to me because of Roon, that I never would have discovered otherwise. Using things like reading the synopsis of the albums and artists history as well as their collaborations with other artists. Sorry, I’m going to get that going to a record store.
I feel that it’s just a false sense of uppity that the “old style” of music listening is superior.
LPs aren’t isn’t better in music reproduction with devices like the chord Mscaler and Dave which can reproduce the analog curve on a similar level as that if a LP. And with that all we are left are all the benefits of a physical media reproduction, with none of the drawbacks of one.
i love roon. i love music streaming on my devialet
Right on Bro. Know where you are coming from.
I also like the better sound of lps and cds and some cassettes. Yes I did say tapes (on my NAKAMICHI). Reading inside lp jackets and cd booklets is comforting. Like reading a book. Holding something of substance in your hands. It just feels right. Whether you are listening alone or with friends the informative jackets or booklets bring back many long-lost memorable times.
i Use Tidal ... and love it