Roon 2.0 Released

Network Audio
61

Been a few days… any more opinions here?

I’ve always suspected that Audirvana will sound better on lesser hardware but at some point the transparency of Roon to expose “good” hardware will give a superior experience.

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62

I’ve gone back and forth a few times, and I really haven’t heard a difference. This could simply be confirming how good the Signature Rendu SE really is for streaming, no matter the source.

I am glad that I’ve tried this and am ready to go if there’s an internet outage. Though I am reconsidering keeping vinyl in our system. If there’s no internet, I can still spin.

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63

I switch between JRiver and Roon using the Signature Rendu SE all the time. I also can’t hear any difference. Both sound great. I mostly use Roon to stream Qobuz and Jriver for my stored files. Looks like an even better decision in light of 2.0 (don’t need the internet with JRiver). It works for me and the Rendu allows for easy switching between DLNA and RAAT.

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64

Now I need to try JRiver. More to do…

65

I hope you do…and looking forward to reporting on your experience.

I tend to think it “outplays” Roon.

Not nearly as great UI as Roon but, on balance, I prefer my local files via JRMC as compared to Roon.

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66

A dreadful launch generally, over-promised and under-delivered. You need a separate app to listen mobile and I already have one, QMusic, but haven’t used it for 5 years.

I found the least palatable thing about the launch the suggestion that I should go to the gym to enjoy Roon ARC. Probably qualifies as fat-shaming, or at least not-thin-shaming. Maybe not-thin people go to the gym so that they can walk around in tight jeans and tell people they are listening to Roon ARC. Won’t win any points around these parts for doing that, just increase your risk of getting run over.

67

We went on a two hour drive this weekend listening to ARC. The only plus I could see over streaming directly from Qobuz was that we could play local files. While that was cool, I really didn’t see it as a game changer. There’s plenty of music available with native Qobuz.

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68

BTW, JRiver has had the remote access capability, using the exact same port forwarding scheme, for years. I think I’ve been on it for 10 years now using JRemote. Big plus with roon, of-course, is combining streaming but it never seemed like a big deal for me since I could always launch Qobuz directly. It’s not a big thing for me either way: I just renewed roon for a year. The internet access requirement for me doesn’t mean much for me either.

Also, if you spend some time configuring JRiver/JRemote, it looks great and is incredibly customizable. There is a learning curve but IMHO, it’s worth it.

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69

I just installed jriver. It’s not the most friendly s/w I’ve seen. I just spent 15 minutes trying to figure out how to point my PC at our Rendu and haven’t found the settings. Sigh.

70

45 minutes later and I still can’t get a DLNA renderer to show up in JRiver. This has to be the worst s/w for audio playback on earth.

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71

Nope. Just tough to get started. The help forums are pretty helpful, FYI.

“User Friendly” is not a strong suit of this software.

72

It’s too much like work to configure. I am done with it. It’s been uninstalled.

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73

Too bad…

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Seriously, Audirvana found my Anthem, Sony TV and Rendu in just a few minutes. JRiver never saw any of them and I read the horrible wiki. I went to the forum and saw advice like “everything you need is in the Wiki”. Not to mention it looks straight out of 1990.

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75

You are not wrong.

:rofl:

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76

I almost agree–I’d say second worst. :grin: I fought JRiver for a couple of years before I got my DS Jr. and Roon. It has way too many settings, and I was never guaranteed I was doing things right to get a bit-perfect signal to the player like I could with Roon. And that was after weeks of scouring various wikis, forums, etc., each one having a different opinion on what was “correct.” That and no matter which version, and regardless of which OS I used, it crashed several times daily. It’s not as bad as Foobar (an interface only a computer geek could love) and it did have a couple of minor features I preferred to Roon, but JRiver had enough frustrating things wrong with it that I dumped it and never looked back.

Also, my idea of a good user interface is one where I can hand the tablet to someone who’s never seen the app before and be able to use it almost instinctively. I can do that with Roon. Not so much with JRiver or others I’ve tried. And

That is my main issue with Audirvana–I have many devices around the house, and Audirvana could really only be used on two systems. That leaves eight or more without a way to access the network easily.

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77

BTW, for those (like me) who think 2.0 is a misguided release with it’s 24/7/365 Internet, here are some instructions I put together to stay with what they call the 1.8 Legacy version, which will NOT nag us to upgrade.

Step by step:

I’ve done this and no more upgrade nag, and no worries about an accidental 2.0 upgrade.

78

Years ago I used Exact Audio Copy to rip CD’s. There were lots of websites that offered secret switches and somber incantations that would get me closer to God and enlightenment. I poured over all the information I could find. I was constantly fiddling with it. Then I bought dBPoweramp. Next.

I have a lot of problems with Audirvana. If you have too many DSD files it stops looking at your files. I have way too many DSD files, so it doesn’t work for large portions of my library. When I pointed it at my NAS it took its time and finally I came to the conclusion that we are fundamentally incompatible. I tried aligning the healing crystals and massaging the chakras. No luck.

JRiver I had no problem with. But they make a point to not work with Qobuz. Qobuz is more important to me than JRiver will ever be. I haven’t used it in two years but I am up to date. $20 upgrades on the chance that some day they will join the current times instead of fighting hard to stay in one old forgotten place. Bah.

Roon with a Grimm MU1 is the final solution for me.

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79

Hey, there are those of us who started in the early dawn of EAC who actually knew about those secret incantations! :grin: It served very well for the years before dBPoweramp came along. :slightly_smiling_face:

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80

From what I have read do not expect them to ever incorporate Qobuz. IMO a bad attitude, but it’s what we have to live with. When I see the “improvements” introduced with each new version of JRiver it appears they are much more interested in video than audio. At least they cared about audio at one time and have not done any damage to it with each upgrade.

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