For those that use Roon, is it worth it to get one of there servers or just pay for the lifetime license? I’m thinking of getting a Nucleus, is it worth it? Also does the lifetime license come with a Nucleus? I will use it with a AirLens from PS audio connected to my Directstream SR. What do y’all recommend?
I have a lifetime license and a Nucleus One that I’m very happy with. Used to use a headless Mac mini without much issue, but the Nucleus One does just the job without issue or complaint.
Roon lifetime is the way to go, otherwise you will be paying yearly and the lifetime subscription cost keeps going up. I got the lifetime so I don’t need to worry about wasting money on yearly subscription. Nucleus did not come with it.
Not familiar with Nucleus, but many reviews seem to indicate it is a good one. However, other audiophile servers will beat it including Grimm MU2 that I am using.
I am not certain Roon has a long future. It is failing fast.
Active speakers, Bacch? Meh… Roon failing. Hell is Freezing over end of days. Someone help save Al! Lol
Maestro, Airlens, plus Fii. That is all Al need.
I will buy his Sakra 17 cheap.
You most certainly will not!
I was kidding of course! Don’t do it!
If you are moderately computer inclined, setting up and running a NUC or Macmini Roon server is efficient, affordable, and performs quite well! The airlens will do a good job of isolating potential noise out of the server system.
I’m running Roon on a SonicTransporter i7 from Small Green Computer and have been very happy with it. It replaced an older i5 unit. I got a discounted lifetime membership when Roon first came out. Not sure I’d pay what they want for it today.
Bob
I am a computer nerd. I’ve been fixing, building and working with computers all my life. My first computer was a TRS-80. I can handle what ever is sent my way but as I get older I have gotten more focused on easy of use. I’m the IT go to guy in my family and it’s exhausting. If I get enough isolation from the AirLens that will work for me. But I need ease of use for my wife and family.
I remember TR80s! The ease of use is the Roon app that acts as a rermote for the server. The server can be headless and in another room. If I remember correctly the airlens can play local library files from anywhere on the network. I do not have an airlens so I can’t advise on that part.
The hardest part of Roon is paying the license. The money you save on not buying a Nucleus and refurbishing a moderately spec’d computer you could buy the lifetime Roon license. I am using a 2012 Macmini and it has more than enough power to run Roon flawlessly.
There are other options for sure, but this is the one I know and have really enjoyed the ease of use and low price point. I’ve also heard that certain NUC computers are great for running Roon (I think Roon even has it’s own OS one can install on certain NUCs. Have fun and let us know what you settle on.
I have a lifetime Roon membership. Recently, my Roon Nucleus+ failed, and was almost impossible and too costly to repair. I bought a Nucleus one for $500, moved the internal drive from the Nucleus+ to the Nucleus one, preserving my library. I could not be happier. $500 is a very small price to pay for my streaming happiness. The Nucleus one is a real bargain.IMHO
Added a 2TB internal SATA drive to my Roon Nucleus One and it just quietly does its job — to the point that I forget it’s even there. Reliable performance, solid sound quality, and a very fair price (currently 11% off) make it an easy recommendation in my book.
I’m also very glad I bought my Roon lifetime license when I did. Back then it was only $499. At today’s $829.99 price, you’re looking at well over five years just to hit the break-even point compared to the annual plan.
@guthrie_m When I first got into streaming, I told the great folks at PS Audio that I wanted simplicity and ease of use above all. And they said go Roon (with my PS Audio DSJr). It was absolutely great advice.
The best thing about Roon in my book is the interface, which is actually useful and intuitive for non-computer nerds. Really good. At the same time, it is sophisticated enough that it also lets uber high end users (including some in this group) do fancy stuff such as convolution filters.
I started with the Roon core on my PC and that was fine. Then like others in this group I got a Grimm MU2, which now serves as my Roon core. And that is also totally fine, to put it mildly.
I see no reason not to get a Nucleus if you are so inclined. I would probably get one if I didn’t have an MU2. As an aside, I don’t have a lifetime subscription to Roon, but that’s because nothing lasts forever.
Roon is a terrible company (or at least it was before it was purchased)
It is the worst customer service model and made worse by the fact it’s a service that is paid for.
The time and effort that the user has to expend to get a technical issue resolved is just deplorable.
it took Roon over 15 months to finally tell me that ROON could not handle my music library that I store on my NAS.
I don’t believe I’ve ever seen anything from the company warning prospective users of this issue. All you see is them crowing about how great it is. 15 months…time and money spent on their suggestions (such as add more memory to the Nucleus etc. etc)
when I finally was allowed to speak to someone with some knowledge about the product (beyond just asking you to reboot ROON) I was told it is my library. When I then asked for a refund, I was told Roon is fine…it’s my library …THE WORST customer service model ever…thankfully I discovered Innuos Sense which has zero issues with my library…this was about 4 years ago…and yes I’m still "put out "by the memory of it.
I really hope you are Right!
I am sadly, very confident I am right. Maestro couldn’t come along at a better time!
I agree 100% based on past experience. But now I can pretty much bypass the customer service by forum torture using any number of free large language models. Google’s free AI interface, for example, is absolutely great for troubleshooting Roon issues when they creep up.
For example, Roon just stopped working/loading on my iMac (where Roon Core resides) some time ago and I all but abandoned the software because I dreaded trying to figure out what to do. I ran my issues by my new Large Language Model buddy and received clear and easy to follow instructions on how to proceed. And, when things did not seem to be headed in the correct direction or additional issues cropped up, amended queries ultimately provided the answers I needed.
Roon is back up and rocking.
FWIW.
Cheers.
PS
I avoid the Roon website for Roon queries but maybe they will adopt an AI approach some day.
Great advice.
I’m still using R.O.C.K. (Intel NUC) and, while I have serious concerns about fidelity (RAAT), the NUC took ~30 minutes o deploy and has been reliable for five years.
Audirvana still sounds better than Roon by 100 kilometers but is primitive compared to Roon in the metadata component.