Roon can sound different depending on the implementation and what it is compared to. Some implementations have the work being done on the computer in which Roon resides, others have Roon simply sending on a bitstream and the work is done in the player, etc. Reports thus vary as to whether Roon sounds better, worse, or the same as other options on differing pieces of kit.
I do not know how PS Audio’s implementation works, nor do I have Roon on my system, and thus have no opinion.
Elk,
I don’t know what prompted you say that, but , you are absolutely correct. I have Roon, A+, JRMC21 and HQPlayer. A+ and HQP can sound many different ways, with all their available teaks, which one is correct, I don’t know. Roon also sounds a little different with different paths. I find that the most important detail is the USB isolation from the computer noise. Roon going straight to the DSJr Roon ready bridge. sounds very good just the way it is, however I prefer going through DIRAC for room correction, and I can’t do that going through the bridge. So I run Roon on one MAC-Mini to a second bridged MAC-Mini with DIRAC and out to the DSJr. via USB. The path to the USB port is via a iFi USB3, a iFi iPurifier2 and Uptone Audio Regen powered by Uptone Audio LP2 power supply (which also powers the second MAC-Mini) to the DSJr. This gives me a very clean noise free USB signal. And the end results, WOW. Change almost any of those items and the sound changes. I’m hoping that the new PSAudio USB bridge will cut down on the clutter of devices and not effect the sound for the worst. Many ways to Audio nirvana. The big issue is what it sounds like to you in your system. “Is it real, or is it Memorex.”
I have compared Roon, JRiver 21 and Minim (with Bubble UPnP) all feeding to bridge II.
I found JRiver to be tad better than Roon in terms of sound quality, IMHO. Roon is good too in this setup compared to feeding to USB (not used LanRover).
Surely Roon from UI perspective is much more handy. Though using JRiver one can achieve majority of the functionality of Roon UI. In fact JRiver is much more flexible with respect to meta data management and display. But surely that entails more complication and hence JRiver needs little more computer awareness/familiarity.
Roon excels in making the UI navigation very intuitive and fast. Say one fine day you want to listen to work of a particular composer in a given decade. Within few clicks you are ready with the list of songs from the Roon Remote in your hand held device and start playing them. To do the same in JRiver you have to really spend little time, especially because JRemote is not that flexible.
However, so far for me the deal breaker against Roon is not being able to display the Album Arts properly when I play a playlist/radio. This works great with JRiver so far.
Regards,
Sourav
I like the ability to control the DS volume directly from the Roon app. Would it be possible to also add the ability to control the DS phase from Roon directly? If so, the remote control could stay permanently in the drawer.
Phase inversion really seems to make a large difference on some minority of the recordings in my collection. I’m not sure if the availability of this feature lies with PSA deciding what commands the DS accepts from Roon vs. whether Roon allows for this kind of command in the RoonBridge/RoonReady software, but it seemed reasonable to ask here first.
I’m trying to find the 60 day Roon test/trial key/code so I can setup a test running on my NAS. It might just take that long to import the data 
wizardofoz said I'm trying to find the 60 day Roon test/trial key/code...Ready for Roon?
I can only add an opinion. I have a dedicated audio only pc with Paul pang and sotm stuff inside. linear psu for the pc and nas - ds214 play. The pc is Windows server 2012 running audio optimizer and Fidelizer. I feed my DS directly to Conrad Johnson ART’s and to Amphion 7L’s. I switch between Roon and Jriver feeding the DS via usb or bridge. I also have a Sonore SSR which isn’t Roon ready so I use JR. I’m listening to some really good sounding music basically any route I take and I’ve been listening critically for over 40 years. The SSR through the i2s connection betters the others in instrument articulation and micro dynamics. Instruments are just there and very independent in space. That said, the alternatives aren’t too far behind. as I said, it all sounds really very good. Soundstage, low end definition, mid range clarity bringing male and female voices into your lap and just dImension; the music floats. So when it comes to the interface, I’m biased to Roon. maybe because my mind likes the interface so much. To me, the access to the abundance of high quality music through tidal and integrating that music with mine is the real winner. I discover new, great sounding music every time I listen and it becomes part of my library. If I find there’s a better sounding download, I’ll get it but otherwise I have it and it still sounds very good. I will say, the DS, a very recent addition, is the best sounding dac I’ve heard and there have been many of the previous top dogs in my audio room. Berkeley alpha dac 2 on the way out despite Harley’s comments! And btw, the bridge upgrade just worked. Thanks you Paul for bringing all of this to us.
jd7744 said So when it comes to the interface, I'm biased to Roon. maybe because my mind likes the interface so much. To me, the access to the abundance of high quality music through tidal and integrating that music with mine is the real winner. I discover new, great sounding music every time I listen and it becomes part of my library. If I find there's a better sounding download, I'll get it but otherwise I have it and it still sounds very good. I will say, the DS, a very recent addition, is the best sounding dac I've heard and there have been many of the previous top dogs in my audio room. Berkeley alpha dac 2 on the way out despite Harley's comments! And btw, the bridge upgrade just worked. Thanks you Paul for bringing all of this to us.Thanks! That's quite some competition you put us up against. I am impressed.
Holzohr saidwizardofoz said I'm trying to find the 60 day Roon test/trial key/code...
If you aren’t yet a Roon subscriber, and have a Bridge II, you can use the following code for a free 60-day subscription. Just use this code:
P500-N382-H4P5
when registering for Roon and you can play all day for free. The code expires on August 15.
magicknow saidNo need to have the Bridge II (and you can start another subscription) if I may tell this. The code works well with my "Roon Bridge", a CuBox. I regret now that I have sold my Bridge II. I like Roon very much but soundwise I prefer my Raspberry/Audio-GD I2S-to-HDMI solution with piCorePlayer installed. Wondering if I should replace the CuBox by a microRendu, a SOtM smS-200 or if I should look for a Bridge II again.If you aren’t yet a Roon subscriber, and have a Bridge II, …
What are the recommended changes if any to the default settings in Roon device properties for the DSJr and Sr with respect to the Max Sample Rate and Max Bits, leave tham at disabled or tweak them?
Likewise if running as USB then what of the playback tab settings like
Use Exclusive Mode
Use Integer Mode if Supported
Use Max hardware Buffer Size
Use power-of-2 Hardware Buffer Size
Maybe some Jriver explicit settings would be good to share too
MODS…Please feel free to make this a new thread if you think its appropriate to do so.
As a matter of interest…
Are the BridgeII/Roon communiations using TCP or UDP protocols as if its UDP and there are dropped or lost packets it might explain why some network connections might sound different than others.
Granted I am in the camp that says digital is digital and if your data from one digital device to another is error corrected (TCP) etc then there should be no difference, unless noise is also perhaps introduces via the cable to a sensitive component.
wizardofoz said As a matter of interest...Are the BridgeII/Roon communiations using TCP or UDP protocols as if its UDP and there are dropped or lost packets it might explain why some network connections might sound different than others.
Granted I am in the camp that says digital is digital and if your data from one digital device to another is error corrected (TCP) etc then there should be no difference, unless noise is also perhaps introduces via the cable to a sensitive component.
Regards,
Sourav
Even with UDP, data corruption is not likely to be subtle. Is it magically only going to corrupt the low order bits? I would expect pops, ticks, hash and dropouts. Even if the damage is only audibly subtle, a network that is generating enough errors to produce a regular sound signature (read: errors in almost every packet) is in deep trouble and desperately in need of major remedial action.
J.P.
I’m assuming Roon Ready means Roon connects to the Bridge via ethernet? I have Roon on a Mac, my music on a NAS, and a Bridge II. What do I need to do to convert those files to sounds?
Sounds like all you should need is to update the Bridge II to the most recent firmware version. Of course, there are probably a few settings in Roon too, but I can’t help you with that.
J.P.