ROON – The new standard in Music Server, Browser and Player software
Update 15-04-2017
Roon via Airplay and Euphony Audio Transport
With the 818 gone and using the EC Designs Beaglebone Black in another setup and faced with needing an endpoint in my main system to be able to listen to Roon, I remembered that Airplay functionality was made more stable recently so I tried it again using the Aurender N10 Music Server. Yup: after tapping the audio setup link, the Aurender Airplay option popped up right away. Seconds after enabling it the music played. It sounded ok, but not great, with a certain thinness and a loud midrange.
That made me think: Roon is also compatible with Squeezebox and the AudioAanZee Reference Flow music server has SqueezeLite at its core. I had tried this before and it sounded very good.
After connecting the Reference Flow and adding a HiFace EVO USB to S/PDIF converter as the Wadia 521 does not have USB, I went back to the Roon audio setup screen. There I was greeted with a big Roon symbol followed by Euphony, hiFace and ALSA.
Roon works natively with Euphony Audio Transport
Ah yes, that’s right: I swapped the Reference Flow hard disk for the Euphony Drive! At the time of the Euphony review, I hadn’t tried the endpoint option but since Euphony is Roon certified, Euphony is natively compatible with Roon and this works both ways.
Just look at all those zones available at my fingertips! The top one labeled AAZ Euphony is the AudioAanZee music server hardware running the Euphony Drive software. These labels can freely be renamed and any endpoint options that are not needed can be left off the list.
It’s great having these zones at your fingertips and Roon makes swapping between them child’s play. It works smoothly and quickly and again the music plays. This time around the sound is great. Nay, it’s excellent! In spite of the USB to SPDIF conversion, this is a sound that is on par with what I am normally used to from other high quality streaming endpoints. A quick switch back to the Aurender with Airplay confirms that the Airplay protocol definitely performs at a lower level.
Meanwhile, Roon keeps expanding its functionality and compatibility. By now the list of possibilities is becoming positively endless, now even including DSP. At the pace that the Roon team is developing, it is just impossible to keep this review up to date. So for the latest, please head to the Roon website.
I will keep adding reviews of Roon-compatible devices and I will always compare the Roon playback to the other means available. Here’s a recent addition where Roon also sounds marvelous:
PS Audio Directstream DAC and Directstream Memory Player
Update 08-05-2017
Euphony Buggy/Zotac
Euphony’s Buggy/Zotac/P8 hardware solution performs even better than the Reference Flow with Euphony Drive! See the extensive review for the complete story.
Buggy/Zotac is the computer containing the Euphony Drive, P8 is the optional fully regulated linear power supply. Other power supplies are also available.
Update 21-05-2020
Roon never stops developing and to this day it keeps getting better and better. At this stage, though, I think that the review is long enough already and so I have stopped adding updates. I do still use Roon as the default streaming application for all my review work and so, my reporting has continued in these individual reviews. Below are a couple of links to start you off on that continued journey.
Try out Roon for yourself
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