Roon

The nice thing about Roon is that you are not tied to a single vendor's server or DAC technology. I started out running Roon on my PC, then on a DIY NUC server running ROCK, then a SGC sonicTransporter i9 optical.

I've used multiple connections to my DACs including direct USB, a couple different Sonore devices, Bryston BDP-2, Auralic Vega G2, Bluesound Nodes, and Apple devices.

I don't know of any other system that has this kind of flexibility and connectivity with the exceptional user interface and excellent sound quality that Roon provides. 

I have no doubt that there are excellent vendor-specific solutions, such as Aurender, that may even have SQ advantages over Roon, but I value not being tied to a single hardware vendor and being able to control a wide variety of devices in my home from the same system. 

jaytor - Are you still using your Transporter i9, what's your favored method of Roon, which sounded better to you?

@high-amp - Yes, I'm using the Transporter i9 as my Roon server. For my main system, this is connected optically to a Sonore Signature Rendu SE, which is corned via USB to a Denafrips Gaia which connects i2s over HDMI to my Denafrips Terminaror Plus.

jaytor - Nice, thx. That's a lot of hardware!

@high-amp - yeah, but the Denafrips DACs definitely sound their best using an i2s connection, and using the Gaia allows me to use the clock sync from the DAC. 

The Sonore optical Rendu that I used before I got the Signature was the best bang-for-the-buck. The improvement to the Signature was pretty subtle, but I was using a linear power supply with the optical Rendu.

I also have an Auralic Vega G2 (in my bedroom system) and a bunch of Bluesound Node 2i boxes (used for background music in other rooms) connected to my network. It's great to be able to put multiple endpoints in a group and play the same music in different zones in my house.