Roon vs OS and Native Players - Impact on SQ?

Different software, different hardware = good chance of different sound.

Someone should do an unbiased shootout between some popular options and let us know the results.

I switched to Roon from Plex about a year ago after doing a shootout between the two. I posted results here if anyone interested. Spoiler: Roon straight out of the can won hands down No doubt

Worth noting that Roon comes with default settings but also includes user configurable DSP, one of its most valuable features for an audiophile. It can pretty much make Roon sound anyway you like it to. But it does have a learning curve and not for old school analog-only purists if any of those still around who believe the only way to tune or tweak one’s sound is to move to better and more expensive hardware. DSP is tone controls on steroids. You can apply it just right or many ways to totally destroy the sound quality as well if done poorly. The devil is always in the details.

@toro3 

B. As a Roon user, how much of a bottleneck are we talking about in terms of diminished SQ when comparing Roon to Aurender, Lumin, and Innuos native players?

How about Antipodes? 

With Roon, you can run Roon server/core on many devices of choice from existing home computer to audio "high end" server. Then you can stream from pretty much any device you choose, from smart phone to tablet to home computer all the way up to high end Roon Ready streamer.

That means you can start for minimal cost by leveraging hardware you already have, and go from there as you please. If you have the funds and desire, you might end up on dedicated "high end audio" hardware. Or not.

THe point is that cost of entry is minimal and you can "upgrade" from there as you please over time if needed. So you have tottal flexibility regarding how much you need to invest in a streaming solution that floats your boat.

At the opposite end is proprietary high end streaming solutions like Aurender. THis will cost you way more to start and meanwhile you have not even tried more cost effective solutions first to compare with.

Personally, any streamer I buy has to be Roon Ready or bust. Not interested in getting locked into any expensive high end audio boutique brand for something as widespread and growing these days as high res audio streaming.

I have heard high end  Aurender (and Roon) for example sounding wonderful in various systems at high end shows. More costly systems should! With a proprietary hardware and software solution like Aurender you are taking a plunge into the deep end and will probably never look back. If you have the funds to do that, more power to you. But now you are locked into that particular company’s not inexpensive hardware and software solution. Many high end audiophiles with deep pockets are used to that so no problem. Whereas with Roon you get to choose from many options, from more common home and mobile computing devices to specialized hardware devices that are on-par with other high end specialty designs. I have yet to hear Roon disappoint. From headphones to my grandest system (pricey compared to teh norm yet still modest cost wise on teh grand scale of high end audio) Roon always delivers excellent sound quality .

I've compared Lumin's app (and Plex app which is basically a custom shell over top of the Lumin app) to Roon.  I've heard bigger differences in cables, to be honest.  But with Roon+Muse and my Ayre QX-5 Twenty DAC (ESS ES9038PRO chip), it's a no-brainer that Roon sounds markedly better when sending max O/S rate directly to the DAC chip.

Being such a flexible solution that runs on so many different devices, performance and reliability is where I have seen Roon come up a bit short over the last year. However, since the harmon acquisition, there have been several new releases in recent weeks that appear to have resolved that, which is a big plus so far for Harmon.  Things run much faster and reliably now.  I'd encourage anyone impacted by past performance and reliability issues with Roon consider taking a fresh look. Looking forward to what may come next.  So far thumbs up for "Harmon"-ized Roon.