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Should I get a Roon Nucleus?

Hey folks,

I just discovered Roon after using Bluesound for years. I have the new Bluesound Node wired with a Cat7 Ethernet cable. I love the Roon interface. My node streams to both my Focal Arche and Rotel RA-1592. I just use Qobuz at this point (recently ditched Tidal). I have an iMac M1 as my Roon core currently. What do you think the Nucleus or the Nucleus+ would accomplish in my system? Thanks!

128x128dmmichalowski
jjss49's avatar
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jjss49
6,612 posts
 

based on your equipment list i would tend to agree with @fuzztone 

but for not too much more money, you could get an innuos zen mini mk3 (used, new ones are no longer made), that can run as the core machine... then use its rca digital out to feed a nice downstream dac

will be a nice upgrade over the node, especially if you improve the rest of your gear

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fuzztone
5,632 posts
 

I agree with @jjss49 ​​​​​​.

jbuhl's avatar
jbuhl
991 posts
 

I agree with @testrun. I switched over from an iMAC core host to a SGC i5. Stabilized the entire environment and got a nice little SQ bump with a deeper sound stage. Keep your BS as an endpoint.  Then later on add a LPS to the SGC.

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audphile1
5,275 posts
 

@jbuhl bump in sound quality from only changing roon core? I get the stability part though….

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jbuhl
991 posts
 

bump in sound quality from only changing roon core?

Yep I think so.  I was comparing Roon side by side with my Bryston BDP Pi running MPD/Manic Moose and streaming Qobuz.  The Bryston bested the iMAC/Roon hands down enough so I was considering not anteing up for ROON.  Switching the to SGC brought it close enough that I opted for the ROON subscription.   Switched the Bryston to ROON ready, done. I think having the core running on a dedicated device is critical for squeezing the most out of ROON.  Note: Radio Paradise still sounds a tad better when streamed (16/48) directly off the Bryston. 

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