To ROON or not to ROON ?

I tried Roon two or three years ago when they had a 30 day free trial. I thought it was nice, but not worth the money.  It didn't really lead me to new music, the auto-generated play lists didn't do much for me, and so on.  I also have Qobuz and really enjoy its weekly new music updates -- that has lead me to more new artists of interest to me than anything Roon did.

OTOH, I know there are a lot of people who absolutely love Roon and think it is the greatest thing since sliced bread.  So, like lots of things, this is one you'll have to decide for yourself.

I have Roon and Qobuz. Coming from years of using JRiver Media Player, Roon is light years ahead in interface & ease of use. Plus Qobuz integrates seamlessly into Roon. I've found a couple new artists through this setup. I can't say whether it's because or Roon or Qobuz, but I liked Roon enough to purchase a lifetime subscription.

I thought about it when choosing a streamer but really don't want another subscription.    In the end I picked an Aurender N200.  It checked all the boxes for me and I think after using  it it was definitely the right choice coming from a Vault, which I still use.   I can actually pull ripped content from the Vault to the Aurender over the network .  So for me a closed ecosystem is best .   If I need music in another room I will just move the Vault over there .

I can definitely see the appeal of Roon.   Just not for me 

I used JRiver for years… and now having switched to Aurrender is like getting computing completely out of the picture. It is great… I was in IT my career. I want my streamer like my preamp, amp… etc… plop it down and listen to music.

While I copied my ripped tunes from my NAS to my two Aurender streamers… I never use them. I just use Qobuz. Better or same sound quality as ripped or CD. So happy to have computers out of it… also the sound quality is now up to the sound quality of my vinyl end.

Your choice. I use Roon and several other applications. Cannot tell a difference at all. Innuos, Mind2,  Roon all the same. 

Roon and Qobuz is the nicest pairings I have had in streaming.

The new Roon 2.0 is pretty nice, and easy to figure out.- Mind you, I hate paying for another bit of software- But, Roon, IMHO, is one of the best streaming managers out there. 

I have also had Aurender. My main beef is that it is only Tidal and Qobuz are integrated into the software. Perhaps sound quality diminishes with having to modify the software to be compatible.

@ghdprentice ,

 I want my streamer like my preamp, amp… etc… plop it down and listen to music.

That is one of the reasons I ended up buying Roon.- I just don't want to deal with all the mess.

B

+2, Conductor App from Aurender

To Roon or not, it squarely depends on your choice of hardware. Majority of the hardware providers has taken an easy way out of not developing their own app interface and chose to adapt Roon.

For that matter, I admire Aurender for not giving into Roon and developed their on very robust and straightforward app that’s easy to follow. Yes, Roon has an advanced but complexed interface but when I am listening to music, I don’t care for none of that! I just wanna queue up music and listen. For simplicity and layout, I prefer the Aurender Conductor app over Roon by a mile. I don’t use any of the DSP features in Roon either. IME, Aurender’s Conductor app is very faithful to original source and doesn’t manipulate digital bits like Roon.

When Innuos users reported that Innuos Sense app sounds better than Roon, I wasn’t surprised at all. So my suggestion would be to choose wisely as app software is just as important as choosing the right hardware (streamer or server).

What I like about roon is the new music it leads me to (with a subscription to Qobuz or Tidal).  When you play an album it will offer suggestions of other albums you may like.  It can also learn your tastes by you liking or disliking songs on roon radio (plays tracks after your album is over, if you want it to).  There are other ways to explore music also.  With a million or so albums to choose from, you can find a lot of good music and you don't have to buy anything to try it.

If you know what you want to listen to many other apps will do the job.  If you like to find new music, roon is worth a try. 

@oddiofyl 

@lalitk 

My story is just about the same as you guys. I went with Bluesound first and upgraded to Aurrender. No regrets. Have found no need to use Roon. 

I’m sure all the streamer mentioned are excellent.   The U2 mini has the best selection of output types no doubt but I think I’ll be fine with either USB or SPDIF output on the Aurender 

I don’t see buying anything like an Esoteric or dcs where there are i2s and multiple ins and outs including clocks.   All I care about is some flexibility and whether the streamer or the DAC controls the clock depending on which DAC I use.  

For me when I upgraded from a Macbook Pro with Amarra (great sounding software with an iffy interface) to a Bricasti M5 I had to move on to either Roon MConnect or Audirvana.  Did trials on all three and MConnect was off the table immediately.  I really liked Roon and with all the updates to Audirvana’s interface it is really good as well.  I chose Audirvana since i like their interface format and it’s half the monthly subscription price.  Time will tell if I decide to switch to Roon at some point.   I would recommend doing the trials and have fun with it.

I also was Roon tested several years ago and found it not worthwhile. Several years of buggy metadata and erratic organizing with NativVita, not to mention the company going belly up made me reconsider when looking at alternative hard drive based devices. A couple of sales staff recommended Roon as a platform based on my input (even though steering me away from their products- shout out to Fred’s Sound of Music and Stereotypes in PDX). Importing CD’s into a Roon Nucleus has been by far the least painless experience of this task to date. Their integration of Qobuz is also a pleasure as is Roon’s ability to inhabit Roon tested/ready devices. Basically it took years of suboptimal experiences with computer/hard drive audio me to become Roon ready

I am thirsty for new music and knowledge about artists and music I already know. I have a large collection of soundboard concert recordings not available on any streaming service. Roon & Qobuz gives me simple integration of my library with streamed library. The user experience I find is more submersive than Audirvana+, Amarra, Lumin and others I've used before. Musical discovery, credits, grouping 19 versions of Kind of Blue, etc. are all intuitive and encourage more engagement. Roon is the only software that I ever could call fun.

In the year or so I've used it, they're twice made significant improvements including just adding mobile offline access. I'm pretty happy using Roon & Qobuz. 

Cheers,

Spencer

Finding plenty of "new to me" on Qobuz without paying someone for questionable "tips." That said I mostly listen to local files, off network.

Plenty of good stuff to "discover" there.

For just over $100 a year what’s not to like there isNothing even close it even learns your type of music and will play mixes on its own , for information about groups and songs loaded with information it is interesting and is built to use HQ player which isa great way to get your music to sound to your taste.

Just paid for a lifetime subscription.

Have had all the software combinations spoken about above by others. But just wanted to stop fiddling and have perfect integration with superior meta integration. Roon fits that bill.

I only use it on one system, without a streaming service. Unlike my Apple computer gear, Roon just works.

+1 sbank

My story is much the same - loads of concert and other source material not available through streaming services on local storage, with a Qobuz subscription for high quality material. The two independent sets of material coexist seamlessly through my Roon library and I coudn't be happier with the ease of access to it all.

For those with both local storage and a streaming service subscription, I'd highly recommend trying the free Roon trial offer.

Same here .  I had Aurender and then purchased a new dac so went with Roon.  No regrets -bought the lifetime 

For me  it is more user friendly and I really enjoy its integration features which I’ don’t remember the Aurender app having. the Aurender app while good did not have anywhere near the features you get with Roon. Roon’s library feature is much better.

When you play an album you can see all the credited musicians.  You can explore their offerings by clicking them. It’s a great way to explore.  I have both qobiz and tidel  

+2 sbank

Roon (with a subscription to Qobuz & Tidal) has opened me up to a lot of new (to me) music. Well worth the price of admission & much appreciated! 

Roon by itself does nothing for sound quality versus streaming direct to say Qobuz or Tidal. If you have lots of music to organize it could be helpful. I use it to stream directly to HqPlayer so I can upsample everything to DSD. 

How about PlexAmp... seems interesting

A week ago I started to consider buying an Aurender to replace my NUC/Roon setup.  It turned out to b an easy decision.  The sound quality of the Aurender blows away the Roon setup.  More detail and a richer overall sound.  

I actually think Roon's sound quality has worsened over the last few years.  I have also had an increasing number of connectivity issues.  It may be the result of so many processes going on within the software itself.  I look forward to the simplicity of the Conductor app.

You “have to Roon”. I have discovered so much new snd interesting music. Using both Tidal and Qobuz as well as a NAS.  Great high res music throughout the house and what a difference it makes. 
 

go for it and let us know how you make out!!

If I was to go back to a dedicated server (which I’m not), the best software and sound came from the Auralic Lightning DS, Lumin, and then Aurender. The best software on your own hardware is Roon, Audirvana, Pure Music. 
Not only does Roon sound the best, the user interface is a joy to use, very easy to integrate your ripped music with your streaming music, and I have found hundreds of new music because of Roon with its “if you like this artist, you will probably like these artists”. I have hundreds of thousands tracks of music and can navigate thru these with ease

I was a late adopter of Roon, but I would not go back at this point.  Having said that, if the only digital source you have is Qobuz and you only listen on one system, then perhaps Roon isn't for you. 

If you have multiple sources, then Roon is fantastic.  I have Qobuz, Tidal, and a large collection of music on my network and 4 systems.  Roon allows me to bring all the versions of a song or album into one interface and makes it easy for me to choose which system(s) to play it on.  It's also great about making suggestions for new music I should try.  The Qobuz interface is pretty good, but Roon will take things to another level even if that's your only source of digital music.

WOW THANKS FOR ALL THE GRT RESPONSES. I THINK I'LL TRY ROON AND SEE IF I LIKE IT. IF IT BLOWS ME AWAY GUESS I'LL HAVE TO STAY AWAY FROM AURENDER. I DID TRY AN AURALIC WITH A BUILT IN DAC IN THE PAST AND HAD TROUBLE WITH IT WORKING CORRECTLY AND RETURNED IT ASAP. SINCE THEN I PURCHASED A PONTUS 2 AND HAVE ENJOYED THE SOUND. 

THX AGAIN 

Roon the software is good if you like that sort of interface. The Roon Nucleus streamer on the other hand is way over priced. IMO

I will say, excellent thread. Bringing out differences in values between the folks posting and different perspectives on external software or not. Minus the egos and hostility… outstanding. 

It would be great if all threads were like this. Everybody learns something. 
 

I am running a Roon core on my Synology NAS, playing my own library. In other words, my use-case is different than what you describe, since I am mainly interested in playing my library and not using the setup to discover new music. I do not subscribe to Qobuz and paid the one-time lifetime fee to Roon. With that said, I am very happy with Roon. The interface is not perfect, but once you get used to it, it is very easy and does a great job. I currently have 4,600 tracks in my library and am working on digitizing about 400 LPs and ripping about 300 CDs.

My basic use-case is sorting by artist, choosing an artist, choosing an album and playing from the start of the album. All of which is very easy to do. When an album is done, Roon keeps the music playing and does a really excellent job of selecting complementary tunes from my library. My wife and I are both really impressed with how good Roon is at doing this. To me, its the perfect radio station, playing all of my favorite artists and songs, and seems to sense my current "mood" well.

My setup is a Synology DS1821+ NAS Running DSM7 with 64TB HDD storage (Seagate EXOS drives), 2 SSD cache devices (Intel 670p series) and the Roon Core on a Samsung e-SATA SSD drive (850 EVO 250GB). I’ve aggregated the 4 1Gb ethernet ports to a Cisco SG200-26 switch and use a 1Gb fiber connection from the switch to a Lumin X1 DAC (in Roon only mode). The DAC outputs to a Pass Labs XP-22 preamp -> Pass Labs X150.8 Amp to YG Acoustics Hailey 2.2 speakers. In addition, I have Sonos throughout the house and will be upgrading my AVR to a NAD T778 in about two weeks which is Roon Ready. The Roon Remote controls all of this very nicely with the exception that I’ve discovered that the best way to group and ungroup Sonos devices is to pause play, group or ungroup, then resume play. If I group or ungroup while music is playing, the syncing takes a minute or two at best or the Core may get hung altogether. By pausing, grouping, playing, all seems to work OK.

Of course, Roon cannot group the Lumin and Sonos devices.

I may add a streaming service some day, but for now I’m enjoying ripping and rediscovering my library. I do have some recent adds like Snarky Puppy, Brandi Carlile and some other fill-ins that I’ve been downloading from HD-Tracks.

Your question can be answered in better knowing your streaming requirements. I can share some of the reasons Roon became a part of my streaming diet.

I used Qobuz by itself for 2.5 years before tying it into Roon. Now, I run Roon with Qobuz and Tidal libraries tied in, and I have separate subs to Spotify and YouTube as well. All these services have different use cases for me. I use YouTube for video, Spotify for remote listening, for lo-fi listening while working, and for sharing music, and I use Roon for hi-res listening.

I came to Roon when I upgraded streamers to the iFi Zen Stream. The Zen Stream didn’t have Chromecast built-in (still doesn’t), and I wanted an elegant way to get the music from my Android to the Zen Stream. Roon was the only elegant solution. When I started using Roon, I also found that I could fix the lack of library coverage Qobuz suffered from by also tying in Tidal. No system is perfect. Every streaming service will change how you listen and what you listen to. I do miss the new release curation from Qobuz being front and center. It’s possible for me to find that in Roon, but it’s more buried. Spotify’s content curation and playlists are my favorite out of any service, but Spotify doesn’t support quality source files. My workaround to getting Spotify content curation in high res is via Soundiiz, which is a service that syncs playlists across services. I sync the Spotify playlists to Tidal (which has more music coverage for the playlists that I generally like to listen to), and those synced playlists show up in the Playlists area in Roon. It’s more clunky than I’d like, but it gets the job done.

I’m also looking for ways to consolidate. If Spotify had a CD quality tier, I wouldn’t be using Roon. I didn’t find Amazon Music to be adequate, and I don’t want to use Qobuz or Tidal by themselves at this point. Apple Music may be one service that could replace Spotify and Roon for me, but iFi needs to update their streamer with Chromecast built-in.

One more element to Roon that I’m beginning to experiment with is Roon ARC. It just launched. It gives Roon remote listing abilities. It’s limited to phone apps for now. I hear that it has AirPlay support, but Chromecast and Android Auto support are missing. If Roon ARC becomes more robust, it could replace some of Spotify’s uses for me. I have attempted to share Roon with friends and family via Roon ARC, but it hasn’t taken for anyone yet. I imagine that it’s both not convenient enough, and the Amazon Music and Apple Music users are likely already satisfied with their services.

I do see benefits to hosting my own server. As long as I continue to use Roon, I’ll be playing with things that I couldn’t otherwise play with using the big streaming services. One area is upsampling at the server level (either in Roon or via HQPlayer). I will also experiment more with MQA and DSD formats (and DACs that support those formats). If I get the itch, I might also begin to build my own library of owned music, but that’s a long shot. Also, rooDial looks pretty neeto. So, Roon opens up ways to experiment or customize your music and your listening experience. If any of these things become a feature I have to have, then I’ll be married to Roon for a while longer.

Roon is wonderful, WHEN IT WORKS.  I am on my 6th year of using Roon and I've built my system around it so I am definitely a heavy user and a pretty big fan of the software.

However, while this happens with all software I'm sure, there is a pretty large group of Roon users that have a strong love/hate relationship with Roon.  That's because (1) it is not always stable/it doesn't run that well on lower end hardware even though it may fit within their system requirements; (2) the Roon team has their own strongly held design philosophy that excludes a number of use cases that will never be addressed (no folder access to a local collection); and  (3) Roon's update rollouts are often sh*t shows.  I've never had a serious issue with an update, but several have created havoc if you read their forums.

Roon also doesn't meet all of its promises - it's only a whole house audio solution if you live alone or can share a library with all inhabitants; their library management work is far from complete (try using a box set on Roon); and they seem to be focused on streamers more than local library folks these days (I know...dying breed).

I guess my point is that Roon is high reward but potentially high maintenance and possible high frustration at times.  Depends on how much control you want - i.e. J River and Foobar 2000 gave you lots of control but not a lot of sophistication.  Roon is sophisticated, but they're in the driver's seat and they always will be.

Definitely try it out. 

I use Roon with a $500 cheap DELL mini computer. I am a power user of Roon since I have 3 Zones for headphones and 2-channel, and sometimes Convolution filters (DSP) on the headphone Zone.

I helped a friend setup an audio booth at a show using Roon on a Apple laptop to 3 Zones. We created a network at the show just for the booth. This was without internet access since we did not want the participants to waste time browsing. So this was not a super powerful network. We also had some hi-res files, but no Convolution filters. The setup worked perfectly.

Roon is really solid and I love it. I was a user even before the product was released. About 7 years ago, I met the son of the PS Audio owner at a show and he was excited about a new product coming out called Roon. Based on that conversation I bought a Lifetime subscription to Roon for $450.

I wanted to be completely indifferent to Roon and was hoping to send back the cheap NUC I picked up to try it with.

There's no going back. It overcomes so many deficiencies in the ifi Zen Stream, Tidal Connect and Qobuz. Roon Radio is 95% brilliant. It also allows you the freedom to not overly care about the software of your network bridge (or directly connect to the DAC if you want to).

All I can say is, give it a try - we are all totally different and some people really like mConnect and BubbleUPnP (I dislike them both). There's a 14-day free trial and you can install Roon Server on any spare piece of computer kit, or buy a cheap NUC.

I'm already planning on getting a better, fanless NUC and a lifetime subscription - but that's just me. I'm also planning on AB testing a direct connection to my DDC instead of the Zen Stream which would bring in some additional funds to spend elsewhere (want new speakers!)

@jabbaman What do you find lacking with Tidal Connect?

Roon + Qobuz = Pandora’s box with a lovely interface. 

@classdstreamer - lacking isn't the right word but I consistently lose connection with Tidal connect from Windows 11 and Apple iPad and cannot connect at all with the Android app. Roon just works and gives me seamless integration across both Tidal and Qobuz.

Roon = discovery of new music in a way never seen before.  If that is what you want do it.  I recommend going NUC route or high end streamer that has core built in.  Nucleus is good way if you do not have skills to go NUC.  its only about $500-700 more.  Plus free year of Roon.  

if you just want to stream your library, don't bother.  

Anyone that says this is better than that is most likely due to their setup.  Roon is bit perfect.  Now comes with mobile with 2.0 as well.  But if you just want to rip and listen, don't bother.  But Roon set up right, with a quality streamer is a great experience. 

I have had Roon for over 3 years now and after the release of 2.0 believe even more that it is fundamentally indispensable to me and my music. Couldn’t imagine life without it.  Roon is light years ahead of all other platforms. 

I have had Roon for about a year and a half...I resisted due to not wanting another subscription...but it is by far the best system I have tried. I dont care about extra services, I just use it for my own (10,000 track) library. It really makes it much easier. I run it on my windows 10 pc.  I just upgraded to Roon 2.0 and the extra access makes it even more worthwhile.

Put me in camp of "best thing since sliced bread" , for streaming interface anyway, now even better with ARC capability (you can access Roon anywhere as long as your core is on).  Only plays with Tidal and Quobuz though so if you want Amazon or Apple music interfaces you can't use it.  I converted from J River and have never looked back

I just ended my trial of roon after three days.  I found it to be full of frustration. Like no easy way to tell what icons are for and how to use them. There is no guide to find out how to do things. For example they sent an email talking about how you can save your "focus" searches by "bookmarking" them.  They then don't tell you have to retrieve those book marked searches.  Like one sentence more would fully explain how to.  I spent half my time searching the web for answers on how to do things. WTF!!  The radio function just played albums I already knew about so it was a waste. Went back to Qobuz/Lumin which is simple and straight forward!

I purchased a lifetime subscription over 7 years ago and have not regretted it for a minute.  I have an 8TB collection on my NAS and Roon integrates it perfectly with my Qobuz selections.  My Wolf server has been issue free through all the updates and improvements.  

I have exactly no issues with Roon! The interface is simply the best, easily most intuitive. As for sound quality, my new streamer has capability to use proprietary music player, Roon, HQPlayer, all in one or two computer setup. Roon has built in compatibility with HQPlayer, along with Qobuz and Tidal libraries. HQPlayer is incredible in that you can manipulate bits to provide best sound quality for your individual setup. I can also use a variety of network adapters, using Roon as endpoint via Squeezlite is present favorite setup. Roon also integrates with local libraries far better than the proprietary music players.

Some complain about Roon sound quality, I have no problem with this aspect vs. my proprietary player or HQPlayer. While I'm still evaluating sq versus HQPlayer and Stylus which is my proprietary player, Roon via Squeezlite is amazingly natural, lifelike, never heard better digital vs top flight vinyl setups. Bottom line, Roon is indispensable for me, while the Stylus player may yet end up with better sound quality, Roon will remain my main player. User interface so superior the trade off in sound quality between Stylus and Roon is far too close to chose Stylus as main player. I'd have to hear far superior sound quality from any proprietary player to stop using Roon as main player. And I haven't even begun to really get deep into HQPlayer integration with Roon, initial listening session have HQPlayer as major competitor as it pertain to sound quality, and I'd still be able to keep Roon interface if I choose to go this route.

I have Aurender and am trying out Roon right now on an old Mac with Qobuz and some of my own CD rips. I love the interface of Roon and it has helped me discover new music easily. The SQ of Aurender as slightly better in my system—better clarity. 
 

Until Spotify has an HD tier, I may run both Aurender and Roon. I could imagine in the future selling my Aurender, buying a dedicated Roon server, and canceling my Spotify. We will see.

I'm sure some of you had seen the price increases below. I've tried Roon out a few times and currently debating whether I should spring for the lifetime subscription before the 1st of January. Music discovery is extremely high on the priority list for me. Roon's algorithms in identifying similar artists to your musical tastes, as well as the metadata that it provides the listener, seem to be better than Spotify, Tidal, Deezer, Quboz, and BluOS platforms IMHO.

Question(s): this is the second Roon price increase on all levels, correct? Anyone know the previous lifetime subscription price? 

When we launched Roon, we had a simple mission: build the ultimate music player for music fanatics.

And what a journey it’s been. Every day, hundreds of thousands of customers use Roon 2.0 and Roon ARC to power their listening experiences, both at home and on the road. But we’re not standing still. We’ve got big plans for the future.

To continue supporting this mission, we’re changing our prices.

On January 1st, 2023, the price of a monthly subscription will change to $14.99/mo.

We're also changing the prices of our yearly and lifetime subscriptions on January 1st, 2023. The yearly subscription will change to $12.49/month, billed annually, and the lifetime subscription will change to $829.99.

If you'd like to switch to a yearly subscription at the lower price or a lifetime subscription at the lower price, visit your account page and change your billing before your next charge.

We want to continue to build a better, more inspiring music player for everyone. This change ensures that we continue to give you a best-in-class listening experience.

If you have questions, contact us at roonlabs.com/contact.

Thank you for choosing Roon — we hope you stay with us for years to come. We look forward to showing you what we have in store.

The Roon team

@toro3 I disagree. I believe Spotify’s music discovery is significantly better than Roon’s. (But I’d say Roon does have better metadata.) For that reason, if/when Spotify launches a HiFi tier, I’m planning to let go of my Roon, Qobuz, and Tidal subscriptions.

@classdstreamer definitely debatable - yet I agree that out of all the streaming platforms (Tidal, Quboz, Deezer, Amazon), Spotify's music discovery is above and beyond without question.

Stopping subscriptions for multiple providers and only having one subscription is definitely appealing - I currently have Quboz and Spotify. In respect to Spotify, I also appreciate their deep catalogue and ability to search other members' playlists which are often better than mine, and much better than any of the platforms' playlists. I know Tidal is trialing this functionality as we speak. 

@toro3 Fingers crossed:

Hopes were high that it would launch several months ago when a Reddit user spotted a HiFi icon in their Spotify iOS app. Then there was a leaked video, posted online by another Reddit user, that seemed to offer a brief tour of the streaming giant’s much-anticipated lossless audio tier.

After months of dormancy in the Spotify camp, it has just been awoken by a Reddit user who, upon cancelling his Spotify Premium account to switch to Apple Music, claims to have been sent a survey by Spotify mentioning a hypothetical premium tier called... Spotify Platinum. Oh. The survey supposedly asked user u/nearlymind if they would consider switching to Spotify Platinum in the "next 30 days" for features that include ’HiFi’ and various others including ’Studio Sound’, ’Headphone Tuner’, ’Library Pro’ and ’Playlist Pro’, for a rather steep monthly fee of $19.99. So Spotify could be rerouting down this Platinum path now.

Like you, I also love Spotify’s playlists. Roon’s playlists don’t measure up, even when I populate Roon with both Qobuz and Tidal libraries. Other benefits to Spotify include the social elements like users being able to build a playlist together, and being able to share links to a playable song on the app. Roon ARC is a step in the right direction, but is just a baby step from a consumer’s perspective. I want to be able to share song or album links with people, but with Roon I’m limited to sharing a picture. With Spotify, a link is included that takes the recipient to that song or album in their own app.

When I allow Roon to play similar songs after the requested song, Roon Radio sometimes doesn’t even stay within the genre. Spotify, on the other hand, seems to have a much better handle on sub genres and sticks to them. Spotify’s understanding of sub genre’s is seen in the variety of playlists. And, being able to leverage user data is an importance piece in music discovery, and Spotify can rely on input from its giant user base to feed its discovery algorithm. This "network effect" allows big businesses to pull even further ahead vs smaller competitors. 

I admire what Roon continues to accomplish, but it’s hard for boutique software companies to compete with software giants. Still, I’ll continue to run Roon on my nicer listening systems until a Spotify HiFi tier comes out, or until I decide to dabble in Amazon or Apple Music again.

Roon is good for music discovery and good for music lovers.

So is Plex/Plexamp which I use and costs less for those streaming from their own music library and Tidal only at present.

If I did not already have Plex I might try Roon. However Plex allows one to stream from anywhere via internet connection or download. Home, work, car , anywhere. That and cost are two areas that Plex beats Roon.
 

Plex/Plexamp also has advantage of running on most any common computer tablet or smartphone so no special hifi devices needed for CD resolution streaming.

Well, All these posts are very interesting. Problem is when we ask if something is worth it or not, we dont know how wealthy the person giving the advice is. If I make $600 a week, is ROON worth it? No it is not. But if somebody make 500k/year, of course is worth it because $700 is not that much to that person.

To me is not worth it at all and I make $250k a year.  It is just a convenience but I dont think is worth that much. $500 would be a good deal but $700 can get me 5 years of Qobuz music. I like the program ROON but I dont think is worth that much. You cant even create an extra user for your wife or son. Only one person can use it - even without Qobuz or Tidal.  This lifetime model still can be seen in TIVO lifetime, a DVR for TV,  You get a hard drive to record 600 hrs of TV shows and TV listings for lifetime. It is a better deal for the TV world.  Now Tivo has a problem The FCC no longer forces cable companies to service TIVO anymore, so the TIVOs may stop working and then you are left with a box good for nothing. Something similar could happen to ROON. So Im not willing to gamble $700 for Roon. Lifetime. Thats my 2 cents