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Sound quality of Roon vs. Lighting

I’d like some feedback from the more experienced users here.  I have an Auralic Aries G2 streamer.  I also have Roon Core running on a Mac Mini.  This allows me to compare the sound quality of Roon vs. Auralic’s Lightning app.  Complicating things are that the Auralic has filter options and I can send data to my DAC via USB or S/PDIF etc.  A couple of quick details
1) I’ve found that I prefer USB to S/PDIF going into my DAC.
2) I’m using the filter Auralic says is most preferred by listeners (smooth w/ little pre-ringing).
3) When running Roon - I’m not doing any processing - no up conversion, equalization, etc.


Am I imagining that Lighting sounds slightly better than Roon?

Of course, Roon is a much better interface than Lighting but Lightning is usable - and doesn’t cost me anything.

So the question is - have others experienced this?  Or, do I need to tweak Roon to get the best out of it?  I know Audiotroy would suggest I do some up-conversion w/in Roon but over USB I can only do up to 192k - correct?

Can some of you suggest to me what settings I should try in Roon to get the best out of it?  Or, should I try different filter settings on the Auralic?  Too many variables....

Best, 
mgrif104
djones51
4,947 posts
 
Sometimes when something is louder we think it sounds better, it could be running through Roon you're not matching the volume as when you go through Lightning app. If you have a spl meter try to match volumes, make sure you’re not doing some kind of processing in one not being done in the other, check all the settings. The only way to really know is have someone help you so you don’t know which is which after you have done everything to match as close as possible. You don’t want to upsample/oversample one and not the other then you’re not comparing apples to apples.
mgrif104 OP
341 posts
 
Noted.  But, it’s actually easy to check that the volume is the same from both controllers.  So, that’s not the difference.

Best,
jond's avatar
jond
5,764 posts
 
I posted this question on the Auralic forums asking if people thought Roon sounded better than LDS as I was curious about maybe getting Roon. I would say most people who responded said LDS sounded better. Obviously the functionality isn't as advanced as Roon but that doesn't bother me personally. You will find that thread here:
https://community.auralic.com/t/roon-vs-lightning-ds/936
erik_squires
16,025 posts
 
Between S/PDIF and USB 2.0, USB has the higher bandwidth. You can up convert at least up to 384kHz in Roon with USB.  I just tried it. :)  No problem.

However, with modern DAC’s I honestly don’t hear a difference like I used to with older DACs, and it’s not my hearing, I’ve tested this out at the same time.


highpeakrider
43 posts
 
I’m doing something similar as a service I don’t think Roon actually delivers value for money.
However I’m using a LUMIN D2 fed by local library and Qobuz.
I actually think using the LUMIN directly sound more musical than using Roon and it’s free.

Roon although it says a single interface for discovering it still splits your local music and streaming service and for me does not deliver new content unless I use the radio feature.

Im currently using Apple Music to discover new music and mobile usage then using Soundiz to transfer playlist from Apple Music to Qobuz.

Not a single interface but for me it delivers the music a want in a better sound without the complexity and cost of Roon, I have a one year membership and won’t be renewing unless something fundamentally changes.
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