a remarkably basic question about Roon

I agree with whoever said, "what a great thread!" above. I'm a Roon user/lover too. My only regret is that I did not sign up for the lifetime subscription back when it was less expensive than it is now. Perusing the multiple contrasting opinions here, it is clear that there are as many variables that affect one's need and satisfaction with Roon or any other music player, as there are variables in audio systems themselves. My favorite thing about Roon is the quantity of metadata available and all the linked information for further exploration. I love most having an LP or CD cover in my hand and reading every word in the insert or on the back as I listen. Of course, no audio player really replaces that, but Roon comes closer than anything else I have ever found. It is not perfect - none of them are - but it is my favorite so far. I am a two-channel person only. I am not streaming Tidal or Qobuz. Rather, I am all digital. (Someday I'll add vinyl.) All of my music is ripped to external hard drive in lossless format. I have over 4Tb of music, the majority of it classical (for whoever above said Roon wasn't good for classical music???)  I have an M1 Mac Mini that is essentially my "music server." running to my Emotiva DAC (which doubles as a pre-amp.)  The MacMini is my Roon core and I have Roon Remote set up on a Macbook Pro, an iPad and on my iPhone. So far, I have never run out of things to explore when listening through Roon!

pweay we distribute quality dedicated servers, they far outperform a nuc.or a pc.

 

our servers run Roon and sound amazing.

 

with digital it is all about implimentation.

 

roon’s design has nothing to do with this "essentially a software attempt at making computer equipment perform high quality audio tasks, "

 

roon does nothing to eliminates a computers issues a device can just host the software.

 

the issue with a pc is emi and rfi and data pollution.

our 432 Evo servers totally isolate the audio data

 

we have a seperate low noise cpu board which runs a customized operating system

we have a seperate high quality clock board

we also have a very high quality usb board

even the linear power supplies are seperate and isolate the cpu, clock and usb sound cards

 

Dave and troy Audio intellect nj

US. importer 432 Evo music servers

 

 

 

in our servers all data is completely isolated so you can hear roon perform optimally

 

 

 

 

 

 

Roon is comfortably outstripped by Innuos Sense/2 and, although you’d not think so reading any forum about it, the interface is not for everybody. Roon may not feel like it but it’s user base is small and more and more manufacturers will be eventually do as Innuos have done squeezing it further. A lifetime membership is a luxury some can afford but fairly dumb otherwise. Not a lot of software lasts beyond a decade. 

Roon isn't for everybody. I would do the 1 penny 3 month Roon trial membership and see how it catalogs your music and if the interface suits you. I found it far too busy for my tastes. I would personally stick with Manic Moose if not for anything then the name alone.

@mahughes what's "fairly dumb" is your assessment that Roon is small. Manufacturers are falling all over themselves to incorporate Roon into their products because it's very popular (and for good reason) and their customer base wants it. Equally dumb is concluding that Roon will remain static. It will obviously evolve and improve over time and a lifetime membership sees all the improvements with no added cost. It's also a hedge against future price increases.

@mrcorky it's fine if you don't like it, but to say that you found the interface "too busy" is fairly mind blowing. The UI is a paragon of simplicity. The only way it could be made simpler would be to remove a lot of the features that make it unique.