Roon Streaming Service actually Degrades the sound

Debate over the best sounding player software has existed since digital audio playback became more mainstream. Roon is just another contender in the game. I suppose its popularity has made it an easy target. I don't see nearly the same discussion over the sound quality of Lightning DS, Lumin OS, Aurender Conductor, and other proprietary software.

What is more agreeable is that Roon is one of (if not the best) library management tools available. It seamlessly allows a user to access both local media and streams from Tidal and Qobuz in an elegant and user-friendly way.

"I suppose its popularity has made it an easy target."

I think you're spot-on with this. People love to bring down and bad-mouth popular products, trends, even other people.

@dougthebiker I also noticed the Roon experimental version sounded really good. I used it until I inserted a Matrix SPDIF-X between my Zenith MKII and DirectStream DAC to use i2s.  

For some reason, the experimental version will not recognize the Matrix.  The SQ with i2s is superior to USB to my DAC.  With Sense, I can take advantage of squeezelites superior SQ via i2s.  

Disclaimer: those who believe digital is zeroes and ones, “bit perfect” know-it-alls experts, either it works or does not, please do no read, and ignore:

Roon network protocol,RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport) is somewhat primitive, old, and been around for a while.

https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/raat#What_is_RAAT

While it has been patched over several software updates, still a bit long in the tooth. I have heard from people well versed in network topology that it imposes very strict / hard demands to various network components comprising the streaming audio chain, with potential impact to SQ. Stressing “potential” here.

So here is that. I have a very strong feeling Roon folks know this, and likely address it in the next couple of years. Here is to RAAT 2.0!!

I think they already are addressing it. There is a beta that lifetime subscribers have been invited to try. Most of it is cosmetic or has to do with the UI, but one paragraph in the notes says this;

We’ve made changes to Roon’s buffering and caching infrastructure when playing streaming content. The new implementation is designed to use a lighter touch when interacting with your network and internet connection, making streaming less intensive for your Roon Core.