What makes One Music Server Sound Better than Another?

Recognizing that this is an unpopular view for some on this forum, I still feel compelled to offer a counterpoint.  For years, the official position of Roon was that assuming a basic level of isolation in the streaming chain and sufficient power to run the software, the server doesn’t affect sound quality.  And the Roon founder has authored many technical posts on the Roon forum in support of this position.  (He’s quite good, btw.)

Of course, shortly after Harmon acquired Roon, Roon announces the Titan, signaling a pretty significant strategic change.  They are discontinuing the Nucleus and Nucleus+, whose competition at the “low end” of the market was Small Green Computer and diy NUCs.  They obviously rushed the announcement for CES, as they don’t even have a picture of what the Titan looks like cuz it doesn’t exist yet.  What’s the strategy shift?  They’re gunning for the high price, high profit end of the market, Aurender, Innuos, Lumin, Antipodes, etc. What does the Titan offer?

“Nucleus Titan, starting at $3,699 base price (U.S.) is the only choice for those seeking a premium Roon server that promises a superlative Roon experience paired with breathtaking visual appeal.

• Nucleus Titan features include: 
  • Precision-machined billet aluminum enclosure crafted from a solid block of premium metal.
  • Stunning aesthetics, designed for display and admiration.
  • Available in three elemental shell finishes: metal, stone* (composite), and wood.”

That’s it.  It’s prettier.  So the technical reason for spending a lot of money on a server is that the manufacturer makes more profit.  

Now to be clear, contrary to what I’ve been accused of by others on this forum, I don’t believe that everything can be revealed by measurements, or that cables don’t matter, etc.  I just believe that right up to when the digital data stream is introduced to your DAC, measurements can pretty much tell you everything you need to know(e.g., bit perfect-ness, jitter, power supply noise, etc.).  From the DAC onwards, I think standard, ASR-style measurements are woefully inadequate, and yes, in tha analog realm - which includes the DAC, power cables and interconnects (within reason of course), matter. I’m just a big believer in spending money where it can make a material difference (and not wasting money where it doesn’t).  

I would tend to agree with @mdalton and plan to do some posts very soon  relating some recent experiences/experiments I have done that support those conclusions.

Although servers can be personal computer based, “audiophile” servers are designed differently with different parts. Since it’s generally accepted that different parts (resistors, capacitors, transformers, power supplies, etc) can sound different, I would expect servers to sound different as well. Is the OP asking why better parts and/or superior implementation sounds better?

@kennyc

"Is the OP asking why better parts and/or superior implementation sounds better?"

Not exactly. Both the servers I recently compared were designed and constructed by manufacturers known for fastidious attention to detail in the areas of power supply, shielding, and isolation, and both were the flagship unit for those manufacturers at the time they were built. Both have "better parts and/or superior implementation". One is a bit older (2014 era.) while the other is a little under half that age. The installation of both servers in my system was exactly the same and included fiberoptic isolation between server and router, and between endpoint and router, which should mitigate electrical noise on the Ethernet lines.

I perceived a bit fuller, tonally richer, and bolder sound from the newer server (which is headed back to the manufacturer for repair), and I am curious what aspects of the design or implementation would result in those sonic attributes being different between the two servers, assuming what I perceive is real and not a bias of some sort. I am trying to understand "why", considering this is a digital signal, one would sound different (and better) from the other, when connected to the exact same receiving equipment?

Based on the discussions I have read here and elsewhere, I am left with the impression that the reasons for the sonic differences are not fully understood but that processing, isolation (mechanical and electrical), and power supply are likely affecting the digital signal (maybe wrt to timing and lower jitter) that is received by the endpoint, and that these effects result in a slightly different analog presentation after the signal is converted in the DAC. In short, it seems the better designers have improved their implementations over the years so I should trust what I hear and purchase what sounds good to me, not unlike most stuff in this hobby.

Thanks all for the responses.

So much commentary. Have you considered trying a roon nucleus?

It's a computer yes. But if you couple that with a decent streamer dac which is where the true value is you should be in pretty good shape. The merits of spending a lot of money on a server are questionable in my opinion.