About ready to give up on Roon and my streamer

Update from OP: Thought I’d try a different streaming device, so I’ve replaced the Hermes with an Innuos PulseMini (about the same price range) and can now stream directly from Qobuz without Roon in the middle. Results are encouraging, but I’m not entirely happy yet. Still using the same DAC--Sonnet Morpheus--but now connecting to the streamer via USB, which required changing the I2S ethernet input back to the USB input. Kind of a pain, but perfectly do-able.

One thing about the PulseMini that really impressed me was its ease of setup. It took me DAYS to get the Hermes working with Roon, and there was some rather bad language involved in that process as you may imagine. The Innuos setup was a snap. Downloaded the SenseApp to my Android tablet and it recognized and connected instantly to the streamer. Signed into Qobuz and was off and running.

So far, I’m hearing improvements over the Hermes, but there’s still an element of glare in the upper mids and some graininess/fuzziness in the presentation when things get dense. It definitely doesn’t sound like my CDs when I play albums I have and know well. What I’m hoping to hear is a gradual improvement in these qualities as I put more hours on it. It’s brand new, so I won’t make any final judgments until it’s had 100 hours or so. I’m also hoping a better USB cable will help. I’m currently using the one that came with it, but I’ve got one on order from Morrow which may help some. We’ll see.

I do have to agree with the Roon fans that their interface is excellent, far better than the SensApp interface, but for me, SensApp gets the job done, so for the moment I’m happy enough with it. I CAN go back to Roon with this device if I ever want to, but for now but let’s see how this goes.

Updating the update: I’ve put some significant hours into this now, and I assume the Innous streamer has sufficient hours on it and it’s burned in and sounding as it should. However, my complaints about what I’m hearing remain unchanged. There are some things the streamer does really well, like its expansive image and a sound that’s somewhat more fleshed-out than CDs portray in my system. Transients are rendered exceptionally well--drums and percussion are realistic and sharply defined, and the bass is tightly controlled. The spatial placement of musical events is very precise (especially through headphones). So where’s the problem? Things begin to fall apart at about the frequencies where vocals live. Here the sound becomes glassy, occasionally shrill, and more forward than it should be. High frequencies generally (like violins, flutes, etc.) can be piercing, and if the music gets loud or dense as in many orchestral pieces, there’s a noticeable loss of composure. The sound actually becomes fuzzy (I hear this as actual distortion) with the musical events all bleeding together in a gelatinous blob. Yet weirdly, through all of this, the things that the streamer does really well, as described above, it STILL does really well. It’s just that upper frequency range that it can’t seem to control. (FYI, my previous streamer, the Sonnet Hermes acted basically the same.)

I tried Tidal for a short time to see if Qobuz might be the issue here, but they both sounded about the same as far as I could tell. So I’m sticking with Qobuz for now. Is there a weak link in my system somewhere here? The PulseMini is wired via ethernet cable from my AT&T router (300 MBPS fiberoptic internet) over a length of about 35 ft. using CAT5e cable. There’s an ethernet switch at the other end which also connects the TV and the Roku box. As far as I know, none of the cable is shielded (I might be wrong about this though). Would upgrading to CAT6 or higher and using shielded cable make any difference?

Truly not sure where to go from here, so I’d be grateful for any thoughts you may have. Thanks!

cooper52 OP

Things begin to fall apart at about the frequencies where vocals live. Here the sound becomes glassy, occasionally shrill, and more forward than it should be. High frequencies generally (like violins, flutes, etc.) can be piercing, and if the music gets loud or dense as in many orchestral pieces, there’s a noticeable loss of composure. The sound actually becomes fuzzy (I hear this as actual distortion) with the musical events all bleeding together in a gelatinous blob.

You’ve described digititus. Solution includes: power conditioning, separating digital from analog, LPS’s, etc. Search for more here.

Are you still using a PC to run Roon Core? If so, I’d consider something like a SonicTransporter from Small Green Computer.

You might also experiment with Logitech Media Server instead of Roon. I’m pretty sure the Innuos is compatible via Squeezelite. You’d have to give up Roon’s wonderful interface, but it could improve upon the sound quality. The LMS “Material” skin is quite good as a controller for LMS, runs right from your browser.

I've jettisoned Roon from the chain and am connecting to Qobuz directly through the Innuos Sense App, using a Samsung tablet. That was the principal reason for trading the Sonnet Hermes for the Innuos Pulse Mini. While I do miss the Roon interface, it's just one more paid subscription than I really need.

As for digititis, well, this problem only occurs with streaming in my system. Other digital media (CDs, DVDs, BluRays, and anything that comes through the Roku box) do not exhibit this problem and in fact sound really good unless the recording quality was bad to begin with (e.g. any number of YouTube videos). I have perfectly sufficient power conditioning--Furman Elite PFi15 and Core Power Deep Core on a dedicated circuit. Power cables are all upgraded and are definitely up to the job. 

I'm convinced that there's a weak link somewhere in the chain, but I just don't know what it is. Thanks, Steakster, for the discussion forum links. I'm still reading through those.