Roon is snappy responsive now

I have a fairly large library, use Qobuz, run Roon server on Windows, have many Roon endpoints and a few displays configured, run using strong Wifi connections, use DSP almost all the time, etc. I have had Roon for about a year. I compare Roon performance to Plex and Plexamp which I used mostly prior, and Logitech Squeeze which I used with great success for many years prior to that.. 

Ah, I have read about people like you 😉 I do not have a large library, nor use any DSP. I assume you have read the release from the founder, but it is worth posting some of it, as it emphasizes audiophiles and enthusiasts and their requirements, highlighted below, which looks very promising going forward. Myself, I love Roon, but I have been using more and more squeeze on my Antipodes which on high quality recordings does sound better. Similarly reported by those who own Innuos which named their squeeze based version Sense. I am not sure if Aurender's conductor is based on squeeze as well. 

from Enno (Roon) yesterday: 

At Harman, we’ve been given a mandate to reconnect with our core audience. These are the curators who are passionate about shaping their music collections, the audiophiles who appreciate the nuances of high-performance audio equipment, and the genre experts who depend on Roon to expand their knowledge of music. These are the people who have multiple streaming services or who have extensive libraries of music files – the people who simply want the best platform for experiencing their music library. Within this community, Roon is still the only product that comprehensively caters to their diverse needs, and now, at Harman, we’re excited to refocus our efforts on serving them.

We’ve taken some steps in this direction. In 2022, we introduced an internet connectivity requirement to Roon. That decision was driven by strategic considerations, but we acknowledge that the change caused genuine dissatisfaction among our users, and we understand why. Today, we’re announcing a return to Roon’s pre-2.0 behavior. This means our users can once again enjoy their music collections without the need for continuous internet connectivity.

We’re also moving the product forward. Just a few weeks ago, we rolled out a significant update to ARC’s downloads functionality, and today, we’re excited to announce the release of support for TIDAL MAX, bringing a vast library of hi-res PCM content to every Roon user with a TIDAL HiFi Plus subscription.

Going forward, we aim to prioritize features that best serve our community. Roon occupies a vibrant niche, and our strategy at Harman no longer requires us to seek larger audiences. As a result, you can expect real changes in the types of features we focus on and deliver.

We’re paying attention to neglected aspects of the product – prioritizing performance and reliability – to ensure that Roon remains rock-solid. We’ll revisit long-requested features that we’ve avoided, like folder browsing and enhancing the way Roon handles box sets. Major improvements to our playlist functionality are in the pipeline (Hallelujah!). In the coming year, we’ll be focusing on features that center on your music library, rather than non-library streaming content.

"SQ on the Bryston might be a little more robust but only under extreme scrutiny."

Roon is very flexible in how its sound can be tweaked including applying user defined EQ and/or DSP. DSP is perhaps the feature now that I could least live without. I use the DSP for room correction and canned DSP convolution filters with headphones. These are game changers and big time $$$$$ savers used right or can also easily be a seeming deal breaker if done wrong, which can easily happen given all the options to consider,

@mclinnguy

Yes that is what I read yesterday prior to posting here.

No doubt Roon sounds different than Squeeze and Plex I have also used extensively prior. Each of these software products implement a streaming engine differently. Roon’s is by far the most transparent and flexible and target’s hifi enthusiasts that expect good sound. By transparent I mean that that you can click on an icon and see detailed info on every processing step between source and streamer, like resolution, bit depth, resampling, etc. I have a technical background in digital signal processing and am a hifi nut (of course) so I greatly appreciate being shown exactly what is being done to the digital stream each step along the way for sure.

And each manufacturer that is a Roon partner has a different version of Roon internally, many are assuming. I'm a lifetime subscriber and have been with Roon for 7, maybe 8 years and have seen plenty of changes in that time. For sure it is the best interface and I have found many wonderful songs/albums/artists I would never have known about. Reminds me- years ago there was this student's masters' thesis was developing Pandora - the "comparable style" music explorer. Sounded really cool, but as I am in Canada I couldn't ever try it. Anyway, without Roon/Tidal and now Qobuz, I would have spent thousands of dollars more on CD's. In that time I have never tried any other streaming software (on my hifi setup) up until squeeze a few weeks ago, as it is a focussed app for my new server/streamer, and much development is dedicated to getting it to the best sound quality on this manufacturer's player, like Aurender does for its players. Needless to say, but I am a big Roon fan, but going forward I can see myself using Roon/squeeze 50/50. 

Just FYI,  I run Roon core on a Linux box and never had any of these issues.  Given how many streamers with Roon core built-in are Linux servers under the hood I would not be surprised if this was their most important OS.

I put Ubuntu server on an old spare Mac mini, and then installed Roon; it runs Roon solid as a rock. Agree 100% with @erik_squires that this is probably the OS they devote the most time and attention to. Much more solid than either Windows or Mac OS...