I spent a fortune years ago on another music software program. It gradually went downhill. Producing much the same program for very much less money than I paid until finally it stopped supporting my nearly £500 program altogether with Catalina. It also always gave me problems with each update.
Now I would not buy Roon the subscription way. That is daft.
Again am I looking at a more than £500 program. I am on a trail right now. I like it once I found out it did have things I thought it didn’t have. By exploring.
I am a music listener. I sit and I listen. I don’t read, talk, be on the Mac. I only knit at most.
I use Music Centre and Audirvana, preferring the first. I already find the equalizer in Roon difficult. BUT listening to it without is just fine tho it always seems to me I am failing to get my money’s worth!
I am NOT a techy at all. I know what I like sound wise.
What is it about Roon that means it is worth almost 10x the price of what I already use? Oh and having to add another piece of bought software to get something I get inc in MC makes me balk even if the cost is little.
I am already in the process of converting all my files to FLAC fro Roon and the plug-in program for 7.1 surround.(yes, a lot of music sounds very good in surround. it sounds like the singer is in right in front of me and the band surrounding me.)
How long are you into your trial? I’ve also noted that some people seem to get a 30 day trial & others only 14.
My suggestion (& I’m just a new user), is to get to know the program some, set it up to meet your needs as you see it now. Then closer to your trial ends, perhaps think about this topic a little deeper, where suggestions from others coupled with your own experience can meet. Then you will be able to make a more informed decision.
I’m not sure what you wish to be convinced of. If you have another program that fills your needs, then you should stick with that.
I could delineate what sold me on Roon over my previous OpenHome/UPnP setup (MinimServer + Linn Kazoo + endpoints running Volumio). But my needs are not yours, so I doubt that anything I said would be of much use to you.
A useful starting point would be for you to list what you find unsatisfactory about your current setup.
Music Discovery. Really need Tidal or Qobuz for the best it has to offer. It will really open your mind to whole other worlds of music
From what you describe, the advanced playback features (separate streams to multiple endpoints) might not be what you need.
But if you just want something to play tracks in your local system, Roon isn’t worth the money.
1 Like
kneville
(Sometimes even music cannot substitute for tears)
13
For me, exposing additional information about tracks in my library was the initial draw. I have been a voracious liner note reader and cataloguer throughout my 50 or so years of music fandom. Roon makes it easy to access that info and uncover connections between bands, musicians, and production staff. The system isn’t perfect, but it adds much more to that specific conversation than iTunes or Audirvana.
Another factor for me is the seamless integration of my ripped and downloaded files with a streaming service. I initially subscribed to Tidal, then added Qobuz when it became available in the US. I’m thinking about dropping Tidal as I don’t really ‘do’ MQA.
Finally, though I don’t make as much use of it as others, the ability to play my music library through my computer speakers, headphones, iPhone, iPad, Sonos speakers, Chromecast built into my ANAD receiver, and others pretty easily is worth it for me. I suppose iTunes could get close, but it would require an Apple Music subscription, just not the route I wanted to go.
As others have said, only you can decide if it’s worth it for you. Use your trial (you could even ask for an extension if you are on the fence) and maybe subscribe for a year. Subscription is the best way to provide support for development on an ongoing basis - no guarantee of continued compatibility with all your gear, but it certainly gives you the option to support software you enjoy and withdraw that support if the developers make decisions you don’t agree with.
If you are happy with how you find music to play, how it sounds, and you have only one audio system to control, Roon is probably not for you. What does Roon do for me:
Easy control from my phone or iPad of the 3 different audio systems in my home, all sharing one local library and Qobuz streaming.
Better music metadata handling than anything I used before. In particular, for my classical collection, easy access to different performances of the same composition.
Roon Radio gives me easy access to a stream of music when I’m in lean-back mode (especially while working) and helps me discover music I did not know.
It gives me a lot of control when I want it, but it gets out of the way when I just want to listen.
The price I paid for Roon — I’ve been a lifetime subscriber from early on — is a small fraction of any of the audio systems it controls.
Try it for 30 days. If you can’t determine it’s benefit, then maybe it’s not for you. I went lifetime after 30 days, four years ago. Four years ago, Roon software was much clumsier, and less in terms of features.
I also use Audirvana. Excellent program, but not in the same league as Roon.
Well I understand why you so easily get annoyed when you don 't read what is written but interpret what is written.
I did say I wouldn’t subscribe. I didn’t say Roon was too expensive and I didn’t say other programs were better. If I thought that i wouldn’t have come here seeking more knowledge. I just mentioned that in order to get surround sound capability in Roon I have to pay extra when it comes with MC which could have been included in Roon as part of the program.
The surround business is now moot anyway as I made yet another discovery about my RX A3080(Yamaha) this evening. Choosing the basic surround option (as opposed to NeutralX or Neo6:Music and one other I can’t recall.) produces fantastic surround, really separating out the voice and various instruments coming from 7 speakers and two subs.
I also think just playing the files as is, without farting about with all the various options, is probably my best route. Like I said, it seems a waste of a program to not use it’s capabilities but then if the files sound good with me doing eq’s and analyzing and convolution and all that, why do it?
I came to this conclusion earlier when I just wanted to test a file and realised I had not opened up and employed all my settings and the music sounded really good and clear.
But you are completely correct. Your needs are completely different to mine. I have all my music on one Mac and control that Mac with another Mac thru screen share and the hi-fi system with remotes, including telly. I do it all from my bed which is centred in the sweet spot for me.
I have recently been decluttering, or gettin g others to, DVD’s and tv series I will never watch again with so much new and good stuff on Netflix, Prime and terrestrial. And all the new films. I just cannot bring myself to get rid of hundreds of cd’s and lp’s. Even though I have the cd I still have bought downloads of them in hi-res but would not part with the cd. It bothers that some films I really do want to keep I have on Prime and not on physical disc. What is Prime just quit or burst into flames?
I have now about 5 back ups of all my music. OTT I know but I have lost 3 back up discs but was fortunate with the 3rd that it was part of a raided NAS so lost nothing. I am paranoid about losing my stuff.
To the person who asked why not just stick with what I have? I have this awful
mindset that ‘maybe it can be better’. It has served me well in all other areas of a very ■■■■ life until I have a very happy one. But in this it may well be hampering me. Maybe the sound I have is as green as the grass is going to get.
You need to perhaps sit down with someone (when this virus is done) for a day, and play with Roon and perhaps some good coffee and a bottle of wine. See what the fuss is about and then decide if it’s for you. There is no downside to this as you will at least have a nice afternoon/evening.
Perhaps we need a global Roon Buddy system for people in a similar boat.
I’m not usually bothered in normal life but to have no blanks on my albums to find my self (well only a few) was worth the lifetime membership to me. It used to drive me mad looking at blanks on iTunes and it not finding the simplest artwork. Everything else was a bonus!
I use both Roon & JRiver Media Centre for different needs. Simply apart from the basics of playing music via an amp DAC etc there is little to compare between them
For example
JRiver allows quite sophisticated grooming of Tags , maybe not your need, Roon fetches it from a third party source.
JRiver allows quite flexible customization of the UI , Roon you get what you are given.
Roon gives you access nicely to Tidal & Qobuz, JRiver is ardently against streaming on demand with other non demand options instead.
JRiver does Video & Images too, Roon is music only
JRiver supports DLNA , Roon is ardently against it
I could go on. My opinion is you cannot really compare apples with pears, I couldn’t decide so I use BOTH
I would recommend a $120 trial for a year , if you are not hooked by then , bin it
I really don’t get overjoyed when people who have been using Roon for just a couple of months come over here acting like the biggest Roonfan and can’t stand any criticism about there beloved player and constantly trolling every thread.
I’m just jumping in due to you saying you are decluttering. If I were you, I’d keep my vinyl. Years ago I was contemplating selling the lot. The pack rat in me convinced me to hang on to it.
Last year I treated myself to a fantastic turntable and I’ve rediscovered the bliss of playing records. The whole ritual is so zen.
@Knitman I’m similar , don’t really want to read review artist info I just listen to music. I’ve took Roon for a year.
Yes I like the interface but I mainly use Roon radio to play various music I may have not heard before.
My crunch points at 60 being, is lifetime really worth it.
For multi room I use Sonos.
Favourite streaming service for playlists and in car is Apple Music.
Cheapest option for higher res is Qobuz, although it has no radio function yet and playlists are poor for my tastes.
I like Roon but does it offer value for money for my needs I’m not sure yet I’ll see the year out.
But I’m thinking of keeping Apple Music and using it in car and not critical listing, using Soundiz to transfer my favourite Apple Music playlists into Qobuz.
I can use Apple’s radio feature and airplay into my LUMIN although at a lower quality but it sounds OK.
I can also use Apple Music directly within Sonos.
So I can cover my needs it’s really can Roon provide a difference to justify the ongoing costs.
I don’t even know what that means. I did say I was not a techy.( I am a good photographer but don’t ask me about ISO, Fstop etc. I am an artist by soul. I just know what I like and am lucky enough to express it.) So much of what has been written is gobbledegook for me. It took me ages to realise that UI means user interface. I hope I am right on that.
Clearly what I saw when Roon opened my store of music for the first time I really liked the look of it. Whilst the info is interesting, I don’t care for reading what other people think of my album choice. A someone else stated, I want ti listen not read. I really don’t care that much for who played what etc tho I have to say I do read all lp/cd info so yes, I would read it, but it isn’t a must.
When it comes down to it, I just want to put my music on, have it come out of the correct output, and sound good.
I was pleasantly surprised that Roon immediately saw my Audiolab 8300cdq and the music played out via that. The amount of times I have had to restart my MacBook Pro before the 8300cdq is found. Roon did so str8 away and each time. Why is it able to do that?
