… I will be ripping about 1.300 CDs to lossless FLAC… and I will have 2 or 3 endpoints…
… so here`s my plan - have a hardwired (ethernet) connection to the dedicated music room. Place the socket at the HiFi Rack. I will then place the Nucleus in the Rack (this will be the Core and NAS - right?) and connect it via cable. Further check if the Auralic sounds best or the Nucleus direct to DAC.
Only thing left to solve is a decent WiFi connection for the iPad as remote device to control the Software - right?
As I understand the storage can be placed inside the Nucleus. I will then only have to transfer ripped files from the external drive I use at the moment to the Nucleus…
This sounds the right way to do it to me…
Anyone have any experience in comparing Nucleus to DAC directly agains Nucleus > Streaming Transport > DAC in terms of SQ ???
… I am also starting to think it`s probably really not worth upgrading the streaming transport but rather put the money towards a nucleus (and maybe a new DAC) and keep the Aries LE with the SBooster Powersupply…
USB vs. network: people talk a lot about that, but in my experience the difference is not great. I think it depends on both the Core computer (the Nucleus with SSD is as minimal as possible) and the sensitivity of the DAC to noise. In your case, I recommend a simple test: USB connection, and a networked connection through the Auralic. (I tried both ways, my DAC has both connections built in, I didn’t notice a difference.)
Nucleus+ or Nucleus: I have 3,500 albums, 7 zones, I do DSP room correction, and the Nucleus has no problem with that. (Btw, the music room is wired, the others are WiFi.)
If you have multiple endpoints (like I do), it seems cleaner to put the Nucleus way out of the way, and feed each endpoint with its own streamer (like the Aries you have already). In general, USB audio directly from a complex server with its inherent electrical noise is only for when we have no alternative…
Yep, I’ve had setups where I had no other option but to have the Roon Core/Server inside the listening room but much preferred other setups where I could have it far away, in another room. Same with having to rely on WiFi sometimes too.
In my previous large two level place, I tried all sorts of WiFi solutions, including a mesh system. I returned the mesh system for a refund and ‘bit the bullet’ and spent $1500 to have Cat 6 ethernet hard wired throughout.
One of those ethernet points also allowed me to put an Asus RT-AC88U (Roon recommended) centrally located in the house, meaning WiFi everywhere and even outside.
For a new install, I highly recommend Cat 6 to all rooms and have 1 ethernet point in the middle of the house, where you can plonk an Asus RT-AC88U wireless router.
Also, this unit will automatically rip CD’s to a drive and be your Roon Server also:
@Christoph_Longree — Fernando is stating the common wisdom. I’m questioning it.
First, I believe the magnitude of any noise transmission depends on the noisiness of the computer, and the sensitivity of the DAC.
Second, even if there is such an effect, it should be considered in the context of other possible limitations and opportunities for improvement in your system. This USB problem should not be elevated to a top level. I always consider speakers and the room to be most important.
And anyway, third, you don’t have to decide whom to believe. It is a very quick and simple thing to test the two kinds of connection.
Hi guys - thanx for a lot of great feedback here! Really appreciate it. I sort of got dragged into this streaming thing bit by bit and always had my issues with it as it always seemed too much of a computer based thing - and I absolutely hate all this computer stuff - when I want to listen to music, I want to listen to music and not have to spend hours with the set-up.
This is the issue I am having with Ronn (which is fabulous - IF/WHEN it works) at the moment. I am convinced that this is not a problem with Roon - but much more my own inability with computing.
So in the new home I will hopefully have solutions for all these interferences and be able to enjoy music on a qulity level that is at least as good as CD playback and free of permanent troubleshooting… as I am optimistic this will work and a lifetime is a long time to figure stuff out, I opted for Roon lifetime
I will have room acoustics sorted out by a professional team. Then I will have a separate power circuit for the HiFi - System. When installing this, I will also have a central WiFi point in the home office and hard-wired cable/ethernet connections to each room.
I am now convinced (or at leat hopeful) that a Nucleus plugged into the ethernet and placed in the HiFi Rack will diminish 90 % of the issues I am experiencing at the moment (mainly tracks loading too slowly, loosing connection to Core - both resulting in permanent playback drop-outs). I will integrate storage in the Nucleus and transfer all ripped music from my current drive to the Nucleus.
Thus I then have all the “media” sitting right there with my Vinyl and CDs - available.
What Im not sure about is how to connet the Nucleus to the Auralic - Auralic does not suggest data input connection via USB... so were back to WiFi (or how else would the music data travel from the Nucleus to the streaming transport/Auralic?)… for this I need a strong and reliable system. Also to use iPhones and iPads to control the Nucleus…
The signal Path will then be Nucleus (with stored Music or streamed from Tidal Music) > Auralic > DAC > Preamp > Poweramp > Speakers… if there is no mayor difference in different streaming transports I may aswell keep the Aries LE with the SBooster PS… (from what I understand it uses the Femto clock for USB output also - so no fiffeence to the Aries Femto when using USB connection to DAC)…
All sound about right ?
And if things still don`t work I can always spin my Vinyl or go back to playing CDs…
Do not use WiFi. Hard wired where at all possible. It is utterly pointless putting a Nucleus on your rack to then send whatever it produces via WiFi. Go direct to your DAC via USB or provide another ethernet cable for the streamer.
… so 2 Ethernet sockets - one for the transport/streamer and one for the Nucleus… boy it was easy just spinning CDs…
No, seriously, thanx - will do so. So the connection between the Auralic and the Nucleus is via Ethernet - thus hardwired, but the data does not travel from the Nucleus to the stremaer via a direct connection (there is no direct physical connection between Nucleus and Auralic).
You need to do what is easiest first. There are very prescriptive suggestions of what to do here. Suffice to say, there is no wrong way of doing it. The Nucleus package is a mechanically and electrically silent bit of kit. It has been designed that way so you can put it where you want. If you use it into a DAC or via a streamer it doesn’t really matter. What does matter is keeping it as simple as possible. So get a working setup, and then experiment.
Since you are building, I would give my house as an example of one way of doing things, I have a central server room with conduit to all the other major rooms. This server room is just an expanded central hall closet with the “server” section off to the side and not even noticed when using the closet space.
All the house connections feed to this location. My cable/internet router is here, so is my Hue bridge, switches, etc. A Roon server placed here does not have to worry about sound or aesthetics and can be as large a box as you want, or not. The conduit means that changing/updating the wiring is extremely easy later on, I know I ripped out a lot of Coax and replaced it with Cat 5e.
If your goal is to have distributed music, then having the Roon server at a central location makes sense, imho.
Completely agree with all you said, except for the claim that I was “stating the common wisdom.” I’m stating my own experience with a variety of servers, streamers, DDCs, and DACs, feeding a variety of good to excellent amps and transducers, both headphones and speakers. Way too many combinations to list here, but in summary I’ve never heard a combination where S/PDIF or AES was worse than USB, and quite a few where they were better, from just a teeny bit to quite noticeable,
Better than words, below is a (somewhat simplified) picture of my home setup. Thin lines are CAT6 Ethernet cable. Thick arrow lines are whatever digital connections are best for the corresponding DAC, such as S/PDIF, AES, I2S,… (I won’t go into that because it is particular to my DAC choices). Boxes with italic names are Ethernet-based streamers. Roon server would be a Nucleus in your case, something else (not relevant here) in mine. In some cases the router and WiFi access point and one box, not in my setup (not relevant to this explanation). Dotted line is WiFi. Does it make sense?
Network: The network is extremely important. It is the foundation that everything works on. We use Cisco Meraki or Unibuiti most of the time. The difference comes down to if you need the ongoing support and are willing to pay for the Meraki license. Ubiquiti is openly supported, which means you (and/or your IT professional) have to make it work. Both should be professionally installed and serviced. I’m surprised at the money and time some “audiophiles” spend on audio gear only to have it connected to consumer grade network routers/switches.
Fiber: Go fiber if you can afford to have it installed. It’s fast, responsive and eliminates EMI/RFI noise from getting into the audio system. It reduces electrical issues caused by surges and brownouts. Fiber is the best choice and it’s the future.
Nucleus or Core/ROCK: Get one, build one or have someone build one for you. It is simply the best way to run Roon, especially for multiple rooms/systems. We are very Apple centric, and I personally love my Apple devices, but having a dedicated Roon Core (Nucleus or ROCK) is a massive improvment in performance and functionality. HIGHLY RECOMMEMDED!
Power Supplies for End Point/Bridges: Power supplies make a difference with End Point/Bridges. It doesn’t matter if you’re using an affordable Raspberry Pi solution or a upscale SOtM streamer, better power supplies provide better sound quality.
If you use a Nucleus or ROCK/NUC at your audio rack, look into the SOtM TX-USB Ultra with the optional SMS-500 power supply. It allows the music to sound soooo good, your feet will tap, a smile will appear on your face, you might breakout into dance…rinse, repeat, enjoy!
