Changing from Roon to Roon Server on same PC

Roon Software Discussion
1

I’m currently using Roon on my PC running Windows10 and I would like to migrate it to Roon Server and control it via a Android remote.

The PC has a monitor and a keyboard and the motivation to migrate is that I assume the Roon Server would improve audio quality as it doesn’t use them, correct ?

How can I do that without having to re-enter all the setup and library options (for example artist/composition merge, import of metadata etc…) ? Keeping the library is less of an issue since I could simply re-scan the drive assuming the import setup is retained.

2

Nope, no SQ difference at all between using Roon or RoonServer.

1 Like
3

Thx Daniel.
This PC is streaming to a Roon-Ready player over the LAN.
Would installing Audiophile Optimizer on the PC improve SQ ?

4

Perhaps but only real way is to prove it yourself if there is any change for the better or worse.

Check the roon knowledge base to migrate the core database for roon server.

https://kb.roonlabs.com/FAQ:_How_do_I_move_my_library_over_to_RoonServer%3F_How_do_I_run_headless%3F

5

Roon Server uses less resources on a PC because it has no need to use the GPU to display Roon. The audio side is, however identical and there should not be any significant change to SQ. Optimising a Windows install reduces resource use further, in this case on the CPU and there is a school of thought which suggests a less busy CPU is a less noisy CPU. But using Roon across a network connection mitigates much of that as well as allowing the PC to be positioned well away from the end point device. I would suggest that you have done 90% of the work by going with a network connected end point. That last 10% can get expensive and have variable results based primarily on personal subjectivity.

6

I have found that RoonServer seems to be less stable than the complete Roon package. Yes, yes, I know most people will disagree with this. I’m just presenting an alternate viewpoint based on my experiences.

Before someone chimes in to say that RoonSever is just a subset of the Roon package, i.e. everything but the GUI, let me add that I also assume that to be the case.

When running RoonServer I experienced 1) playback stopping in the middle of tracks, 2) finding in the morning that there was a reboot during the night that was seemingly not WIN10 update caused, and 3) Roon’s library corrupted twice.

I switched to Roon about a month ago, without changing anything else, and have had no problems since.

Ignoring all that, there’s really no reason to use RoonServer over Roon.

FWIW.

7

Careful with those instructions. Simply renaming the roon folder does not uninstall the full roon app and leaves orphaned registry entries. Further, you will not be able to run the uninstaller to fully remove it. Better to backup the library, uninstall roon, install roon server, and restore the library backup.

8

These are not my instructions they are roon’s

9

I know. You linked to them. They should be updated. This was mentioned to support a while back. Just wanted to alert the OP or anyone else reading that.

10

I would probably just backup and restore to the roon version as a core and leave the server there but not activated.

11

Currently my PC reaches 80% memory util with the full Roon. Do you know by how much roughly this is expected to reduce to with Roon Server ?

If as suggested I install the Roon Server and restore a backup to it. Will all my library settings be restored too (like composition and artist merges) ?

12

My Win10 roon server runs about 70%-75g% memory utilization when the server is active. 1.6gb to 2.3gb while observing for a few minutes just now. This is an i5-7500 with 8gb ram. It was similar when running roon core on another pc before changing to server. So basically no change.

13

I did a backup, installed Roon Server as suggested here and tried to restore from backup. I tried with 2 backup versions and the restore fails…!!

Are you sure you could have both Roon and Roon Server installed as long as you don’t run them concurrently ?

It would have been useful to have a single SW package and decide on the config at startup like you could in JRiver. Then you could run Roon Server most of the time and run Roon only when you want to make some editing with the larger PC screen than the android remote.

14

  1. Roon server and Roon as a client to the Roon server can be run on the same PC no issue. Ive done so for 5 and a half years.

  2. Generally speaking you install roon server first. Then when you install roon, you tell it to use the existing server so it just installs the client.

15

Rugby, are you able to get Roon to output sound to your PC? Everything works perfectly when streaming to my DAC or nVidia Shield. However, on the rare occasion I decide to play songs locally, I can’t because Roon doesn’t recognize my PC as an endpoint. Suggestions?

16

Yes, in fact, the PC has a very nice AudioNote powered EVGA NU Audio Card. A couple of things. Do you have the local audio device enabled and named? A screen shot of your Setting Audio might help.

17

All system info can be found at roon - Google Drive.

Apologies for the delay. My SSD started throwing CRC errors. In the process of replacing it. I have uploaded more than necessary relevant info. I built the PC from scratch; installed a multi-boot system using GRUB that runs Arch Linux (my primary OS), FreeBSD, OS X, and Windows 10; built wired and wireless network; and built an audiophile sound system from scratch.

I believe my issue is reported by others that use an onboard motherboard integrated sound controller produced by Realtek. I have no issues whatsoever with the entire system except when I want Roon to output sound through the 5.1 speakers attached to the PC. The PC runs both RoonServer and RoonClient. I have no issues outputting sound to my phone, tablet, or main sound system.

PC

EVGA GeForce GTX 1060 6GB SSC GAMING GPU
Asus ROG Maximus IX Hero motherboard with integrated sound controller Realtek ACL1220
5.1 speakers connected to the motherboard outputs

Sound System

Canton Vento Reference 3.2 DC Speakers
Canton Vento Reference 9.2 DC Speakers
Canton Vento 866.2 Center Channel Speaker
Classe CT-M600 Monoblock Amplifiers
Onkyo TX-NR809 AV Receiver
April Music Eximus DP1 DAC
SOtM sMS-200 Ultra Neo Streamer