Hi
Does the Roon core device (my PC) matter for sound quality if I listen Tidal streaming only and never listen any files from my PC?
I mean does it take part in creating of an audio stream to my router (f.e. caches the tracks to my hard drive) or it nothing more than just a control part that redirects the stream from the Tidal?
Everything goes through the core, also files from Tidal. The core decodes them and sends them as PCM data via the RAAT protocol to the endpoints. Same as for local files. The core also creates database entries for Tidal tracks just like for local files. If you use DSP, it also runs on the core for Tidal and local files in the same way.
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So an ordinary computer under Windows that is used in everyday life is the worst Roon core. Sad because I was hoping that I wouldn’t have to buy a dedicated device 
I didn’t say that and don’t see how it follows. The computer where the core runs has no effect on sound quality at all if it plays to endpoints over the network. If replay is local, it depends on the DAC you use, but doesn’t mean that sound quality must be poor.
(I hadn’t seen earlier that you had been asking about sound quality - I assumed it had something to do with performance or a general question about architecture)
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I just have the experience that every component, including even routers and switches in the path of a digital signal matters. Its clocks, power supplies etc
That experience has no factual basis.
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You know better 
Anyway thanks for the answers
You’re welcome. In case you’re thinking of getting a dedicated machine for the core, you should first figure out how many machines the signal from Tidal passes through in its journey from storage to internet to your machine, what kind of machines those are (clocks, power supplies etc.) and what systems they’re running. Then you’ll have a better idea what to get.
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The only thing that matters is the power supply and the dac on the endpoint as well as any analog cables in the chain, RCA’s, speaker wires etc. TCP packets are packets, data is data, error correction is built in. As long as the core meets the hardware requirements nothing else matters. No need for audiophile ethernet cables or switches, those are pure nonsense. Just get yourself a good amp, a good dac and some good speakers!
It is pointless to have any conversation about sound quality with person who talk about something he has never tried.
Try at least entry level switches like Silent Angel or EE at your streamer end
Try ethernet cables like RAL, Heimdall or at least AQ Vodka before theorising
I asked a question and got an exhaustive answer. And I realized that I would not build or buy a good roon server only just for the streaming. Why are these unnecessary discussions in here
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