Here are some of the things I find useful.
Use a streamer or audio bridge.
Use a stand alone music only PC as your core - I use a NUC running Windows.
Upsampling 44.1 to 88.2 and 48 to 96 offers an improvement.
Setting headroom management to -3 dB .
Bits are bits, Ethernet cables all sound the same, and I can explain it.
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They might, as long as you use unshielded U/UTP cables.
The op has stated he hears differences and I am in agreement.Digital interconnects , cd transports etc all have a different sound to them , people hear it and it is well documented.If you donât hear it then thatâs great and everyone is entitled to their opinion.We all have different systems and some will be more resolving than others.I wish bits were just bits but something is at play here , noise , jitter , I donât know.Some users here will have lifestyle equipment and others full blown hi fi rigs , there is a large difference between the 2.
Your opinion is of course valid but donât dismiss others opinions because they are not your own.
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People see UFOs and you could say that is also well documented.
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No point in further discussion here , thank you for your valued contribution.
Bab people are just no fun.
These fixes, mentioned above, improves Roons sound quality significantly! Try, and listen and you will be amazed how important the correct settings are for your listening experience!
Iâm eternally grateful that I donât have âgolden earsâ or a âfully resolving systemâ. This means that I can just enjoy the music and not worry about anything else.
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9 posts were split to a new topic: If bits are bits, why do DACs have different types of digital inputs?
Iâm sure this lifts a veil or two:
Disable the default music folder (not the folder where your music is stored. Roon sometimes automatically adds the default system music folder and this is the one we want to disable)
The discussion that follows might be read by future scientists trying to figure out the breakdown of 21st century societies. âI think I can now listen more deeply into the recordingsâ 
Thatâs because you listen more intently trying to find differences!!! It makes me despair.
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Hi! I tested several servers. In a good system the differences in sound quality are very notorious. The main issue is this: reality doesnât need to explain itself, theories do. Believe me, there is a big difference between servers.
My system: Magico S5MKII, either Soulution or Pilium pre and power (I own a set of each), MSB Discrete DAC, SOtM switch, all AQ cables, Niagara 7000 power conditioner, all Ardvark ethernet filters, Ardvark roon server.
It is extremely transparent and revealing, I change anything in the system and you can tell right away.
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But would you notice if someone else changed something whilst you werenât in the room and everything covered over other than the speakers?
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The only difference I can perceive in my system, which is still open to confirmation bias, is if I configure my RPi4 running Ropieee with a fixed IP on a new subnet and connect it to the 2nd Ethernet port on my music server which is configured appropriately on the same subnet and bypasses my whole network. I get a quicker response in playback from Qobuz and local files.
I believe I hear more attack and slightly better dynamics than when I have the music server connected to the router and the RPi4 connected downstream via 2 switches and a fair amount of Ethernet cable.
Then last night I thought ânah, sounds the sameâ and enjoyed more music rather than searching for the holy grail.
Each to their own and that is cool.
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I canât call oneâs biased, purely subjective perceptions ârealityâ.
Based on what? Biased, purely subjective perceptions?
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We tested the servers with several friends in different sessions. It was A/B/X type of testing. We did not leave the room. I donât have a completely automated test rig so we canât do scientific tests, but we did it as good as we can. Among the friends that came over we had a couple cable manufacturers and other audio professionals. I wouldnât be able to produce an AES paper out of our testing, but I trust we got an understanding of the differences.
Thatâs not what is meant by ârepeatable and logical factâ
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Yes, subjective perceptions from a bunch of audiophiles, among them some audio professionals. I know of no set of measurements that an describe these differences. If you do, please send them over.
I am not trying to convince anybody, just sharing my experience.