Roon works OK for me but as I play >60% vinyl I am questioning the price, particularly as it lacks Spotify integration (family commitment!)
I have Squeezelite as server on the server and iPeng as an interface, all works. Roon only brings greater content links - which I like - and Tidal integration which my NAIM amp does anyway. So Roon auto renew is switched off!
Quite a statement. I can stream 4k Video - if needed three streams in parallel to three different TVās easily via Emby running on a pretty new Synology NAS. Roon is stuttering along with a single 24/192 stream.
Maybe not the most efficiently programmed software if it needs superpowers for comparably simple tasks?
If A then B logic rarely works when it comes to networking. Unless you describe you specific network topology, devices, and connectivity, this comparison is meaningless. It should tell you something that so many people are doing this without a problem. I do 5.1 channel DSD over my network using Roon and it never stutters or hiccups.
You are right. All I can say: All my 30-something network devices are well-behaving. Start Roon and the problems start. If course a valid answer to that might be: Remove your 30-something network devices to make Roon workā¦
Not what Iām suggesting at all. I have almost 200 devices on my network. Iām just saying that if Roon is acting up, there is a local reason for it and it isnāt a problem with the software. It could be the Roon core server, it could be an issue with the end points (esp if they are DIY), or it could be something going on with the network. The only way to fix it is by process of elimination.
Whatās your core on, same NAS?
Roon isnāt problematic for me unless the internet is acting up. My nemesis are those cheap Amazon Fire Sticks. Streaming video freezes from time to time. Bandwidth delivery is 300mbps down. Seems Iām always having to reboot one (Amazon Firestick) by unplugging their power source. My Roon endpoints are all hard wired throughout the house via Cat 6. Only wifi usage is the iPad/iPhone as remotes. I have a seven module Eero system and about 40 items on the network. Networks are a quirky thing.
I use Audirvana on my PC and love it.
On my Living Room system I use a Bluesound Node 2i and am really impressed.
I donāt know why, but Roon works perfectly for me with rarely a failure of any kind. Itās been this way since late November when I purchased a Roon Nucleus and had ethernet (cat 6) pulled to my Nucleus and Oppo 203 DAC. The Oppo is also connected to the Nucleus using HDMI. I do scheduled back-ups to a USB HDD.
There is nothing special about my setup except it is relatively simple. I have AT&T U-Verse 50/12 internet. U-Verse is very reliable. I use the Oppo and a Bose sound system. There are two Netgear unmanaged switches in the ethernet path.
For headphone listening, I have an ethernet connected RPi4 running RoPieeeXL with USB out to a Meridian Prime power supply and headphone amplifier. I also have a WIFI connected, battery powered RPi4 running RoPieeeXL with USB out to an AudioQuest Dragonfly Cobalt for moving around the house.
I only have a few albums of my own downloaded to the Samsung 1TB SSD installed in the Nucleus. I stream from both Tidal MQA and Qobuz 192/24 with zero problems. I donāt think I have ever had to relog into Qobuz and only twice into Tidal in 6 months, that I can remember.
Iām not posting this to imply others donāt have problems, just saying Roon can and does work flawlessly for some of us. I guess the question would be why? I live in SE USA if that makes any difference. IDK.
I think this is a key point, and exactly my experience - only when our cell phone network-delivered internet is unstable do we get the track stop and skip issue and only when streaming Tidal. Everyone assumes that issues are with Roon itself or with internal networks whether wifi (more often) or wired (less often). What happens on the way to peopleās houses may well influence some of the issues that some users have.
few options, I tried many not for saying allā¦ used foobar2000 for 10 years, it is great if you invest time on it, by far the best option if going away from Roon, Jriver at least if you are a Mac user is an eternal beta software and for high resolution Macs is just unusableā¦ Audirvana is just the most basic player I have ever tried, it impresses how limited it isā¦ if you already run Roon you will notice you will not find something even similar, al others are just traditional playersā¦ ha! and forgot about amarra!!! canāt be worst
out of curiosity, can foobar2000 be configured for multiroom audio?
Cheers
never had that need, I wonāt be surprised if a plugin can achieve that. https://www.foobar2000.org/components/view/foo_out_upnp maybe?
long time foobar2000 user. Never thought it had multiroom sync capability though. Pre-Roon, LMS/Squeezeboxes were my go-to multi-room sync server/players. On this front (and others), squeezeboxes were way ahead of their time.
I read almost every word of this. I donāt have much to add other than 2 thingsā¦
Iām surprised with your set-up that youāre having any issues. Not just surprised but actually intrigued. So intrigued Iād be willing to work 1 on 1 (video chat whatever) if youāre interested in spending more time on it. PM me.
I wish you well on whatever you decide to try next and do hope your āhouse-audiophileā finds listening peace once again without resorting to physical media 
Iāve used Roon for a couple of years and have never (not once, ever) suffered the problems that are causing you to abandon it. During that time I have progressed through various hardware configurations, starting with a NUC PC/DAC combination, connected with USB to my current network connected NUC PC/Mytek Brooklyn Bridge.
Rather than go through the pain of replacing it all and losing your Ā£Ā£Ā£, I would urge you to follow the advice on here and build a system that works. It sounds like youāve got network problems. Roon really is the best there is.
I stopped using Roon after a year and let the license lapse in september of last year.
I had no issues with Roon, I just wasnāt sing it as much as i had hoped.
I spent months looking for a free alternative and came up empty. None of the music playing alternatives I tried does what Roon does.
Long story short, iām now a Roon customer again.
Probably as you were looking for a Free solution, there are plenty of Pay options out there of varying quality and features
Famous quote āWith free software you get what you pay forā 
Thereās also the popular āitās only free if your time is worthlessā. 
If JRiver is eternal Beta you have the Upgrade channel set wrong !!
they have 3 settings
I use Latest admittedly on Windows , and have done for 10 years , I have never so much has had a blip. Setting to Stable keeps you one step behind new features but for music these are few and far between anyway.