How is the Nucleus better than using a good Computer as the core? Just interested
You get manufacturerās warranty, hardware and software support all from one hand when buying a Nucleus(+) [for the single purpose of using it as your Roon Core appliance].
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It is dedicated and itās only purpose is to run Roon. When you look at what a Mac does it is a tight union of hardware and operating system in a way Windows with its wide hardware environment cannot hope to do. Nucleus arguably goes a step further and ties hardware, OS and function together making the Nucleus an appliance. That isnāt to say a āgood computerā couldnāt achieve the same performance. It potentially can and often does. But with it comes the requirement to manage said computer, and loads of folks simply donāt want to do that.
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A good computer works better than a Nucleus for Roon because you have the liberty to define āgoodā and still pay less.
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The answers above are on target. Iāve had Roon since early 2016. Iāve utilized two imac desktops to run Roon Core (2014 and 2019). Both had ample computing power and met software specifications. I had frequent issues with the firmware acting up. Especially after firmware upgrades from Apple and Roon Labs. Sometimes things went without a hitch. Often things were problematic. I got tired of fighting it and went to a Nucleus Plus. I havenāt had an issue since. Best performance will occur is if you can hard wire everything.
The Nueclus is designed for the Roon firmware. It works really well.
@Marian is sharing his opinion based on cost. At the point of my personal frustration, I didnāt care about what the Nucleus cost, I just wanted my gear to work.
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Itās not only about cost, itās about flexibility to choose the power you need. If you donāt use DSP, you can get away with mini systems costing a few hundred dollars. Or, you can get a gaming PC that easily exceeds Nucleusā power and still stay below its cost.
Regarding maintenance effort, your experience seems to include only MacOS. I ran Roon for a few years on a mini-PC first and then on an old laptop, both running Windows, and had no problems. And then thereās Linux, which I didnāt use, but which may appeal to people who think Windows is not easy to maintain (for whatever reason).
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My recent experience (last fifteen years) has been limited to imac. I donāt want to fiddle with the computer. I have other things that keep me occupied. Iād rather listen to music than work on the computer.
Nucleus Plus has run my Roon endpoints (Naim Uniti Atom, Naim Unit Atom HE, and Bryston BDP-2) without a hitch; hard wiring everything also helped. My network has about 70 things on it, which certainly taxes the system.
I was at the point of abandoning Roon for my Aurender servers, which are also fantastic devices. The cost of the Nucleus Plus was worth the beneifts it added to my three home audio rigs. You can certainly make the argument either setup is the better option. Over my seven years plus with Roon, I havenāt found a better option than the Nucleus. If it broke, Iād buy another one.
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I have a new 2018 Apple Mac mini computer that works as well as the Nucleus I used to own. Actually better, because the Nucleus didnāt like my mesh system. Sound quality is identical. The N was cool, but the A is my choice.
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I stand by what I said last time in a similar discussion, you vastly overestimate the computer skills of a wide range of people for whom maintaining Windows definitely is not easy and occasionally prohibitively complex
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I have a six pod eero mesh router system. No problem with Nucleus integration here, but I do try to hard wire whatever I can.
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This is a valid point. Iāve owned computers since the 8088. (the 80s) A Tandy laptop that cost me $1500.
Computers are ever changing. It takes work, effort and time to keep abreast of those changes.
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I think the question was āHow is the Nucleus better ā¦ā, which got answered IMHO in the first two replies. I also think itās save to say that a Nucleus isnāt ābetterā but lesser or equal in any other aspect.
If the appliance aspect of a Nucleus does not appeal and/or other aspects/wishes are weighted higher, then a Nucleus is probably not the best choice. But honestly, I donāt see the point in now bringing up and discuss any of those potential other aspects/wishes/use cases in which a āgood computerā is equal or ābetterā than a Nucleus ā the list is just too long and and user specific.
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Me too 
I admit I canāt just shut down my computer skills to see how it is, but I believe using a computer is much easier than before, so everyone ought to give it a try, before deciding itās not for them. Start with that old laptop you already have.
And that already puts you in the top few percent of skill levels!
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All I know is that the eero mesh runs everything in the house that I ask it to, but my Nucleus was not a happy player (it worked fine from an AirPort Extreme until 2 of my 3 crapped out). Bought the eero system and connected the Nucleus both wireless and wired, but no joy. OTOH, I am a fanboy for Apple as much as for Roon. In the Apple ecoverse since forever and a small but happy stockholder. I recently managed to score a new-in-box 2018 mini that I adapted as a single use Roon device. Obviously I know how to troubleshoot this computer, making it a great choice for me. It is only ābetterā than the Nucleus because it works in my house. They both sound the same to me.
I have been using an Intel NUC8i5BEK with 32GB of memory for running Roon core since 2020. My library is about 6TB and I would say this NUC handles that well, though I did need to clean it the other day (fan had ācool ribā were dusty).
However, would the sound quality improve if I used a Roon Nucleus plus? Both the NUC and nucleus are running the same Roon Rock Core software (right?). The only thing I can think of is that the NUC could be more ānoisierā than the nucleus? What are your thoughts?
Does any of you have experience with changing from NUC to Nucleus or the other way around?
No. Itās a computer that sends digital data over the network or USB
The Nucleus is a NUC in a fanless case. So if you mean fan noise, it depends on the load you put on it and where you place it. If you mean mystical electrical noise, it makes no difference and is no issue
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I think the easiest thought process for me is.
With a nucleus I am going to rely on Roon to maintain it. I am going to complain and have them ājust fix itā. I am going to put 0 thought into it.
On a home brew setup. I need to be that support model.
what need am I trying to fill.
as for sound quality differences? . . . Iām going to stick with arguing cost vs convenience.