In case of Roon specifically, running core on Windows makes connecting DACs directly much nice experience than Linux (or MacOS for that matter) could ever approach.
Interestingā¦canāt stay Iāve ever had difficulty connecting DAC.s
Absolutely true . I have little Mac experience.
So I canāt share experience or expertise here.
So I havenāt.
This topic has drifted again, can you all please stay within the in the context of the OPās original question.
If youāre here just to axe grind against Windows, please take your views to more suitable forum.
Thereās also been some personal comments made, again please discuss the topic not the authors.
If the topic canāt remain on topic, it will be deemed that it has run its course and closed.
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I think OS is a very relevant part of any conversation about whether a nucleus offers benefits over another computer. Nucleus is really all about the OS. Otherwise itās just a box.
I thought Nucleus was supposed to be exactly that - ājust a boxā - i.e. a black box that does one specific thing and hides all the implementation details from the user (a.k.a. an appliance). Do you care if your smart TV uses Linux or Windows IoT under the covers? Why would you care what Nucleus uses? Would people like it less if it was Windows-based and did exactly the same thing? No, itās not about the OS.
Actually I do because with Windows IoT, Microsoft can pull the plug any time. Naim was burned hard by this when they stupidly chose XP Embedded as their first server platform and Microsoft lost interest (which is a very typical thing for Microsoft to do)
That was just an example. In Naimās case, you would care if you worked at Naim, not as a consumer. You buy a specific TV model because you like the features and thatās going to be it for a while. If you buy it as some kind of investment in the manufacturer, thatās always going to carry a risk.
Hi James,
Yes, but it should be relevant to Roon, the discussion about enterprise and cloud services and the generalised Windows bashing is not helpful.
The title of this thread is āHow is the Nucleus better than using a good computer as the core?ā.
IMO it seems to me this thread is only about the hardware because Roon Rock can basically run on any compatible (Intel) box (good computer as the core) outside the Nucleus. Therefore a flame war or discussion (how exciting it may be) about OS preferences seems irrelevant in this thread and more suitable to other forums/threads.
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The people whose expensive Naim HDX couldnāt be updated anymore cared a lot
Every product has a lifetime. You canāt expect them to be updated forever. Again, in that particular case, I think it was on Naim for not planning for contingencies.
Sure, but by using an open platform it is the manufacturer who chooses this lifetime, not a third party
Exactly, by using a platform they had no control over. they learned after that.
As for the Nucleus, itās smart by Roon to have chosen a software platform they can control
Intel just anounced they stopped producing NUCs. How can Roon control that? The only thing Roon has control over is their own software and not the hardware of the Nucleus.
Thatās why I wrote software platform. As long as NUC-based Nucleuses are out there, Roon can update Roon OS to keep working and they can add features to Roon OS as they wish. And when they rebase the Nucleus / Roon OS onto a new hardware platform, they can do that too, without having to rely on a third-partyās interest. Thereās a reason why open platforms own the IoT market
Yes, and nobody denies that being open source is an advantage. I personally donāt have that requirement though, so Windows has worked perfectly for me.
Just a few posts up you argued that it doesnāt matter and one shouldnāt care what an appliance runs on, the only reason why I replied ā¦
And thatās fine, too. Itās good if Roon supports as many OSes as it can and make sense, and obviously Microsoft will keep Windows as a general-purpose desktop and server OS (even if reluctantly because they will be forced to; if it was up to them, they would move Windows to the cloud with thin clients). As an embedded / appliance platform though, itās simply a poor choice for everyone but Microsoft.
Stuff that I recall thatās different in the Roon OS build for Nucleus vs. what folks can download for free as part of a ROCK build:
- Thermal tweaks to make the system run better in a fanless case
- Control4 integration (may now be possible for ROCK, but I donāt have a way to test)
- Roon-specific branding in some drivers or logs
- Remote Support by the Roon team
- Hiding the internal audio and unused HDMI audio devices. For example:
That stuff plus hardware support provided by Roon Labs and the lovely case are all of the differences that Iām aware of vs doing a ROCK build using a supported Intel NUC kit.
Hereās a link to the original Nucleus white paper that may cover some details that Iāve missed:
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linux is a bit of a club with it being an Open Source system.
What has that got to do with anything? Everyone uses open source whether they realize or not. So it must be a pretty big club.
What we use comes down to one thing: choice.
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