I currently have the Roon Core running on a QNAP TVS-871U-RP with 32GB of RAM. I have a large music collection – 22K albums, 337K tracks, 8.4TB storage – all stored on the QNAP. I thought this system would run the Roon Core well, since the QNAP basically does nothing other than Roon. But it is pretty unreliable and gets very slow over time. I even have the QNAP reboot itself 3 days a week, but still have issues.
Given this, I am considering a Nucleus+, and just use the QNAP for storing the music (unless there is a way to store 8.4TB directly on the Nucleus+).
I also have several Roon network endpoints, but one endpoint I have is a Meridian UltraDAC, which is in the same rack as the QNAP. The UltraDAC powers my primary listening room and connects to the Roon Core on the QNAP over the network using the Sooloos protocol.
I would like to understand the optimal setup – cost is no object – to have the absolute best audio performance. Given this goal, is a Nucleus+ the best choice for the Roon Core? If so, it looks like it is better to send the audio from the Core to the UltraDAC over the network rather than connecting it directly to the Nucleus+ via USB, but I wanted to confirm that is correct, and, if so, I am curious why.
Also – assuming I should continue to send the audio over the network, are there any audio quality issues using the Sooloos protocol built into the UltraDAC, or should I instead connect the UltraDAC to a Roon Ready network player via USB – and if so, any recommendations?
Nucleus+ should be fine based on what Danny has mentioned for large libraries…cost no object. You could use more affordable options with windows and better cpu but doing this Diy will perhaps not be your ‘thing’. Some other options might work too but nucleus+ is a perfect fit, assuming you have no very heavy dsp usage on there too.
You could copy all your music into an usb external 10-12tb single drive and use the NAS as a backup spinning it up as needed…or the other way around, assuming you don’t already have your music duplicated (backed up) elsewhere.
@miklats I have a little larger library than the op running on a NUC7i7BNH running ROCK with the music on usb disks and have not had any problems, what issues did you have?
Just as an FYI and not a recommendation necessarily, you can store your files on one or two external drives plugged into the Nucleus. Just point Roon to watch the folders there instead of the NAS.
Then use the NAS for backing up the music files.
PS Sorry to repeat @Ratbert. I was typing as he was posting.
One note of caution is that nucleus(+) has only 2 USB ports available so if you want to use a usb dac too then that’s a show stopper for more than one usb drive.
The NAS should be fine for music too…just make sure you have a backup of your music in case…can use usb external for that too on the NAS
The advice I got from a Roon stuffer has been something like: Rock was not built for that size of database.
Rock lost part of the library, tried to rescan, froze etc…
My library is larger, but if it keeps growing Steve Fischer might run into problems, or not.
My library runs about 8.5TB but only ~140,000 tracks. I’m on a NUC 7i7BNH 256gb m.2 Samsun 960 ssd and 8GB Ram in a Fanless Akasa Plato X chassis. No issues and using dsd512 upsampling but no other dsp features currently
I do too…it’s my main server but I switch them around as I like to play…I also have a dietpi amd64 i5x6500 that manages to keep up too (it can also run as a mock) they all use the same NAS library so run the same 8.5tb and 140,000 tracks plus tidal
Thanks, everyone. This has been very useful. Can anyone help me understand the best way to connect this new Core to the Meridian UltraDAC for my main listening room? They are both in the same rack, and so physical separation is not an issue.
It currently streams over the network using the Sooloos protocol. Is this preferable to connecting to the UltraDAC via USB? If so, is there a simple summary about why?
Given the other advantages of Nucleus+ (aesthetics, fanless design, and most importantly, it runs Roon OS), I would always argue that Nucleus+ is the best choice.
However, for 337k tracks, you might possibly run out of RAM. You can add a stick of RAM into the device after the fact if you want. I can walk you through that. We’ve purposely left a blank slot for exactly this purpose.
USB drive is easiest w/ a single 3.5" 10TB disk. But I would put the noisy spinning drive in the NAS far away from your listening room, and keep the Nucleus+ and your UltraDAC where the action is. Both are nice looking boxes, unlike the NAS.
You can always try both, it won’t hurt you to try, nor will it cost you anything but a few minutes. I’m unsure if the Sooloos network protocol can stream DSD to the UltraDAC – but that may not be important to you. If it isn’t, then use the network. If it is, you might need to use USB. @john, our hardware ecosystem expert, should be able to chime in with information about that functionality.
they all use the same NAS library so run the same 8.5tb and 140,000 tracks plus tidal