one word… Fan-Freaking-Tabulous… Had more fun listening to music last night than I have in a LONG TIME. With Roon and Tidal, there really is no need to “own” any music.
Is a 3-node computer setup possible? I don’t think so, but wanted to verify. Here is what I am trying to do:
Core: Win 2012 Server Dell Precision Laptop with lots of drives andRAM (in basement on GigE)
Render: Win 8.1 Pro i3NUC w/8 GB RAM(Fanfree, USB to Oppo 105, in Living Room on GigE)
Remote: MacbookPro Retina
Everything I have read says that i want power at the core. Currently running with the NUC as core accessing remote drives and MBP as remote. It works great, but wonder id I am missing something?
Fellow user here. I think that such a setup will work in the future, I believe the devs are working on the remote part.
Right now a Remote Roon installation can only see its audio connections and the core audio connections. However, I think the envisioned setup for Roon would be your Server as it exists now, a wired Ethernet connection straight to the Oppo 105 and a tablet (of some variety) as the remote. So drop the “Renderer” and just feed an Ethernet enabled end point.
Dan,
many Roon users comes from the Sooloos system heritage (what the Roon team built originally which became a Meridian system). The relevance of this is that you can today use Roon with various Meridian end points which I think mean renderer in your post.
These end points just sit on your network and provide either digital or analogue outputs depending on what you need.
Benefit is significant as you keep all PC/MAC stuff out of the room and compared to items like Squeezebox give a very impressive SQ.
Find good deals around on MS200. Even better SQ from the larger MS600. Drop some crazy cash on an 808 with ID41 network card. This is super league SQ but quite stunning…really stunning.
As mentioned above, other manufacturers will arrive via Roon speakers but right now that is what is available if you are impatient.
Thanks all for your replies… You have confirmed what I thought… Right now I am limited to a 2-box solution which is great. In reply to some of the specific things I have read:
DLNA “appears” to be a non starter with Roon… something having to do with the Queue control… I’m cool with that
I wish I could afford the Meridian stuff… 10 years ago when I was single without kids, that would have been a possibility… now, every little thing needs to be justified … I would be lucky to sneak a quality USB cable through the door without my wife picking up the smell of freshly extruded PVC. I will check on Audiogon and eBay to see what prices are.
As for iPad remote, in the past, I would have said it was a must-have. But I like using my laptop… big screen with mouse and keyboard… with bright clear display. Because of all the extra content and linkage, the remote is so much more than a “remode” It is more of a “conduit”. Command Tab allows me to jump between whatever I am working on and Roon.
Hopefully Roon Speakers will be available as a windows/mac app and not just embedded in speakers or hardware… though I would not blame them if they did. Working for a software company, I am well aware of what goes into developing, testing, supporting, and maintaining new features and platforms.
I do believe it will be available as a win/mac software. At least that is what I understood. I’m hoping that they add other manufacturers as Ethernet end points as well. As much as Meridian stuff sounds good. I’m not a big fan of the closed eco-system.
Yes indeed, a Meridian Network Endpoint [MS200 / MS600 / 818] can be the ONLY Meridian component in a high quality music system…and it’s certainly not a closed eco-system
For example, Roon can feed the Meridian Endpoint over Ethernet…and the Endpoint can in turn feed non-Meridian Amps and Speakers via Analog or Digital outputs
And at about £350 these days, the MS200 brings a lot of bang for your buck…while keeping the “noisy” [fan noise as well as RFI / EMI] PC based equipment away from the listening area…and £350 is a lot cheaper than it costs to buy an appropriate computer these days
… I would be lucky to sneak a quality USB cable through the door without my wife picking up the smell of freshly extruded PVC. I will check on Audiogon and eBay to see what prices are.