Yes but they can’t be as the DAC would fail bitperfect test if they where.
Thanks all for your help and suggestions. Much appreciated.
To answer some questions. All settings in Roon and LMS are default. No volume adjustments or DSP. To rule out a software or hardware installation problem I have installed Roon Core on my Linux desktop also. I was glad to see Roon supports Arch Linux but it did not improve the sound quality.
I also tried to get a similar sound in Roon as in PiCorePlayer/LMS.
The sound stage of Roon improves a lot when I use DSP PCM to full max and DSP Volume control on However this takes quite a heavy load on the Roon Core as you can see in the signal path.
Maybe this gives some direction of a solution. It is for sure an unexpected challenge.
I also found a similar and older discussion about the Roon sound quality. With similar experience of a less three dimensional sounding, brighter and less revealing. Phew, it’s not just me. 
Add images
Ha! I fell into that one… however…
Can you make the RME ‘fail’ the test, by (eg) engaging volume levelling in Roon? One possibility is that the bit perfect test isn’t doing what we expect.
I just ended the trail period of Roon.
The sound quality of Roon is too low for my audio gear compared to my current LMS/PiCorePlayer setup. I put sound quality first and features second. Sorry to hear there was no fix found.
Thank you all for the suggestions.
That’s a shame. I was hoping you’d work out why and tell us.
For what it’s worth, for those following this thread, I have both roon and LMS on a PiCorePlayer. Roon on rock feeds rPi3B+ with Ropieee feeding the DAC in my Squeezebox transporter. LMS runs on an rPi4B and feeds same transporter into my system. I listen to both front ends a lot and have never found any difference in sound quality whatsoever.
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It is a shame indeed. I had planned to become a Roon lifer for sure, had my NUC configured and ready to order. But Roon did not sound as good for me compared to LMS/ PiCorePlayer.
@garym You describe a different setup. PiCorePlayer, Squeezelite and LMS is all installed on the same Raspberry Pi, without any Roon whatsoever. Just standalone, the problem for me was Roon.
Finding several posts on the internet describing the exact same experience made me realize an easy fix was not to be expected soon. And I didn’t like to go the DSP route.
FWIW - I tried all sorts of configurations.
The only thing I found different were the volume levels being different.
Roon to RoPieeeXL in all configs sounded exactly the same just had to adjust volume levels a lot to match one another (Squeezelite, Roon Bridge). Also tried Volumio again as a standalone solution and Roon to Volumio. Same findings as above to be fair.
To me what sounds best, based on my equipment to hand is:
Roon > RoPieeeXL (Roon Bridge) > AQ Cobalt > Hifiman Sudaras closed back HP’s
YMMV based on equipment
Did you work out why volume levels were different?
That’s what’s really driving me nuts about this thread!
I feel like this resolution might be hugely helpful to a lot of discussions. I do not hold out string hope for a cleat resolution, but boy it would be nice to know.
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I’d guess what’s needed is a tone track that you can measure a constant level and ensure everything is the same.
I sometimes think LMS sounds better but it could just be slightly louder.
I might give this a try https://international.mtx.com/f/mtx/testtones/1kHz.mp3
The point is that if you have to adjust the gain somewhere to achieve the same level (assuming the same source file and DAC) then something is messing with the bits…
No. No idea why.
Just read this other forum link, it describes a lot of the differences. It is a bit of a long read and still continuing.
General experiences are:
- Roon sound quality changes with different Core software versions
- standalone streamers without any Roon sound better and more musical
It’s the exact situation I experienced with Roon. Comments are like: Roon appears to be a brighter, less three dimensional and generally less revealing. It is syrupy, slow, flatter and generally less texture. Everything has a blanket over it. With the strange volume differences like mentioned before in this thread. I can not believe Roon is streaming bitperfect without any sound adjustments.
I think Roon needs to get the sound quality sorted out soon.
The competition is getting closer. To my surprise I discovered several plugins for PiCorePlayer for an experience like Roon in the music information and discovery department. Lots of reading material, you can browse and interact with all those links, intergration with Qobuz, find similar artists.
All free without the need to have a separate server setup. Roon has still the lead but for how long.
If someone can provide an explanation and a fix I am still interested.
To say there is no sound difference is too easy. I still like the total package idea of Roon when the sound is no less then PiCorePlayer.
If you like to do a comparisan with a standalone full PiCorePlayer installation on a Raspberry Pi without any Roon.It’s just a SD-card swap and some configuration. Be warned, maybe you are in for a surprise.
PiCorePlayer music information and discovery example
click for large
That site is just full of users with more money than sense and not a lot of logical reasoning. When one poster states Roon changes sq when you remove the filters from the DSP graph even when they are not active in the first place is hilarious. And they all start to try it out. I believe that was debunked on here by the CTO.
I take all of this with a pinch of sea salt. It’s bit perfect and my DAC shows it and sounds no different to lms or Squeezelite. If it does then there is something messing with it somewhere or it’s placebo.
FWIW
I decided to try Volumio again and compare against other RPi Roon endpoint OS’s.
No difference notice in SQ. Just variations in volume levels. Ropieee and Volumio the same as direct from ROCK core, Windows core. From iPhone with CCK it need to be higher on the slider for the same volume.
Again, SQ is the same to me. iPhone does sound boxed in, hard to explain. I don’t know why though.
Every time a new version of Roon comes out, someone will claim to hear improved SQ when, in reality, nothing has changed. Expectation bias, I suppose.
Many dCS users claim on that site that Mosaic is better yet here is a user of dCS Bartok that does not hear a difference. Swings and roundabouts. In the end you have to go with what you hear not what any one else tells you. But sweeping generalisations that Roon is inferior in SQ do not hold up under scrutiny.
Many vs. one. But you back the one who you agree with, not the many. Do you see the problem there?
Thank you, but Volumio is not PiCorePlayer or LMS. 
My findings were based on a comparison between standalone PiCorePlayer setup without any Roon at all and a Roon setup with various end points. To be able to make a clear comparison between Roon and LMS as a music server.
John Darko, one of my favourite music and audiphile Youtube channels made an introduction video about such a setup.
He is also a big Roon fan and last month he posted some additional follow-ups also.
