The short version of my impression is this: playing Qobuz or Tidal through my Bluesound Node 2i (or Tidal Direct streaming now through it) is simple and sounds fantastic. Playing Roon through my Bluesound seems to always involve ten variables that need to be checked and set in alignment before you can rest assured you are getting the best possible sound out of it – which closely resembles plain-old-above-spoken-about arrangement. I want to be able to listen to excellent music sounding excellent without worrying about too much. (Please, don’t refer me to Apple Music, then, or mp3’s or something snippy…). I get disheartened reading about so much technical jargon, equipment and arguments here and I find myself using Roon less and less because of this. I guess I’m realizing my time with Roon is growing short…Can anyone else relate?
Can you be specific, because setting up my Node 2i in Roon was less than a minute and I haven’t had to touch it again.
Good point,Daniel. Listening to it right now and it shot right to life. I guess I’m referring to the endless discussions about signal path, complicated set-ups, using outside DACS, etc…makes it feel like a Science Fair instead of a listening party. Running Roon through Bluesound is sounding quite good to me at this moment and WAS easy to start. Without delving into all the “optional settings” I’m GOOD!
I have a Meridian 210/218 DSP speaker system and play everything through it. Roon, TV, Video etc.
Once set up, which can seem complicated, I just use it.
If you are buying new, get a dealer to set it up, that’s their job. Personally I enjoy the set up process as it leads to understanding and confidence.
I have Bluesounds in other zones and they are fit and forget really.
Networking and occasional maintenance are something we are all going to have to get used to in the same way we learned to program a VCR some years ago.