At a time when the PC market is in turmoil due to soaring RAM and SSD prices, this offer is a brilliant marketing move. This new Mac will likely attract many “young users,” a significant number of whom will adopt iOS/macOS habits.
I’m considering buying this machine (the 512GB version). It would be used either for managing Roon independently (the subject of this thread) or for my daily use. My MacBook M3 would then take over for managing Roon. Drawback: my M3 has a 15" screen, which is lovely.
On the Roon forum, I still don’t see any feedback regarding this new Mac’s ability to handle Roon properly.
I have a modest library (25,000 tracks) and minimal EQ, and that might decrease over time (acoustic treatment of my room is ongoing). The only potential drawback is the resource-intensive 384 kHz upsampling, which might not be strictly necessary.
Any thoughts on this setup? The AI seems concerned about the mere 8 GB of RAM, but when you press them a bit, they seem to suggest it’s actually sufficient.
I also know that some of you have Mac Minis (M1?) dedicated to this task, which aren’t exactly powerhouses.
mjw
(Father! Father! Resist not! Let us destroy the core! Set us free!)
2
Don’t trust LLMs (it’s not intelligence) as its responses are based on data that are correct, incorrect, somewhere in between, up-to-date, and outdated.
Typically, 8 GB is fine for running Roon on Linux/ROCK, but for Windows and macOS, 16 GB may be prudent.
As for the Neo, I think you would do better buying a Mini or used Air.
I think the neo is nice for browsing and light work. For anything a bit serious it won’t cut it.
Ai with 8 gb unified memory, don’t count on it. The models you can run won’t be the smartest ones. I have a 16gb Mac mini and when I fiddle around with ai, the models aren’t really capable because they are to small for my wishes.
Your mac neo could probably run Roon but if you don’t need the portability I’ll think you’re better of with a Mac mini.
I think a Mac Neo will run Roon just fine (reviews talk about it editing 4K video), but possibly not as snappy as an M4 with 16GB. Why not try it and report back? If performance is not up to the task, return it.
I’m using an M5 Macbook Air, which at 16GB has more RAM than the standard 8GB that the Neo has. I don’t do anything intensive on the Air that hogs memory so Roon uses the most, although it seems to be comfortably under 3GB in total.
My library is 35k, and the response I get while navigating Roon is rapid.
Wouldn’t a Neo cope comfortably unless hammering it with background stuff?
A very light Roon core sure. Just note the I/O is not really fast so when using it as Roon Core, and attaching external HDDs, don’t expect great performance. Fine for playback but loading files may be slower than expected. Make sure you use the 1 “fast” USB-C port.
As a Roon Remote it’d probably be OK but note that the graphics performance is not great compared to even modern iPads. They removed 1 GPU core from the chip which was put in the iPhone and there is no fan so it’s completely passive cooling.
It’s an excellent bargain of a machine but bargain machines have compromises as always. I’d probably use something else as a core and I find that Amazon Fire tablets, which are considerably cheaper, do a decent enough job as remote if cheap is primary concern for a remote.
I am running Roon Core on a Mac mini M4 with 16GB RAM, 256GB Memory and a all music files stored on an attached SDD.
So far I am controlling Roon via an iPhone and was thinking to get an iPad or another tablet to control Roon because of the bigger screen. Occasionally I am controlling Roon via an MacBook Air and I learned that the MacOS (or Windows) Roon App does provide a nicer Interface plus the bonus of having a good keyboard coming with a laptop. So now I am rather considering to get a MacBook Neo as the controlling device than a tablet.
I’m using an iPad Air to control Roon on my Macbook Air and it’s just perfect. The screens on the iPad and the Neo are similar size and you have the portability factor of the iPad, so I’m maybe missing something but what advantages would there be having a Neo rather than an iPad, apart from the fact you might have a need for a second macbook?
Good point. Both are the same price. I assume the Neo is basically just as portable as the iPad Air. I will check out both and decide (assuming my iPad Pro can’t be fixed).
Matthew, I recently got a Neo for my daughter, and at 13” it’s not a big lumbering laptop, but it’s certainly bulkier and heavier than the Ipad. Guess it comes down to which you find is most suitable for your general use and not just Roon, both very good devices in their own right.
Thanks! I like the fact that the Neo has a keyboard, but extra cost if I purchase the Magic Keyboard with the iPad Air. I’ll be at an Apple Store this Saturday and will decide. Hoping they can fix my iPad Pro as that is great with Roon as well.
You probably can’t really make a wrong decision Matthew! Both will be great for Roon. If you do go for the Neo the Citrus one looks stunning. I thought it looked yellow in the promo pics but my daughters looks a bit more greenish in real life. My new M5 Macbook Air is the Midnight one, and it’s a bloomin’ fingerprint magnet!! Which is a bit annoying as Macbooks look great usually.
I had my roon core running on a M1 MacBook Air with 8gb ram, and it was absolutely fine.
now running roon on a m4 Mac mini with 16gb ram and I don’t really feel a difference At least as long as I’m not ripping Blu-ray’s at the same time or streaming the display with AirPlay to my tv . So you should be good. Maybe get a thunderbolt to lan adapter.
Benchmarks put the Neo at around M1 performance levels, so I think it’ll be fine with Roon also. I’m looking forward to seeing some feedback from someone who’s tried it, but apparently, Neo’s are all sold out.
I tried using a Mac Mini a couple of years ago as a core. It ran fast, but it couldn’t handle multichannel. I don’t know whether that problem has been fixed.
At least as long as I’m not ripping Blu-ray’s at the same time or streaming the display with AirPlay to my tv . So you should be good. Maybe get a thunderbolt to lan adapter.