New Hardware that shall I chose?

I’ve just placed my order for the same configuration. That video is very useful. Thanks for the link.

2 Likes

Hi Anders,

Have a look at the Salk StreamPlayer Gen III (http://salksound.com/streamplayer.php?model=StreamPlayer+Gen+III). It’s all pre-configured and ready to go.

I’m also considering it, but haven’t placed an order yet, so I don’t know much more than you can get from the website.

Cheers,
Jeff.

I don’t want to think how great it will sound with a new NUC or Mac mini, with Windows, iOS or Linux!

A replacement will not necessarily sound (much) better, but will enable you to stop using your laptop (switching cables etc) for the music server.
You could keep your laptop with you in your seat and use it as a remote while the RoonServer is connected to your DAC.

For Roon, the easiest option is the Nucleus they introduced. Ready to go, no hassle.

Second is a NUC with ROCK, requires you to put it together (easy puzzle) but will maintain itself. After this it is the same as Nucleus.

Third is like your laptop, a ready to desktop machine with Window or Ubuntu. This will require you to do updates yourself and maintain it periodically, but also allows you to use it for more than just Roon.

Hi @Jeff_Young
Thanks for the suggesting I shall look it up.
They seems to have 3 different versions, and it goes to configure how you want them :grinning:.

Hi @paaj now it’s no guarantee, but it will go faster and nice to get rid of a fan who starts every 5 minutes :grinning:.
By the way, that’s a “Nucleus”?

Hi @Geoff_Coupe thanks I have watched the YouTube video that @Marius put up here and it doesn’t seems so difficult, but I’m letting a friend who works with computer!
So I don’t mess it up, you see I have been sick for a longtime so I don’t see as well as before! But the worst thing are that my hands shaking so much, so stuff like small screws and screwdrivers that I have done all my life, well I can’t do it anymore :disappointed_relieved: but’s what’s life!

Fans are annoying :slight_smile:

Nucleus is the new hardware announced by the Roon team: basically RoonServer in a fanless box, ready to go.
If your friend knows his way around computer hardware, a NUC with ROCK and fanless case can do the same.

1 Like

If you are talking about the easiest way to run Roon Core (not ROCK), don’t forget the solutions from Small Green Computer. Namely, the different versions of sonicTransporter.

Easy to run out of the box headless, with a sleek web interface from any machine, including tablets / phones browsers

1 Like

I’ve shared NUC Kaby Lake (7th Gen) CPU benchmarks and the difference between the i5 and i7 is about 15%

1 Like

FWIW, I’ve never heard the fan on my NUC6i3SYH. It has one I think, but I’ve never heard it.

1 Like

I, on the other hand, can hear the fan on mine, and once I hear it, it gets annoying… :worried:

1 Like

Geoff, you’ve got the same model?

1 Like

Yes. It’s currently running ROCK.

I’ve got a NUC7i5BNH on order to transplant its motherboard into a fanless Asaka Newton S7 case. That will become the new ROCK system going forward.

The NUC6i3SYH will probably get repurposed into a Windows-based HTPC (running Plex and/or Emby). Watching movies and videos isn’t quite so critical as regards the fan noise.

1 Like

Interesting. When I say I never hear the fan in mine, I mean I’ve never been remotely aware of it, even when sitting right next to it. For months I didn’t even think it had a fan, until I noticed the settings in the BIOS. Any noise it makes is well below the ambient noise level in my listening room. Surprising it’s so different. Library size? DSP? (I don’t use DSP.)

1 Like

Library size is modest (1,000+ albums), and although I use DSP on my main zone, even in idle, once I become aware of the fan noise, I can’t get it out of my head…

1 Like

Either you have a noisier unit or exquisitely sensitive ears (a good thing!)–plus a very quiet listening room. I just walked over and put an ear to mine–yes, I can hear a fan running, but not from 6 inches away!

Best,
Jim

P.S. Hopefully I won’t start hearing it now. :frowning:

1 Like

I should perhaps add that there’s a 2.5" HDD in my NUC6i3SYH adding to the noise level. When the NUC lived in the meter cupboard, it held my music collection. I’ve moved it out into the living room so that I can play back 5.1 multi-channel recordings over the home cinema setup, and the music collection is now hosted on a Windows server that also lives in the meter cupboard. I’m still debating whether to transfer the HDD into the Asaka case, or leave the new ROCK connected to the server for completely silent operation…

Yes, that could be a difference–not just the noise from the drive but also less space for air circulation and more heat.

But @Jim_Austin even if you’re not hearing the fan 6 ft’s a way. So does it make a great difference if you add all the different sounds/noises, that doesn’t belongs there! Think about that!

Because I have recently earth all my equipment, from amp, DAC’s, USB cables from my iFi micro iUSB3.0, with special cables to earth-boxes. Special earth-boxes for “dirty things” like my pc laptop a cable with a USB connection! The same with my router with RJ45 contact with special cables to the earth-box and my NAS a cable with a USB connection to another earth-box for “dirty things”! Special feets for all my equipment! Before couldn’t I hear anything but my fan from my pc laptop “did I think”! But when I paused the music from Roon and put my amp volume to around 9 o’clock and listen to my speakers it was jitters and like some one sent Morse, in my speakers! Of course didn’t I hear it when the music played, but it was there! Now when I pause the music and turns the volume nob on max it’s totally quite! The music sounds much clearer and the bass much tighter and presasly! It’s sounds like I have bought a new system that cost much more than the earth products from a Swedish company called Entreq! It’s not only totally quite but internet works much better, so does the music from the NAS to Roon! So now it’s just the fan in the pc laptop that needs to disappear :smile:! So it’s a great reason why I need a new computer, NUC…okay not only for the fan I need a new system to use Roon on as well! Check out Entreq products on http://www.entreq.com/

Yes, my point about the fan was, in my implementation of that particular NUC, the noise level is so low as to be completely innocuous, irrelevant to my listening.

As for the grounding (as we call it here) experiment, that’s very interesting! Thanks for sharing.

1 Like