Hi … I purchased a Cambridge Audio CXN V2 network streamer (Roon Ready) about 6 months ago. At the time I hoped to integrate it into my stereo system consisting of a HP notebook (Windows 7) containing a few hundred Flac music albums, my CD transport, a Schitt Audio DAC and a Yamaha AS1100 amp. To make a long story short I ran into all sorts of trouble getting the streamer to “find” the Flac albums on the notebook … it found a few and they sounded great. I visited online stereo forums and from there discovered the problems probably stemmed from incorrect metadata issues. But the time wasted and the frustration involved caused me to temporarily shelve the idea of playing “local” files and just used the streamer to play Spotify. I’m now ready to revisit the problem.
I did some electrical rewiring during some recent house renovations so decided to install cat6 network cable at the same time between the music listening room and an adjacent study where my main desktop computer (Windows 10) and internet router live. The forum people have convinced me that running a NAS connected to the streamer via a home network is probably the way to go. I’m prepared to do that although I would need to do research concerning what brand of NAS/software etc. to purchase. I’m just not sure I want to be bothered with putting in the time to attend to the metadata/tagging issues that would still remain with my flac library.
So is Roon a viable option? I understand it would take some setting up but assuming that is done properly would it take the tedium out of library maintenance? If I understand the “Core” concept correctly a fairly powerful computer would be required … and that it would need to be left running 24/7. What are people doing to mitigate the power consumption issues for a computer running all the time?
If you want to investigate the use of Roon, this is the place to do it. You won’t find a more knowledgeable group of people anywhere when it comes to Roon.
Most people start out running the Roon core on their desktop or laptop computer. Then, many transition to a Roon Nucleus or build a NUC to run the Roon core software. Others, continue to run on a regular computer with success. Regardless, this computer should be connected to your network by ethernet.
Many use a NAS for music storage, but personally, I think a large SSD is the better way to go. This SSD should be internal to your Nucleus or NUC or connected by USB. Roon will pull in these music files into the Roon core device for processing before sending the data out to your Roon end-points and sound system (s).
Roon works great for playing your own music files or streaming from Tidal and/or Qobuz. At this time, it does not work with any other music streaming services and there is no indication that it ever will. Roon excels in adding metadata to your library for an enjoyable experience while listening. Some who are heavy into classical music say Roon does not do a great job of this for classical.
You can certainly utilize a NAS, and have Roon run from there. Searching these forums will provide several threads that discuss the pros and cons of going that route. The Roon Knowledge Base is also a great resource, and will provide suggested hardware criteria. This will be true for the NAS, computers and NUC devices.
Utilizing a i5 NUC, with a 128GB SSD for the OS (ROCK) and if you wish to also have your local files stored on this device, add another HDD or SSD dedicated for that purpose. This will certainly be a lower power consumption device, and there are special cases that can be found (Akasa is always a popular choice) that can make them fanless, and thus can even be located in the listening room. As you have just updated some of your network, it can be remote too.
If you follow the guides (depending on which route you decide to take from a hardware perspective), once things are set up, library maintenance should not be an issue moving forward, whether you add streaming files or local files.
Keep asking questions, and you will get plenty of support here, from fans, and Roon Support too.
Not sure what software you were using to find your files, but probably not a metadata problem. If there is something basically wrong with your files, Roon probably won’t find them either, but that’s what a trial is for.
I don’t believe this is the general consensus.
Many people, myself included, just use their NAS for backup.
If after the trial you like Roon and only have, as you say, basic computer literacy then probably you should invest in a Nucleus and save yourself a lot of headaches.
Start small and build as you go. If you take on too much, you might find yourself overwhelmed and frustrated. Although I am quite computer literate, I am still taking baby steps as I go into different phases of music system development. I am still looking at getting a NAS, but I am reluctant to add another box that I have to manage. Since most of my music listening is from Qobuz, I’m not in any rush to buy a NAS. Come up with a plan on what you want to accomplish and put attainable dates or milestones to get there. Try to spend more time listening to the music, the need for other equipment will progress as you become more familiar with Roon
You didn’t say how big your library is. As many have said, a NAS can be problematic for Roon. If you want to try it, just install it on a PC or laptop and tell it where your files are. See if you like it, then you can decide how far you want to go with additional hardware.
I think Roon on a suitable appliance is tailor made for someone like you Greg. That means Nucleus or if DIY is possible then a NUC with ROCK loaded. I would add a HDD or SSD to put your FLAC files on and you have a single self contained device for Roon. No screen or keyboard, all administration would be via a PC or tablet. The NUC does not need to be on 24/7.
Hello Greg, welcome to the forum and to Roon. Sounds like you’re starting out more or less as I did. Already had a Roon Ready player and that started the ball rolling.
I ended up with the Nuc/Rock server and it has served me well. I don’t worry about the always on power consumption as it seems minimal, maybe i should but having it readily available, being able to grab the IPAD and start the music playing with a couple of touches is very convenient.
Hi Jim … thanks for responding. I spent most of yesterday evening trawling through the Roon website. I think I “get” the basic idea of how it works but it’s going to take a revisit or two …
I find the NUC idea appealing … the Nucleus is probably a stretch too far cost wise for me. The basic model is $2000 in Australia. I presume a suitably specced NUC would be substantially more affordable … and having all the additional components (including storage) inside the one unit in the stereo rack would be convenient … presuming it could be made to be quiet enough.
https://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit
You can purchase a passive cooling (no fan) case on Amazon.
Your Core machine need not be next to the stereo - as long as it is connected to the router via ethernet as is your endpoint (CXN) they’ll talk to each other.
… will check it out …
Thanks Rockhound … my main reason for preferring the core device to be in the stereo rack is just the convenience of not having to go elsewhere in the house to turn it on … or am I missing something?
I must admit I did leave the notebook running 24/7 in the previous set-up … so no big deal.
Am I right in presuming that no other software changes would need to be made in the CXN, router or main desktop PC? … the core just plays nicely with all of that?
I would just leave it running 24/7. It’s a nice simple setup so it should work just fine without anything else. You just need something to control everything - a tablet, phone or laptop on which you install the Roon control app.
For convenience, the traditional approach with UPnP servers as well as Roon has been to leave them “always on” so that they are discoverable by any device that wants access. It is, however, entirely unnecessary to do this if you prefer to switch it off when not required. I run Roon on a MacBook, which spends much of its life turned off. When I turn it on, Roon fires up automatically and finds my local music library. I’ve never timed it, but it’s probably ready to go in under one minute. Sure, if that’s too long for you, leave it turned on.
My Nucleus has been on since I got it in late November except for a couple reboots.
Well, I think it is better to leave the RoonServer running. If you turn it off, then every time you start it, it will go through the discovery process again to verify all the files. Which can be minutes depending upon how large a library you have and the storage device it is on.
@Greg_McConnell While the latest Rev/Series 10 NUC’s is not quite yet Roon certified I’m sure its not far off being added to the fully certified list. Run a core on your main PC for now and try it out at least.
Thanks Techru … yep, I like the NUC approach … but how would you install the OS and the music files for that matter if there is no monitor? … maybe a lame question? do you need some sort of temporary basic monitor and keyboard connected to the NUC? … I presume the NUC has connections for those.
I’ve started to have a look at the Roon Knowledge Base but a lot of it goes over my head.
I’m on an extremely steep learning curve here.
You’ll do just fine, just give the KB a glance with each step of the way. Creation of a ROCK NUC is well detailed out so most people will be able to follow easily.
https://kb.roonlabs.com/Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit