I’ve been using an Intel NUC 7i5 with ROCK for the past 7 years. Now that the Nucleus One will be available in the EU in 2025, I’m wondering whether I should scratch the itch to upgrade, or whether it would not be a performance upgrade at all.
Has anyone done a teardown of a Nucleus One to determine what CPU it actually uses? I’ve only seen guesses in the forum so far…
There is some discussion of this in Hans Beekhuyzen’s review at https://youtu.be/5Pv8tAfapMU?si=O8rGggAdcDWfeIKi.
(Quad-core Celeron, with performance similar to the second-generation Nucleus, but the processor will probabaly be more frequently updated than the previous Nucleus)
Since roon in general doesn’t publish such technical details for their own devices, there’s no guaranty that every single device of a particular model is absolutely identical. And this is totally fine. Only the published data is guaranteed.
Why do you think about moving away from your NUC? Do you have certain issues or plans?
I use an i5 Nuc which does a good job with my library on a NAS/ Qubuz.
These Roon devices do look very nice but I’m not tempted! 
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We have “Full Fibre” broadband @ 500 mbs which helps with my ethernet network running at 2.5 gbe.
Without knowing the specific Quad-core Celeron model used, there is no way to compare benchmarks with the i57260U used in the NUC… And with Hans claiming that sound quality was improved with build 1392 of Roon Server, I take what he says with a pinch of salt anyway.
As I said, I am wondering whether to scratch the upgrade itch, but if there’s no measurable performance gain, then it’s not an upgrade and not worth an investment.
Surely depends on what kind of performance you’re thinking about. Browsing library, indexing new files, boot up time etc.?
Regarding audio performance/output quality I’m pretty sure roon stated several times that, as long as you use digital out from roon endpoint/ROCK/server to the final rendering device, you will always get bit perfect audio data no matter which device you use for running roon. There’s no room for further audio “improvement” just by changing some roon core hardware. Any change of the audio out data is done via changing specific audio options incl. MUSE/DSP in roon, made in pure software.
I personally like the MUSE option of using individual measurment based FIR filters SOOO much that I don’t want to miss it anymore.
The output is then (by purpose) no longer bit perfect but instead of much more joy since it then includes the listening room’s and the speakers’ characteristics as integral part of the digital audio signal itself. This can improve audio perception/quality very much. Independent of any underlying hardware.
But there’s one thing you should be aware of. Native DSD multichannel DSP is very CPU demanding. And roon says the Titan may be the better choice here.
And do not expect a guaranteed “Quad-core Celeron” you might see somewhere
Nothing to do with audio, just library slicing/dicing and browsing performance. The NUC handles my DSP requirements sufficiently well.
You use flash based audi file and database storage? No spindles?
As it happens I have an internal SSD for music file storage, but an HDD would be perfectly good for this purpose as well in my view.
And the database also resides on SSD? How many tracks do you habe?
Of course it does - it’s a NUC running ROCK, so RoonOS and Roon Server live on the m.2 SSD - which is a separate device from the 2.5" SSD used for music storage. And my library size is well within the 10,000 album limit for both the Nucleus One and this NUC system.
I feel we’re needlessly going down rabbit holes here. I’m just looking for an answer to my original question: has anyone determined what specific CPU is used in the Nucleus One?
I asked Danny if I would benefit by upgrading from a Roon Nucleus Rev B to a Roon Nucleus One. I don’t remember his exact response, but basically the answer was no.
@Geoff_Coupe a 7i5 is getting a bit long in the tooth - I went from a 7i5 to a 13i5 and there’s a huge boost in “snappiness”. In terms of actually playing music, and SQ, there’s no difference at all, but the overall experience is much smoother. Network performance is much better. I should imagine a Nucleus One would be similar.
Thanks, @mikeb - that’s rather what I suspect as well, but it would be nice to get some hard facts (i.e. benchmarks) on the table.
Moving from an 7i7 to 11i7 wasn’t a huge leap other than processing speed got better and this is one that goes to 5ghz with Turbo on, as for other Roon things maybe a bit faster but tbh not worth investing unless one needs to due to hardware failure. If it works why replace it? Enough e waste as it is. I got mine as my old nuc died that ran Plex and all other services so needed a replacement, then decided to put Roon on it as well. This is super fast not overly efficient heat wise and tdp but it replaced using two machines for one and I sold on what was my Roon server.
I don’t post that often, but your question is a really good one and, as I am sure you know, is just a result of the “disease” that most of us have.
I have been tempted by the nucleus upgrade for several years now. I am running Rock on a NUC8i5 and I don’t think that I would gain that much of a performance boost from an upgrade of any kind. HOWEVER! I am a very proud Roon user and I think the draw for me comes from having a unique device that I could integrate into my setup as a “showpiece” and conversation starter. My NUC is just a basic appliance that runs my beloved Roon server, but I think it would be cool to fly the Roon flag a little bit more prominently in the house.
All that to say; I too have the itch to upgrade and I WILL have a piece of Roon branded hardware someday.
If you are happy with your DAC/AMP/Speaker setup, but would still like to invest in some pride and happiness. I say scratch that itch!
It may be a minor advantage but a Nucleus One will not only probably perform a little better but also give you a fresh warranty, where the existing unit is no longer covered.
For me, that could tip the balance.
I just got a 13i7 and the snappiness is great
Why don’t you just upgrade your old NUC with the latest nuc of the market?
I was using a 4 year old i5 nuc which had hiccuping issues (dropouts), slow searches, an inconsistent roon experience. Plus the usb audio out to my denafrips ares II was abysmal. Got the nucleus one and would never look back. Sound quality, improved roon experience…just an overall enjoyable improvement. I feel I’m getting what roon is all about. By the way I have run 7 zones throughout the house without a hitch.