You need to read the knowledge base about system architecture from what I read.
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That is essentially what I am doing now - using both. And for the time being , Iāll use Roon for their exquisite exquisite and robust interface when listening to my Lyngdorf in their unique post-processing mode thst I enjoy so much, their āparty mode,ā. It rocks. And BECAUSE the Lyngdorf has RoomPerfect, easily the best room equalization program on the market, it helps to compensate for the lack of high performance audio that Roon provides. All I renew next year for use with the Lyngdorf? Maybe. But for sure as it stands now, there is simply no comparison between iTunes and Pure Music v Roon when I do my serious listening with my Bryston in 2.0 stereo. Not even close. And as I suggested to another Roon member in this exchange, if Roon partnered with with Pure Music and charged willing (MAC) users an ADD-ON fee of, say, $200 to include software as magic as PM to their experience, even though Iāve already Pure Music their $129 lifetime licensing fee, Iād happily pay another $200 to Roon for a more premium, truly āHi-Fiā experience. Meanwhile I continue to look at the intriguing Innuos Zenith music server/player. They are KILLING it, and it is bc they are delivering maximum SQ and have a different approach than Roon, and seems to be working as theyāre growing exponentially. And while not Roon Ready, their gear works well with it, though it is not their āgo toā preferred oath for maximum fidelity. You may wanna check them out at www.Innuos.com
All good points. I agree Pure Music in its current iteration can be unstable and yes, they are long overdue for an update so that they can support the new Mac OS Catalina. I understand COVID ser them back somewhat.
In any case, I agree that a good alternative might be to purchase a stand alone music server/player and for that reason I am giving a hard look at Innuos Zen MK3 or stepping up to the Zenith MK3, said to be among the worldās best. Right or wrong, they insist Roon is essentially Mid-Fi - in part due to their resource allocation what they do best - interface as opposed to SQ. If Roon would work with PM for the Mac guys like me Iād happily buy their Nucleus + of it included playback software = ro a stable version of Pure Music. Heck, Iād even pay a one time licensing fee of $200 if they offered it as an upgrade to the existing Roon supported endpoints.
If money is no object (and that seems the case here), you owe it to yourself to check out the SonicTransporter i9 with HQPlayer.
It gives you all the horsepower to run HQPlayer and Roon in the same box, in a stable way.
Maybe more important, Small Green Computer has really great service.
You can certainly hope for Pure Music, but people arenāt beating down the doors for it so itās hard to imagine that happening any time soon. HQPlayer is here and it works. If you feel you really need that sort of digital manipulation to give you audio nirvana, that is an actionable choice.
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Fair enough. Iāll make one last suggestion: if you buy a Roon-ready networked DAC/endpoint combo (and that is not my area of knowledge - others here can recommend) then you wonāt have to worry about drivers and configuration. Presumably that endpoint will only present the best configuration option in terms of drivers etc. and then you are pre-optimized at the endpoint. That will allow you to play with DSP and Roon room correction etc. without worrying about variables at the endpoint. You might consider that before you permanently chalk Roon up as āmid-fi.ā
That said, all my gear is mid-fi: Levinson, Magnepan, Bryston, Wyred4Sound, Classe, Krell, etc. (nothing named after a philosopher or Norse god) and so I would really not know if thereās another level of sound to be had. It isnāt really necessary when Friday night listening is focused on metal, punk, electronic, and classic rock - I canāt tell a sonata from a coda.
To be clear - I have not suggested that you purchase a stand alone musicserver/player. I have nothing against such units (I listened to some a couple of years ago when my MacMini develped a fault) but that is a considerable investment (certainly, for me it would be 
)
My suggestion was to consider spending just $100 on a simple miniPC which acts as the bridge between your MacMini and your DAC. The miniPC can be a low spec unit which simply handles the data processed by your MacMini, sent across ethernet, and passes it on to the DAC. Once the RoonBridge application has been installed on the miniPC, it really is just a question of selecting the Bridge as the output in your Roon controller application and away you go.
Catalina was officially released in October 2019 and had test releases for months beforehand. I think blaming Covid-19 for the delay in a compatible Pure Music release may be stretching things a touch. I do like the Pure Music sound but I do worry about its future in a streaming world: I donāt know about you, but my experience was that the āStreamThroughā option never worked properly for more than a few minutes.
āDestroyed.ā
With each passing day, the Roon community forum is closer to the subjectivist lunacy of AudiophileStyle.
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Now youāre talking! Itās the first Iāve heard of this product so thanks for pointing it out. I appreciate it. Money IS an object to the extent that Iām not not āmade of it.ā It with a 2 TB SSD add on it is palatable. But whatās with the OpticalRendu. Is it sort of the package or a required 3rd part add on? Presently the leading contender for me as an alternative that offers Sq and Roon as an option w/ better SW is Innuos. Zenith MK3, but that runs $4,800. And from what Iāve read and heard theyāre killing it. But thanks for the tip on this unit. Iāll check it out as I clearly donāt expect Roon anytime soon to partner with Apple and Pure Music, though it seems to me they could easily set up iTunes as an endpoint. As such, with PM embedded to iTunes as it is, Roon would simply. E pointed to the same directory where the files reside. Iām no engineer but seems easy enough. Thx.
Itās worth talking to Andrew Gillis at Small Green Computer. He is a real stand-up guy and is frequently here on the forum, often helping customers with issues. He knows Roon very well and has been active in the āaudiophile computerā community for a very long time.
The Optical Rendu is an endpoint solution designed to minimize any noise transmission via āwireā (and thats as much as I know, technically). The Rendu is a RoonReady endpoint that sits in front of your DAC and translates Roon commands into what your DAC needs to know. There are a slew of these, with the optical version being the latest.
One other thing about Small Green Computer is they have a 30-day money back guarantee (āno questions askedā). So you can try something that you think suits you after youāve consulted with them.
I will stop now with the apparent hucksterism. I have bought a few things from them, but have no affiliation whatsoever.
I do agree that Pure Music has clearly dragged their feet , for whatever the reason. And yes, Streamthrough has always been somewhat problematic - at least insofar as playback on the Mac is concerned . But of course that is rendered moot while playing music only on the Mac Mini in my listening room.
But to your other point about an inexpensive PC, I am no āDIYā kind of guy, and I struggle to undertsand why this would somehow deliver better SQ? What am I missing here? Thanks!
Thanks; I will for sure reach out and explore this as an option. Where is the company based?
New Hampshire
Endpoints that are removed from the Core computer via Ethernet (or optical) generally produce a better SQ experinece than one that is directly connected via USB or in the same location, no matter what the connection.
For an endpoint, it isnāt an inexpensive PC, per se, that is being suggested. That was just an example.
James, my friend! You are too humble, me thinks! Based on the description of your gear you have a decidedly āHi-Fiā system configured. Sure, one can buy more āesotericā and obscure components but do they really deliver better audio. Maybe, not likely IMHO. I try never to be dismissive of what might clearly be better performing gear out there, but there is a point for most of us of what we know to be ādiminishing returns.ā My ssytem not much different than yours in terms of high quality, hi-fi audio gear.
- Krell Duo XD stereo amp
- Krell Chorus 5200 XD multichannel amp
- OPPO 205
- PS Audio DSD
- PS audio DMP Transport
- Lyngforf MP-60
- Bryston BP-17 cubed preamp
- Nordost cabling throughout - some Valhalla and most Heimdell2
9.REL 212/SX sub for my front row - JL Audio F112 v2 f r the rear of the room
- Dynaudio Confidence speaker array with Focal Atmos speakers in the ceiling
Anyway, if this is not hifi than I will have to settle for whatever label one wishes to ascribe to it. I could buy a 2nd home with what I have invested, and canāt invest any more other than perhaps a solution that delivers the SQ I am used to. My budget would be between 3-5K
Thx
Roon sounds hifi in my systems no midfi here. But I follow the best practice to achieve this. My core is not connected to any audio equipment this is how itās meant to run.
Roon isnt iTunes or Pure Music or AudiVarna or Amarra that are essentially noise shaping the output via optimising turning off some processes or are just very light weight programs. Roon is a much more active and process heavy application, this creates noise as computers are noisy devices electrically and that can be transferred across a usb connection as itās not galvanically isolated. Some DACs are not very good at rejecting this noise some DACs are.
This is why Roon recommend for best sq donāt have the core machine connected to the audio kit use network connected endpoints that run lighter Roon bridge program or Roon SDk and use less resources and produce less noise. You can build a raspberry pi 4 to do this and isolate it from the core for less than a 100 bucks.
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I just spoke with Andrew and youāre right; heās a cool guy and knows his stuff. Everything he told me makes sense and even with adding 2 TB storage his bundled solution at around $2200 is an easy enough pill to swallow. Thanks!
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I have no skin in this topic, but the reverse could easily be said as well. Why some feel the need to save everyone from the evil that is hifi? Youāre opinion is as valid as anyone elseās, but to discount what someone else hears or experience because you donāt doesnāt make much sense in the scheme of things.
Certainly nothing wrong with a spirited discussion, but the ālunacyā comment just isnāt necessary. If its that difficult to be around all this lunacy or just keep scrolling then ASR might be the place to be.
Its just a hobby. Sure I read some crazy claims in the context of my experiences but its just that. If someone hears or has a meaningful experience then great, who am I to call it BS. I just move along.
Dunno, I just donāt get so caught up in trying to prove things I donāt hear or necessarily understand. Who the frick cares 
Couldnāt agree more and thanks for weighing in . -