Well, in my case it’s the complete opposite. I listen through an external DAC/AMP, also with Focal Clear MG headphones, from my MacBook Pro, and it sounds noticeably better through Roon.
I have a hypothesis about this. I think Roon has a better synergy with my DAC/AMP than the Qobuz app just leaving that work to the MacBook drivers. I could be wrong, but my ears tell me otherwise.
If you have Qobuz, why are you using Roon ? There is an Qobuz App very usefull. Actually I have a 1 year Roon account since 6 month and I used it maybe 3 times : Qobuz app is great.
I use Roon because I play Qobuz through a streamer, and Roon provides the best experience for this scenario. I originally started with the Qobuz app on a laptop, connected by USB to the DAC on my main system. However, I didn’t like having my laptop tied down with a cable while playing music, and I wanted flexibility to control playback using a phone, tablet, or computer. The solution is to use a streamer to play Qobuz.
The problem is that you can’t use the Qobuz app (which has a good user interface) with a streamer. You need to use the streamer’s own player app, and all of them are very basic and crude. It will work well enough if you already know exactly what you want to play, but awkward and difficult for exploring and discovering music. The solution is to use Roon for the user interface, along with a streamer that supports Roon. Roon also has other desirable audio and music library features.
Qobuz doesn’t currently have a Connect feature (like Spotify Connect or Tidal Connect), where you would use the Qobuz app itself as a remote control to play music through a streamer. Qobuz has been developing Qobuz Connect, and when it finally becomes available I will reconsider whether to continue with Roon. However, I like Roon’s user interface more than Qobuz, and it is likely that I will continue using Roon to stream Qobuz.
Likewise. I’d add the multizone feature, Muse (don’t use it myself but it is important for many people), the integration with local files and the superior access to metadata and the way it links what you’re hearing with so many interesting music. However, if Quobuz Connect is launched I may consider leaving Roon because it costs 5 times what I pay for the Quobuz subscription. Quobuz App is vastly superior in the way it handles and values local music, unlike Roon, which doesn’t seem to understand or care for anything outside the Anglo-saxon music scene.
Edit: I’ve invested about 500 euros in a NUC and have two Roon-Ready streamers that are unlikely to be updated with Quobuz Connect, should it see the light of day. So, I guess I’m stuck with Roon for a while 
In the US, Roon is not such a large additional expense. Qobuz subscription is $130 annual (or $13 monthly), and Roon is $144 annual (or $15 monthly).
At my next Roon renewal, I may consider a lifetime subscription. To be honest, I didn’t seriously consider it before because I wasn’t convinced that Roon would survive for the long term. I work in the tech industry where most startups fail after a short time. With Roon’s acquisition by Harman Kardon, a lifetime subscription is much less risk and potentially a good value for the long term.
I think Roon is the only music service that I know that has no subscription in local currency. So, I pay in USD plus a 6% tax on international purchase with the credit card. Quobuz, Tidal, Apple Music, Spotify all cost about 4 USD/month in Brazil. JPlay and Audirvana also charge in local currency and are much cheaper than Roon. Anyway, I’m keeping Roon because I like it despite its price.
I would echo this.
Hi all,
I love the obsession. I have put together a fabulous system, prioritizing digital through Qobuz and roon, and during this process I’ve had a few conversations with engineers from fancy audio companies and the like…
My digital stream is comprised of the following: Mac mini and wifi bridge (on their own circuit) → ethernet to a netgear with (on a dedicated circuit and powered by an sbooster linear power supply) → high quality ethernet cables from QSA → Nagra Streamer (on a AGY power conditioner hooked up to a dedicated circuit) → SoulNote D1 DAC → Decware 300B Amp → Pure Audio Project Duet 15 Horns.
I’ve paid special attention to quelling EMI, RFI, and Mechanical noise.
I hear a difference between Qobuz Connect and Roon through this digital chain. After my conversations with several engineers, I attribute this to the influence of each component and wire that leads to the Nagra Streamer. Each metallurgical and mechanical connection influences the sound, since it is influencing the electrical signal. It’s like a book with the same text, but with thick patina’d paper, vs a paperback. The information is the same, but the material (electrical signal) is different.
And since this tiny electrical signal, weather it be encoding the music digitally or in analogue, meets the power amplification from the electrical mains of your building, all of it has an influence on the sound.
SO… I attribute the difference between Qobuz Connect and Qobuz via Roon, to everything within my digital chain that Roon requires.
Qobuz Connect takes all of the same “bit perfect” music and brings this to my DAC in my Nagra Streamer. That is there the electrical influence to the signal begins. Nagra does it pretty purely in their streamer.
Qobuz via Roon takes the same “bit perfect” music and detaches a lot of the processing from my main component stack, minimizing noise from this source. But it is still dependent on all the components from my Roon Core and the Nagra Streamer.
AND, since I love the Roon interface so much, my question is how do I get my Roon chain to sound more like the shorter Qobuz Connect sound.
r.
Wizardry and psychedelics might work! Alternatively, searching the community will reveal several threads about this; not many of them reach a consensus though.
Good luck
Find a way to decrease the use of roon’s raat. I send roon to hqplayer and then to an naa in my streamer. I set hqplayer to bit perfect by turning off all dsp and setting vol to 0.00 db. Others use diretta. Some hear a difference, some don’t. Works for me.