I know it’s tough to roll out changes and I remember thinking that there was a danger with the buildup since no one is ever really happy with something different. Nonetheless I think the software continues to be amazing and while I was happy with 1.7, I’ve taken a pretty deep dive into 1.8 and I see some huge benefits. So for a thoughtful thread biased more to the “pros” of 1.8, here are my first impressions:
The layout looks good and I find it easier to explore new/old music. This surprised me because I liked the old layout and I thought the new one was going back to a more windows style look. In fact, for me, the new layout works and I like the mental ergonomics.
Connections. I’m enjoying some of the new ways to find music and read about artists.
Stats. Love everything about this.
Focus. Undecided. Instead of expanding the playing field based on what I select, it’s simply narrowing it. So far that’s not as useful as I hoped.
Profiles. Smart. Was this available before? Perhaps I simply didn’t notice, but it’s nice to personalize the remote for my wife.
In general I am extremely pleased about the additional functionality with this release. If I were looking in for the first time I’d be gobsmacked at what roon provides that I didn’t previously have access to. Given that I’m already using roon, the transition was (for me) painless and I see real value in the additional content offered.
For playlists on iOS, I would like to have the filter added back that identifies duplicate tracks. Also for iOS, when looking at the tracks of an album I have added to my library, I would like to have the tag back on tracks I have added to different playlists. Both of those are features I used regularly and from what I can tell so far appear to have been removed.
I was in the middle of a large playlist creation (Paul"s Audiophiles Guide Reference List) when I upgraded…took me a while to figure out the best way to both add to queue and to a playlist on one screen but I got there after some trial and error.
Overall I like the album art display and larger text for my old eyes in queues and playlists and how easy it is to see different versions of albums without diving deep.
As a new user to streaming (X45 Pro) with Tidal via Roon, I am a convert and I honestly don’t feel the need to purchase another piece of disc media since everything I need is a few clicks away.
I particularly love Roon Radio as it has introduced me to music I never would have heard otherwise.
1.8 worked well at first, and I thought I detected an improvement in SQ. But now when I start from iPad I get Manage Audio Zones and can’t choose one until I turn off power to Nucleus and restart it again. Really weird?
No connections if you don’t have a streaming service. No visible improvements to discovery
No new data there. Actually lost some ways to view it under Focus compared to 1.7
A failure. I mean they’re reverting it because they messed it up.
Profiles were already there.
I’m still waiting for someone to explain me what new features this release delivered after all the promo emails and demo that showed stuff I don’t have as a local storage user.
I have to say - I really don’t care for this update. 2 main issues
I don’t care how much I’ve used Roon when I go into the app - so why put this blatant self aggrandisement as the first image on the app? it’s the last thing I am interested in as it’s nothing but advertising for Roon
Where has Roon Radio gone? I used to like Roon exploring my collection after I’d started it on a theme. That seems to have disappeared or been hidden
Fair enough (re. disliking personal stats). I like the stats but I get your point. By the way, they are not the first thing I see on any of my devices. At a minimum they are below the recent listening and new releases for me to explore. Perhaps your experience differs?
As far as Roon Radio, it’s easy to see from any page or any song. Hit the down arrow next to play. Roon radio (if selected) begins from an album, or a particular song per your choice. I also use it constantly.
thanks for replying - I’d lost Roon Radio found it thanks to your help !
I get the stats under the recent activity, but as I scroll down they have twice the screen real estate (on an iPhone - on an iPad I get one line of music options (recent activity) followed by about 2 screenfulls of stats before I get back to music options) . This gives the stats about 10 times the real estate space for Radio and pushes my recordings onto page 3(ish) which Google will tell you is the point at which people don’t scroll down a list. So it seems a poor UI decision. I’d have no problem with a tile (perhaps for ‘listening stats’ that could show the value (pleasure) obtained from local recordings vs Streaming services etc). For a music player - I think the emphasis should be on music not stats - I don’t really see the usefulness or how they inform listening
Anyway- thanks for taking the time to reply, it’s appreciated.
found it thanks to your help !