There is no issue as I have tried both on the same system. Roon is like anything audio related - it sounds really good until you hear something better 
Different might be a better descriptionâŠdifferent is not always better.
Everyone hears differently
I think making the playing bar at the bottom of the screen a light grey is a mistake. Itâs harder to see than the former white on black. Also can someone tell me how to get to the ânow playingâ screen? It used to be Ctrl+S but that no longer works.
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Click on the Album shown in the playing bar or anywhere on the playing bar background (i.e. not on the bar itself or any of the control icons)
Thanks for that Geoff.
I canât say I like the new ânow playingâ screen. The artworkâs been reduced to a postage stamp in the corner. The old one put it in a large format in the centre and I canât see why that had to change.
Youâve probably seen the outcry over the design in the other threads as well. Roon Labs have said that they are already working on changes to the design⊠I suspect they thought the primary focus for the Now Playing screen should be on the artist, but many want it to be the album cover; so changes will be made.
Thanks Geoff. I think the album cover is more apt since that is what is playing. Many of the artist pictures Iâve seen in Roon are very small, and when blown up to a large screen size, are a mess. Itâs good to know though that the designers are listening to usersâ feedback.
Agreed, with album covers you know what you are getting, with artist photos itâs pretty much a crapshoot. It will improve over time, Iâm sure (and there is a new system in place working to adjust artist photos automatically for best results in placement in the screen), but results at the moment are mixed.
Does anyone on the forum have kept a file Roon.dmg version 1.5 B363 ?
I am experimenting with a correction file put in HQplayer rather identical to the parametric filter in DSD, so that I can disable DSD completely.
But now with the most recent HQplayer, I need the above Roon version.
If you have that file I would be glad to test with it.
Hi, where do you get these details from ?
Comments Jussi made in various threads on CA.
Thanks, I just sent email to him.
Just to say I agree totally with Christian_DEPLANTE. On a high resolution system Roon1.6 sounds digitally processed compared to V1.5. Yes, the sound is more spacious but it is less focussed, less layered and has reduced inner detail all of which combine to create a less involving sound.
Iâve reverted to 1.5 on my Mac Mini and Macbook from backup and the improvement in SQ was immediate. The trouble is I canât revert my iPad which I use for control so I have to use my MacBook instead. Itâs doable but much less convenient
I still greatly prefer the sound I hear when using Audirvana or Amarra but Iâm just so reliant on the Roon UI that I compromise.
Iâve tried HQPlayer with some improvement but my personal gold standard is Audirvana.
I guess my pipe dream is that Roon would eventually offer improved sound.
@Ian_Richards can you tell more about your hardware and software setup? Is your DAC connected to your server? Are you using HQPlayer? Do you have special drivers for your DAC?
It has been double checked with Roon team that there had been no change in Roon DSP software in the last months - besides the fix for convolution filters resampling, in the case your convolution filters are at a different frequency than your source or chosen resampling.
On the other hand, the memory/processing/hard drive access/network access footprint of 1.6 is probably different than 1.5. In the case your server is directly connected to your USB DAC, it can make the driver behave a bit differently, as it somehow shares ressources (CPU time) with the other applications. If your server is independant from the endpoint, you should not hear a difference between 1.5 and 1.6 (in principle⊠computer audio can be funny from time to timeâŠ).
Hi Ian, thanks for your feedback.
I have found another mitigation with the help of Remi. I disabled ALL convolution filters and DSP work in Roon, and thanks to the rephase freeware a filter exactly equivalent to my âoptimum bass EQâ could be generated and integrated in the latest HQplayer version as convolution filter, that also features a âclosed-form-Mâ filter that effectively has a million taps. Using all these settings, and taking care of clipping in HQ as well, Roon is just used as a music selection device and throughputs to HQplayer.
This gives me a truly better sound, but for some reason I cannot anymore use Roon 1.5 and compare with it using the same settings. The improvement very clearly comes from improved transients and more accurate follow-top of signal envelope, which is what these sorts of filters are designed to provide.
As you access both I suggest you test it and compare Roon 1.5 and 1.6 using both. I will await for the correction of the DSP parametric filter interface of 1.6 (ideally back to the 1.5 design that was better, the sliders are useless and the presentation not global enough) to do a comparison with Roon alone. One year ago when I tested HQ player the decision to go for it was an easy one : the sound was clearly improved compared to Roon direct output.
Hope this helps, and again for Roon developers, at the beginning of install/upgrade notice, a strong caution of irreversibility should appear, as users are not supposed to remember which upgrade of which software is irreversible and which one is not. Let alone to decide to perform a Roon backup just before, a safeguard for everybody.
Good to see youâre back on track, I am sure the DSP UI will be improved soon. As a general comment, I believe it is better to use only one DSP engine at a time (Roon or HQPlayer) and not a mix, at least to avoid multi-dithering. So if you are an HQPlayer user, better implement PEQ or Headroom with a Rephase convolution filter than in Roon (the UI of Roon is nevertheless much more practical for testing and tuning).
EDIT: REW and ROON PEQ are using ÂŽproportional Qâ peak/dip filters. By default, the paragraphic amplitude equaliser of Rephase is constant Q, switch it to proportional before computing the filter.
alec_eiffelRĂ©mi You ask about the hardware I use. My Roon server is a MacMini thatâs fully dedicated to that role. On Roon, all DSP is disabled. The Roon Library and ripped audio are stored on a Synology NAS. The USB out from the Mini goes to an F1 USB XMOS receiver and then via S/PDIF to a custom built NOS DAC using two TDA1543 DAC chips followed by a balanced tube output. The amp is a Wavelength 300B Single Ended design tube design that feeds into 15" Tannoy gold speakers with Heill tweeters.
This is just a basic description, the system has been highly tweaked over the years with linear power supplies, digital reclockers, custom cables and the like but I doubt that is of interest or relevance.
@ Christian_DEPLANTE Thanks for the suggestion Christian but I donât use any DSP in Roon - all DSP functions such as filters, volume levelling, EQ etc are disabled.
Doing it in Roon first was always the wrong place if you wanted to get the most out of HQplayer. You want HQPlayer doing the usampling with itâs excellent filters on an unmolested source and then room correction and such after. Glad you got it sorted.