Have some beginner questions around Roon and optimizing quality
Background:
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I have my Roon Core on my Macbook laptop which I use to control and play music on my Roon-Ready Dutch & Dutch 8c speakers (which have a DSP built in).
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My speakers are connected via ethernet to a network switch. This switch then connects to my home’s modem/router via an ethernet.
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On Roon, I only play via streaming services. I periodically just transfer my Spotify playlists to Tidal, using a separate tool, which then allows me to play in high quality via Roon. I don’t use any Roon functionality whatsoever, no multi-room, no DSP (as my speakers have that), nothing. I only use Roon to get my streaming music in to the speakers. Note: I also have a fast internet connection (1 gigabit), if relevant.
My questions are:
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Some Roon articles recommend to connect the Roon Core via ethernet to the Output (speakers), for maximum audio quality, why is this the case especially if you have a high bandwidth home network?
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Is there a noticeable (to the human ear) audio quality difference when using a Macbook laptop as the Roon Core vs. a NUC+ROCK solution, especially if I am only using Roon in the above way (no local files)? If so, why is this?
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Let’s take a 16bit/44khz song on Roon and compare audio quality between the below options - is there a difference in audio quality and if so, why?
(Option 1) plays from a Tidal streaming service via Roon, like my current setup (no ethernet connection from the laptop Core to Speakers); vs:
(Option 2) coming from a Roon Server that’s connected to the Roon Core, using ethernet from the Core to the Speaker network switch.
Thank you!
EDIT: removed my misunderstanding of how Roon works (I thought my speakers would play songs from streaming service providers DIRECT from the streaming service, instead of from my Roon core). Still have the same questions but, removed it to keep the post short