Roon does hardware [Nucleus introduced in Munich]

But you may still need to buy a licence and the Roon OS (ROCK) comes free with a licence.

No mention about it (nor its contrary) in the article butā€¦ those Nucleus prices might include a Roon (lifetime?) license

For those who missed @Danny rant about pricing. Somewhat incoherent but gives voice to questions about pricing and unlikelihood of Roon bundle with hardware.
For the record, I think the pricing is fair for a turnkey high end market solution. Had I not already bought a i5 NUC kit intended for ROCK, I might actually have considered it.

1 Like

Good points but why does this look like a high-end solution? Is it not just a kitted out and ready to run NUC?

In this crazy industry, there are always going to be folks that will pay top dollars for fancy case work, etc. When your time is worth money, a ready-made ā€œturnkeyā€ solution like this will be appealing. Whether it is actually going to produce better sounding results (which is what most of us will expect for that price) will be the subject of much debate.

It is obvious that this prices do come with licenseā€¦ I might be wrong but it looks that way. I did see this coming from a mile away after some of the statements/arguments which all made senseā€¦

The only thing I can see for sure is that itā€™s fanless (and looks ā€œniceā€), so maybe itā€™s okay to have it in the listening room. I havenā€™t seen any details, but maybe the power supply is ā€œaudiophile gradeā€ in some sense?

Regardless, I see the two Nucleus models as being good choices for the customer who wants a turnkey solution, something they can plug in that will just work, and also something audio retailers can either resell or recommend.

For the only slightly more DIY inclined, especially for those who wouldnā€™t be looking to locate the Roon Server hardware in the listening room, I still think ROCK is a good way to go. (And I confess Iā€™m more than a little surprised to see the Roon guys venture back into hardware. Itā€™ll be interesting to see how this develops.)

Nope. Roon is convinced Roon is priced fairly. They have been unwavering in its perceived value. They will not bundle Roon license with hardware. This hardware solution is not marketed for all of usā€¦just those of us that spend hundreds/thousands of dollars on fancy power supplier, USB cables and reclockers.

And to those folks, the Nucleus prices might seem positively bargain basementā€¦

3 Likes

Here goesā€¦a dollar to a doughnut (or a pound to a pie), this thing will come with, at least, a one year sub! :slightly_smiling_face:

My first reaction is one of disappointment at the high price. Sure, people will debate whether the stated prices for Nucleus are justified based on the high-end market, but this just isnā€™t what I expected. Months ago, I was close to pulling the trigger on an entry-level SonicTransporter ($375), but decided to wait and see what Roonā€™s alternative solution was. In the mean time, Iā€™ve had to use a direct optical connection from my MacBook Pro which is inconvenient and not the best connection in terms of SQ. While I can probably figure out how to set up my own headless Roon computer, I am a first-timer and would prefer the benefit of a turnkey solution and optimal support from Roon staff should something go awry. The price for the Nucleus ($1200) is THREE TIMES more expensive than the product I was considering. If the market will bear this pricing then so be it, but for me, itā€™s disappointing that Iā€™ve been waiting so long for something that looks way out of my price range. Perhaps folks who are more familiar with the specs would have expected prices like these. Having said all that, the casework looks sexy AF and I have utter trust in Roon to make a great product.

Considering you get a complete NUC with RAM, SSD and fanless case, and maybe a more fancy powerbrick, itā€™s not that crazy. These costs add up fast even with DIY and then you get the support and warranty. One year Roon max, but most likely without license or like a two month trial (did that before right?)

More amazing is that we also get their Roon OS for free to tinker by ourselves.

There are cheaper solutions that will run RoonServer just fine. Base model or older version NUC running Ubuntu, (used) MacMini, basic laptop etc. but as a small software company doing some hardware you just canā€™t make it profitable in the low margin $500 range.
Just the renderers are covered already too, Sonore, Bluesound etc. use your macbook as a server and those are all you need.

Iā€™m going to go with ā€œ90-day trialā€ at most.

This only makes sense in the listening room as an endpoint without a spinning disk and with a good power supply.

  • Could someone more experienced than me provide a ballpark estimate of what these specs would cost when piecing together a NUC from Intelā€™s website?
  • The Nucleus has a 64GB SSD and a 2.5" bay for another harddrive. Does that mean the 64GB SSD is just for the Roon OS and you still have to buy a separate harddrive to store your music? If so, Iā€™d probably just connect my cheap USB harddrive since I own less than 1% of my music library (99% is streamed from Tidal).
  • Are the SSD and the fanless design the more expensive elements when picking a NUC?

Iā€™m surprised that thereā€™s no word from @danny or anyone else from Roon to us in an official capacity.

After the the ā€œmisstepsā€ since late 2016, I hope we havenā€™t put the frighteners on him !

As the Roon true believers (and paying customers) weā€™re owed an update on how much of the original ROCK vision remains and what has changed.

Yeah. Iā€™d like to know more about the intentions of ROCK and Linux server.

Last time I checked, NUC comes without RAM or SSD. Fanless case is an aftermarket replacement and OS installation youā€™ll have to do yourself. Hardly turnkey.

My guess is you could use the SSD for music storage but with this size youā€™d want an extra drive (or better if you place this in your listening area, a NAS).

Quick estimated (EUR/USD) 300 i3 nuc, 50 ram. 80 ssd, ~100-200 fanless case. Add hardware support, dealer network and warranty and itā€™s not that bad, just not aimed at DIY people.

1 Like

Well, I wouldnā€™t be surprised but I hope youā€™re wrong. I am the market this is aimed at. I love Roon but did not extend my 60 day trial because my 2009 mac struggled to keep up (that and the ridiculous lack of iOS playback). Before I turn my back on LMS/iPeng I would like a simple solution for a Roon core and I would not fork out a grand for tech only to have to drop a monkey (500) on something to make it play music!

You can get an i5 Fanless PC in a nice case with ram and an ssd for less than 400 usd. Just search in Amazon for ā€œi5 fanlessā€ā€¦ Intel NUC are more expensive. If you do not want to bother installing an OS you should get a NUC when Rock comes out. Simplest route.