Roon for a dummy

Thanks Geoff

I think you’re specifically looking for Convolution. Roon does not include tools for creating the FIR filters that are processed by its convolution engine. Software for building effective filters (Audiovero Acourate, Juice Hifi Audiolense, Focus Fidelity Filter Designer) can cost a few hundred dollars and take time (months to years) to master. However, there are services that will generate filters for you after walking you through the protocol for capturing sweeps. I’d suggest these (in no particular order):

At the risk of sounding pedantic, in order for a device to be certified as “Roon Ready”, it must have a network interface and support the R.A.A.T. protocol. In other words, a DAC with only USB and S/PDIF inputs can be “Roon Tested”, but it can not be “Roon Ready.” These are different certification programs with very different requirements. Edit: that said, I’ve yet to find a USB DAC that did not work great with Roon after being connected to a compatible network bridge.

If you’re looking for an extremely resolving yet neutral DAC + Amp solution, I would suggest the following:

To network-enable this setup, I’d suggest either Silent Angel VitOS for RPi4 (< $100) or the new ZEN Stream from iFi Audio ($399). Although Wi-Fi is supported on the ZEN Stream, plan on using wired Ethernet for best results.

When building a system that incorporates DSP, I find it best to select components for absolute neutrality and transparency rather than how they “color” the sound (eg., tubes). After establishing a neutral baseline, it’s easier to adjust DSP filters to achieve the most pleasurable tonality, be that perceptually flat, forward, laidback, warm/euphoric, or analytical.

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So, what kind of effects does Roon support…ie: reverb?..Tube simulation?

Marc it is a sophisticated DSP engine where you can pretty much take control of the output and bend it to your will if that is what you wish to do.
Many people use the convolution filters for headphones and speaker correction (or Room correction).

There are some heavy duty thread’s on using it in these forums, and if you are interested then they might be worth a read.

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David -

Howdy from ATL and I hope all is well. I am curious if you have considered, or think it’s even necessary, to incorporate a Gustard U16 between my RPi 4 (VitOS x iDefender+ x iFi PSU) and my SMSL SU-9?

Thanks,

Kyle

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The MiniDSP SHD Studio streamer may be of interest when it becomes Roon Ready, but no one can say when that will be.

I wonder if there is a problem with the Dirac setup on the 658. For many people, the initial effect of Dirac can make them feel like they have been robbed (due to lack of room livelyness) until they listen more carefully and get used to the tighter sound.

With many of these systems (Dirac and others) it can take alot of re-measuring and fiddling to get the ideal sound.

I am curious about what specifically do like about it?

Yes - but I MiniDSP do not garantee that MQA file pass-through the Studio as far I remember.

It seems like Foobar can handle Dirac’s VST files and as far as can read then it ispossible to link Roon to Foobar. The I just need a good audio PC (LPS, good audio USB card, no fans)

Any experience with Roon and Foobar in the same audio PC?

Thanks.

HAF has some interesting notes and also plugins for Foobar which led me to that it should then also be possible to integrate Dirac (which makes room correction both in the time and frequency domain) and then output to UPnP
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1kTE7hpIzqlu3X25384mkODlqg0nBzsNG/view
Then the ZEN stream could forward it via USB to DAC like Gustard X26 Pro

Hi Kyle. No. But, I tell you what. I’m a big fan of VitOS, but I’ve been trying the new iFi Audio ZEN Stream ($399) this week, and it’s amazing. I didn’t think anything could beat VitOS. I was wrong. The difference is not small.

The ZEN Stream supports both USB and S/PDIF out, so you can experiment with each to see which works best with your SU-9. It has a “Roon only” mode that is set via switch on the back. This disables all non-Roon processes for lower CPU utilization and better sound. It works great.

Is the Zen Stream Roon Ready yet? It is advertised as ‘coming soon’ on their website.

Anthony it is not certified yet, but work’s fine.
There seems to be quite a few of us with them on the forums.
No reported issues yet, besides a few bad power supplies or already opened boxes.
There is a thread for it where David has posted a link to his early review as well

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OK thanks but I’m confused now. I thought that devices were not allowed to work with Roon until they were officially Roon Ready? The clampdown last September stopped some devices working due to lack of official Roon Ready status. So how come this one bypassed that?

Not really sure why, I held off purchasing one for a couple of weeks until other users had confirmed it as working.

I am guessing that because it uses the Roon bridge for Linux then it treat’s it like a Raspberry pi device. That’s the best I can come up with.

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I have verified that the Roon Bridge software that is installed on the iFi Audio ZEN Stream is bit-for-bit identical to the ARM version that Roon provides for various Raspberry Pi installations (eg., RoPieee, DietPi, VitOS, Volumio). So, there are no compatibility issues with Roon. The ZEN Stream is already running R.A.A.T. software provided by Roon Labs.

Roon Ready certification might bring further improvements, like a more complete signal path, etc. These are largely cosmetic rather than functional.

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David
Great news that you have confirmed that. Hopefully certification should not take too long.

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Personally I would recommend a NUC 10 with ROCK as Roon Core and an Roon Ready streamer like the Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 3 or the ARCAM ST60 Streamer. Both are Roon Ready and sound great without Dirac Live. I was also interested in the NAD 658 but lost interest after reading a few reviews and complaints from owners. The MA mini-i Pro 3 is in my office and the ARCAM ST60 in my living room setup.



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Enrico I certainly can’t argue with that, as I run a Nuc with Rock and the Matrix Audio mini-i Pro 3 as my main living room listening headphones.

The price is very different though, so not quite an apple’s to apple’s comparison, as as the specs very different. The MA is a beast of a device that is almost perfect (if only it had Chromecast audio built-in, but thankfully I have a couple of those in the house) and with the RCA and XLR out as well is great for feeding a secondary output as well.

At £399 the Zen stream is perfect for anyone who would otherwise pimp up a Pi with quality power supply, usb noise suppression etc as it it cheaper than the sum of its parts.

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I have the same Yeti Mug. Love 'em.

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I kinda like YETI mugs :smiley:

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