I currently use a Dell Dimesions that’s tucked away in a closet as my Roon Core. I have about 500 albums on it. I added ram to the machione and it runs fairly well. It’s pretty dedicated to only one task, running the core for Roon.
I keep getting tempted to purchase a Nuclsue One for $500. I like the way it looks and the whole idea of what it does is attractive to me.
Thing is, I only have about 500 albums in my personal collection, and I really only stream Tidal and Qobuz. I love Roon and will probably always subscribe to it, but I’m wondering if a Nucleus will make my experience better or should I stick with “if it aint broke don’t fix it”
For the record, I did my best to search this out so I could just read the thread abot the topic rather than start a new one, but I couldn’t find one.
I also asked ?Hans on his Youtube page, but he hasn’t gotten back to me yet.
That was replaced 15+ years ago by the inspiron range. I don’t think even the latest Dell Dimension would run Windows 10 let alone 11 so, if you are using a Dimension, you are presumably running a Linux distro on it.
In any event , I would think that a Nucleus One would almost certainly give a better Roon experience (GUI responsiveness, search performance).
If it’s a desktop, connected by ethernet, and works well with no issues, why replace it? On the other hand, if there are any issues and you don’t mind parting with $500, go for it.
I started Roon with my Dell XPS15 laptop and quickly purchased a Roon Nucleus Rev B because the Dell was my everyday laptop and just not convenient running Roon. I only stream from Tidal and Qobuz with no local files.
If you purchase a Roon Nucleus One, you can use both and switch back and forth if you want to or need to with only one license. I use Roon on my Dell for away from home.
it’s a i5-2400 cpu @ 3.10ghz 3.10 ghz
with 16gb or RAM.
The only thing it does is ROON.
Think I should just keep it goiong unti I have a problem?
I’m just tempted by how cool I would feel with the Nucleus on my shelf.
I’m not made of $, so maybe I should just chill for now.
That is an old processor and the Nucleus One would almost certainly improve some aspects of the Roon experience but if you don’t use heavy DSP (e.g. PCM to high rate DSD conversion), and the Roon Client responsiveness is not onerous, then I would probably leave well alone for the time being.
On the other hand, the Nucleus One will almost certainly draw less power and, for a device that is only used for Roon and is likely to be left on 24/7, that may also be a consideration (but it will take quite some time to recoup $500 on your electricity bill).
Your original post implied that you had ‘500 albums’ stored one the DELL Roon Server machine. Do you want to move these files to storage on the new Nucleus One when it arrives?
If so, then you will also need to buy a 2.5inch SATA 3 HDD/SDD to install and provide internal storage (either will fit provided that they are no more than 15mm thick). There is no need for an SSD on performance grounds but if the Nucleus is going in your listening room, you may want to choose an SSD for it’s silence.
The alternative to providing internal storage is to use external storage in the form of either a USB connected SSD or HDD (not a USB stick which will not provide the required performance) or to use network attached storage.
Both of the external storage options have the advantage (compared to internal storage) that they can be used for both music files and as a destination drive for backups. Internal storage cannot be used for backups.
Your existing DELL would probably be perfectly adaquate for providing a moderate amount of network attached storage - just create RoonMusic and RoonBackup shares (named however your would like) with read write permissions on the DELL and the Nucleus One, once appropriately configured, will be able to use them.
Against that is the observation that some people find dealing with Network attached storage much more difficult than USB attached storage or (for music) internal storage.
Thanks for following up with more information and advice, Wade.
Currently, I have an SSD plugged into the DELL with my local files stores on that.
It’s the folder that ROON uses to access my music files.
I am planning on plugging that into the Nucleus when it arrives. Unless there is a better way to do it.
Am I able to simply unplug the USB from the PC, plug it into the Nucleus, and point Roon to the new device and folder? Or are there more details and directions that I need to follow when that day comes?
When you say ‘plugged into the DELL’, is that by USB?
If so, then you may well be able to simply unmount and remove it from the DELL and then plug it into the Nucleus. However, there are a couple of caviates:
If the SSD is formatted as NTFS, some people have had issues with it not being recognised by the Nucleus. This is usually caused by the drive being connected to a Windows machine and then being removed without correctly unmounting it first.
The complete list of formats that can be read by a Nucleus device can be found at:
Of these supported formats, probably the most universally supported is exFAT. You may find that your SSD is already exFAT formatted but if your SSD is NTFS formatted, then you might be better off reformatting the SSD:
Connect the SSD to a Windows machine
If you don’t already have a complete copy, copy all of you music files to another location
Reformat the drive to exFAT using Windows formatting tools
Copy you music files back onto the SSD
Optionally delete any copy of the music files made in step 2 (although it is always good to have a backup).
I should also mention (because I forgot earlier) that any SSD/HDD installed internally in the Nucleus One will need to be formatted by the Nucleus before it becomes useable (unless it has is already formatted by a Nucleus or other RoonOS system - which won’t apply here).
WOW!!!
wonderful.
This is great information. I will surely refer back to this thread once my device arrives and I am switching things over.
Thanks a lot, Wade.
However, they cost benefit compared to a Nucleus One is not the same as it used to be when comparing to an original Nucleus so I don’t think ROCK is a compelling as it once was.
Personally, I would install an SSD inside the Roon Nucleus One for music files. Then, plug a USB HDD into the Nucleus for doing nightly scheduled Roon database backups.
I don’t know. I’m just saying, I would install an internal drive for music. That’s just what I would do, not the only way to do it.
EDIT: I want my Roon Nucleus to be a self-contained device. No need to hang a bunch of drives off of it. However, a USB drive is where I do Roon backups.