I have the Roon Nucleus connected via Ethernet cable to an amplifier which has a streaming engine and dac - I assume in this connection, the streaming engine of the amplifier is being used.
But if I connect the Roon Nucleus via usb to the dac of the amplifier, then the streaming engine being used is in the Roon Nucleus.
Could you please confirm the above or explain how it actually works?
Also, in the first scenario (Roon Nucleus connected via Ethernet to amplifier with streaming engine and dac) does Roon has any role in decoding MQA? Or Roon Nucleus only decodes MQA when connected via usb to the dac of the amplifier.
Thanks in advance for confirming and/or clarifying.
First, Roon is primarily a music server that should be connected directly to your ISP router (or switch if you have one.) Likewise, the streaming amplifier–what make and model?-- should be connected directly to the router or switch.
An Ethernet cable should not be connected directly between Nucleus and amplifier.
Roon can do the first MQA step, i.e., unfold only.
Please read the following help guides and post here if you have further questions. Moreover, details of your amp a DAC would be really helpful. Likewise, are you using TIDAL, local media, or both?
Apologies for my question was really not clear.
I have Roon Nucleus (RN) connected to my router. Also my amplifier is connected to my router. My amplifier is a Hegel H390 which has a streaming engine and a dac.
I have set up (in the Roon app) my amplifier (Roon Ready) as network device. This is the way I listen to Tidal and Qobuz, and I’m very happy with the sound.
But I’d like to understand, in my set up, which streaming engine is being used? The one in my amplifier? Or the one in RN?
And in my setup, the Roon is doing the MQA unfolding?
The reason for this question is because I understand that Roon Nucleus has also a streaming engine, which is used only when connecting Roon Nucleus via USB cable directly to a DAC.
Thanks in advance for the clarifications.
Your Hegel is Roon Ready, and is therefore a network streamer that receives the stream from your Nucleus.
Roon will only perform the decode if you have set up Roon to do this. Otherwise, the Hegel is decoder and renderer. The advantage of Roon performing the decode is that you can apply DSP to the signal without breaking the authentication.
The term “steaming engine” isn’t commonly used, and I’m not entirely sure what your understanding of this is. If you use Roon with a Roon Ready device, Roon handles the streaming, and in this instance, the Hegel provides a network “bridge” between the Nucleus and its internal DAC.
If you were to connect the Hegel via a USB cable to the Nucleus (utilizing Hegel’s Roon Tested DAC), Roon handles the streaming once again, but it is also the “bridge”.
In the end, this matters little since the stream received by the Hegel is identical in both scenarios.