I’m considering replacing my original Nucleus+ with a new server. Looking for the highest level of performance. Not sure if I should go ROCK, MOCK, Mac, … Not afraid to do some config work, I’m an IT guy. I’ll consider anything but Windows. Not wanting to spend more than $1K on a new solution. My library is 5800 albums, over 100K tracks. Needs to support DSP and multiple Sonos endpoints, and a dedicated listening room with RaaT endpoint. Mostly local files (8TB SSD), about 95% local and 10% Qobuz. Looking for the fastest performance. What are your recommended hardware/software configs?
Thanks!
Get the CPU with the fastest single-core speed you want to afford. Number of cores depending on the number of parallel zones you want to play to, but single-core speed is more important.
„Needs to support DSP“ is not enough information. Any reasonable computer is able to, but if you want to upsample to DSD1024 with DSP, then that’s a different matter.
16 GB RAM should probably be sufficient, your library is not very large.
SSD is obvious for the Roon database.
Cooling and case depending on where the machine will be placed.
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I should have been more specific.
It will sit in a closet, so doesn’t need to be fanless, but should be relatively quiet, not crazy loud.
Will need to run a zone of 4-6 Sonos speakers. Or a zone with one RaaT end point. But not multiple zones simultaneously. Might have a local zone running simultaneously with an ARC remotely.
Not looking to do DSD upsampling.
Would appreciate any specific hardware recommendations. ASUS? Mac Mini? MOCK options?
I’m running Roon ROCK on one of these.
I have 4 endpoints - 3 streamers (through RAAT) and a soundbar system (through Chromecast). Usually I’m playing at 2 zones max. With volume leveling as DSP. Roon ARC on my iPhone while at work. It handles everything just fine 
My local library (about 87k tracks) are stored on a USB powered hard drive directly connected to it. While Qobuz has the rest of my library.
I’m very happy with the little guy. 
P.S.
I have it sitting in the living room behind the TV. It has a fan but I’ve never heard it being used.
I run ROCK on a Cirrus7 Nimbini, a NUC in a fanless case. Mine is a 10i5, one of the slower generations, and it’s plenty fast for several parallel zones with DSP and convolution, I couldn’t be happier with it.
Now it is a 13th or 14th gen and surely considerably faster. They might only ship to EU but you can ask if you are in US, they are friendly guys.
If you want more control than ROCK gives you, run Roon server on DietPi. This would also give you the option to use a Cirrus7 model with a desktop CPU, including Ryzen. (ROCK most likely runs as well but would be a MOCK, of course).
The new Mac Minis are also great and the entry model is hard to beat for performance/price. Add an external SSD if needed.
I am running Roon Server, Asset UPnP and DietPi on this cirrus7 nimbini v4 - Pro Edition. Has a lot of power
Torben
If you want a “beast” of sorts, the GMKtec K10 is great. I run proxmox on it, and run Roon Server in a Ubuntu LXC (container) and it doesn’t use many resources - I’ve never used more than 4 cores, and 16GB RAM, and it handles DSD upsampling in 2 zones just fine along with another 1/2 dozen other containers/VMs on the machine running simultaneously. But you could certainly run MOCK on it if you liked, it’d just be overkill with 14 cores and 20 threads. It fits 3 NVMe drives if it’s important to you to have a local copy of your media (it’s not to me, nor do I think it should be, but many think it is). There’s lots of other mini PCs out there these days to choose from.