I was so excited to setup Roon, I purchased a iPad Pro, setup Roon on my MacBook Pro but didn’t realize my MacBook Pro is the Core. When my MacBook Pro goes to sleep, the iPad loses connectivity to Roon, obviously I have researched how to setup the core on my Qnap NAS but it seems more complicated than it should be. I downloaded the Roon app on my NAS and tried to figure out how to “point” to the NAS as the core but no luck. And the last thing I want to do is corrupt the last 40 years of music residing on my NAS. How does one change the Roon core?
@David_Lillis, welcome to the Community. A fellow user here, but both solutions are acceptable. I have used a MacBook as my Core, and now use an older PC that I leave on 24x7, but NAS solutions are also good pending how you want to use your Core.
I am not a QNAP user, so can’t assist you with how to configure it. One question I have is whether the MacBook still is an option for you and how to configure it so it does not go to sleep (while the monitor can be dimmed)?
If you do want to migrate your Core, Roon has a series of guides below that can assist you, as well as continuing to ask questions to the Community:
Thank you Robert. Yes, keeping the MacBook Pro open and not going to sleep I suppose is an option but not the best. I’m starting to think and now understand the reasons behind Roon’s Nucleus product - a dedicated core so you can play your music from any device. However, isn’t that what the NAS should be? I also read that if using a NAS as the core it must be powerful enough for Roon to operate with fluidity. My QNAP is quite old (when purchased, it was state of the art, 12Tb, RAID 5, hot spare - 10 years ago!). I read the article on how to move the core from my MacBook Pro to my NAS which seems to be fairly straight forward. New question, is the same procedure required if I purchase a Nucleus? I guess I wasn’t prepared for the complexity of core migration but will deal and then more than likely discover that my NAS isn’t powerful enough for Roon, back to probably purchasing a Nucleus (not cheap, especially after spending $1,500 on a iPad a few hours ago!). Folks that have a NAS, isn’t that what they utilize as the core? Thanks again!
You don’t have to Move your core. You can just add a core and run two cores with one license. Switch back and forth at will. For instance, use your NAS at home and laptop for travel. I run 3 cores. It’s a simple process to authorize one core and unauthorize the other.
I recommend you add a core to your NAS and see how it works. If it doesn’t work very well, just delete it.
@David_Lillis, every user’s needs can vary, but what is great about Roon is the number of options they provide for both the Core and the Remotes.
That said, your NAS may be too old or out of date from a software standpoint to support Roon today. What is the QNAP model number, what CPU does it use, and how much RAM does it have?
Roon recommends your NAS to have at least an i3 CPU or an i5 and not a Celeron or equivalent CPU. Given the age of your NAS, your NAS may not be strong enough to use as a Core. More information is here from Roon on using a NAS as a Core:
Thank you Jim! I just Google’d, “How to create a second core on Roon”. Forgive my ignorance, how do you create a second core?
In simple terms, you just install Roon on a second core device. As part of that process, Roon will ask you if you want to create another Roon core (in so many words). At that point you will authorize your new core and unauthorize your other core. That said, I know nothing about using or installing Roon on a NAS.
Thank you Robert! The specs on my NAS are the following:
TS-669 Pro
Intel Atom 2.13GHz Dual-core Processor
1GB RAM
512MB DOM
David, this NAS definitely is under the recommended specifications for a Roon Core. What are the the model/year, CPU, and RAM of your MB Pro?
That’s what I figured, the MB Pro is about 1.5 years old, 16Gb RAM, 10 Core, It’s the second to best by screen size, I have the 14”. It’s plenty powerful, when I setup Roon, it took about 5 minutes to capture roughly 800Gb of music on my NAS, all lossless (I’m also on a 1GB fiber Wi-Fi mesh / CAT5e shielded network). Since my NAS is old but works perfectly fine and it was a “find” in my travels in IT in the past 25 years (as many other finds are to be had in any line of business), maybe picking up a Nucleus is the way to go. Then the questions becomes, which one? Too funny, I’m in the rabbit hole and going deeper! I’ve been a audiophile since I’m 11 when I picked up my first Harman Kardon HK590i paired with JBL L100T’s which led to separates, Hafler gear, that was bronze and not black which provided me a better deal, on and on and on.
You may want to install Roon Server on your Macbook Pro and use your iPad as Roon Remote to interface with the MBP. I think Roon Server runs in the background at all times when your laptop is running.
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This is also interesting a DIY version of the Nucleus, saves quite a bit of cash: https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/roon-optimized-core-kit#So_what_is_Roon_Optimized_Core_Kit_ROCK_then
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David if you’re good with the Mac ecosystem and it certainly sounds like your qnap is not going to be anything great to run a core, then get a Mac mini m1 run it headless once it’s setup and you should be very happy…turn off any energy saving option on it of course, and point it to the music share on the nas.
I had JBL L100T’s back in the day too… now I’m a Linkwitz fanboy
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Thank you Wizardofoz! I was thinking about that last night. The Mac Mini has been in systems for many years now and at $600.00, appears to be an excellent solution to the issue without purchasing a Nucleus (which, at least in my opinion, is extremely overpriced for what you receive).
Even a second hand intel mini will do just fine as long as you can run 10.15.x or better on it
You don’t need a lot of memory but an ssd is a must - 256gb is ample for just running roon, 16gb ram ideal for intel but mini can go 8gb ram for a medium sized library.
Make sure you use a lan connection not WiFi.
Thank you for the feedback Wizardofoz! I think the Mini will do nicely. I’m still not certain how to setup a second core on the Mini. When I downloaded Roon to my NAS, I went into Roon and tried auto-detect and it didn’t find it. I’m assuming if I do the same on the Mini, Roon will find it or am I missing a step? Thanks again!
Apologies for the request for how to setup a Roon Core. My ignorance, when I downloaded the app to my NAS, it didn’t work for me because the NAS isn’t capable of running as the Roon Core. I didn’t want to spend the money on a Nucleus so I did pick up a used Mac Mini, setup it up as headless, never to go to sleep and allowed “Screen Sharing” so I can access it via my other Apple devices. This setup is amazing and works beautifully! I wanted to take a moment to thank everyone for all their support and assistance in getting me to the finish line.
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One more thing, I’m really impressed with the GUI for Roon, the engineering that goes behind the development of the product is impressive. For a fan of music, it doesn’t get better in my opinion!
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With a purchase via the Apple Store online or shop you also get 14 days no questions asked to return it if it doesn’t fit the bill 
Yes, I am aware, it’s actually 15 days. I set it up within a couple of hours of the purchase (refurb’d Mini) so I have the maximum amount of time to ensure I would like to retain the Mini. My only concern is (was at this point) is the potential of the fan being auditable, however the Mini is dead silent. The only other concern is, if I download Roon Remote for external access (very nice feature), how does that open up cybersecurity risk. Whenever a device is open on a public internet IP, there is a risk (when I install core networks for companies, we lock down the IP ranges and ports on the switch(es) behind a firewall but even go as far as, if a client would like to stream TV in their office, we install Apple TV’s since Roku, Fire Sticks, etc are more prone to hacking than the Apple TV devices). I’m going to play with Roon Remote on a VPN, possibly a ZTN connection to see if that work and also enable best-in-class security protocols.