Had a 30 day trial of Roon.
All went well, but I found it hard to justify the cost. So I left after the trial ended.
Since then it’s been on my mind. I’ve spent too many a night looking around for a cheaper alternative.
Tinkered with Lyrion Music Server, Music Assistant, JPlay, Plexamp (which I already have) along with Apple Music.
Whilst they are all fine, there’s one critical thing no one except Roon does - a web of metadata.
I don’t have a need for multi room or the world of Hi-Res 24bit etc - but I do want to be click on a Album or Artist and link through who was behind it. What albums they made with ease, who produced it, who played the drums, but not just there, click on and go straight to their work. Read their Wiki or Tivo bio/description in Roon and again have links straight to related content.
This for me is the ultimate in diggin - no waiting for an algorithm to find me what to play. I have a Listen Later, even with a few albums saved, gives me a solid week of digging around and finding other music organically.
It seems like a really simple requirement, but I’ve stopped stressing about finding other software/services that have this feature - as no one does.
I’ll stick with a monthly (or yearly plan) as I think in 5 years with the faster pace of software dev someone ‘may’ solve this, but until then Roon wins!
