Hey-
a few years ago I got rid of laptop and desktop computers in my home. Now, I’m thinking again about getting Roon, and obviously I need a server for that. What’s a quiet and small and energy-saving solution you can recommend if I’m using Roon for music streaming?
I do have a tablet and a smartphone but I’d need to invest in a server.
Take a look at:
Roon Nucleus One for $500.
I would echo the Nucleus One suggestion. It is the easiest to get up and running without the use of another computer - especially if you do not have a keyboard or monitor.
However, you might consider getting a small monitor for trouble shooting purposes during initial install and/or encountering issues with Roon later on.
ROCK, once installed, will give the same Roon experience as the Nuclues but it will likely work out at a similar cost and requires a keyboard and monitor to perform the initial install.
Thanks for your suggestions! I was thinking about the Nucleus One as well, already! I’ll have to take a closer look into what users report about fan noise, I’m sure I’ll find a revew or two on the forums.
Is the Nucleus One overpowered, considering I won’t use music over a network player, only Tidal?
It depends upon what you intend to do with Roon. I would not consider the Nucleus One over powered.
Yes, if you build your own system you could build something with less power, which may still do what you want it to if your requirements are minimal (limited number of zones, limited amount of DSP, library size significantly less than the 100,000 maximum number of tracks that are recommended for the Nucleus One). However, you are unlikely to find a NUC on the ROCK supported device list at a price that would allow you to save significantly on the price of the Nucleus One.
If you go for other devices not on the recommended list there is a chance that ROCK will not work on it - at least not completely. There are plenty of devices out there that people have used to successfully run ROCK (see Tinkering for threads describing such devices or search the forum for ‘MOCK’).
You can also use just about any PC (including NUC type devices that are not on the ROCK supported list) as a Roon server if you opt for a linux distribution, or Windows and you can use a MAC Mini.
However, all of these options will likely require a keyboard and monitor in order to do the required installation and setup.
Also: In order to install ROCK, you will need another computer to create the Bootable USB device - which, from your first post, you don’t have (although perhaps a friend could help out there).
Unless you do some heavyweight DSP or use many zones at the same time, the fan on the Nucleus One is unlikely to make a noise. The exception to that is if you ask the Nucleus One to analyse a significant number additions to your library - which can make heavy use of the processor although I’m not sure whether this is an issue if you only use Tidal. Straight streaming with no DSP does not stress the processor of a Roon Server to any significant extent. It may use less than 1% of the capacity of one core of the Nucleus One core. By contrast, up-sampling and converting to DSD512, for example, is so processor intensive that the Nucleus One will not be able to cope.
Also, whether or not fan noise is an issue depends upon the intended location of your Nucleus One. If all of your endpoint devices are network connected (Roon Ready/Chromecast/Airplay/squeezelite/NAA etc), then you can place the Nucleus One anywhere you like and if you place it in a different room to your listening station you will not hear the fan even if it does operate.
Streaming music, whether local or TIDAL, doesn’t require any heavy lifting. Moreover, adding a TIDAL release to your library has the same impact on the database as do local files.
Regarding fan noise, if it’s anything like my NUC8i3 running Roon OS, it is for all intents, silent. But make sure it is well ventilated. The only times fan noise is heard is during the initial file import and analysis (you won’t have this), and when the device maintenance is overdue–you should routinely clean the insides of dust.
Thanks Wade for taking your time to share your thoughts. Much appreciated!
I’m not worrying too much about costs here, instead I’m trying to be reasonable with energy consumption and I’ve always been a bit hesitant of running a server 24/7 just for the sake of it 
I’m leaning towards ordering a Nucleus One, setting it up with a monitor and keyboard, and rely on the iOS app for accessing Roon and its services afterwards.
Right now I’m assuming that ROCK serves as the Nucleus’ OS, and will take care of any updates itself. I hope it’s low maintenance and in that way pretty similar to what VolumioOS does on my Raspberry Pi right now.
It does to all intents and purposes , the Nucleus OS is not ROCK (as far as we know) but is as close as makes no difference in terms of auto updates etc.
Power usage is tiny < 25 W (??) so I wouldn’t worry about energy bills
If you don’t mind the small risk of a technically unsupported solution, I’ve had great luck with the GMKtec N97 hardware. I posted about it here:
Price seems to fluctuate; they were $143 so yesterday. $162 in the US today with 10% coupon. Either way, still a good value. The current ROCK image works perfectly and is very easy to install. No BIOS updates or changes required.
This mini PC does have a fan, but it’s quiet generally quiet. I recommend just stuffing it behind your Internet router and using more purpose-built audio components, like the WiiM Ultra and similar in your audio system.
Edit: - you can still grab the black model in the US for $136.79 after 5% off coupon:
https://www.amazon.com/GMKtec-mini-computer-small-pc-n97/dp/B09Q8Z6VB7/
The Nucleus One, when not working hard, will draw very little power. Although the power supply is rated up to 60W, when idle, the Nucleus is likely to draw significantly less than 10W.
You can probably manage without the keyboard and monitor (although they are useful to have). When you connect the Nucleus to your network (wired connection), it will be allocated an ip address automatically.
Once done, you should be able to find the WebUI using http://nucleusone on a browser on a phone or tablet. This will allow you to do basic Nucleus administration - including re-installing the RoonOS which you may have to do to bring the installed Roon OS and Roon Server software up to date (builds 271 and 1510 respectively at time of writing).
You should then be able to discover it and connect to it using the Roon IOS app.
Typically, you would only need a monitor and keyboard if the Nucleus One cannot be found on the network. You certainly don’t need it for daily operation. Shutting down the Nucleus gracefully can be done with a short press of the power button or with the WebGui.
Check the authorised Intel Nucs and if you’re careful they can be purchased online.
This is the route i took and purchased an I5 Intel Nuc which had been used as a Windows 11 machine.
Its quite a simple job to install Roon sever on these super wee machines…runs cool and quiet with no issues.
Thanks for sharing the idea!
I’d think I’d prefer a machine where I don’t need to install Windows at all, as I’ve got no use for it apart from running Roon Server on it. Unless there’s something I’m missing here, of course 
In an ideal world, I’d treat the Roon Server machine like an amp on the shelf. Put it there once and leave it there. It should just work with an app/UI on my phone, with no needs for plugging in a monitor and a keyboard in order to maintain it, or install updates, or clicking away error messages or whatever Windows might come up with.
I purchased the Intel Nuc from fleabay…it already had a Windows O/S installed.
I wiped this off before installing Roon.
Make sure you check the Roon authorised list of Nucs and you’ll be fine.
I have my own music library on an Asustor Nas which Roon works with very well alongside Qobuz and Roon.
My home ethernet network is 2.5 gbe based with my new Flint 2 router having dual 2.5 gbe ports, seems to work very well with my 500mb fibre connection.
My wife works from home so she benefits from a decent wireless connection.
Being an EE customer for my mobile i got the 500 mb fibre for £38 instead of £50 
Ok I see, it’s not running Windows as an OS currently. Thanks!
Keep in mind that the CPU and memory requirements for RoonServer are the same no matter if you have local files or are all streaming, for example, managing a library of 100k local files demands the same CPU and RAM in RoonServer that 100k streaming tracks do.
Installing ROCK as the OS will wipe the M.2 drive by design, only one OS is permitted
So Windows will no longer exist and the NUC will become an appliance
Even if it might be overpowered, this will result in a very snappy and reactive roon experience which you for sure will enjoy when browsing albums, compositions lists, discographies and alike. I would advice against buying a machine which is ´just fine´ to handle the computing load.
That is correct, but the number of tracks is just one indicator for how well the core will deal with the database hence how reactive the UI will be. Lots of problematic albums - like unindentified ones or boxsets with 1,000s of tracks and performers - might lead to a slightly delayed, less snappy experience even before you reach that 100,000 tracks threshold. On the other hand a ´standard´ library structure might work fine even with 150,000 tracks and beyond.
There are tricks for keeping the track count down, especially if you are stream only
Keep in mind that Intel discontinued the NUC, so any genuine Intel NUC is either going to be overpriced (because price gougers think we’ll overpay for outdated hardware) or used. ASUS has taken over the NUC from Intel now, so those would be a reliable option. And of course there are non-NUC small computers out there with similar specs, but may have questionable support or use janky components.