Hi, I'm in the process of configuring my home audio set up. I have multiple stereo systems in place fundamentally creating a listening zone in each room. To this effect, I'm using a combination of multiple servers including the Wadax Reference server , Taiko SGM Extreme and Innuos Statement Next gen to cover my storage needs. Each room has its own dedicated speakers, amps, line stages and digital front end systems (dac+ cd Transport + streamer ). During my research I found that all these systems are roon compatible with the Wadax Reference server using a roon core. The total number of systems is 6. 2 wadax reference servers and one each of the Taiko SGM Extreme and Innuos Statement Next Gen. I would greatly appreciate it if your team could guide me on how best to set up roon on them. I would ideally prefer a standalone solution as opposed to using a dedicated PC or Mac . I hope to hear from you soon in this regard. Aniruddha
I have more zones than that but just one roon server with music on a nas, but multiple shared network locations would work too.
If you already have the roon licenses for each server then just switch your remote between servers…if not then just use one as a server and the rest as endpoints (not signed into roon)
They’d all be on the same shared network and of course they’re all licensed but the objective would be to have a single login with access to the various servers. This is for the following reason.
The Taiko SGM, Innuos Statement Nextgen and Wadax Reference server all have their own sonic signature. The idea is to ensure that I can access the music stored on each depending on what kind of timbre I’m looking for. (The Taiko is clinical and precise, the Wadax is just honeyed buttery smooth and the Innuous is somewhere in between ) So depending on what I’m in the mood for the idea is to access the music accordingly.
You have probably the best and most expensive server in the world with the Taiko. It’s got an endless amount of grunt.
I would definitely look to set this up as the core. And all the others are just endpoint.
Does the sonic signature carry through when they are not acting as servers?
The new Taiko Olympus could be the answer to replace all those servers with some insane level of technical development. But approx $80k isn’t exactly pocket change.
I’d love to have the Olympus handling my server needs however while it’s been announced its not yet ready for shipping. That will take some time and given the insane lead times on it , I’d go with the Extreme for now and then at a later date , once the Olympus has started to ship and of course the initial first batch bugs have been sorted out ( yes even high end audio has that ) I’ll probably upgrade to it but that again is not something viable for the short term.
I don’t understand if you have all these on hand just use your ears and listen. As a core or as an point you just select the core in the remote if they are all licensed and play accordingly.
I wasn’t trying to ask the “community”, just wanted a clarification from the people at roon but when I went to the support page it out this up on the forum. Anyhow thank you for the suggestion.
File / Stream → Roon Server → Endpoint / Zone → DAC
Roon Server will always be in that path and change the transport. Even if you select a source file from, say, your Taiko and you have a DAC on the Taiko the path will be:
Taiko as file server → Roon Server → Taiko as Roon digital transport → DAC
If your goal is to truly preserves what sonic signature your existing servers are doing… you probably don’t want to put Roon in the middle.
Now… if you want to talk about how Roon is transparent and therefore provides no signature we can do that. In that case, maybe, the sonic signature from each of your current servers would continue as endpoint only but I don’t know. Doesn’t really cost you anything to try it.
I have to use roon. Fundamentally the system will work as follows based on the signal path uuve illustrated :
Wadax /Taiko/Innuous as the file storage - room server - wadax/Taiko /Innuous as the access point - dac .
The reason I have to use roon js that the Wadax Reference server is based on a roon core and needs a room sign in keeping this in mind. It makes sense to use roon as the focal point to access the music stored on the Taiko and Innuous servers as well.
I don’t disagree with this. But for simplicity I would use only 1 Roon Server. Just let that 1 Roon Server access the files on the other devices. Duplicates will end-up as versions. It’s unclear if, by having 2 Wadax Reference machines, each must run as a Server or one can simply run as an endpoint. Normally just running the Roon software will allow for it to act as and endpoint even if its not logged in.
Example…
You have album “Demo” on all your stuff acting as file servers. When you want to listen to the Taiko you pick the Demo album, go to Versions, and pick the version on the Taiko. Path will be:
Taiko as file server → Roon Server → Taiko as endpoint → DAC
When you move to the Wadax room same thing, you pick the Wadax version of the album and Wadax as endpoint and path is:
Wadax as file server → Roon Server → Wadax as endpoint → DAC
Trying to maintain multiple Roon Servers just because you’re in a different room is kind of a pain but, as another poster said, the remote will let you pick whatever server you want to use if that’s easier for you. You’re just maintaining separate servers, separate DBs, separate configs, etc.
Also, you should call Wadax and ask what they recommend when you have two of their servers on the same network. There is so much confusing and incorrect marketing fluff on their website it’s giving me a headache.
For what you paid for these two servers they should give you a very nice solution here that doesn’t compromise any of the fluff on their website.
You may also want to talk to Taiko. I know in same of their marketing material they truly believe the best set-up is isolated to local files + directly connected DAC.
As far as Roon responding, they don’t usually get involved with things like this which is probably why this was punted to the community.
EDIT: I should mention… I’ve heard the Wadax reference set-up and it was good. However, it was connected to a very large Stromtank which, probably, had a heck of a lot more to do with how good that system sounded than the Wadax server. I’m not putting down the Wadax, I’m just trying to point out they bring a lot bingo buzz words to the table here and you wouldn’t want to undo any of that by rolling a set-up they didn’t approve of.
So this was precisely what my question was about. In the overall set up that I’m looking at, each room has a stereo in it. Mostly independant of the others. Of course for practical reasons each system varies in its configuration. For instance , the primary listening room has multiple digital front ends, (wadax reference dac, transport and server, MSB Select dac, DCS Vivaldi Apex 4 Box system , Aurender streamer ) and an analogue front end with a techdas turntable. Now in another room, for instance the dining room, I’ve opted for a much simpler set up using a pair of stand mount speakers with just a single digital source. Keeping this in mind, the two primary systems (flqgships if you will ) will each have their own dedicated wadax servers along with the Taiko and Innuous servers feeding into the dac of choice. This is precisely why there are multiple servers in the house. 1 Taiko SGM Extreme, 1 Innuous Statment Next Gen which also offers me the ability to rip my CD collection onto the network, and 2 Wadax Reference servers (1 in each of the primary rooms ) which are again accessible all over the house from the various systems. Again for purely sonic reasons I want to keep the Wadax set up pure or self contained. So Wadax Reference DAC, Server and CD Transport are linked only to each other and not to other dacs. Otherwise for just server duties the Taiko itself is more than enough so why spend the money unless one is going to use the ecosystem each brand creates which for obvious reasons is designed to work best or in this case sound best when used in conjunction with other modules made by the brand. So my entire initial query was about how this can be integrated and whether it’s at all possible to use a single roon login to access it all or do I have to create multiple accounts . That i feel has been sufficiently clarified.
I am in talks with wadax but they’re generally slow to respond. I am aware of how good th Stromtank is. In fact on this forum I’ve only spoken about what is pertinent to roon and not the rest of the set up per se. I do have multiple stages of power rectification and conditioning from the wall outlet to when it reaches either the sources or the amplifiers. A full grounding solution by Shunyata Research, PS Audio power regenerators feeding the Stromtank 2500 (one per amplifiier + subwoofer ) plus a secondary PS Audio Powerplant feeding anothrr Stromtank which supplies the various sources. As I’ve said in my original post , the systems have been well thought out and laid out to enable the most amount of enjoyment possible and it all starts with power, grounding solutions, cabling and interconnects and then the actual racks or isolation platforms …and finally of course the various amplifiers, pre amplifiers, phono stages, digital front ends, servers, subwoofers and speakers.
There is enough juice in the Stromtank to power anything in the audio set up. The trick is to not overload a single Stromtank unit and make the selection carefully based on number of inputs and the amount of power they need from amongst various Stromtank models.
Mains power is filthy. Regardless of where you live in the world , what comes into your house from the electric mains is filthy. This dirty power hurts the performance of high end audio systems. To combat this I will use a power Regenerator which basically takes the dirty Ac power out of the mains , converts it to dc and then regenerated an ac output. Ideally this should be enough but with more demanding applications (ultra high end power amps ) there is sometimes a lag in this power regeneration process. This can cause the audio quality to suffer. Enter the Stromtank. Unlike most other conditioners /regenerators the Stromtank is basically a battery /inverter set up so the power it supplies is not from the mains but from its own battery which is charged up from the mains supply. So the idea is to feed the Stromtank the regenerated power and then use that to power the various components in the system whether they are signal sources or power sources.
A smaller power conditioner is used to connect the Regenerator to the mains to try and clean up the power a little for it as well.
In addition to all of this a passive grounding solution is used for both signal sources and power sources to ensure that the power is as clean as it can be.
There is no one solution fits all when it comes to power supply for high end audio systems. One option is to have a UPS sitting between the mains and the rest of the house ensuring cleaner power but this will also pick up dirt along the way because every light, fan and home appliance will add to contamination in the system. Another solution is to use a small size transformer which will again lead to the same issue as the UPS necessitating the use a power conditioner anyway. So after a lot of research I’ve come to this solution which I feel works best for me and the systems i am installing at my house.
I’m currently in the procurement phase and once it’s all done and installed I will be happy to post pics etc .