Hi
2 weeks into a trial of roon, and I do like. A lot.
Things I really like are the quality of the software (you guys clearly know what you are doing), the interface, and the ease of setup. Also the support seems good.
But I do have some issues, and unfortunately some of them are currently show stoppers.
Worst first:
No Spotify support
Now I know this is not Roon’s fault, but it does present an issue.
I would gladly move fully to Tidal (already in testing, also, I like), BUT, and it is a big but (!), there is no integration between Alexa and Tidal.My kids use Alexa and Spotify, so to add Roon to my arsenal, I would need to keep accounts with both Spotify AND Tidal.
That’s a no go for me.
Solutions: Spotify to support Roon, or Alexa to support Tidal. Perhaps one or both of those may happen in the future
Pricing
I think Roon pricing is stopping it becoming mainstream. It’s too expensive for the casual user.
For me personally, not a show stopper in itself, but I want to be part of a BIG community.
I don’t see the solution to this one.
Squeezebox support.
I’m a heavy Squeezebox user (>15 genuine players around the house).
Roon support is good - hell, better than good. In many ways, I prefer it to Logitechtmediaserver.
But, the synchronization occasionally challenges.
I do still have some sync problems with LMS, but on Roon, it seems a bit worse.
Probably this is my setup - poor WiFi setup most likely.
But it is a little worse on Roon.
Solution - I need to improve my wifi setup
So with a couple of months to run on trial, I don’t know which way I will go - move to Roon (as in pay for it), or stay on LMS.
I’d like to hear others view on these issues, if they are having them.
As the only one really using Roon in our home I do not have much to say re.: Alexa and Tidal/Spotify. I do not even know what Alexa is…
I did not start using Roon (waited) until DSP was implemented. I used LMS for many years before that, with a single player device (so syncing is not a problem for me) and used the BrutefirDRC plugin for convolution. I’ve put a lot of effort into adding relevant metadata to my music (+ artwork).
The main issue I have with Roon is just that; the track data presented is not always the way I like it and differs from my own. It is also quite cumbersome to tell Roon to use file data instead of the online data Roon presents. And even if you do, Roon will not always do as you expect.
The second issue is that I’d like to decide myself how the playing interface on the remote should look. Roon is fabulous in the way it handles music data and I do not want any of the functions removed - I just want to be able to configure the visuals of the playing screens.
Despite this I recently changed my subscription to Life time, hoping that Roon will include the features I want in the future…
I didn’t mention it, but RAAT (+ network streaming to Kef and Devialet etc.) is more or less the only difference between Roon and JRiver as players. There is of course a lot of difference between Roon and the others in how meta data is used, but if you don’t use that much, other players may be interesting too. Because of RAAT I stayed with Roon. I am looking forward to learn what the OP will do.
James_I
(The truth is out there but not necessarily here)
5
Consider this: do your kids a favor and help them understand what quality audio is like. My kids stream music too, but when they go to play XBox on the family room stereo that includes a McIntosh amp and Dynaudio speakers, they always remark about the audio quality. There is something to be said for passing this on to our kids!
Thankfully there will always be choices. Make yours according to what is best for you. Nothing is perfect but for me Roon best serves my needs.
In the future after you decide what works for you and if it is not Roon, please keep your criticisms to yourself. If it is Roon then feel free to make requests for new features on this forum in the appropriate section.
We really do appreciate the feedback Nic. Some of these issues are well known to us, some of them are issues we’re working to address, and some of them (the Squeezebox sync stuff) may be the kind of thing @support can help with.
In any event, please keep the feedback coming – we’re definitely listening.
James_I
(The truth is out there but not necessarily here)
10
Hi Nic - this attitude is not shared by all in the community. Roon is really a great product but if you review a lot of the posts, there is definitely a vein of users that are almost cult-like and resist proposals for change or any criticism. My suggestion is that you post as you see fit and don’t worry about anyone who tries to stifle any sort of expression.
Oh no, it is better to be clear on what you mean. As mike says, your comments are valuable. This forum and the Roon people are very open to suggestions. It just takes a bit of time for suggestions to be evaluated.
I saw Sooloos years ago, when it was first launched, and I was knocked out by the interface. As the owners of thousands of CDs (and thousands of LPs, but that’s another story), access and filing become a major problem, Sooloos provided a fantastic and totally revolutionary way to catalog and navigate through your CDs. Many times I’ve tempted to buy the system, but was held back by high costs, clunky technology (you had to run wires, was pre decent wifi days) and other such issues. I had always longed for a software solution that could use standard IT equipment. In the meantime, I bought Amarra (when first launched) and used iTunes as an interface.
When Roon came up, I basically went for a lifetime subscription from the first month! This was basically the Sooloos interface I had been dreaming of, working on standard equipment. Tidal, DSP and all the other bells and whistles are nice extras for me, but not really why I got Roon in the first place; these were later additions. I have to say, I really like Tidal and have integrated part of my LP collection into Roon database using Tidal.
Personally, I think it’s worth every penny of the lifetime I paid.
I know there’s no Spotify support and pricing may be too high for some. However, when you come to Roon UI, it is top of class. You can combine both Roon and Auralic which I’m currently using; Auralic also supports Spotify Connect, Qobuz, Tidal and soon Deezer. One can use a combination of both for Tidal and NAS or switch to Auralic Lightning DS software for Qobuz and Tidal or Spotify app for Spotify Connect. All the software can be installed in one iPad and everything is at the finger touch!
