My current bedside setup.
iFi NEO STREAM, Topping A90, Meze Empyrean
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Ran out of time looking at everyone’s setups. Mine seems to be somewhere in the low to mid range distribution, which given the demographic, is fine with me. Many of the systems are part of a HT setup. We do have a TV but, as not connected to Roon, left out of the show & tell. The main system is our living room/library/listening room. Shortly after adding the Roon Nucleus and with it the Roon subscription, added a Bricasti with a network streaming card as the endpoint. The streaming now is as enjoyable as the analog output and content wise much more extensive and convenient. Adjacent is the sunroom which finally received speakers this summer. The KEF SLXii’s were added with the expectation that once Roon Ready (when will that happen?), they can be grouped to synchronize with the main speakers.
The Roon Nucleus serves as core and endpoint upstairs. It’s +/- 80ft away from the router (to take advantage of being an endpoint for the upstairs secondary system and 100ft away from the router.
The upstairs system improved markedly in terms of selection and usability, but has that bright digitatis sound. I’ve read here that the Nucleus is not recommended as both a core and endpoint, which begs the question, why offer that functionality? Presumably, as a cost and convenience option which is how I’m using it at this point.
I’ve been reading with interest the discussions on network switches and ethernet cords. Given the distances involved, the “audiophile” level cables were not an option. Thus went with unterminated but Blue Jeans Ethernet 6A cable and made cords to the appropriate length. As can be seen, I went with a nonaudiophile network switch on the advice of my workplace tech guy.
I’m glad that I keep the cable visibility to a minimum thanks to a very generous and clean crawl space and the sunroom’s location, o/w DW’s approval might not have happened. I’m using the KEF app to run the KEFs rather than Roon as Qobuz/Ethernet streaming is better audio quality than Roon via Apple airplay.
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I’ve found that relatively cheap RPi-based network endpoints sound much better than my ROCK NUC’s HDMI or USB outputs, especially once I “filter” extraneous network activity with an old Cisco 2960 switch from eBay or (even better, but more expensive) EtherREGEN.
While I applaud your Blue Jeans cable decision, I question the advice from your “workplace tech guy” who must not have listened to any of the “audiophile switch” options now available. My KEF speakers could certainly reveal the additional detail that a noise-free network can deliver. Check it out.
I know of no good reason why an “audiophile” network switch should improve the sound, although some people seem to think it will. Enjoy your system! Looks like a great house.
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Who are you to believe, your tech guy or some “audiophile” in a goofy hat? 
Hell of a room, BTW. How do you deal with that high ceiling?
Not sure KEF will ever be Roon Ready. They have their own in-house developed protocol.
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Gorgeous spaces, what a lovely house! And good call on giving the voodoo “audiophile” switches the body swerve!
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I started using my Nucleus with USB into my DAC but ended up plugging it into the LAN because my system expanded, like yours. So enjoy all the functionality Roon offers. Have you tried ARC yet?
Thanks for checking in. One of these days, I’ll run the Bricasti in the upstairs system and switch the Nucleus close to the router to evaluate how much a newer and better DAC and streamer affects the sound quality. I considered the iFi Zen stream as it’s Roon certified and inexpensive. But the long term goal is to eliminate the USB interface based on how good the Bricasti sounds with Ethernet as the input. As for the audiophile network switches, I’m not completely ruling those out, but for one thing I have to set aside funds for when my 15 year old TV/audio set up components need replacement.
Thanks! At this time, there are better uses for discretionary income.
As for the high ceilings. The living room acoustics are fine to my proletariat ears. It helps that there is 18 inches of insulation between the ceiling boards and the roofing. The acoustics in the sunroom are a problem but the music there is going to be background. The upstairs also has high ceiling and is a large room which makes optimizing sound quality difficult. We’ll see if a better DAC/streamer improves the quality- we’re going for satisficer in these other rooms.
Setting sun outside. Artwork on the TV changes up every so often. Ludovico Einaudi plays through the stereo. A relaxing scene.
Power / Signal Path:
APC H15 → Mistral Audio W-3900 → Custom Roon Rock Server → Silent Angel Bonn N8 → Silent Angel Forester F1→ miniDSP SHD Studio → Mutec MC-3+ USB → Stereo Devialet Phantom I Classic
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Thanks for the complements. There are many amazing setups on this thread. As for the network switches, when one’s discretionary income is not unlimited, gotta prioritize.
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How much of an improvement did the Lumin U1 taking over streaming function from the Nucleus make?
The U1 made a wonderful upgrade. The case seems impervious (to my ears) to any interference from other digital equipment. It upsamples to 384, and it’s hardwired on the LAN. Comes with a linear power supply so there are no warranty upgrade issues. The LUMIN community on this site is the best. Lastly I’ve never had another recognition re-boot problem (not Roon’s fault) since I put the Nucleus on the LAN. Oh, yeah, sound quality is great!
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In short: Your technician’s advice is correct. I tested audiophile switches for myself. If you want, you can read about my experiences here: Link
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Can we stick to the subject here please?
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Roon Core - Intel NUC11PAHi5
Media - Synology DS918+
Transporter - Allo DigiOne
Amp - Rotel 1572
Speakers - B&W 706 S2
Sub - B&W ASW608
Remote - Linx 10 & Harmony Elite
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Thanks for the link to your writeup. One of the reasons for posting is feedback re Nucleus as a streamer, Ethernet cords and network switches- all pretty relevant for Roon users.
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Add; Enjoyed your Simon Winchester post- precision vs accuracy is a great subject; Leicas M photography and Wabi-Sabi are core interests of mine; BTW, don’t consider them at all antithetical, especially M cameras and lenses of a certain age.