I can’t speak for SterJo but in my case it was because I already had an I7 16 GB RAM 512 GB NVME SSD NUC with a 2 TB spinning disk for my local music library running Plex so adding Roon to it was easy. I don’t use the server as an endpoint so I keep it out of the way and any noise it makes is not an issue.
I’ve been running it since May and it has been easy to maintain, it has rebooted a few times for Windows updates but it is setup to log in automatically and start Roon. When I installed Roon I intended to run Roon Server and manage it from my laptop but that laptop was too old and did not support OpenGL 3.0 so I installed Roon and manage the computer with VNC when needed.
Example 1: My library changes almost every day. At the same time, there are several weeks of work in my library. So I make a backup also every day. Backups can only be made while no music is running. So I plan my backup at 2:00 AM. At 1:55 my Roon Server is started by RTC (Bios). At 2:15 when backup is done, my Roon Server is shut down by a WSH script. With Roon Rock an automaticly shutdown is not possible.
Example 2: With Roon Rock I can only configure one internal HDD / SSD for storing my music files. In Windows as much as I want (in Cirrus7 Nimbus V2 is 1 connection for a NVME M.2 SSD and 2 aditionals HDD’s / SSD’s)
Example 3: Roon has a lot of possibilities finding and searching for music. But none possibility for prowsing musicfiles by hierarchical folder structure. So if I want to browse by folders, I use the Lumin App for my Linn Akurate. I can easily access Windows storage, with internal storage of Roon Rock I did not succeed with lumin.
Of course, I have to admit that Roon Rock is a lot easier to maintain. Maintenance-wise Windows is no self-runner. But as a computer scientist and administrator of several companies, this is for me at best a relaxation exercise. All in all, Windows gives me more options. Of course, I spent many hours figuring out a sound difference between Windows and Roon Rock. But there was no difference for me and my ears.
Fair enough, I basically do the same thing but with Linux. Less going on in the background in my setup, but I maintain my own linux distro (not really my own, but admin debian). My main point is that I think Linux would be better suited as an appliance OS than Windows, but that’s just what I’m comfortable with.
I am not sure where to start! I just added some new speaker cable, some Chord Shawline X and I think I just closed my eyes a bit when I saw the rest and pretended it wasn’t there.
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alex_wood
(Vinyl is still King, but Roon is heir apparent.)
1603
Thats a tonic for my mind. The idea that my cabling is disorderly is at rest, for now anyway.
I settled on windows also for both core and endpoints.
Mac OS is a non starter for anything worthwhile and, for me at least, Linux has proven to be far more unstable than Windows time and again. I tried to like Linux, but found it to mess up far too often when updating.
I do think the Roon chaps are Apple fans though… seems to get more love, but might just be my perception.
I have been swapping bits of kit in and out regularly, replacing mains blocks, adding a large switch (which various cables x10), changing TVs, speaker cables and it gets out of hand quickly. Even if I started again, which I might, I don’t know how to make it much neater…
1, A piece of gutter to hide wire.
2 A piece of art by SWMBO to cover the holes from my old Center speaker brackets.
3 Ceramic Poppy from the Tower of London exhibition.
4 My Tanglewood Guitar always ready to play
5 Lucky elephant… Why not?
6 Door bell positioned to cover the Leter box see 7
7 letter box on a removable panel held in place by magnets for wires to pass through.
Julian O’dell did the drawings in aid of Macmillan Cancer care.
The audio kit is actually in a Tachima filtering powerstrip which is hidden further up behind a curtain only non audio kit is on the mains block behind and on a different socket at other side of room for minimum smps noise. Used some cable socks and wrap to tidy stuff up. Some would no doubt cry having cables to close to each other but it made no difference to any sound to me and it’s neater.