SQ of Core Device: ROCK vs. a MacBook Air

[wklie (Peter Lie)]

I was thinking that if I did switch to the ROCK, I would unplug the ethernet cable from the back of the streamer and plug it into the ROCK.

Please don’t.

If you want to move from MacBook WiFi to a dedicated Roon Core on LAN, simply connect it to your router/switch.

For hardware to run ROCK, consider something like this:

The Best NUC for ROCK?

While I prefer to have my Roon Server outside of the listening room (like I had in my previous house), my current setup in my apartment needs to have my Roon Core inside my listening room unfortunately. So I’ve picked up the NUC7i7DNHE with an Akasa Plato X7D fanless case. It took a few hours to put together because I’m extremely slow but also because I triple checked all connections because I never want to open it again. The beauty with this is not just the fanless case with no moving parts …

As for sound quality, I’ve read a report of improved SQ by switching Roon Core from MacBook WiFi to a wired setup using different hardware, for another brand of expensive DAC connected via network.