Sorry david i must be missing something
Im using mine as a core.
Its connected though my aurelic g2.1 which is plugged into my hegel h390 and im having no problems at all.
Could you please tell me the problem with and maybe ill get a upgrade ?
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I never said anything about āplug and playā. I said, āthat the experience of operating it is going to be different. Itās not a drop-in replacement.ā
For example, the sonicTransporter has a different web UI. There are different configuration options. It handles internal storage differently. These may seem like trivial differences to you, but someone who is not computer savvy may be frustrated or surprised by them.
Compare this with a ROCK build. Still not 100% identical to Nucleus, but the same web UI, same process for accessing internal or attached storage, same configuration options.
Iām not putting down sonicTransporter. But, unless the OP is also interested in the additional features, like HQPlayer, Squeezebox Server, Plex Media Server and MinimServer (DLNA server), Roon OS on Nucleus or ROCK will be a more seamless transition.
This has already been covered in this thread. If itās working for you, thatās fine, but the processing power of the Zen Mini is below the minimum spec (5th gen Intel Core i5) to run Roon Server. For example, a 10th gen Intel Core i3 NUC running Roon OS (a ROCK build) would likely provide you with a noticeable improvement in responsiveness from Roon Controls and, generally, a nicer experience. You could then connect a nice external DAC to your Zen Mini (or other innuOS product) and have a terrific 2nd zone.
To the extent that it makes a difference, the low-noise technology in these products benefits audio quality for Output zones but compromises on processing power needed for Core. Iām not putting these down eitherā¦but as they say, horses for courses.
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If Iād had a Nucleus develop a fault that was going to cost $600 to repair, like the OP, Iād consider other options. If not a NUC (which runs ROCK, but needs a level of knowledge or research to assemble), a Sonictransporter is an alternative that, granted, will have a learning curve associated with its browser interface, but (like the Nucleus) doesnāt need to be assembled and configured.
The added software apps do not have to be used, but are there should the OP choose to branch out and experiment at a later date.
I started out solely using Roon, but now enjoy the benefits that HQPlayer embedded brings used in tandem with Roon on the same machine.
Anyway, hopefully the Ethernet-USB adaptor allows the OPās Nucleus to live on.
Buying a Nucleus isnāt about performance or signal quality, itās about a turnkey solution with support.
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When a Nucleus is running right the turnkey solution is pretty snappy (performance wise) and it sounds pretty good too, I find with the internal 2TB SSD Iām pretty happy with mine.
If I were you, there would only be 3 options:
- Get a M1
- Fix your Nucleus
- Get a new Nucleus
All other options will give you headache, as speaking from the person who has been a software engineer all his life.
From other threads on this forum, I wouldnāt get an M1. Why try to run Windows-oriented software on an Apple machine, in emulation mode? Iād just buy a run-of-the-mill off-the-shelf Windows box from Best Buy, and dedicate that to running the Core. Probably for less than $600.
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Yep, right now thatās good advice. That said, as I have an M1, Iām hoping that a .net version of Roon will be along shortly, hopefully in native form.
I have a Plus and am unaware of any extra support other than if it outright breaks. If you have an issue with the software, as far as I know you are at the mercy of support here on the Forum hoping someone will pick it up and respond with some frequency. I personally have a support question out for over a month with zero replies.
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Just curious here, but i still havenāt seen any ārestrictionsā from Roon, only recommendations. Where did you get these from? From the NUC compatibility list?
I donāt get the issue. How is Roon āWindows-orientedā? Do you mean āIntel-orientedā? The M1 Mac mini runs Roon in emulation significantly faster than the Lenovo you recommend:
If you want to use any advanced features in Roonā¦like DSPā¦the M1 Mac Mini kills that Lenovo or anything like it. Also, there will be a M1 native Roon at some point. My M1 Mac mini has been running completely trouble free with HQPlayer Desktop running as well for 2 weeks.
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If Iām not wrong mac is not on recommendation list. Of course it works even on M1, but supported are only some NUCs and Nucleus.
I used my core on mac mini late 2012 (intel) and it worked ok.
If I had such problem for sure i would stay with nucleus. If fixing mainboard is not possible or too expensive i would replace it with ordinary nuc mainboard. The aluminium body of thus machine is beautiful!
Can you provide a link to the post? It may have slipped through the net. I couldnāt find it after a quick search through your posts in Supportā¦ Thanks.
You arenāt correct:
Minimum supported NUC platform is a NUC5i3
And I ran with a NUC5i3MYBE 8GB 240GB SATA SSD with a library of 97k tracks/7k albums, and proved it could happen multiple endpoint zones, but also a range of DSP on those zones (EQ filters, Upsampling to max PCM & DSD, downsampling DXD, downconverting DSD128/256) without issue.
A move to a NUC7i7DNKE was only undertaken to grab one while the 15W TDP platform was still available secondhand for sensible money, with NUC8 & NUC10 boxes being a higher TDP as well becoming harder to get, with rocketing prices.
The newer NUC does give a snappier response on the Roon Remotes (iPad Pro 9.7 & iPad Mini 2) but it was still very usable before.
I have two NUC5i3MYBE as Backup ROCK units, just in case!
Happy to offer the OP one of them at a sensible price, i.e. fraction of the quoted repair price, to get them back up & working with a Roon library.
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Roon is based on .NET, an emulation platform itself, developed by Microsoft to run on Windows, apparently so that they (Microsoft) wouldnāt have to use Java, which is itself a similar emulation platform. .NET is arguably technically better than Java, Iād say, but still, itās a Microsoft product designed for Windows applications.
Apple, on the other hand, has steadily and strategically enhanced macOS to support Appleās strategic target markets. And they do not include general-purpose computing ā they leave that to the Lenovos and Dells of the world. So running non-Apple portable software on Macs gets a teeny bit harder every release, not even because of some evil design, but simply because when you bump something over to make more room for your own favored thingy, something else gets bumped out of the way sometimes.
Thereās nothing wrong with the M1 Mac Mini, the M1 chip is a nice demonstration of Appleās technical engineering skills and the Mini is a sweet little computer, a nice piece of techno-bling, and if you have one I can only envy you! But thereās nothing magical about the Nucleus (sorry, Roonies); itās just a vanilla i3 board bolted inside a giant heat-sink. So if you need to replace it, another vanilla i3 board seems to me the way to go. And thatās what that Lenovo box is. Whatās more, it runs Windows, the natural home for a .NET-based software application.
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I see, so this is why Roon is buggy. The Roon model is good, but the software is buggy because it runs on a non-state-of-the-art platform.
If youāre considering a dedicated PC, you might look at something like this.
Iāve been using itās predecessor as a desktop PC for about five years now, part of that time it was a Roon core. Itās dead quiet and about the same size as a Nucleus (Gen 1). Plus if you decide to migrate your core somewhere else itās still a top notch PC. Also, Iāve not seen it, but I suspect you could install Rock on this and have a better than Nucleus.
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Yes, I too like the solutions based on mini-ITX boards. Two years ago I built my Core server using a case and power supply from HDPlex and mini-ITX board from Asus. You choose from more powerful desktop CPU models, and the heat pipes make this a thermally stable and silent PC. If you feel prepared to assemble box and PC parts, you can save hundreds of dollars.