Lol, I get that. It just doesn’t appeal. I’ll thank you anyway lol
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Thanks for your review. I also appreciate to be able to use Roon Core when I am away from Wifi and a network.
So I will consider this surface option, But… why not using a Surface PRO that has more processing power and, more important, has a 1 Tb version, so that almost all my music library can be stored inside ?
thanks
Like I mentioned in an earlier post, I used to have a Mac mini server setup in my dedicated audio room with either local or NAS type disks and hooked up using a usb cable. I will never have a server setup in my dedicated room again and I will never use a usb cable to an external dac again, unless it is for an endpoint for background music listening.
I have 26TB of raid disk storage for my different music libraries as well as for my other computers. Backups happen every hour including roon backups.
Usb is a terrible interface for SQ but is better or has more functionality than spdif or toslink.
Since I have multiple endpoints/music servers, I need to run roon as well as minimserver or bubbleupnp. So having a beefy Mac mini setup in the basement far away from any listening room, running different software like roon or minimserver, was a no brainer.
Using an iPad (I don’t care if it is an 8” or 12”) to control my music is also a no brainer.
I think we can safely agree on most of what you wrote (especially the importance separating Core and Endpoints). My main system is a NUC running Linux with ample storage and backup, streaming happily to multiple endpoints around the house.
It will however do very little for me when I’m spending two nights in a hotel room next week. The little Surface will.
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I actually ordered a 2017 Surface Pro i5 earlier this month. For me it’s too big when used as a tablet – and while the i5 does not have an annoying fan like most other Surface Pro’s, it got uncomfortably hot when held.
Main deal breaker however was the screen: it had terrible backlight bleeding along the long/bottom edge, which appears to be epidemic:
I sent it back the same day I received it. Bit of a bummer, since it was a speedy little bugger.
If anyone knows of a great 10" tablet running Windows 10, with up-to-date tech, detachable keyboard and HD(+) graphics – by all means, step forward. 
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Thanks for your answer. It sees that the Surface 3 (NON pro) is a good solution, but … (1) it is a pity that internal storage is limited to 128 Gb (as opposed to the 1 Tb of the Pro) and (2) it seems that the “NON Pro” surface is discontinued ! ? I can’t find a Surface 4 “NON Pro” !
Do you have alternative Windows Tablet solution with higher storage capacity ?
Replaced my 8 year old laptop with a Surface Book 2, best remote so far and the most expensive 
, looked at the 12.9 iPad Pro but still needed a laptop so best compromise, was going to buy the cheaper surface pro but my girlfriend insisted I bought the surface book, how lucky can one man get…
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@support Could you log this as a feature request to implement multi-tasking (split screen) on iPad. The side view could be the iPhone view (which you already have built) or a custom thin playlist view.
Thanks,
Rob.
Interesting, Rene, I had a similar but opposite experience and came to an opposite conclusion. In my professional life I use Windows systems, and still do for some heavy processing like Photoshop. But for lighter stuff, from surfing and reading to Roon, I prefer iPad.
I have had most Surface devices in the house, and most iPads, and even though all are Roon-connected i found that I usually reached for the iPad. Startup time and battery life were driving factors, which goes back to ARM vs. Intel.
Your mobile case is interesting. I will reconsider. I generally fall back to an A&K, 384 GB but it is frustrating to have different album identification than Roon, e.g. the Bags and Trane album, is it stored under Milt Jackson or John Coltrane? I really, really want my mobile Roon.
That’s true, but the experience is also not helped by Microsoft’s clunky implementation of InstantGo (Connected Standby) on their Surface devices. For example, on my ThinkPad 10 (an Intel Atom device), InstantGo works very well. Flip the cover off the screen, and the device is ready to go - just like an iPad. However, on the Surface 3 (also an Intel Atom device), Microsoft has engineered it so that the device goes into hibernation after four hours, and no longer in an InstantGo state, so it’s slow to start up. The experience is broken (as are overnight alarms, which won’t work on the Surface 3, but do on the ThinkPad 10).
Question: I undersdtand that the i5 version of the surface Pro do not use (noisy) fan, which is good for our music needs. But does the i7 version uses fan ? I do not need i7 processing power but… only the i7 versions are available with 1 Tb storage.
-> Are there some other windows Tablets that the Surface Pro with such high 1 Tb capacity ?
In the latest Surface Pro (2017) lineup, the i7 is the only configuration remaining with cooling fans.
AJ
And… is the fan in the i7 version noisy enough to disturbe listening cessions ? Is the fan ON often ?
Btw, I got the 12” iPad on @Danny’s recommendation. Yes, it’s big, and I don’t always bring it out for Roon in spite of the fabulous presentation. But I find it great for reading magazines and documents — I am gradually cancelling all my paper magazine subscriptions.
As I was pondering the size, I noticed that my Surface Book laptop, when you rip off the screen and use it as a tablet, is within millimeters and grams of the large iPad. So I could explore how I felt about it. But the Intel/startup/battery disadvantage remained, so I went with the iPad.
I am using a first edition surface pro for my Roon remote. It suffers from poor battery life, but the good thing is it has remained relevant as a tablet since it’s release back in 2012. I have not seen any iPad last through Apple OS upgrades past a few years, leaving the owner stuck on an old OS.
I haven’t experienced the same problems others have had, but I did do a full OS reinstall back in June when I converted it to use as a remote. As a Roon remote it is really great, but I also use it for games and browsing while listening.
I very much doubt the fan will be a problem; unlikely to turn on much if all you’re doing is listening to music and if it does come on I expect it will not be sonically disturbing. And if you are really set on no-fan operation you can just adjust power settings to “Best Battery Life” and the fan will not come on (see this review’s thermal section) with minimal impact to performance. Basically not an issue unless you want to do some heavy gaming with the Surface.
The only time my i7 fan made a noise, was when Roon first deepscanned all my audio files. And that was because I allowed Roon to use 7 or 8 cores. After that, I never heard the fan again.
Thanks for the reply on the Fan usage