Two topics: Roon installation on a NUC and speaker recommendation for different rooms

Audio Gear Talk
1

Roon Newbie

Hello all,

I discovered Roon by accident after buying a Naim Mu-so 2 and am currently wavering between Tidal and Qobuz.

Now 2 questions before I start with Roon.

My son, who is very PC affine, has ordered the components for a NUC.

Question 1: Is there some sort of quick guide on how we put this together and then install the Roon Core to get everything up and running.

Question 2: What roon ready speakers can you recommend? The Mu-so is in the living room and I would still need a small powerful speaker for the kitchen and office that is not that expensive but still delivers good sound.

What can you recommend to me?

Kind regards from Ansgar

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Hey @Ansgar_Schumann –

Welcome to the forums!

That must have been some lucky accident… :wink: As for your first question:

All about ROCK:

ROCK install guide:

I’ll leave the second question for the community to answer – I’m sure there will be plenty recommendations from other users.

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Hi Ansgar and another welcome to Roon.

Here is another thread where the discussion around new NUCS and how to update them came up so have a look at it as it should help you update and change a few settings that are not on the Roon guide (enable Legacy mode) as several people have got stuck at this point.

As to point 2 sorry I can’t help with that.

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The guide above is good if you are planning to install ROCK. That was not clear in the first post.
If you are going to install windows or some other OS and then put Roon core on the NUC then there is a video on Intel’s site Integration and User Guides for Intel® NUC Products
or on the NUC blog How to Assemble - The NUC Blog
I used Hans Beekhuyzen youtube video back when I put my ROCK together.

Not knowing your price point for speakers the ones that come to mind would be the KEF LS50W II.
or try this thread Recommend a Roon capable powered speaker for me

But that being said even if they are not Roon Ready you can use whatever speakers you like and then add an Raspberry Pi or other streamer to it.

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So I was thinking a maximum of 100 euros for a speaker. Does not have to be high end. In the kitchen are anyway other disturbing noises and thus it can be something “simple”.

Thanks for your answers to this point.

My stepson will help me with the setup. He knows his way around. I have also seen the videos of Hans Beekhuyzen. I think they are very detailed.

I hope there is someone else here in the forum who can recommend a speaker from his own experience.

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With the risk of sounding like a broken record…
I can recommend the JBL Link20.
It uses Chromecast so Roon sees it once set up via Google Home assistant.
It’s WiFi and Bluetooth and completely portable as it used an internal rechargeable battery.
The sound is definitely midfi, I use mine around the pool and hot tub area as it’s WiFi range is quite excellent.
Not sure if it USA only though?

Screenshot_20210531-203316
Screenshot_20210531-203316760Ă—626 395 KB

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It looks like it is discontinued. but it would be a nice option if you can find it.

Would a Sonos work? or the JBL playlist 150? I do not have experience with them. it looks like they have chromecast or google home?

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Any portable / smart speaker that supports AirPlay or Chromecast should work fine, so plenty to choose from.

Sonos is a good, reliable option that works with Roon — although probably slightly outside your budget.

But the Ikea/Sonos Symfonisk speaker might be an option at ÂŁ89 and comes with various mounting options. Ditto the refurbished models.

The one downside to all the above options is that you can’t group them (as in synced playback) with a proper Roon RAAT supporting endpoint/speaker.

That said, I can’t think of any true Roon RAAT supporting speakers (at least one box solutions) for the kitchen/office that would come in around your budget, so it’s probably a moot point in practice unless that was a dealbreaker for you.

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Thanks a lot for all your answers.

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