I’ve used to have a Hegel H120 that was Roon ready.
Now I got a Atoll PR300 with built in DAC that I want to use for a while.
It is connected directly to ROCK over USB at the moment, which is far from optimal from what I’ve read?
What should I get? I want a pure endpoint without DAC and Roon is all that I’m interested in.
I heard good and bad things from iFi Zen stream. Good sound but that it has to be turned of from time to time because it gets unresponsive?
I’ve also read about the Lindemann Bridge mk2. But it seems to sound the best with their own software and not with Roon?
I have 1 Roon Ready device in my apartment. It’s my Cambridge Audio CXNv2. It sounds the same when used through Roon or StreamMagic (Cambridge’s own app). The Cambridge can also be accessed through AirPlay and Chromecast.
It does require a separate amplifier to work. I’m using a Marantz M-CR612 for that. The Marantz is Roon Tested, so it can be accessed through Roon, but only through AirPlay.
Why not a simple Raspberry PI with ropieee? Connect it via USB directly to the Atoll which does already a good noise filtering (for what comes from the raspi) and the reclocking is anyway done by the Atoll. Better of course is something isolating the USB galvanic (e.g. Intona). But I must confess I don’t hear a difference anymore because the DAC is doing already a good isolation.
If you just read about, but don’t hear “it”, there’s no reason to insert anything into the existing chain - don’t let Audio Nervosa take over.
“It” qualifies as fizz, buzz, hiss, hum, dropouts and the like, not sound stage, separation, and what not.
Yes, there are many audiophiles and manufacturers out there, guaranteeing jaw dropping improvements, but no one was able to prove that in an objectively comprehensible way yet.
I’m ok with zen stream, but between purchase and delivery I had read few hours in this forum. When I’ve got the box it was all set in maximum 20 minutes. Never went unresponsive since oct '22.
A Pi would be cheaper with just a little bit of added work.
There are others SOtM, Link streamer 2 by stack, holo red, opticalrendu. Or any small comp with ubuntu and Roon Bridge (old laptop, etc)
The key to the request is the pure Roon endpoint bit. The hardware is almost secondary to that element of this. Ropieee is pretty much the best way to achieve the level of stability as a Roon endpoint. The non-XL version only does Roon and is pretty stable. As a Roon transport it runs Roon Bridge so will always be 100% up to date for that purpose. It will run on Raspberry Pi 3, 4 and the CM3 and CM4 hardware. So you can build or buy suitable hardware. I choose to use the Holo Red bridge/streamer. But you can build, have built or buy something that will be functionally similar for quite a lot less.