Oh, I see. Thank you! Im not a tiny bit interested in metadata or reading about music in any form…I just want to listen.
Really? Not even the artists’ bios?
No? What does it say there? I can honestly say that I don’t know anything about any artist or group I listen to. Dont know their names, where they are from., album names, year of release, If they are alive or dead and so on…couldn’t care less. I just enjoy listening to music.
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Well, I hear what you say but as you grow you will find the benefits of greater knowledge on Music and it’s creators. This allows you to follow performers or writers you admire to discover even more of what you like. God forbid, it may lead you into other genres of music or even to go and support some live music beyond the big names.
On the other hand, Roon is not for you, I think one has to have a curious mind to qualify…
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Well if that’s how you feel, Roon might be a waste of time and money for you.
I was the same way, listened to the music I liked and didn’t know the artists names. That did make it difficult for me to figure out which records, discs, cassettes and 8 tracks tapes to buy. I didn’t start out in the world of streaming music and digital players. Using Roon was my first time with streaming music.
Now, with Roon, and the Bios right there, I do read it and find it very interesting.
If the strength of roon is information to read about artists and their albums then no. I wouldn’t want it for free. One of my favorite bands are Pink Floyd. But I couldn’t tell you how many they are in the band, or what their names are. I know one album is called the wall, but that’s it. Could maybe name a handfull of songs. I think they are from England…but I couldn’t swear on it. I just listen to the music, nothing else.
Roonies, wake up. The OP is just trolling, now.
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I can understand how one would think that, but Im not. I have no understanding in why one would be interested in knowing anything about an artist. I am as interested in knowing what they do as I am in knowing what a stranger down the street are doing with his or her life.
Well, you’ve now explained that you don’t understand the technical advantages, and you don’t have an interest in the metadata.
So that kinda begs the question: what is it you were expecting from Roon, exactly ?
As I said before…I didn’t know what to expect, but I was hoping maybe for some nicer interface, and ease of use. And maybe some other nifty tools and features…something new…some “wow” factor…
Well, “wow” factor is another very personal matter. That Roon effectively solves the metadata problem (throw a reasonably well organized folder of files at it, it’ll present it better than iTunes can) in most cases was one to me. In my opinion, and we’re not talking about interface, but the way you can browse through a library, and learn that the same person did the art direction on the New Kids on the Blocks’ Hangin’ Tough and on the Stranger Things Soundtrack, or that a guy who worked on John Oswald’s Plunderphonics also worked with Elvis Costello is something that has value, because it allows me to approach the work I’m listening to in a different way, and thus understand it differently. But you’ve already said you didn’t care about what goes in the saussage, so that doesn’t matter to you.
The technical stuff was another.
For others, it’s making the merge between streaming services and their local library completely seamless.
If you don’t care for what Roon does, don’t understand what it does, can’t be bothered to set it up properly, and on top of that you don’t like the way Roon presents your library, then indeed, it’d seem like the obvious conclusion that there is no value in Roon for you.
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If all you want to do is listen to Tidal and you can already do that, then you don’t need Roon. So, why did you do the free trial and why are you here asking questions?
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My advice, for what it’s worth… educate yourself, it will open doors you never knew were there.
Your attitude seems very strange to me. Like a child who says “why should I learn to read, all I do is watch the TV”?
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Roon provides the following and more:
- Multi-Room music without being tied to specific hardware
- DSP to enhance the music and make it sound great
- Ability to have local music and streaming music combined to form one seamless library
- Internet Radio
- Seeded Radio that does a tremendous job of providing new musical suggestions
- Metadata to focus musical discovery:
For example, IF I like the way John is playing piano on a track, I can click on his name in the credits and see every else John has played on. - DSP on MQA streams
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For me the wow factor was the hyperlinks that enabled me to follow music by artists and performers throughout the Tidal (and now Qobuz) database. I still enjoy tapping through the connections. DSP, integration with HQ Player, Roon Radio and Live Radio are all other features that appeal. The seamless connection with both Tidal and Qobuz gives me what feels like the biggest music collection in the world.
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What first attracted me to Roon with the ability to send my Tidal and Qobuz streaming music from my laptop to my Oppo 203 and Bose sound system without the purchase of any additional hardware. After I started using Roon, I learned of all the other benefits and purchased a Nucleus and lifetime subscription. I just ordered a Raspberry Pi 4 to use with my Dragonfly Cobalt and Sony headphones for headphone listening to Tidal MQA and Qobuz.
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@Niklas_Malmqvist - How do you normally discover new music/artists? The metadata/reviews are more interesting for seeing who someone has collaborated with - there is always a chance that the other collaborator might make music that you like.
What kind of playback devices do you have other than the node or whatever the blueos device is (any airplay/chromecast/sonos etc)?
Do you have PC/Mac and/or android or ios phone or tablet?
You can use them all as zones if needed. All PCs/Mac andoid and iOS phone and tablets can be used as controllers. Some of us have roon integrated with our hifi/av systems in some way so that Roon can switch on in, select inputs, control volume/mute etc - ie a lot of convenience. I have harmony remote controlling everything some basic control of Roon directly. To switch everything on and listen and select the DAC that Roon is connected to - all I have to do is press play in the app, or start the activity on my remote - in that respect it can be like a hardware streamer with the right extensions (plugins).
Many of us run the Roon core on an always on QNAP or Synology NAS or intel NUC, so no messing around with a PC or mac every time we want to listen to something - again - making Roon into an hardware appliance rather than just another application on a PC or whatever. I would even suggest that if hosting it on your day use PC or Mac, then you probably are really not getting the best out of it unless than it exclusively your desired listening method.
If you look at it as just a basic replacement for iTunes, or some other computer based media player, then I would say you are missing the point entirely. To my mind it really comes into its own when you start to use it as an always on whole home music streaming and discovery appliance. Many user probably never thought they would ever have more than just there hifi zone and now have a variety of devices connected in and around their house/garden/outhouses etc.
Its a very flexible audio playback system - it can even do some useful DSP from a basic house curve to full room correction (you need to get the room measurement recordings processed by someone else, but it can use the results). It can do this per zone as well if needed.
All of your local music and tidal/qobuz favourites are listed together in a single UI that can be available on all of you PCs/Mac or Andoid or iOS tablets and phones. It can even use any of these devices as sound output devices, for eg in the summer I sometimes run through my iPhone into a JBL speaker that can stand getting wet if it rains. Most of the time that same speaker lives upstairs and has a chromecast audio plugged into it which Roon uses for upstairs playback independent of what my wife might be listening to in the living room (or visa versa).
Thinking of it as just a PC/mac based media player is barely scratching the surface. Think more in terms of a high end whole home music streaming, organisation and discovery system.
As a computer and audio techy, when I first read about Roon it made sense to me, so I saw its potential immediately. OTOH my wife (borderline technophobe) thought I was mad and just couldn’t see the point vs the free media players in Windows/OSX etc. Now over 18 months, she is also completely sold on it, especially ease of use and convenience of being able to switch it on, playback what she wants (and where she wants) and also loves the Roon radio especially which is probably probably her favourite bit of it as that tends to be a primary means of discovering new music - she just wants to listen and rarely reads anything in the app or follows metadata links etc, OTOH I do often as for me its a good way to find other producers and artists I might like.
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I too had a hard time getting it to find an external drive for backup… then I found out to format the drive xfat instead of hfs+… problem solved
I start by looking who is coming to the local venues. If I don’t know them, I start bringing them up in Roon and listening to them. If I like any of them, I go see them, and drop bucks at their merch table.
I have other methods, but, that one has introduced me to a ton of little known bands over the years; and the joy of actually seeing them.
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