Why do NAS' Struggle with Roon?

That’s one reason for the 14 day free trial. A person can try out Roon with their existing system and decide if they like Roon and if their system will support it.

1 Like

For a seamless, perfect Roon experience, I recommend buying a Roon Nucleus, and installing your music library on an internal SSD.

Do this, and assuming your network is robust, you’ll never gripe again.

2 Likes

That is a big statement. If nucleus is like any other computer and Roon like any other programme then will Roon updates and improvements eventually get too much? Will nucleus becomes like every other outdated computer? Is it better to buy cheap with upgradability? I don’t know the answers but it’s a big wedge to pay out if you aren’t sure.

1 Like

I agree. That doesn’t mean you won’t need to upgrade in the future if you outgrow your Nucleus. Mine has been flawless for 9 months, since I bought it.

Nothing wrong with NUC and Rock if you want the lower cost DIY option. I did not.

1 Like

The Nucleus is designed by Roon to be ‘turnkey’. I have a large music collection, and I can’t imagine at any time (soon) that I’ll require an ‘upgrade’.

IMO the basic Nucleus is MORE than adequate for my needs, with a relatively large music collection, and basic DSP needs/functionality.

I’ll never need an upgrade. I stream Tidal and Qobuz and have 4 albums on my local 1 TB SSD. :joy:

1 Like

My Mac mini and external ssd are more than up to the task too but I wouldn’t say I’ll never gripe again.

That’s because you don’t have a Nucleus.

1 Like

That’s because you don’t have 2tb of stores music.

One thing that really annoys me on this forum, is users who post ‘problems’ and general dissatisfaction with Roon, when they obviously have inadequate hardware, and/or a sub-par network.

Without a doubt, Roon needs decent hardware and a robust network.

GET IT RIGHT with good hardware and a with a robust network, working with approved Roon ‘endpoints’ and you’ll never complain.

Yes, I appreciate that these things cost. My router and my switch weren’t inexpensive, and obviously the Nucleus comes with a cost, plus the Roon subscription.

BUT the joy Roon brings to my life is PRICELESS. Is Roon ‘worth it’? It’s up to you. BUT if it is, be prepared to invest - in your future happiness.

PRICELESS

9 Likes

If you’re adding albums from Tidal and Qobuz into your Roon library, then these count just as much as locally-stored albums.

1 Like

Not on my 1 TB SSD. I understand how Roon stores the metadata on the internal drive. I have 2000 albums linked from Tidal and Qobuz. I think Roon says the Nucleus will handle 10,000 IIRC.

Well tidal has a 10k limit anyway so…

1 Like

This is the salient point.

1 Like

Well said!!
I have been ready to quit these “complain-a-thon” forums, but like a train wreck, I can’t look away.

3 Likes

Well, as you did some caps lock, who am I to argue?

3 Likes

To be fair, many such are just confused. If some other music playing software (JRiver, Plex, …) works fine with said hardware & network, and Roon looks like another of the breed, why is it that much more demanding? It is not so easy to give sound explanations that are not technical. Just two examples:

  • Roon’s database: It uses an object-oriented design for good reasons, but OODBs are in general quite demanding in memory and can get scrambled more easily by hardware or software issues.
  • RAAT: Again, good design reasons (endpoint independence, multi-device synchronization, easy upgrading), but the informal evidence is that it is more sensitive to network issues than some other streaming arrangements.

I’m happy to put up with Roon’s demands for the value I get, and I have plenty of tools from my knowledge and experience to debug issues (but not always successfully :slightly_frowning_face:), but Roon is not ideal for “drive by” evaluation. I know, RTFM, but honestly, who does?

3 Likes

It is shocking just how bad consumer routers and networks can be. Switching to Ubiquiti gear (which isn’t even enterprise quality IMHO) is a massive step up in performance, robustness, and reliability.

Sheldon

2 Likes

Yes but Roon in no way helps us figure this stuff out. Promoting everyone to separate their core and endpoint (and often files on a nas) sends many people down a rabbit hole of severe frustration. We do blame Roon erroneously but they should be more explicit in networking recommendations otherwise just recommend people go DAS.

You are correct. I don’t understand the NAS thing though. That’s an awful solution for anything that needs a lot of interaction. I suppose if your library is pretty static, it might be ok. But there is nothing like having a disk attached to the core when adding music to the library.

1 Like