Why does Tidal sounds better with Roon?

Roon Software Discussion TIDAL
1

Hi everyone, I am trying to understand why does Tidal played through Roon sound better (clearly to me) than with the Tidal desktop app.
I have a very basic set up (I am just entering the audiophile universe):
A Dell Xps15 laptop (windows 10)
A pair of Shure srh440 headphones played through a portable FiioE10k USB DAC

Of course I selected “exclusive mode” in Tidal and I have a Hi Fi account. I confirmed through the sound control panel that windows is not controlling the sound (which I assume means that Tidal has exclusive control)
No matter what I do, streaming through Roon (the exact same song) has a smoother and more open sound. I don’t think subscribing to Roon would be ideal for me since I won’t use many of its features (I will probably do It in the future) so I am just trying to figure out how to make the Tidal App sound better.
Has anyone experienced this difference?
Thanks in advance to anyone patient enough

Ps: I also played Tidal through Jriver WDM and again it sounds better, but have issues (latency, etc …)

2

Hi Sandro,

One easy explanation would be if you were using any DSP tools in Roon. Can you post a pic of your Signal Path which will tell us if that is the case ?

If that’s not it, then the common feature between Jriver and Roon may be that they both take exclusive control of the sound system.

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That was the main reason why I had to subscribe for Roon. I listen music through the High End Luxman amp and great Hi-Fi Marantz DAC and hear clearly all nuances of sound. Roon truly plays better than the Tidal desktop. Also Roon allows you to fully enjoy MQA files from Tidal with non-MQA DAC. I compared many records (mostly vinyl rips and SACD images, from classics to hard rock) in pairs Roon vs. Tidal, Audirvana, Amara, Foobar, jRiver etc. In all listenings Roon was clearly better. I just couldn’t ignore the fact that I can improve my music experience just with the software. I don’t use DSP on all of my devices and Roon as well. Not sure how they do it, but the result is important. And also as a bonus - Roon has a fast and convenient library interface:)

1 Like
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The why I do not know. But I experience also better quallity with Roon. So much more clearity in the sound.

Only I think the search options with Roon could be better. That is better in Tidal app.