ROON and RAAT

[rikhav]

Success! Thanks for the information guys.

Have been exploring all evening and found that basic Tidal Streaming is not that good.
Only after changing to Tidal Hifi that you get lossless quality (16bit /44.1KHz)

Will have to explore some more and decide if it is worth subscribing for.

Regards.


.

Did you try the MQA albums?
If yes what are your views on the sound quality of those MQA albums and also the content available on MQA

 

[Nikhil]

Did you try the MQA albums?
If yes what are your views on the sound quality of those MQA albums and also the content available on MQA

Didn't like them. I preferred the straight 16/44.1 versions.
Supposedly MQA needs an MQA DAC for it to sound best - not falling for that scam.

IMO MQA is a hoax - will just leave it at that.

Regards.

.

 

[sound_cycle]

+1 to @terrible and @rikhav. I used browsec. Have been missing my music, work, and related travel, kya karen

ciao
gr

 

[Nikhil]

I used browsec

Just be careful.
There are some privacy concerns with browsec.

Only mentioning this because a few may take this to be a recommendation.
But just be aware of the risks of using a free service.

.

 

[Nikhil]

I spent the entire weekend exploring TIDAL for all kinds of music and had a blast.
Roon + TIDAL is an absolute winning combination for exploring music.

In terms of sound quality I quickly switched to Hi-Fi > Lossless Audio
This changed the streaming resolution from AAC to FLAC 16/44.1
I did not like the Master quality streaming for a couple of tracks that I tried it on.

I was a skeptic of the streaming model but now that I have tried it there really is no downside to it.
If I can try an album and find that I like it - I can always buy the album later.

I also tried TIDAL by itself and it was not shabby at all. The client GUI is quite slick.
After installing it on my phone I was able to stream music over the air on cellular quite nicely.
I added some albums with the download offline option and was able to play music offline.
My car stereo connected seamlessly over blue tooth and I was able to play music offline.

The problem if any is that there is an overwhelming amount of choices.
Cost is also something to take into consideration but if you can spare the budget just go for it.

.

 

[rikhav]

I spent the entire weekend exploring TIDAL for all kinds of music and had a blast.
Roon + TIDAL is an absolute winning combination for exploring music.

In terms of sound quality I quickly switched to Hi-Fi > Lossless Audio
This changed the streaming resolution from AAC to FLAC 16/44.1
I did not like the Master quality streaming for a couple of tracks that I tried it on.

I was a skeptic of the streaming model but now that I have tried it there really is no downside to it.
If I can try an album and find that I like it - I can always buy the album later.

I also tried TIDAL by itself and it was not shabby at all. The client GUI is quite slick.
After installing it on my phone I was able to stream music over the air on cellular quite nicely.
I added some albums with the download offline option and was able to play music offline.
My car stereo connected seamlessly over blue tooth and I was able to play music offline.

The problem if any is that there is an overwhelming amount of choices.
Cost is also something to take into consideration but if you can spare the budget just go for it.

.

Will the lossless hifi streaming come to close to local playback of cd quality files ?
That's what I always wanted to know

Because many have told me it is but my experience was not good. I can also attribute it to that fact that I was using my honey network and also the internet needed to access tidal in WiFi mode

Now all my routers are wired to eshc and every computer in the house which has a LAN connection

Unfortunately don't have a active tidal connection to test it out

 

[Nikhil]

Yes Tidal Hi-Fi - Lossless is FLAC 16/44.1 and sounded pretty good.

You can set each device to access a streaming quality so I have my cell phone use basic AAC
But it can manually switch to Hi-Fi Lossless when I am on wifi.

Over LAN/wired connection I have no issues at all streaming even to multiple devices

.

 

[rikhav]

Thanks
I would just use it on the pc/laptop connected to my setup and no one else is interested lossless quality music. For them internet radio and YouTube works absolutely fine

So yeah, I do need to try it out after changes I made in my home network

As for roon with local file playback I am really liking it and I don't see anything lacking

This is without windows optimisation of machine used as roon core or any kind of LAN isolation

I use a Uptone regen amber with DIY usb cable made by jls001 which by the way works very well for me

I take this as a positive sign as it's not wanting me to experiment more to improve sound, rather I feel like to just sit and enjoy my music

Yesterday only I had a music season for 4 hours with just a small dinner break in between

Many times we end up experimenting more and enjoy music less

It has 2 sides to it.
If sound is not to your liking then you tend to experiment and that's natural but once as with me I reached to a point where it's pleasing me , I just did not want to experiment more .

I hope this stays for a long time

 

[captainsubtext]

This thread has kept me hooked for a while. Thanks to all who have been contributing.

There is one thing I can't seem to get past. The actual cost of using Roon. The subscription isn't much at all. I find the associated equipment that is required for Roon to work the way it is supposed to far too much. The kind of compute Roon recommends for it to work well is almost at a level a regular computer would cost. Intel i5, SSD, etc is not what I'd call cheap and to process music. This machine is supposed to be dedicated to serve Roon and nothing else. I am not going to have my desktop running 24/7 just to run Roon. This can be argued cause we do not put a price on the DAC's we buy and that is another cost too. Off course, it is a one time purchase but at almost 40-50k to "process" music, seems quite a bit to me. Then you got to pay for your digital music subscription. Makes me look at the days physical media like CD was considered a prohibitive cost and now we're spending way more for what is essentially a lot more convenient to use.

Roon works well on an i3 as well in my experience. That said all my files are on a NAS.

One interesting option to consider is the roon os rock solution running on a nuc.

 

[Nikhil]

I tried using Tidal only this morning and the sound was pretty good.
Did not have time to do a critical comparison between Roon and Tidal.

The Tidal interface is a little busy but works well with Remote Desktop on a big screen.
If Tidal decides to add a network model to stream media it could be game over for Roon.

I like Roon but if Tidal sounds good by itself then it's worth exploring.


.

 

[captainsubtext]

I tried using Tidal only this morning and the sound was pretty good.
Did not have time to do a critical comparison between Roon and Tidal.

The Tidal interface is a little busy but works well with Remote Desktop on a big screen.
If Tidal decides to add a network model to stream media it could be game over for Roon.

I like Roon but if Tidal sounds good by itself then it's worth exploring.


.

Integrating tidal into roon is the way to go. Makes it very easy to fill out gaps in one's music library.

Personally I don't like the tidal app interface at all.

 

[Nikhil]

Yes I am using Tidal with Roon + HQPlayer

I just wanted to see how good Tidal was by itself.
Sometimes minimum handling might just sound better.

So far I have to say I am quite impressed with how Tidal sounds by itself.


.

 

[Nikhil]

Just when I start liking something here is what happens.
https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/12/13/tidal-might-die-in-2018-leaving-audiophiles-in-the-lurch/


Damn!

.

 

[rikhav]

Just when I start liking something here is what happens.
https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/12/13/tidal-might-die-in-2018-leaving-audiophiles-in-the-lurch/


Damn!

.

I also read about it but I still feel the company will find a way to come out of it.

 

[Nikhil]

Not so sure after doing a little more research.
Looks like the numbers for Tidal aren't all what they say they are.

They don't have the subscriber base to withstand the competition.

.

 

[captainsubtext]

I wouldn't worry about it too much. They will likely get acquired.

Also @Nikhil using a Singapore VPN gets you tidal access at 20 SGD (as opposed to USD) so works out to be much cheaper.

 

[Nikhil]

Also @Nikhil using a Singapore VPN gets you tidal access at 20 SGD (as opposed to USD) so works out to be much cheaper.

Wow! Pro tip right there. Must see how to set it up.

Thanks.

.

 

[sound_cycle]

Just when I start liking something here is what happens.
https://thenextweb.com/apps/2017/12/13/tidal-might-die-in-2018-leaving-audiophiles-in-the-lurch/


Damn!

.

I read that too

 

[captainsubtext]

Roon's latest update has enabled playback on iOS devices. I've been using the iPhone and the audeze isine 20 with the custom eq in roon for the headphones and the result is quite pleasing.

The changes to the radio algorithm are great as well. One thing still missing is the ability for roon to play music that has not yet been added to your library using the radio option. I'm hoping that the next patch adds this in as well.

 

[rikhav]

For all those who plan to attend the Mumbai what hifi show , Absolute Sound would be having a KII setup with Roon and SOTM

Following will be the chain

Roon Core: Roon Nucleus +

Roon Endpoint: SOtM sMS-200ultra

USB Regenerator: SOtM tx-USBultra

Linear Power Supply to Power Roon Endpoint and USB regenerator: SOtM sPS-500

Power Isolator: Transparent Audi MM2 and PowerWave10

Cables: Transparent Audio and SOtM

Rack: Emotion & Kraft Grand Master Tonewood Rack

Isolation and Acoustics: Stillpoints Ultra 5 and Aperture
Speakers: Kii Three

Controller: Kii Control

It will be interesting to hear this complete roon setup with SOTM for people who are using Roon or waiting on the fence

I am also attaching a PDF for reference