Audirvana vs Roon


I finally got around to trying Roon. I am currently running a new MacMini with Audirvana and Tidal and now Roon trial. My modest system is Mac-Sonica DAC-Modwright pre-Wyred4sound monos-Von Schweikert VR4-JRs. As much as I appreciate the Roon appearance and extra info, to my ears the Audirvana sound quality is better. Anybody else prefer it over Roon for sound quality? Both are upsampled to max capable. I saw a similar thread a year ago and wanted an update. Thanks. 
tgrisham

Showing 1 response by mlsstl

I know nothing about Audirvana, but am now three-fourths the way through a month-long trial of Roon. I previously used LMS (the Squeezebox management software) to manage my music -- I'd used that for about 15 years.

I'll start by saying that Roon sounds just fine, but I find it no different than what I heard via LMS. I know that's not the correct "audiophile" answer, but I don't care. To me, the choice between Roon and other music management programs is about the user interface and the ease of finding the music you want.

I have mixed emotions about Roon and still haven't decided if it is a keeper. The thing I like the most is the way, once you have specifically selected some music to play, it will continue to play other tracks in the same vein one your initial selections are finished. That's great when you want continuous background music, such as now when I'm working from home.

It is also nice the way it shows you artist bios and info about other musicians and people on an album, sometimes along with an extra photo or two, but that's not worth a paid subscription to me.

The negatives are that for a long time I have primarily selected my music via folder browsing -- I'd see an artist's name and say, "Yup, that's the person I want to hear right now." Roon doesn't show folders. It'll come up with lots of suggestions and its search function is great, but it is just not the same. If I don't keep Roon, it'll be because I'm too set in my ways.

I have about a week left on the Roon trial. Still not sure what I'll do.