Sound quality of Roon

My advice is to see if you can try it yourself. 

I haven’t noticed a difference - it’s simply an interface change to simplify playing from a hard driver or multiple streaming services. I have a Roon-ready device from Moon so I can use Moon MiND app, Tidal Connect or Roon.  (My audio dealer uses Roon when people audition systems and there's several 100k+ systems in their listening rooms)

Here’s what I like:

• 1 TB hard-drive to store my music (allows me to free up my server for space for movies)
• Meta data - it’s like having access to the liner notes of the album and Rolling Stone at the same time.
• Recommendations for music based on history - I use it when I’m looking for background music
• Access to radio stations I haven’t found in Tune-in via the MiND app

Here’s things I don’t like:

• Search priority starts with your library - prioritizing hard-drive over streaming. My hard-drive is MP3s and I’d prefer a FLAC file over MP3 when available. I either have to click to select the FLAC version or add the "subscription" version to my library so it selects the higher quality version
• The volume buttons on the iPad change the volume button on the stereo. Accidently touching the button can raise the volume quickly

I prefer Tidal over Qobuz - based on sound quality and my musical tastes. I recommend Roon if you use more than one music streaming service or have more than one system you are using.

@audphile1 

+1

When I moved up to the >$3000 streamer/ digital player strata, the degree of audio improvement was not subtle. Linear power supplies in high-end gear matters.

@overthemoon let me try and help you there…in Roon settings, general…scroll down to STREAMING CONTENT PREFERENCES. Under it you will see Streaming service preference. Select Qobuz or Tidal from drop down. That’s going to ensure the version played by default is either Qobuz or Tidal, and not the mp3 from your library. 
Let me know if that works. 

@troidelover1499 

Roon sounds better than ever and IMHE unless you compare to a rare very high cost SOTA streamer with proprietary software(e.g. DCS or Aurender), Roon SQ is going to be equal for you. The user experience is fantastic. Few who try the free monthly trial choose not to subscribe.

Roon is run by guys who came from Meridian and care about SQ. They get it and will continue to make improvements. New products & companies are getting added to Roon Ready all the time. This benefits us all for a few reasons:

• Incompatible hardware issues impact their response to software issues
• Wide adoption supports longevity
• Competition among hardware makers supports innovation & quality/value

I am a vinyl lover who runs digital for musical diversity. I run Roon Core on a Sonictransporter, keep 4TB of music on a NAS, and feed both to an OpticalRendu streamer into Denafrips Pontus II DAC. I stream Qobuz via Roon. Compared to using Lumin, Linn and other DLNA/UPNP apps and Minimserver on the NAS, sound quality is equal. Reliable connectivity is better by far with Roon.  Roon also integrates room correction if your're interested in that.

The integration of my personal library along w/Qobuz in Roon is hard to beat. You can use phones, tablets or laptops as remote...you may not need to buy a tablet. It looks and runs great on both my Macbook and iPhone. 

I agree that Bluesound is okay, but a better streamer with a good linear power supply will definitely give you better SQ for not much investment. For Roon Core, you can trial with most computers and if you decide to stick w/Roon then add dedicated core (e.g. NUC or Sonictransporter) when you can afford that step. Cheers,

Spencer

Thanks for the comments. The replies are interesting but still kind of confusing. I see that the Innuos Zen Mini Mk3 can work as a Roon core computer and also has a DAC built in, so maybe that is a pretty reasonably priced option to get started. For now I am discounting the few voices who insist their streamer sounds better than Roon as it seems to me like they like something so much better because they just spent several thousand dollars to buy it. This happens alot maybe too often.