The time has come and I request advice...

I also disagree with ghdprentice and I also have over 40 years in the high tech sector. For over 2 decades I’ve used streaming software and there have only been 3 outstanding pieces that I would use today: Lightning DS, Audirvana, and Roon, these 3 are light years ahead of the others. The software with the best gui and functionality is Roon, followed by Lightning DS. The best sounding program is audirvana.

Where I disagree with ghdprentice is in the area of hiring a bunch of developers to 1st develop the software (not that easy or everybody would be doing it right and they are not) and then you have to keep a few developers forever for support and creating new functionality. Audirvana has done a good job being 1 guy doing the developing but the gui and functionality can’t compare to Roon.

Also, software is where you make your money. Write 1 set of programs and sell it to a million customers. I’ve been doing Oracle db work almost 40 years ago and Oracle is still around, grown in functionality, sold millions of copies, and it isn’t going anywhere, and yes, others have tried to be better, but to this day, nobody can compete with Oracle. Roon is like Oracle, top of the heap, has a strong company to support it, keeps growing in functionality, and its base keeps growing. I’d be more worried about the likes of aurender going out of business before Roon mainly because aurender is tied to only its machines where Roon can run on many platforms and this list keeps growing.

Oracle is a giant crap @rbstehno way worse than SQL Server or postgres. You'd know if you weren't stuck in your bubble.

SQL server is a glorified Access database. Postgres is ok.If you knew anything hint about databases, you would know Oracle has had many more enterprise features than any other database (db2 has more features than sql server). I also used mysql which is the most used (free and small so easy to implement in small devices) and fastest database in the world which Oracle owns. But most enterprises that need the best enterprise database still use Oracle. 
 

In Google, put in “#1 relational database in the world” and Oracle is still (after 40 years) is still #1. 

Here is a few examples of software that didn't last:

• Sound Designer (Digidesign)

• Sound Designer II

• Deck (Bias)

• Peak (Bias)

• Sonic Solutions (Classic)

• Cool Edit Pro

• Sonic Foundry Sound Forge (pre-Sony era)

• Cakewalk Pro Audio

• Opcode Studio Vision

• Opcode Vision

• Emagic Logic (pre-Apple Windows versions)

• SAWStudio (classic era)

• FastTracker II

• Impulse Tracker

• Cubase VST (Atari / early Windows versions)

• Pro Tools Free

• iTunes (classic local-library era)

• IBM NewWave

• WordPerfect (DOS / classic Windows versions)

• Lotus 1-2-3

• Borland Quattro Pro

• Microsoft FrontPage

• Netscape Navigator

• Mosaic

• Internet Explorer

• AOL Explorer

• Opera (Presto-based classic versions)

• Deluxe Paint

• Aldus FreeHand

• Corel Ventura Publisher

• Fractal Design Painter (early versions)

• dBASE IV

• Lotus Agenda

• HyperCard

• Microsoft Visual InterDev

• PowerBuilder (classic versions)

• Winamp (classic)

• RealPlayer (classic)

• QuickTime for Windows

• Norton Commander

• PC Tools (Central Point)

• Arachne Browser

• OS/2

• BeOS

• AmigaOS (classic)

• NeXTSTEP / OPENSTEP

This list goes on. 

Lotus Agenda was one of the most functional text based applications. I but huge amounts of data into it. But as usual, it got sidelined. 

@rbstehno 

SQL server is a glorified Access database. 

This statement alone is proof you are drunk on Larry Ellison cool aide. Oracle has the market share because they had one of the most ruthless unscrupulous sales organizations on the planet. The outfit I work for now has MSSQL,SAP/Sybase, Postgres and Oracle is the only vendor they would love to send packing.  They hate'm and the technology.