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Roon changes the music

... at least on Qobuz on my system.

Listening with an audio buddy who has a very critical ear to both Roon and Qobuz Connect. We agreed that quick AB comparisons of the same song with matched levels per the iPhone DBx app and no DSP, volume leveling etc., yielded a difference. As some of the listeners in this thread (https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/does-roon-sound-different?highlight=Does%2Broon%2Bcolor%2Bthe%2Bmusic) found, "ROON has a certain "house sound" that blurs contours and softens treble." and "Roon is a bit softer in the upper midrange and images do not stand out in such relief as jplay". It was not subtle. Need to listen more to see if it’s an improvement or a step back. Too early to tell but there is certainly a difference.

Since I have been struggling with Qobuz connectivity, I am again considering going to Tidal, which is no biggie, but now I am also concerned that I may have to give up Roon. That would suck because I really like the Roon UI and the fact that all my music is organized there.

tcutter
audphile1's avatar
audphile1
8,139 posts
 

Roon suffers from two major issues - 

1. Treble Fungus (copyright @audiopacer )

2. Brain Farts - this is where it decides its had enough and goes super slow…basically just rides off into the sunset leaving you with a paperweight until you reboot the core

My nucleus one has been off for little over a week and I’ve been using jplay. I have a large music library on SSD but honestly I rarely play any of the albums from it. It’s mounted inside nucleus. I will most likely cancel Roon. It’s not worth the hassle unless you prioritize convenience over sound quality. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,643 posts
 

I think Roon sounds wonderful. Go figure!

 

erik_squires
17,582 posts
 

I'm not sure what Roon appliance @audphile1 is using but that's not a problem I've ever had with Roon.  The only problems I normally have are more to do with my network reliability as a whole than Roon. 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
8,139 posts
 

@erik_squires on a contrary I never had network issues. 
I am using Roon Nucleus One. Solid as a rock when it comes to streaming. Sound quality and overall performance is a different conversation.

Roon sound quality, to me, is a compromise. It is rolled off and anemic.
Their latest update at end of April addressed most of the issues but the subsequent updates resulted in a deployment of some code that brought it back to being a POS it always was. 

We hear differently. Some can’t identify these traits in roon. Others prioritize convenience over sound quality. And then there’s a group of fanboys that are so in love with Roon that they’re ready to die on that hill.

I’m glad Roon works fine for you! 

erik_squires
17,582 posts
 

@audphile1  - When I have network issues its because my whole house is having network issues.  I don't blame Roon, Qobuz or anyone else but the boonies where I live. 

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