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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
8,125 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
17,579 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. 

audphile1's avatar
audphile1
8,125 posts
 

@erik_squires cool. I don’t blame Roon for the network issues I don’t have. I don’t live in a boonies. My network is stable. Roon is not. 

shooter41
146 posts
 

This has been a long-standing question which has led me to compare Qobuz via Roon vs straight Qobuz several times. At one time, there absolutely was a difference, though not an earth-shattering one. But for me at least, that time has passed. I think Roon sounds excellent now. Of course, now that this is in my head I'll probably be comparing them again soon. 

sls883
1,064 posts
 

I tried Roon and there was a noticeable drop in sound quality.  I assumed that my system was not optimized for Roon and/or didn't have enough computer power. 

I liked the interface. 

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