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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
yyzsantabarbara
5,570 posts
 

The Nagra Streamer uses a proprietary fiberoptic cable to connect to the Playback Designs MPD-8. I do not think I can create a better signal path.

I had the lower cost version of the top end PlayBack Designs steamer called STREAM-IF. I compared it side-by-side to the Lumin X1 streamer and the older version of the Sonore OpticalRendu. They all sounded great but different which was very interesting to me since you would have thought a streamer would not sound different.

I never owned a PBD DAC (changed plans) but the STREAM-IF streamer was brilliant using SPDIF, as good as the fibre optic Lumin X1 and the OpticalRendu. Very impressed by the PBD streamer which I assume is even better with PLINK fibre.

BTW- yesterday my friend sent me a photo of the EMM top end DAC sitting in his house. He asked me if I wanted to hear it at my house. I am kind of scared to bring home a $33k DAC to my chaotic household. I have heard the PBD MPD-8 DAC, and this EMM is a direct competitor.

 

tlcocks
569 posts
 

Dedicated streamer using native software for Qobuz/ Tidal beats Roon anyday. My observations. 

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,625 posts
 

@mclinnguy I’ve been streaming for almost 20 years already and Roon is not my first fling.  Also I’ve  been around and pretty much heard it all. 
 

FWIW. Everyone has an opinion. 

lanx0003
1,973 posts
 

I prefer Tidal as well. To me, in most cases, it sounds better than Qobuz. 

That might contradict the experience of some—or even many—including my own. However, the most important thing is that if Qobuz isn't working reliably for you, then switching to another platform becomes necessary. It is what it is.

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,625 posts
 

I’m willing to bet there are those who don’t like the sound of Roon and are proponents of tweaking like myself  but refuse to use the extensive DSP functionality Roon provides  to tweak.  You can save a lot of time and money just by using the tools Roon provides effectively. I have found Roon DSP to be  the ultimate tweak.  Addresses room acoustics and personal preferences as needed. You just need a properly functioning and well integrated system to start with. 

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