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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
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
1,975 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. 

swede58's avatar
swede58
196 posts
 

Roon sounds absolutely excellent when streaming Tidal via my Bryston BDP-3 and Esoteric K-05XD. Roon core on a MacBook. The difference between when I play CDs and streaming is minimal.

mapman's avatar
mapman
23,625 posts
 

Fact of the matter is Roon DSP (or similar features commonly found in other streaming software these days) exists specifically to allow users to change how the music sounds in order to address room acoustics, personal preferences, whatever.  So with Roon you are armed and dangerous but one has to take the time needed to get a handle on how to use the tools provided effectively.  There is a lot there!   Down side is all it takes is for one setting to be off to have a negative rather than positive result. 

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