Computer Audio Reviews

Roon Labs Roon v.1.0 music-playback app Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Digital Sources: Apple MacBook Pro computer (2.66GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD) running OS 10.10.3, Amarra Computer Music Player, Audirvana Plus, iTunes, JRiver Media Center (v.19.0), Reaper, Songbird, VLC, XLD. Also used, to check compatibility: Android tablet, Apple Mac mini, Intel NUC (detailed in review), Sony laptop running Windows 7; Apple iPad Air, iPod Touch 1G, iPhone 6; Meridian Sooloos Digital Media System (Control 15, QNAP TS-669 Pro NAS); Oppo BDP-103 universal BD player; Western Digital 2TB NAS drive.
Digital Processors: AudioQuest DragonFly, Auralic Vega, Ayre Acoustics QB-9, Benchmark DAC1 USB & DAC2 HGC, Chord Hugo TT, Cambridge Audio DacMagic XS, Rega Research DAC-R.
Preamplifier: Marantz AV7005 (in Pure Direct Mode).
Power Amplifiers: Classé CAM 350 monoblocks (2).
Loudspeakers: MartinLogan Prodigy & BalancedForce 212 subwoofers (2). Desktop & recording monitoring system: Emotiva Airmotiv 5 speakers, Velodyne Servo-F subwoofer.
Cables: Interconnect: AudioQuest Victoria (for DragonFly) & Diamond (USB) & HD6 Carbon (S/PDIF, studio to main listening room), Cardas Clear (USB) & Neutral Reference (S/PDIF), Kimber Kable (various line-level), XLO HT Pro (line-level & S/PDIF). Speaker: Kimber Kable BiFocal XL.
AC Power: Dedicated 40A line (amplifiers), dedicated 15A lines (digital & analog components).—Jon Iverson

COMPANY INFO
Roon Labs LLC
96 Round Hill Drive
Briarcliff Manor, NY 10510
roonlabs.com
ARTICLE CONTENTS

COMMENTS
AvilleAudio's picture
Submitted by AvilleAudio on September 27, 2015 - 9:15am

Roon 1.1 gets it right in areas where 1.0 fell just short of the mark. There's no huge change, just a lot of small mods and tweaks. I didn't notice any difference in sound quality between v1.0 and 1.1. The big news with v1.1 is the near flawless integration of the iPad. With the iPad app you can get a big, beautiful touchscreen remote for as little as $230 (the price of a refurbished iPad Mini 2 direct from Apple).

I love classical music. No other programs I've tried handles classical well (and I've tried iTunes, Audirvana, Decibel). It "gets" that classical music consists of works, not just movements. If you tilt to classical, Roon is compelling.

My advise: give it a try for 2 weeks together with Tidal. I did and then signed up for both. Don't like it? At least you'll "get it" when it comes to the Sooloos/Roon approach to computer audio.

Happy listening, boys (and the 2 girls who'll read this--ha!).

malosuerte's picture
Submitted by malosuerte on September 28, 2015 - 7:26pm

My concern is that it will be around long enough to justify the lifetime membership.

For the most part it handled my library correctly, and the sound is good. I do not see much of a difference between Roon and Amara. The GUI is nice and the metadata is very good.

Ali's picture
Submitted by Ali on March 8, 2017 - 2:20am

So If I change my DAC and buy a new one, should I also buy a new license from Roon for new DAC? Also I have a Mojo but can't find it in the list of Roon, does it mean that I can't use Roon with this DAC?

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