thijazi

Could be... I did speak with Roon about this, and they are the ones that shared with me that their recommendation was to avoid the NAS route if possible... So I did..

Yes, I had the storage attached directly (USB) to the NUC.. It appears that when I had the Roon storage configured via a NAS drive, it worked but slowed down things, and some of that extra work the Roon Server had to do may have impacted sound quality. When I connected the drive directly to the Roon Server things improved in a notable way, plus the Roon UI became far more responsive and less sluggish.

I've seen a notable improvement in sound quality when I moved from a HTPC connected via USB to my DAC to a ROCK NUC build which sits far from the Hi-Fi rack (ethernet connectivity streamed via OpticalRendu).... The other time I noted an improvement was when I stopped using the NAS as the location of the FLAC files that the Roon Server was pointing to and instead connected the library directly to the ROCK NUC via a USB hard drive, I found out that this was also the recommended way to set this up according to the Roon literature. So for me, yes, I noticed improvements in these steps.

About a month ago I made a similar leap, went from an ultraRendu to OpticalRendu (still using the tp-link media converters) ... I was surprised to feel an instant improvement across the board, a really nice upgrade. Now I am waiting for the opticalModules to come back in stock, which would be the next upgrade for me, step for me.

I was advised by Roon to keep my music library on a USB HDD attached to the Roon music server (in my case an Intel NUC configured to Roon ROCK)... In the past I had my library (4TB+) on my NAS (Synology DS416play) but I noticed a sharp improvement in Roon UI responsiveness after I moved my library to the USB drive... I still use the NAS for backup, but the main music feed now comes from the USB device attached to the NUC.

Roon all the way!

True, the Signature Rendu SE optical Level II is the other big dilemma for me, looks like it has the best of the OpticalRendu minus all the boxes :-).... Problem is it will box me into only USB as an interface, which is fine for today but for the same price the Auralic Aries G2.1 will give me the USB interface (Therefore no issues with high bit-rate DSD) while giving me the flexibility to switch to optical if I wanted....... dilemmas, dilemmas!

I will be eager to read the replies to this one... I had a PC connected to my DAC (USB) for years, then took the PC away from the Hi-Fi rack and replaced it with an UltraRendu with high quality power supply which is again connected to the DAC via USB (for DSD this works just fine). I have an ethernet-fiber-ethernet media converters to cut the noise flowing thru the network running thru the UltraRendu... I am thinking to consolidate because now I have 6 little boxes and a mishmash of cables (UltraRendu + LPS1.2 + 2x Media Converters + 2x power supplies for the media converters)... I was between a DCS Bridge and the Auralic Aries G2.1 streamer, then started leaning more towards the OpticalRendu... My understanding is that with the proper power supply, the OpticalRendu is a very capable streamer. Don't know much about the Lumin so can't comment on that but my guess is that the Auralic and the Lumin have a high price tag because of the software and since I am on Roon I am not sure I need any of that.

For me Roon gives me a treasure trove of meta data that allows me to discover a lot more that what I can do with JRiver alone, I also like how it integrates the Qobuz subscription with my library, all in one place. The UI is pretty slick and touch friendly which makes browsing and discovering new things a breeze... just love it to be honest.. I've been paying JRiver for years and years, so it is not free either.

I have been on JRiver for an eternity, but after a brief trial with Roon I completely changed, I now strictly listen to my music via Roon... Still use JRiver for library management (importing, fixing meta-data, etc.) but my playback is more fun with Roon.... Like you, I have a USB DAC, a NAS and a library of FLAC files...

Agreed, take it a step at a time and try to enjoy each step. For me it is a hobby and I love the eternal upgrade options, I sincerely do not believe in a lot of the assumed benefits of these upgrades, but nevertheless find myself going after them, as long as I can afford these things I don't mind... It's fun and sometimes I was pleasantly surprised and at times I felt like the upgrade I did had zero impact.... The one thing I would prioritize is the power supplies.

Thanks, I am looking at obtaining one myself...

Here is a brief overview: (6) How to isolate a network device from noise on your network using the Sonore opticalModule Deluxe - YouTube There are expensive options (Sonore) and there are cheaper options (tp-link) ...

So what was the recommended setup? Also did you consider a pair of media converters (Ethernet to fiber optic) to further reduce noise?

I bought a pair of these "Amazon.com: TP-Link Gigabit SFP to RJ45 Fiber Media Converter, Fiber to Ethernet Converter 10/100/1000Mbps RJ45 Port to 1000Base-SX Multi-Mode Fiber (MC200CM) Black: Computers & Accessories" and a short stretch of fiber optic cable, all in all cost me less than $80.. I bought a couple of iFi higher quality power supplies to ensure I have a bit less noise on my power strip and that's it... I know I have a safer and a quieter system for a minimal investment. If you want to go higher end, Sonore sells supposedly higher quality media converters (Sonore Optical Modules) which they claim are built better, never tried them myself so can't tell if they would be that much better than the tp-link boxes I ended up buying.