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Roon + NAS + microRendu


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Hiya,

Super happy with the microRendu running LMS which is running on an iMAC in the basement, connecting to a QNAP, & fiber to my microRendu.

 

So, why do I need Roon? Has anybody compared LMS to Roon with the microRendu yet? I have 3 other Squeezeboxes running in the house, and over the weekend, I easily synchronized everything to playback in the whole house, - it was awesome.

 

It's likely a bit too early for enough folks to compare Roon to LMS. But, has it been done yet?

 

I am not going to run DSD anytime soon due to my DAC. And I'm never going to run Tidal, it's not for me. I do have a 36,000 song AIFF library. I don't mind the LMS IF, and I like the regular old Logitech iOS controller app.

 

Does RAAT really offer a significant improvement over LMS-DLNA/UPnP etc.?

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Hiya,

Super happy with the microRendu running LMS which is running on an iMAC in the basement, connecting to a QNAP, & fiber to my microRendu.

 

So, why do I need Roon? Has anybody compared LMS to Roon with the microRendu yet?

 

[...]

 

I am not going to run DSD anytime soon due to my DAC. And I'm never going to run Tidal, it's not for me. I do have a 36,000 song AIFF library. I don't mind the LMS IF, and I like the regular old Logitech iOS controller app.

 

Does RAAT really offer a significant improvement over LMS-DLNA/UPnP etc.?

 

My LMS stopped working over the past weekend, and I decided to bite the bullet and try Roon. I had to take my Squeezebox and put it in "stock" format, and have been running SPDIF out of it (as I always do).

 

I was/am a big fan of LMS. It recently stopped running on my server (mac mini running OSX10.11) - and I have a fairly large library of music from MP3 through 24/192. I don't own any DSD as my DAC doesn't decode it.

 

What can I say? I'm a convert.

 

Here's why:

 

1. It found and cataloged my library in about 10 minutes initially. It updates INSTANTLY when I change anything.

2. Building a playlist or diving into your catalog is easy - you can search by tag (very thin-sliced sub genres, you can also tag your own), a decent serach or "similar artists"

3. It integrates seamlessly with TIDAL (I like Tidal, but it's not necessary unless you want to feel like your library also includes a ton)

4. Building a playlist is actually easier than in LMS (which I loved, BTW) supercharged since you can go and discover music you even forgot you had. (As I am the family "DJ" in the evenings, this is HUGE!)

5. I have a few HDCD's I ripped back in the day, and my DAC will decode them (Berkely Audio) - and unlike with LMS, the HDCD light came on!

6. For whatever reason I would have to periodically reboot LMS and the Mac Mini to get the best possible sound, but with Roon, I don't ave to do this. It seems like it's more authoritative and detailed, but that could just be me, or the server is more stable? I don't know.

 

What I don't like?

 

1. I have a single Squeezebox Touch, and a few Airplay devices throughout the house. I can send music to any of them, no problem, but I cannot get Airplay and the SBT to synch into a single zone.

2. $120/year or $500/lifetime seems to me to be a lot of money for server software. I will say that it certainly justifies the price to me. I'd be reluctant to pay "Lifetime Prices" at this point since the network audio space is changing so much!

3. I have a Sonos system to do whole house audio, and it doesn't work with Roon. I would gladly replace it with similar product that was Roon Ready aside from Airplay (which tends to drop out in my house for whatever reason) - Where is Roonos?! :-)

4. There aren't yet enough ethernet/network devices that are Roon ready for me to expand it much more than it is - my dream would be to have a Plinius Tiki "Roon Ready" as I would love for that to be my next DAC,

5. The only streaming services are TIDAL (though the URL based radio stuff is nice, for this to be "one stop" we'd need Google Music, too for the "radio stations")

 

I have used UPnP and found the finding, and sending of filed to be clunky and inelegant - while there are tons that work OK with it, but I have never had one of those peak experiences where the software, servers and hardware get out of the way and let me just play music.

 

For reference, I am not a fan of JRiver due to its complexity. I liked LMS due to its simplicity. I like the Sonos UI, but don't like the instability I see when linking to my libraries of ALAC at home, and the fact it won't play 24/192 is a long term dealbreaker for me as long as I find something suitable to replace it - my family loves the streaming services on it, so they won't give that up!)

 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Caveat: I am only about a week into the "free trial" so things could change. Also features like synchronized zone playing I just may not understand how to do yet, too.

--

Audio System: Mac Mini (w/Roon) -> USB -> NAD Masters M51 -> Ayre K-5xeMP -> Ayre V-5xe -> Thiel CS3.7's

 

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My LMS stopped working over the past weekend, and I decided to bite the bullet and try Roon. I had to take my Squeezebox and put it in "stock" format, and have been running SPDIF out of it (as I always do).

 

What can I say? I'm a convert.

 

Here's why:

 

1. It found and cataloged my library in about 10 minutes initially. It updates INSTANTLY when I change anything.

2. Building a playlist or diving into your catalog is easy - you can search by tag (very thin-sliced sub genres, you can also tag your own), a decent serach or "similar artists"

3. It integrates seamlessly with TIDAL (I like Tidal, but it's not necessary unless you want to feel like your library also includes a ton)

4. Building a playlist is actually easier than in LMS (which I loved, BTW) supercharged since you can go and discover music you even forgot you had. (As I am the family "DJ" in the evenings, this is HUGE!)

5. I have a few HDCD's I ripped back in the day, and my DAC will decode them (Berkely Audio) - and unlike with LMS, the HDCD light came on!

6. For whatever reason I would have to periodically reboot LMS and the Mac Mini to get the best possible sound, but with Roon, I don't ave to do this. It seems like it's more authoritative and detailed, but that could just be me, or the server is more stable? I don't know.

 

What I don't like?

 

1. I have a single Squeezebox Touch, and a few Airplay devices throughout the house. I can send music to any of them, no problem, but I cannot get Airplay and the SBT to synch into a single zone.

2. $120/year or $500/lifetime seems to me to be a lot of money for server software. I will say that it certainly justifies the price to me. I'd be reluctant to pay "Lifetime Prices" at this point since the network audio space is changing so much!

3. I have a Sonos system to do whole house audio, and it doesn't work with Roon. I would gladly replace it with similar product that was Roon Ready aside from Airplay (which tends to drop out in my house for whatever reason) - Where is Roonos?! :-)

4. There aren't yet enough ethernet/network devices that are Roon ready for me to expand it much more than it is - my dream would be to have a Plinius Tiki "Roon Ready" as I would love for that to be my next DAC,

5. The only streaming services are TIDAL (though the URL based radio stuff is nice, for this to be "one stop" we'd need Google Music, too for the "radio stations")

 

I have used UPnP and found the finding, and sending of filed to be clunky and inelegant - while there are tons that work OK with it, but I have never had one of those peak experiences where the software, servers and hardware get out of the way and let me just play music.

 

For reference, I am not a fan of JRiver due to its complexity. I liked LMS due to its simplicity. I like the Sonos UI, but don't like the instability I see when linking to my libraries of ALAC at home, and the fact it won't play 24/192 is a long term dealbreaker for me as long as I find something suitable to replace it - my family loves the streaming services on it, so they won't give that up!)

 

 

Hope that helps.

 

Caveat: I am only about a week into the "free trial" so things could change. Also features like synchronized zone playing I just may not understand how to do yet, too.

 

Hi, it helps a ton. Thank you. I really appreciate the detail, and also you listing the pros & cons. Much to consider with your post. Thanks again. Since I don't have a multi-platform solution like you, (the microRendu is essentially another SBT), for me: i think that things can be reduced to how much better is the SQ between Roon & LMS? If it is significantly better, than it may be worth the cost. If it's anywhere close, and the big SQ boost comes with running DSD DAC + HQPlayer + Roon, - then I am out.

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