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- Oct 25, 2019
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After the second loss of Qobuz favourites from my Roon library this weekend , the second in a month (first occurence: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...z-albums-vanished-from-roon.23281/post-776321) I decided to pack it in with Roon. A damn shame as it is great software and perfect for my needs as it :
So, what solutions did I come up with to replace?
1. Amazon Music Unlimited - currently under trial but its £7.99 pm or £79 annual for HD. It is one of the few streaming desktop apps that allows local and online files to be merged and also allows a full library shuffle (both of which I need). Spotify allows you to play local files through its app , but it puts them in a separate "box" so you cant shuffle along with streamed content- so pretty pointless, may as well use Musicbee etc separately.
2. EAPO/ Peace for EQ on desktop. Seems to work just fine - not as slick as the Roon DSP for sure, but its free and works!
3. For mobile - my wife has a Spotify account and you can add a second "Duo" account on for only a couple of £ pm. So far so good, but only a paltry EQ function. But then I discovered Wavelet thanks to @Doodski brilliant post https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...acos-ios-ipados-and-android.18450/post-602403 and wonderfully gives seamless access to the Auto EQ database of settings. Yes, I would love a proper PEQ, not GEQ and/ or presets , but you can tweak the Auto EQ settings a bit with manual GEQ so good enough. Sadly, Wavelet cant EQ an Amazon Music stream (nor Tidal and a few others I think) otherwise I would have done that.
What am I missing compared to Roon and Qobuz/ Tidal?
1. Interface nowhere near as slick- I love the library analysis and sorting features of Roon, fully integrated PEQ
2. Mobile / remote control- I may have to use a remote keyboard for PC and/ or remote desktop on the chromebook. Apparently you can stream Amazon Music from phone app to Alexa installed on the PC, but its a bit clunky and , from a very very quick test and a bit of research doesnt seem to have the sound quality of the AM app on PC.
3. Multiple endpoints- so I will have to go back to USB from the PC to CXN if I want to use EQ - I could cast AM to the CXN if I wanted something easier but no EQ. If I want to play on my bedroom setup with EQ , will have to be a USB cable from DAC to phone and run through Spotify and Wavelet .
So, I think I will be saving a fortune in Roon and quite expensive Qobuz and Tidal subs. My outlay is now looking like around £120 per year for AM and Spotify (as a second account with Duo) and (hopefully) a more reliable service . Aside from the Roon integration issue with Qobuz, Qobuz were also buggers for removing items from their collection and replacing without re linking or notifying.
Sonically, I am really not that interested in finding out if a file on Qobuz, via Roon with their EQ into my DAC sounds any better than AM to EAPO to DAC. What plays on the new set up sounds fine to my ears- I am using the same EQ profiles as on Roon, and that is surely where the bulk of what I hear from the system is coming from, not how the bits are processed before that.
Hopefully I will be a happy camper with more money to spend on important things, like beer and more headphones. To any other Roon users, there is a different (albeit less pretty) way!
If anyone has any better suggestions, shout out whilst I am still in trial!
- Allows me to merge local and streaming files
- Allows EQ at source
- Communicates seamlessly with endpoints over network (Mainly Cambridge Audio CXN) and allows me to use the remote for that to control playback, as well as apps on Android and Chromebook
So, what solutions did I come up with to replace?
1. Amazon Music Unlimited - currently under trial but its £7.99 pm or £79 annual for HD. It is one of the few streaming desktop apps that allows local and online files to be merged and also allows a full library shuffle (both of which I need). Spotify allows you to play local files through its app , but it puts them in a separate "box" so you cant shuffle along with streamed content- so pretty pointless, may as well use Musicbee etc separately.
2. EAPO/ Peace for EQ on desktop. Seems to work just fine - not as slick as the Roon DSP for sure, but its free and works!
3. For mobile - my wife has a Spotify account and you can add a second "Duo" account on for only a couple of £ pm. So far so good, but only a paltry EQ function. But then I discovered Wavelet thanks to @Doodski brilliant post https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...acos-ios-ipados-and-android.18450/post-602403 and wonderfully gives seamless access to the Auto EQ database of settings. Yes, I would love a proper PEQ, not GEQ and/ or presets , but you can tweak the Auto EQ settings a bit with manual GEQ so good enough. Sadly, Wavelet cant EQ an Amazon Music stream (nor Tidal and a few others I think) otherwise I would have done that.
What am I missing compared to Roon and Qobuz/ Tidal?
1. Interface nowhere near as slick- I love the library analysis and sorting features of Roon, fully integrated PEQ
2. Mobile / remote control- I may have to use a remote keyboard for PC and/ or remote desktop on the chromebook. Apparently you can stream Amazon Music from phone app to Alexa installed on the PC, but its a bit clunky and , from a very very quick test and a bit of research doesnt seem to have the sound quality of the AM app on PC.
3. Multiple endpoints- so I will have to go back to USB from the PC to CXN if I want to use EQ - I could cast AM to the CXN if I wanted something easier but no EQ. If I want to play on my bedroom setup with EQ , will have to be a USB cable from DAC to phone and run through Spotify and Wavelet .
So, I think I will be saving a fortune in Roon and quite expensive Qobuz and Tidal subs. My outlay is now looking like around £120 per year for AM and Spotify (as a second account with Duo) and (hopefully) a more reliable service . Aside from the Roon integration issue with Qobuz, Qobuz were also buggers for removing items from their collection and replacing without re linking or notifying.
Sonically, I am really not that interested in finding out if a file on Qobuz, via Roon with their EQ into my DAC sounds any better than AM to EAPO to DAC. What plays on the new set up sounds fine to my ears- I am using the same EQ profiles as on Roon, and that is surely where the bulk of what I hear from the system is coming from, not how the bits are processed before that.
Hopefully I will be a happy camper with more money to spend on important things, like beer and more headphones. To any other Roon users, there is a different (albeit less pretty) way!
If anyone has any better suggestions, shout out whilst I am still in trial!