Harman acquires Roon

[AdrianusG]

The only one I've found that is as capable as Roon is JRiver Media Center, which is largely unusable (for me, at least) due to the complexity of the interface and the terminology, etc. By comparison, Roon is child's play.

 

[AdrianusG]

The only one I've found that is as capable as Roon is JRiver Media Center, which is largely unusable (for me, at least) due to the complexity of the interface and the terminology, etc. By comparison, Roon is child's play.

Finally someone who uses JRiver too, been using it for close to 10 years now and don't feel any need for Roon, perhaps due to the fact that i'm not streaming, no interest in it at all, i'd rather buy good old CD's RIP them to my HD, done! just as good (or better) and have something to fall back to.

Plus what i heard about Roon (no experience though) that JRiver is just as good and a whole lot cheaper.

Sorry for double post there, something went wrong and i thought the first entry wasn't posted

 

[Dennis_FL]

An integration? Where?

Darko mentions it at about 34 minutes in this video. He's going to do a complete video on it next week.

 

[leonroy]

I'm sure many here are old enough and (well off enough) to remember purchasing Microsoft Word, Excel or Office in a giant box for $600 or Adobe Photoshop for about the same.

Or for photos we used to have Apple Aperture which retailed for $299 and Adobe Lightroom which retailed for the same.

Some of those products are gone and some are now on an endless subscription where you're held hostage to a monthly fee if you want to access your years of data - whether you use the software or not.

The only solution is open source, if we put our money into supporting such products instead it *might* result in a better outcome than seeing products come and go and hand wringing when they inevitably disappear.

I say this as a Roon lifer, but let's face it - the company couldn't run the product forever as-is and only open source is able to come close to guaranteeing the commitment that if the maintainers get bored, go under, sell up, there will be a volunteer or you yourself who can step up and keep it going.

 

[sergeauckland]

I'm sure many here are old enough and (well off enough) to remember purchasing Microsoft Word, Excel or Office in a giant box for $600 or Adobe Photoshop for about the same.

Or for photos we used to have Apple Aperture which retailed for $299 and Adobe Lightroom which retailed for the same.

Some of those products are gone and some are now on an endless subscription where you're held hostage to a monthly fee if you want to access your years of data - whether you use the software or not.

The only solution is open source, if we put our money into supporting such products instead it *might* result in a better outcome than seeing products come and go and hand wringing when they inevitably disappear.

I say this as a Roon lifer, but let's face it - the company couldn't run the product forever as-is and only open source is able to come close to guaranteeing the commitment that if the maintainers get bored, go under, sell up, there will be a volunteer or you yourself who can step up and keep it going.

It's the reason I've stuck with LMS (Logitek Media Server) for many years. It's maintained by an army of volunteers who keep it updated as far too many software products from manufacturers stop working once the original manufacturer moves on to other things.

As to Roon specifically, it still doesn't support BBC Sounds, so that eliminates it totally from my consideration as much of my listening is BBC Radio 3. I'm also surprised at how few other streamers support BBC Sounds, which in the UK at least would make them unattractive.

S.

 

[hvbias]

When it comes to SQ, JRiver has two important features that Roon does not have - (1) ability to host VST's, and (2) ISO226 volume control.

If you don't take advantage of either of these features, both are bit perfect players and will sound the same.

As for user interface, that's up to your preference. I happen to prefer JRiver.

I use JRiver only as well but a major issue with it is its home network streaming is quite a poor solution compared to Roon. With Roon it's so simple to have a mega server and have it be as loud as it wants, then store that server in some room that doesn't matter. With JRiver I had to build a completely silent PC with all SSD storage. It's less of a pain now that Noctua has a completely passive cooler (and can support CPUs that will easily be able to handle a good amount of convolution), but I built mine before that.

I gave Roon one last try on 2.0.xx and its interface still was not so great with classical, I'm thanking my lucky stars I never forked out for it before their most recent price increase. Several people on another forum bought into the lifetime at that time after Roon announced the impending increase in price for lifetime.

 

[Matias]

I use JRiver only as well but a major issue with it is its home network streaming is quite a poor solution compared to Roon. With Roon it's so simple to have a mega server and have it be as loud as it wants, then store that server in some room that doesn't matter. With JRiver I had to build a completely silent PC with all SSD storage. It's less of a pain now that Noctua has a completely passive cooler (and can support CPUs that will easily be able to handle a good amount of convolution), but I built mine before that.

Nowadays there are some really cheap and reasonably good performing fanless mini-PCs like the one below for example. Ideal for audio or just a small server hidden somewhere.

Fanless AMD Ryzen 7 5800U Desktop Review

We review this fanless AMD Ryzen 7 5800U system that will either be perfect or the exact opposite for many. We also found a SSD Easter egg

www.servethehome.com

 

[Mulder]

ROON and Harman have just announced a new version of the Nucleus. Am I the only one who thinks this is nonsense?
Roon Labs and Harman International Unveil Groundbreaking Nucleus Titan at CES 2024 ⚡️

“Nucleus Titan continues our long-standing goal of providing customers with Roon server options that correspond with their specific needs and desires. CPU and SSD technology has evolved significantly since we first released Nucleus, and we’ve taken advantage of those innovations. With Titan, we’ve created a high-performance device that fuses precision manufacturing with aesthetics that evoke the interwoven nature of our music collections and Roon’s finesse for music exploration. We’re very excited with the results and our ability to provide our customers with the ultimate Roon software platform,” said Enno Vandermeer, Roon Co-Founder.

Well, CPUs have evolved, sure, but in what way will the latest CPUs bring anything to the table which can’t be handeled by an older CPU? ROON is hardly CPU heavy compared to those software that needs the latest CPUs. Same with SSD discs. I have a five year old SSD in my NUC. There is no lagging or any problems at all running ROON on that NUC. Why put a lot of money into an overkill server? And ”aesthetics that evoke the interwoven nature of our music collections and Roon’s finesse for music exploration” What a silly marketing.
I have always liked ROON rather straightforward information and communication. Not very much if the regular HiFi-marketing BS. Is that era over now?

 

[mhardy6647]

I think most of what happens in so-called "technology" nowadays is nonsense... but, if you'll excuse me, I have go yell at some punk kids to get off my lawn and shake my fist at some clouds. It's a calling...

 

[fpitas]

I think most of what happens in so-called "technology" nowadays is nonsense... but, if you'll excuse me, I have go yell at some punk kids to get off my lawn and shake my fist at some clouds. It's a calling...

Someone has to do it.

 

[mhardy6647]

View attachment 340773
Someone has to do it.

I'm not just grumpy, I'm also lazy -- but I am smart enough to leave breadcrumbs.

 

[JP]

My Roon core. Host is a 2012 i7 Mac mini. Only issue I have is mitigated by restarting the software in the wee hours daily - I think their listed memory requirement takes in to consideration their memory leaks.

 

[AudioJester]

I can understand its not needed for those of us who allready have Roon servers.
I also get the need to expand their customer base, those of us who bought lifetime subscriptions at the beginning are along for the ride.

Expanding into new market categories - there are people who will want something like this to join Roon, new products straight away. Make it attractive for high end crowd.New vision for Roon? Maybe promicing.

Us old timer Roon users are not a growth target, we havnt put any money into it for 8+ years.....

 

[Saturn94]

Roon Labs and Harman International Unveil Groundbreaking Nucleus Titan at CES 2024 - Roon Labs

Nucleus Titan melds cutting-edge performance with breathtaking aesthetics, delivering the ultimate platform for Roon music software. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (January 9th, 2024) – Roon, the world’s most innovative listening experience for music lovers, in conjunction with Harman International, is...

blog.roonlabs.com

Starting at $3699. No thanks.

 

[Mulder]

Roon Labs and Harman International Unveil Groundbreaking Nucleus Titan at CES 2024 - Roon Labs

Nucleus Titan melds cutting-edge performance with breathtaking aesthetics, delivering the ultimate platform for Roon music software. LAS VEGAS, NEVADA (January 9th, 2024) – Roon, the world’s most innovative listening experience for music lovers, in conjunction with Harman International, is...

blog.roonlabs.com

Starting at $3699. No thanks.

At least no BS about better audio quality. At least honesty in that regard.

 

[GXAlan]

$3700 without a lifetime subscription though

At least no BS about better audio quality. At least honesty in that regard.

"...the only choice for those seeking a premium Roon server that promises a superlative Roon experience paired with breathtaking visual appeal."

I'm not sure that looks more impressive that a server rack, but that's just me.

 

[Keith_W]

$3700 without a lifetime subscription though

Really? They expect you to pay $3700 for that thing, and then a monthly subscription on top of that?

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Those of us running LMS on a lowly Pi 4:

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Really? They expect you to pay $3700 for that thing, and then a monthly subscription on top of that?

They could have just bumped the opening price and rolled in the lifetime sub.

 

[Ron Texas]

Today Samsung (Harman's parent company) reported weak sales. Their stock skidded and there was contagion into some other companies like Apple.