Harman acquires Roon

[ShadowFiend]

Roon ready in WiiM Pro Plus is just Roon Endpoint. You still need another computer/NAS to run RoonCore/RoonServer.

 

[Timcognito]

Roon ready in WiiM Pro Plus is just Roon Endpoint. You still need another computer/NAS to run RoonCore/RoonServer.

Yes that is what is wrong with their model but I run it on my old free computer and I bought lifetime for $500. I can have as many $150 endpoints as I want. You can get lifetime on the BluOS with good app integration by buying any of their devices but other endpoints are expensive and no DSP and weak music searching. Both platforms did all that development, curate and update them constantly and you want it at a pittance with hardware also, if understand your gripe. well you may have gotten lucky with Harman buying them but I bet they use it like Bluesound and no cheap endpoints.

 

[ShadowFiend]

Like you, I also have lifetime license and use it with many endpoint through out my house. But It is more convenient for most people when the Roon Core is integrated inside the device. And there are potential integrated service with something big like Amazon Music or Spotify, which before Roon can not access to as a small company .

 

[Bulldogger]

Agree, JRiver really looks its age. They are charging for a new version every year so they need to do better than just these extremely minor tweaks with every new version. But on the flip side I can see people liking JRiver because it's old fashioned, some people (generally older) just really hate change.

I only put up with JRiver because Roon 2.xx is still not great with massive classical collections (about 6500 CD/SACDs).

The GUI is outdated. But I find it much more advanced than Roon. I have both. I can output more channels with Jriver for example, a lot more. I mostly use Jriver for video. I use Anystream to download the series I stream and I rip 4k Blu-ray.

 

[Mulder]

The GUI is outdated. But I find it much more advanced than Roon. I have both. I can output more channels with Jriver for example, a lot more. I mostly use Jriver for video. I use Anystream to download the series I stream and I rip 4k Blu-ray.

No doubt Jriver is more advanced than ROON. As a player. But ROON is a server and klient netvork solution. Setting up Jriver for the same network functionality is not very smooth and it is in my experience not very reliable.

 

[Bulldogger]

No doubt Jriver is more advanced than ROON. As a player. But ROON is a server and klient netvork solution. Setting up Jriver for the same network functionality is not very smooth and it is in my experience not very reliable.

Yes about everything you said about Jriver, crashes. My concern with Roon is that Samsung, the parent company doesn't seem to "play well with others." I think the TVs just announced at CES still don't support Dolby Vision. No regrets however about lifetime subscription.

 

[Roger285]

Wow, I’m amazed at all the negativity around here for Roon.

As a passionate Roon fan, I’d like to share my perspective.

First of all, I’d like to clear up a few things - you don’t need to purchase expensive equipment to run roon. I use a $500 Mac Mini running Roon as my “Core”. An attached high capacity usb drive holds many terabytes of music, all is available to me at numerous endpoints. I have a headphone listening area in my bedroom fed wirelessly to a tiny Chromecast audio. My music room has ethernet attached Wiim Pro. And then my laptop, workstation, iPhone and iPad. It’s all right at my fingertips with Roon’s elegant and browsable interface.

In the transition from physical media to a file-based music library I tried many programs, including iTunes, Audirvana, Plex and many others. I was aware of Roon, but the price tag was off putting. When I finally got around to trying it for a few months on the free trial, it became obvious that Roon was the answer for me. I have a lifetime license and couldn’t be happier.

I admit I’m not a typical music fan - I have a very large music library ripped from a lifetime’s worth of ripped cds and purchased downloads. Probably half of my collection is classical, and as others have mentioned browsing a large classical collection can be a challenge. With Roon I can easily browse artists, conductors, composers and compositions with a responsive and beautifully designed interface. I have over 14,000 albums in my library, and the little mac mini has been operating smoothly for a couple of years now. It just works.

Oh, and then there's built in fully customizable EQ and other DSP functions, Qobuz integration, advanced metadata, tagging, playlists etc.

I could go on all day but I'll leave it at that.

 

[Mulder]

Wow, I’m amazed at all the negativity around here for Roon.

As a passionate Roon fan, I’d like to share my perspective.

First of all, I’d like to clear up a few things - you don’t need to purchase expensive equipment to run roon. I use a $500 Mac Mini running Roon as my “Core”. An attached high capacity usb drive holds many terabytes of music, all is available to me at numerous endpoints. I have a headphone listening area in my bedroom fed wirelessly to a tiny Chromecast audio. My music room has ethernet attached Wiim Pro. And then my laptop, workstation, iPhone and iPad. It’s all right at my fingertips with Roon’s elegant and browsable interface.

In the transition from physical media to a file-based music library I tried many programs, including iTunes, Audirvana, Plex and many others. I was aware of Roon, but the price tag was off putting. When I finally got around to trying it for a few months on the free trial, it became obvious that Roon was the answer for me. I have a lifetime license and couldn’t be happier.

I admit I’m not a typical music fan - I have a very large music library ripped from a lifetime’s worth of ripped cds and purchased downloads. Probably half of my collection is classical, and as others have mentioned browsing a large classical collection can be a challenge. With Roon I can easily browse artists, conductors, composers and compositions with a responsive and beautifully designed interface. I have over 14,000 albums in my library, and the little mac mini has been operating smoothly for a couple of years now. It just works.

Oh, and then there's built in fully customizable EQ and other DSP functions, Qobuz integration, advanced metadata, tagging, playlists etc.

I could go on all day but I'll leave it at that.

Negativity? I don't think there is so much negative about ROON as software. As I se it, this thread is mostly about what will happen with ROON now that Harman, which is owned by Samsung, bought ROON. One must still assume that the acquisition is part of some kind of strategy for the future, which raises the question of what Harman (and Samsung) want with ROON. Then as far as ROON is concerned, the question is naturally raised whether ROON is worth the price. After all, compared to Jriver and other programs, ROON costs a pretty penny. It's not so strange if you compare ROON with the alternatives?

 

[srrxr71]

Not a problem. A suitably-programmed raspberry pi can act as Roon, Logitech music server, Spotify, DLNA and Airplay endpoints (one at-a-time), costs < $100 and can feed most USB downstream devices (such as DACs, etc). I use many this way on my home network.

If you created an SD card with everything setup on it and then charged for it I guess that is what people are asking for? Heck may as well bundle it with a Pi and charge $200.

Just plug in and connect to your DAC.

 

[somebodyelse]

If you created an SD card with everything setup on it and then charged for it I guess that is what people are asking for? Heck may as well bundle it with a Pi and charge $200.

Just plug in and connect to your DAC.

Sounds like https://ropieee.org/

 

[ahofer]

My iPhone/iPad Roon client hangs all the time now. I hope they find the problem. It's not such a big deal to close and re-open, but it's friction I didn't have before.

Generally after it has played a few tracks it just doesn't catch up to what is currently playing.

 

[mhardy6647]

This link to an interesting update from "the founders of Roon" was posted at hifihaven today, engendering a fair amount of (largely positive) chatter.

A Message from the Roon Founders

To everyone in the Roon community, Last November, Roon Labs was acquired by Harman International. This marks a new beginning for Roon, our industry partners, and our team. Today, we want to discuss…

blog.roonlabs.com

Seemed worthy of mention.

 

[Timcognito]

Seemed worthy of mention.

Indeed, but few specifics about the future though. Thanks

 

[srrxr71]

This link to an interesting update from "the founders of Roon" was posted at hifihaven today, engendering a fair amount of (positive) chatter.

A Message from the Roon Founders

To everyone in the Roon community, Last November, Roon Labs was acquired by Harman International. This marks a new beginning for Roon, our industry partners, and our team. Today, we want to discuss…

blog.roonlabs.com

Seemed worthy of mention.

Really good news. Also I like that they mentioned MOG. That was a great music service.

 

[Emlin]

This link to an interesting update from "the founders of Roon" was posted at hifihaven today, engendering a fair amount of (positive) chatter.

A Message from the Roon Founders

To everyone in the Roon community, Last November, Roon Labs was acquired by Harman International. This marks a new beginning for Roon, our industry partners, and our team. Today, we want to discuss…

blog.roonlabs.com

Seemed worthy of mention.

Thanks for posting, but it reads like so much blah.

 

[mhardy6647]

Thanks for posting, but it reads like so much blah.

That perspective did also appear in responses @ HFH, in full disclosure.
I have zero vested interest, but the press release (or whatever it is) was less valedictory than I would've expected a priori.

 

[ahofer]

This link to an interesting update from "the founders of Roon" was posted at hifihaven today, engendering a fair amount of (largely positive) chatter.

A Message from the Roon Founders

To everyone in the Roon community, Last November, Roon Labs was acquired by Harman International. This marks a new beginning for Roon, our industry partners, and our team. Today, we want to discuss…

blog.roonlabs.com

Seemed worthy of mention.

Removing internet connectivity requirement!! Excellent.

 

[Keith_W]

We’re paying attention to neglected aspects of the product – prioritizing performance and reliability – to ensure that Roon remains rock-solid. We’ll revisit long-requested features that we’ve avoided, like folder browsing and enhancing the way Roon handles box sets.

FINALLY!!! To be honest they have left such a bad taste in my mouth for ignoring long requested features that I am inclined to say "screw them". They still have a few more features to go before I would consider them: what about VST support? Dropping the price? WDM driver? ISO226 volume control?

 

[MattHooper]

I'm still considering incorporating Roon in to my Bluesound NODE system. (Apparently the NODE is Roon ready).

I seem to remember Roon has some sort of room eq, or an equalizer, available. If so, anyone tried it? Any good?

 

[CapMan]

I seem to remember Roon has some sort of room eq, or an equalizer, available. If so, anyone tried it? Any good?

It’s excellent - very comprehensive indeed.