Streamer or PC with Roon?

[Miguelón]

Hi everybody!

Searching for a good app / device for managing my music from my phone, and do some EQ corrections I was intended to buy a WiiM Ultra.

But recently I had good echoes from Roon Player, their website tell that I can manage the whole library and even third party apps (Qobuz in my case) from the smartphone. And even more, has a DSP section with nice PEQ!

Because my laptop is going to death, I was thinking about don’t wasting my money on a streamer, pay Roon subscription and use my phone as a remote.

Any advise between the two options?

1- Buy WiiM Ultra, 400€ and 10 parameters EQ, some doubts about Air Play future compatibility.
2- Spend same money on a PC or a Mac Mini second hand, use Apple Play to stream and iPhone as a Remote. Caveat: monthly subscription but many people tell it worths. DSP with PEQ on app

I think I need more a desktop computer, and a streamer will not add anything to my audio setup (I have a DAC that works perfectly, a pair of active monitors connected to it).

I think I answering myself

Thanks for reading, answers welcome!

 

[tjd]

For the pc, what dac would you use? I'm in the same point right now, pc quickly costs double the Wiim Ultra, but probably more useful.

 

[Miguelón]

I have an audio interface, Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 4th gen

Well, really more useful the PC to proper measurements: WiiM has an app to work with the iPhone, but think is like a toy.

I read more about Roon and is ideal for discovering more music. I’m a little stagnant on my old collection, so fresh air will be wellcome.

Apparently the phone remote works really well, also on the tablet and on every other device, I’ve just read Amir’s review on Roon Player

 

[Miguelón]

pc quickly costs double the Wiim Ultra, but probably more useful.

Yes, this is my dilemma.

 

[BobPM]

I made the same decision a year or two ago based on the software and use case. If you really only want to use it for music, then a streamer is the way to go. I also find roon's costs and limitations problematic. Streaming is limited to Tidal or Qobuz. No Apple, Amazon, Deezer or Spotify integration, no interrnet radio stations, and you will need to interact with the computer more to add these as non-roon apps. Then there is the cost of running the server / computer full time, along with a roon endpoint (like a thin client). Finally, the Wiim is really paying attention to the software so it is unlikely to be orphaned any time soon. I don't typically sit and read liner notes, so that is not a big one for me. I used bluesound before WiiM and find the WiiM's software to be a slight inprovement, and more stable. Now with the Ultra's equalization and sub out, it seems an even better option although you can get the equalization with roon. I have always used an outboard Schiit Modious DAC into a Freya + pre-amp, but have heard good things about the WiiM Ultra's internal DAC.

 

[Open Mind Audio]

While I have not owned Wiim, I've heavily used many different streamer boxes (Sonos, Bluesound Node 2i, Heos), also Roon via PC, Roon via an Oppo UDP 205, Roon over KEF wireless speakers, JRiver media player via PC, and plenty of others through the years.

All options work well. In my opinion, it comes down to two considerations: 1) how much you enjoy Roon and 2) how you will handle PC noise.

I love Roon and would not want to live without it, so I'd recommend going with the PC or seeking another digital player that is Roon-ready. But PC noise is something to consider. Fortunately, at places like eCollegePC, you can custom order a super quiet PC for close to the same price as a standard PC. (As you can read online, a super quiet PC with good fans tends to be quieter than fanless PCs, and they definitely perform better.) The quiet PC has worked well for me in my home office, where I get essentially ZERO noise from the PC even though it is just 2 feet away from me. This really gives me the best of all worlds for the home office, with PC-based music library management via Roon, control from my phone if I want it, plus the ability to use the PC to play around with Roon's room correction and range of settings.

Before I ditched my old Sonos, I even used Roon to play on it (via Airplay, I believe - so no high-res).

Aside from some challenges with multi-channel, I don't find any significant limitations to Roon at all. Sure, it does not integrate Amazon music - but it has Qobuz and Tidal. And I can always still play Amazon on my PC if that's so important to me.

It would be nice if Wiim was Roon-ready -- maybe some day. But you can't go wrong with a quiet PC, provided this is for a room where you already need a PC. If you were setting this up for a living room or home theater, I might suggest a streamer box, although a small PC might work there as well, so long as it is quiet enough.

PS - To be clear, by PC noise, I mean the actual noise you can hear from fans and disc drives, not some phantom noise allegedly coursing through the wires.

 

[tjd]

I started looking at availability in Canada, the Ultra is going to come in at $450 to the door. I understand the convenience of the all in one box, and the rapidly escalating price of strapping on a computer to a DAC, but in the end that's the route I chose.

Ended up ordering an SMSL DO100PRO which to the door ended up being $301, so $149 cheaper. It's also got balanced out and can act as a pre which puts checkmarks in everything I wanted technically. I looked briefly at doing a Raspberry PI system but that was a step a bit too far. I actually had an old HP EliteDesk 800 lying around the basement with an HDMI and USB-C port on it which I'll wipe/reload and repurpose. The only thing I'll be missing at the end of the day that I kind of want is Chromecast, but I might just cancel my Google sub and get a Tidal sub. Tidal support for TV's and Chromecast/Visio also seems to be quite mature, so for me I think this is the balance between flexibility and price. Plus I can still do Roon if I want to, so that's kind of a cherry on top if I want to throw that money away monthly as well.

Only thing not included in the pricing as some cheap XLR cables which came in under $30 and arrive next week.

 

[2roll]

Why do you want the Ultra? I think a Pro has Roon through Airplay. Streamers are so cheap these days, I would get one instead of connecting a computer. You can still set up Roon on a server if you like. I use Lyrion for my own files, but Roon is nice if you don't care about the monthly cost.