Roon Review: A full-house music system that works
($150/year billed annually, $14.99/month billed monthly, $829 lifetime, plus costs of a server, controllers, and endpoints)
[Tl;dr: This system is not without its flaws, and there are certainly cheaper/free options in the market that accomplish at least some of the same functionality, but for someone like me that values the ability to quickly and easily stream music to different rooms (or transfer an active stream from one room to another), the convenience factor is real. I can’t imagine not re-upping this service, and if Roon ever goes out of business I’m going to be really bummed. Particularly, I love the Roon Radio functionality and the recommendations it makes for new tracks and albums, and how seamless it makes moving around my house while listening to music.]
Scores:
Cost-agnostic: 9 out of 10 Denalis
Cost-sensitive: 8 out of 10 Denalis
[Caveats/tech details: This is probably the most niche and bougie review I’ve done (or will likely do). Please keep in mind that I’ve been seriously collecting audiophile-grade hi-fi gear for five or six years now, and I’m a HUGE music nerd, so I’m coming to this from a place of already having a closet full of unused speakers, amps, etc. just waiting to get slapped into a system. Your mileage (and costs!) may vary.
I’ve tested this through my own personal implementation of Roon, which consists of a server in my office (a ROCK built with an Intel NUC 8) hardwired to my router, with external hard drives for local music storage, around a dozen endpoints (ranging from the expensive Devialet Expert 140 Pro super-integrated amp driving KEF LS50 speakers in my office, to the Apple TV at the heart of my living room 7.4.2 ATMOS system, to the cheap paired Sonos Ones in my basement, etc.), and controller apps on most of the computers and all of the tablets/iOS devices around my house. I have Roon endpoints in every room in my house, and my back porch. (Full setup details below.)
Early on I had some difficulty with wifi connectivity in my (plaster-walled) house when I was using a Google Mesh network, but since I switched to an enterprise-grade Ubiquiti router it hasn’t been an issue. I also owned most of this equipment before I played with Roon, and as a result my system investment is MUCH more than the minimum to have an effective implementation. ]
Intro: Roon is a music system designed to provide music across an entire space connected by a single network 1 (either wifi or ethernet). The system consists of three pieces:
A server/hub (the device that talks to the internet, catches streams, and forwards them to endpoints);
One or more endpoints (amps/speakers/etc.); and
One or more controllers (devices that let you select music, adjust volume, etc.).
Within that broad framework, there’s a lot of variability and flexibility. The basic idea is this: you should be able to listen to any music or audio content in any room you’ve set up with a Roon endpoint with essentially no friction, logging in, or messing about. You can seamlessly move streams from room to room as you move around your space, and you can sync audio playback across multiple rooms so that you’re getting the same content perfectly in time across those systems.2 The streams are not reliant on the device you use to start the stream; the server feeds the audio directly to the endpoint and removes your controller from the loop, meaning that watching a video or getting a call on your phone won’t disrupt playback on another system.
Server/hub: This can be as simple as a computer running a modern version of Windows or MacOS with the Roon software running in the OS, or as expensive as the truly elegant but extravagant Nucleus device that Roon manufactures itself and which runs a custom operating system (RoonOS). The middle ground is a custom built mini-PC aka a “Roon Optimized Core Kit” (“ROCK”).3
I started with my server running on the old iMac that’s now in my guest room, and pretty quickly decided to upgrade to a dedicated ROCK. I bought the recommended components and put it together following Roon’s instructions in about an hour with no special tools or pre-existing skills.4 I built mine at the peak of computer component price gouging during COVID, but with current prices and supply chains it’d run you a little less than $400. Unless you’re super picky about fan noise (or you relish the idea of assembling a mini-PC), you might be better off starting with either an existing PC or snagging a cheap Mac Mini for $100 or $150 off of Craigslist.
If you’re running a dedicated server (a Nucleus or a ROCK), all it will do is run Roon; you can’t use that machine for anything else. If you’re running the software on a machine running Windows or MacOS, it uses only a small fraction of the computer’s processing power and you can use the machine for anything else you might want to (though anything that affects system resources can potentially interfere with music playback).
[My honest read is that unless you’re super finicky about sound, or a giant nerd like me, run it on an existing machine. The NUC is cool, but well past the point of diminishing returns for sound quality.]
Endpoints: Man, I could do a dissertation on this topic. At heart, an endpoint is just a speaker or pair of speakers, an amplifier, and a streaming device transmitting Roon’s audio signals to the amplifer (these can be separates like a traditional hi-fi system, or all built into one device like a powered smart speaker). You can spend literally as much money as you want on endpoints (any hi-fi system can be used as an endpoint), or you can go really inexpensive and build a Raspberry Pi streamer or buy a $30 Chromecast stick and connect it to a cheap Lepai amp and speakers from Goodwill. 5
Roon connects pretty easily with anything using the following protocols: 1) RoonReady (duh); 2) Airplay and Airplay 2; 3) Tidal Connect; 4) Chromecast; 5) universal plug ‘n’ play (via ethernet or wifi); or 6) BluOS. They can also be physically connected to any computer on your network; I currently have a PS Audio Sprout100 (driving passive monitors on my desk) and two different headphone amp/DAC combos connected to my Mac Studio; each is individually considered a separately-selectable endpoint for Roon (and the computer shows up in Roon as an additional endpoint which streams to whatever happens to be the computer’s default audio output at any given moment—handy for A/B testing):
Because of its compatibility, Roon plays nicely with anything made by a number of consumer brands like Sonos, prosumer brands like Bluesound, and high-end audiophile brands like Cambridge Audio and Devialet. When you add in Chromecast and Airplay, the universe of potential endpoints is pretty extensive and varied in price and quality. For me and my (admittedly bougie) ears, the sweet spot is in the Bluesound category (the Node or Powernode Edge, though I also have used a cheap-ish Arylic amp for my bathroom/back porch and I like the old Sonos Ones all-in-ones in my basement). Also any computer, tablet, or phone with the Roon app can be used as an endpoint via audio outputs, and there’s a way to rig any Alexa device or Homepod to work as an endpoint.
Many of the endpoints I’ve used have been things that were already sitting around my house gathering dust, because I’m a packrat who has a hard time getting rid of anything.
Controllers: All of the computers in my house (save my Foundation-issued one) have the Roon client running most of the time. So do both of my phones, and a couple of old iPads I have rigged in my house for media controllers or for recipe lookup. As of about a year ago, the Roon iOS app added Apple Watch connectivity, so once Roon is playing something in any given room I can use my watch to control volume and playback. I mostly use the app on my gaming PC in my office, and my phone everywhere else in the house. [Some day I want to rig a RoonDial for my bathroom, but that ends up being weirdly complicated and requires a dedicated computer.]
Setup: Depending on how you are handling the server requirement, setup can vary a lot. All will require largely the same set of configurations for the software, though the interface for the Roon client running on an existing machine is much more intuitive than installing and configuring a dedicated server.
Roon client on an existing computer: When I was just running the Roon client on a Mac in my office, setup was maybe ten minutes of installation, configuration, logging into various streaming services, and connecting endpoints via the native app.
Nucleus: If you are buying a Nucleus, I’ve heard the setup is incredibly simple: just a little bit of configuration, but I have no first-hand experience.
ROCK: If you’re building a ROCK, you need to assemble the device (which really just consists of opening up the NUC case, snapping in the RAM and the hard drive, screwing a couple of screws, and then closing the case), and flash the operating system (which just involves loading it on an SD card like the ones digital cameras use and pressing a couple of the right buttons in sequence).
[Note: the ROCK doesn’t need any output (monitors) or input (keyboards/mice) devices once they’re set up, 6 but you’ll 100% want a monitor and keyboard/mouse connected just for the setup process. I unplugged all inputs and outputs shortly after I was satisfied things were running smoothly.]
[Installation suggestions: given the relative costs of NVMe SSDs and spinning hard drives, I’d strongly recommend not trying to use an internal hard drive for the NUC to store local music files. I have a couple of 1TB external spinning drives attached to the NUC for local storage and backup. Internal hard drives for the NUC seem like overkill to me.]
Playback Connectivity: The biggest advantage of a system like Roon over directly streaming from your devices is the data path. When I start playing music on one of the endpoints in my house, I select it on any of my controller devices, the server reaches out to the internet to grab the stream, and directs that stream to the appropriate end point. Once the stream has started, the controller is removed from the process unless and until you want to change what you’re listening to, change volumes (assuming that your endpoint is set up to give Roon volume control), etc. This means that unlike using, say, Airplay, my phone isn’t a conduit between the internet and the server. I can do other things on it, put it away, charge it, turn it off, etc. without affecting my ability to stream. And if I leave my phone in the basement and want to change tracks in my office, I can just open up any of my computers or other devices and make the changes that I want to. This also means that music isn’t interrupted by notifications from other apps, text dings, volume attenuation when a new e-mail comes in, etc.; all of the potential flaws of playback on a cellular-connected device.
Options: Roon supports a limited number of streaming music services (Tidal, Qboz, and KKBOX, as well as a number of internet radio stations) and will both organize and play locally stored files in a variety of formats and qualities. There has been talk over the years of bringing some more common services (like Amazon or Apple) to the system, but I’m not holding my breath. Apple has been pretty vocal about not allowing any services access to their APIs/playback (other than SONOS, a legacy system), and because Roon is focused on the higher-end market they've tended to focus on the streaming services that did higher-quality streaming early on. I happen to really like Tidal, though I am annoyed about paying for two different streaming services: Tidal for my home, and Apple Music for everywhere else.
It's also worth noting that most Roon endpoints can double as Airplay and/or Chromecast endpoints. So if you really want to listen to something on Apple Music or another non-supported streaming service, you can do an end run around Roon and stream directly to endpoints. But that sort of defeats the purpose of having Roon.
Connection: Connecting these systems is pretty easy to set up, though Tidal occasionally prompts me to re-log-in to the system (probably every three to six months). Local storage is also pretty easy; you just point the server to your locally-attached storage (or theoretically, to network storage on your own network), and through the miracle of universal plug ‘n’ play, it’s pretty good about importing and sorting automatically (and it constantly checks the targeted folders to see if anything new has been added).
Imports: Roon has a nifty feature built it; if you plug a CD-R or DVD-R drive into your server, it will automatically rip CD-quality files from any music CD you insert into the drive, and it does a pretty good job of finding and applying the appropriate metadata (track lists, credits, art, etc.). I spent a couple of weeks ripping most of my CDs and those I inherited from my dad. [Note: if you do this, make sure to read some of the forums to get some pro-tips on how to make it most efficient. By default Roon rips to a single folder and doesn’t name the files helpfully, and it’s worth taking some time to export files to individual artist and album folders; it’s mostly easy and intuitive, but does require a few manual processes.]
Bougie info: Roon gives you a lot of information about signal path, audio quality, and where transformations/conversions are being made. This won’t matter for 99% of users (including, mostly, me), but Roon is really good at showing you where issues are cropping up or where your signal is being degraded:
Useability: The interface is really quite intuitive. You select which speaker or zone you want in the lower right, and then pick the media you want to listen to:
You can get pretty detailed information about file path and quality, and automatically provides a list of all versions of a particular piece of media (for example, if I look at Massive Attack’s “Mezzanine,” I’m offered at least three versions: the high-quality .FLAC version I ripped from a CD, the low quality .mp4 version that has somehow migrated itself into my Roon server, and the high-quality MQA .FLAC version streaming from Tidal:
Roon Radio: Roon Radio is honestly my favorite thing about Roon. Unless you turn the functionality off, by default when your current queue (album, playlist, artist, etc.) completes, Roon will pull something it thinks is similar out of your library. This includes both local files as well as the full catalog of streaming services you have connected.
I have a fair amount of experience with recommendation algorithms, from Pandora’s early implementation of the Music Genome project, to Youtube Music’s strange and aggressive algorithm, to Amazon Music HD’s recommendations, to Apple Music (nee iTunes)’s version. For me, Roon stands head and shoulders above the rest. There’s an option to skip a track, which triggers a simple question about why you’re skipping it. The algorithm learns from what you listen to, what you skip, and what you repeat, and I have been really impressed by how good it is. I almost never skip recommended tracks, and while some of the recommendations are somewhat baffling (not sure how it goes from a Portland-based prog rock artist to mid-century French jazz), I almost always enjoy them. I’d guess about half of the new albums I added to my system in 2023 were Roon recommendations. It’s particularly strong with ambient and electronica recommendations, but it also does a great job of introducing me to albums that I’ve missed over the last couple of decades that I really enjoy.
Updates: The software gets updated pretty regularly (and it automatically asks you if want to update all of your upgradable endpoints each time). None of the updates have broken the system (something I wish I could say about Apple or Microsoft), and they’ve got a long list of new functionalities they want to add. Right now they’re working on a way to essentially build your own streaming service based off of your local and streaming libraries, but I haven’t spent much time with it because I don’t love the idea of having a perpetually open connection between my network and the internet. It’s been more stable than I expected; currently my ROCK has been running for 172 days, and I haven’t restarted in seven days (since the last update).
Pricing: It ain’t cheap. It’s $150 a year,7 plus whatever you need to pay to get access to the streaming services you want to add. For example, the version of Tidal I use (the individual Hi-Fi plan) costs me $10.99/month on top of the effectively $12.50 month I pay for Roon itself.8 I spent around $500 on building my ROCK music server, but that was at the peak of COVID price-gouging for tech. I think you could build one for around $400 now or just use an old existing computer for free; also, Facebook Marketplace is full of old iMacs and Mac Mini’s for less than $200 and they’d do perfectly well running a Roon server as well as functioning like a normal PC).
Endpoints are as cheap or expensive as you want them to be. One of the endpoints I’m running in my house cost me less than $100 (cheap Goodwill speakers, a $20 Lepai amp), and an old iPhone that was collecting dust on my shelves). If you have an existing hi-fi system you want to integrate, you can do it for less than $100, or spend as much as you want on an audiophile-grade streamer. One of the fun things about being an audiophile is that there are a lot of people (especially techbruhs in Seattle) that always have to have the new hotness, which means that there’s a lot of good audiophile equipment available at decent used prices most of the time, if you know what to look for or find a shop that’s willing to work with you.
All in, you could set up a good system for substantially less than $1000, or you could spend tens of thousands of dollars if you’re bougie like that. (While I am bougie as hell, I am not *that* bougie).
I really wish I’d bought the lifetime subscription back when I first set up the system, and it was less than $500.
Competitors: There are a lot of these kinds of systems in place, though few are as well developed or supported. Squeezebox was the first one that I became aware of, and while I don’t think they’ve made hardware supporting it in at least a few decades, the software is freely accessible and community supported. I know a number of people who use Plex (which I dabbled with briefly), but I find the endpoint support lacking for anything other than a full Windows or MacOS machine. Before I upgraded to Roon, I used Foobar2000 running on my computer with cables hardwired to an integrated amplifier, and it was … fine, but limiting. All of these options are either free or close to.
There are also a number of streaming protocols (many of them free) that will let you send music from a device like a phone, tablet, or computer to an appropriately connected speaker system. Airplay, Chromecast, Spotify Connect, now Tidal Connect, etc., are all systems that are pretty widely available on relatively inexpensive devices (Chromecast dongles start around $30, and virtually all Apple devices have one or both of the Airplay protocols built in). They do, however, require using the intermediary device to catch the streams and direct them to the endpoint, instead of passing off the stream directly to the device, which means your music is subject to interference from the controlling device. I have my phone set up to give me notifications when they come in, which makes this a much less appealing choice.
I’ve also dabbled quite a bit with Sonos and BluOS as multi-room systems. Both require using only their hardware, with limited or no compatibility with anything else, which is fine if you’re starting from scratch but annoying if you have existing systems you’d like to integrate, or if you like shopping used. Personally, I generally find Sonos’ sound to be a little lacking, though more affordable, and while I like most of the BluOS hardware I’ve listened to (Node, Node 2, Powernode N150, Powernode Edge, Pulse, etc.), their all-in-ones are relatively expensive for what you get. I’d rather use BlueSound’s streaming devices to connect to amplifiers and speakers that I have selected based on my preferred profile. Both have the distinct advantage of being free, and of being more broadly compatible with streaming services outside Tidal and Qboz.
Finally, a number of companies make decent smart speaker systems that can provide reasonable quality music with a single device in each space9 and minimal setup. Amazon’s Echo/Alexa line offers some reasonably compelling, reasonably inexpensive options. The basic Amazon Echo Dot (the old puck, not the globe) has middling sound quality, but for the size and price they’re not bad (I’ve setup a half dozen in my mom’s house). The original Amazon Echo (which is no longer available from Amazon, but cheap second-hand) provided a much better audio experience in a not-a-lot-larger footprint, and I’m genuinely pretty impressed by the quality of sound from the Echo Show 8 I bought my mom for Christmas last year (mostly so it could display photos that I upload). I have a lot less experience with the Google range of products (only used the basic one long enough to figure out I preferred the Apple Siri experience enough to justify the much higher price tag of the HomePod), but some of the higher end options have pretty good reputations. And I’m an unabashed fan of both the HomePod and HomePod Mini (I really ought to do a joint review of them at some point); I have two HomePods and a couple of Minis in my house to fill gaps in my Roon system where I either didn’t want to do a full hi-fi system or where I had a use for a non-phone Siri device to control lights or locks. All of these systems, however, lock you into the amplifier and speaker choices that their manufacturers have made, and give you no room for upgrades and minimal ability to customize the sound. For a person like me with a closet full of unused hi-fi gear, they weren’t really a good fit. Your mileage may vary, and at least with the Apple system, you can do some interesting and sophisticated things with multi-room Homepod (mini or otherwise) systems. I think if I were to move to a house with a substantially larger number of rooms, I would probably throw Homepod Minis (Homepods Mini?) into any room I didn’t want a full hi-fi system in, because they can be integrated with Roon via Airplay.
Conclusion: Roon is a well-thought through system with decent support and an active user community. It serves my particular purpose much better than any of the alternatives I’ve explored, but it isn’t the cheapest or simplest way to get sound in multiple rooms in a particular location. I love the way it works and it’s super weird to me when I’m in a location where I can’t casually kick music on in any given room with little effort.
Is it overkill? Yeah, probably. But that’s half the fun of it!
[Full setup as of January 2024:
Server: Intel NUC 8 running ROCK, with a 2TB external SSD attached for local storage with a 1TB backup, and a cheap Samsung CD-R drive for ripping new physical media.
Controllers: Various PCs and iOS devices scattered around my house.
Endpoints:
Office main (streaming via Roon-Ready Devialet):
Devialet Expert 140 Pro (super-integrated amplifer)
Kef LS50 (not Meta) stand mount speakers
Office secondary (hardwired to Mac Studio):
PS Audio Sprout100
Dali Spektor 2 standmount speakers
Schiit Hel2 Gaming DAC/amp
Office tertiary (hardwired to gaming PC):
Schiit Bifrost DAC
Schiit Asgard 2 headphone amplifier
Office quaternary (hardwired to gaming PC):
Schiit Modius DAC
Schiit Magnius headphone amplifier
Master Bedroom (streaming via Bluesound Node):
Back deck/Master bath (streaming via Powernode Edge):
Bluesound Powernode Edge super-integrated
Mirage outdoor speakers from Goodwill (bathroom)
Klipsch KHO-7 outdoor speakers (deck)
Living room (streaming via Airplay, either via receiver or Apple TV):
Onkyo TX-RZ50 Receiver
Canton Ergo 90 DC Tower speakers
4 x KEF T-301 flatmount speakers
4 x KEF Q50a ATMOS speakers
Apple HomePod
Basement: 2 x Sonos ONE speakers (shadow edition)
Guest room: Amazon Echo
Kitchen:
Bluesound Powernode N150
Boston Acoustics bar speakers
HomePod Mini
Apple TV 4k
Roaming system in a box (whenever I want a temp system, particularly where I’m doing a project in a location not covered by an existing zone).
Lepai amp
Pioneer Andrew Jones standmount speakers
Old iPhone 6
Dragonfly Red USB DAC/amp]
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1 There’s a caveat here with some kinds of wifi systems that allow multiple networks through a single router; because of the way my server is set up, my ROCK can see my main network, my guest network, and my limited IoT network. I don’t actually want this to happen, but I haven’t bothered to dig into the Unify app to fix it.
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