Thread: Nucleus one

The new nucleus one is introduced. For just 499 dollar you have a roon server.

Does anyone already have experience with it?

This looks like a great little unit.


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Yes, the Nucleus One was announced by Roon Labs on March 19th.

Some high-level specs:

The most affordable Roon Server ever made

At $499.99 Nucleus One pairs high performance with unrivaled affordability, providing a best-in-class streaming experience to Roon users of every budget. Say goodbye to complicated setups and hello to effortless streaming with Nucleus One.

Nucleus One features:

• High-value Roon OS reliability and performance

• Flexible network connectivity plus 2 x USB-A 3.0 ports and 1 x audio-only HDMI port

• Space for 2.5” internal SATA drives up to 15mm in height

• A quiet internal fan for CPU cooling

• A precision molded, modern matte black, high-quality enclosure

Nucleus One is the perfect choice for anyone seeking a reliable Roon server that offers a best-in-class music experience at an unrivaled price point.

Hans Beekhuyzen has a review of it up:

Nice enclosure, but a fan is a non starter for me. BUT, my DIY fanless NUC, running ROCK was nearly twice that price (NUC + Akasa case). The ROCK OS is free of course.

I like this current offering over the previous over priced fanless Nucleus devices for folks that just want the appliance type device.

Originally Posted by Bones13

Nice enclosure, but a fan is a non starter for me. BUT, my DIY fanless NUC, running ROCK was nearly twice that price (NUC + Akasa case). The ROCK OS is free of course.

Yeah, I had a concern about the fan, as well.

Here's my Akasa-cased NUC; I bought it used locally from a guy in Palo Alto for only $350. I've dubbed it, "Alita, Battle Angel", 'cause it kicks *ss. 👍 It runs the ROCK OS as yours does.



I was very impressed with the improvement in audio quality it provided for the system and the presentation overall, comparied to using my Mac Mini functioning as the Roon Core. It was a literally a preamp-level upgrade, IMHO.

Just goes to show how noisy Mac Minis and similar "mass-marketed" computers are when configured as to function as the Roon Core. And, man! They are really...noisy. Whoa.

Here is my homebrew fanless NUC ROCK server. You can just see the iFi power cleaner there, between the stock wallwart and the NUC. Straight Ethernet into the Switch.

My, ah, server room, is actually on the top shelf of my wife’s large walk in closet. As that’s where the cable comes in, and there is a medium sized structured wiring box in the wall under this shelf, behind her coats. She is going to be missing that closet when we move to Seattle, unless we remodel something.

(Well, that photo won’t upload, I’ll try to reduce it tomorrow, and try again)

Originally Posted by NewAlkyogre

I love these too. Currently have it directly connected to my dac, and a dedicated lps powering it.

An Akasa NUC?

Originally Posted by Bones13

Here is my homebrew fanless NUC ROCK server. You can just see the iFi power cleaner there, between the stock wallwart and the NUC. Straight Ethernet into the Switch.

My, ah, server room, is actually on the top shelf of my wife’s large walk in closet. As that’s where the cable comes in, and there is a medium sized structured wiring box in the wall under this shelf, behind her coats. She is going to be missing that closet when we move to Seattle, unless we remodel something.

(Well, that photo won’t upload, I’ll try to reduce it tomorrow, and try again)

i use an iFi device as well, the DC Purifier. It connects between Alita and it's computer-type SMPS brick. It also provided an audible improvement in audio quality. Shown here. Well worth the price of about $130 or so...



Installed...


One of these days, I'll try an LPS, but Elberoth (Adam) says if the NUC is in another room and not on the same AC mains circuit as the audio gear in the main rack, an LPS is not necessary to power the Roon Core.

Originally Posted by NewAlkyogre

Yes. to be exactly I use the Akasa Turing case. Your one is the Plato. Both are awesome.

What is still worth to try: the plato uses an internal powersupply which can be replaced by an audiophilic one.

That ifi is by the way very interesting. I am going to try it.

It’s only needed if the power supply it’s connected to is a SMPS. If you’re using a LPS, it’s not required.

Nucleus One is said to offer similar performance the regular Nucleus (computing power wise), although in a plastic case, with a fan. Those unfortunately tend to get noisier with use.

I'm a bit worried about the SSD performance of the Nucleus One - I'm not sure it evem has a regular NVMe SSD (you can't see one). They may have opted for some kind of flash memory instead.

I will certainly benchmark it when I put my hands on one.

Speaking of PSU - here is a great PSU for the Nucleus from LHY Audio:

LHY 50W.jpg

It is just $150 shipped from Aliexpress:

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805632630898.html

The value of money it offers is just unbeliveable. Just make sure you check the 115V model.

This is a 12 volt LPS....is that sufficient ?....I thought one needed something like 19/20 volts, especially if doing DSP, etc.

According to the Roon website it takes a 19 volt power supply. Also those LHY PS from AliExpress are grey market and have no warranty. There is a US Distributor in Texas with full warranty and free shipping.

Intel specs for the NUC boards used inside the Nucleus clearly state:

Input voltage: 12-19V DC

Which means you can use any voltage from 12V to 19V. Nucleus comes with 19V one, which is the most popular laptop standard (and also the cheaper than 12V) and ppl assume by default it has to be 19VDC. Which is simply not true.

I have been using 12V PSU myself for over 3 years. I always recommend 12V one over the 19V one, simply 'cos the 12V one is more versatile. 12V is a popular voltage, so when you decide to sell the Nucleus down the road, you can always re-purpose the 12V PSU to power sth else in your system. With 19V one, you are stuck.

Originally Posted by MRJAZZ

This is a 12 volt LPS....is that sufficient ?....I thought one needed something like 19/20 volts, especially if doing DSP, etc.

I have measured the current draw of over 20 different NUC boards.

For the regular Nucleus, the current draw @ 12V is as follows:

Standby: 0.05A
Music playing (no DSP): 0.42A
Startup spike (less than 0.1s): 1.22A

Nucleus+
Standby: 0.05A
Music playing (no DSP): 0.44A
Startup spike (less than 0.1s): 2.32A

All measured @ 12V DC (it will be LESS for 19VDC; to get approx current draw @ 19V, multiply those #s by 0.66).

Originally Posted by Elberoth

I have measured the current draw of over 20 different NUC boards.

For the regular Nucleus, the current draw @ 12V is as follows:

Standby: 0.05A
Music playing (no DSP): 0.42A
Startup spike (less than 0.1s): 1.22A

Nucleus+
Standby: 0.05A
Music playing (no DSP): 0.44A
Startup spike (less than 0.1s): 2.32A

All measured @ 12V DC (it will be LESS for 19VDC; to get approx current draw @ 19V, multiply those #s by 0.66).

Thanks, Adam.

As always, your experience and expertise for these products is very helpful. I've found exactly what you've stated and can power my Akasa NUC with a 12V power supply, as well. Agree with all your points.

Cheers.

Originally Posted by MRJAZZ

This is a 12 volt LPS....is that sufficient ?....I thought one needed something like 19/20 volts, especially if doing DSP, etc.

12V is sufficient, and the LHY power supply Adam recommended is an excellent power supply.