Another Roon Heavy Handed Policy

There are reports that some people achieved a gain in SQ by switching from Roon GUI to Roonserver, especially with a direct USB DAC connection from a computer.

Some interference can be airborne, some amp (not just DAC) might be affected by RFI EMI for those with a computer sitting close to the audio setup.

*NOT* implying this affects everybody and every system.
 
Good point on running UI on the server itself!

I haven't tested this theory as I run my server headless without any Xserver running but the only reason I can think of the GUI on the server with directly connected DAC can perform a bit better is because Roon now doesn't have to talk back-n-forth to its UI client which can reduce network traffic and helps further to eliminate network noise which is one of the concerning artifacts. On the flip side, the UI might consume a bit more of resources but it might not be a heavy weight application as well, depending on the server configuration. Only further testing can lead to some conclusion which one performs better for a particular system - there are too many variables with the digital audio and its incredibly hard to figure out what will work in one's system.
 
I decided to follow the advice given here and moved my ROON Core to one of my big servers (Windows 2016 Server) in the garage. It is connected to the network by a PowerLine adapter. I was concerned about the quality of the Powerline connection but as of now, it sounds great. The great thing of course is that I no longer have the ROON GUI up while music is playing. I get onto ROON from my remote PC and make my selections and then close the GUI.

One interesting observation was that the CPU and GPU are much higher in the remote client situation. If I have the ROON GUI maximized I use 100% of GPU which is higher than when I had both core and client on the same box. Anyways, this is not a problem since I now shut down the GUI after I have made my selection. I could also use my phone to make the selections too.

If anyone else is going to do this remember to backup your DB and also open up UDP port 9003 and TCP port range 9100-9200 on the firewall.

Thanks to the posters above for the push to make this change.
 
I did test this early on with Roon. Actually Roon tech at the time suggested this and stated that they noticed a fairly large difference running only Roon Server (what is was called early on, now they call it Roon Core). I tried it and it was an obvious noticeable improvement running only the core on the server.
 
I recently had an issue that parallels the OP's. It involved a 3 year/old LG smart TV. We purchased the TV from a Walmart Store in my home town. It listed all the apps that the TV came with on the box. One of the apps it listed was Hulu.

Fast forward to now, we decided that we wanted to activate the Hulu app after researching virtually every streaming app made. It was the only app that had almost all the channels and features we wanted. Our current carrier is a local (fiberoptic) cable provider.

We knew the TV came with Hulu but when we tried activating the Hulu app nothing happened. To shorten a long story, the LG support tech told me that LG stopped supporting the Hulu app (at least for our particular model of LG smart TV). So, I have a TV that not only lists Hulu as an app, on the box. But it also appears as an app on the TV itself during start up.

Evidently (according to the LG tech), LG discontinued support of the Hulu app on my specific LG model 08/2019. However, I was able to get Hulu on my LG smart TV using Chromecast and EZMira. We ended up not subscribing to Hulu as my wife's favorite channel was not one of those offered by Hulu.

But I feel kind of ripped off by LG. The box showed Hulu as an app. Hulu was listed as an app on start up. Needless to say I won't be purchasing any LG products in the future. As an aside, several years ago my wife purchased an LG cell phone and it was the most complicated, least intuitive phone I had ever used. So, we've not had good experiences with LG.

Anyway, I hope you have good luck with your audio streaming issues. So far I've had good luck with my Roon Nucleus and it sounds great. No noise problems at all.
 
bluegrassphile said:
I recently had an issue that parallels the OP's. It involved a 3 year/old LG smart TV. We purchased the TV from a Walmart Store in my home town. It listed all the apps that the TV came with on the box. One of the apps it listed was Hulu.

Fast forward to now, we decided that we wanted to activate the Hulu app after researching virtually every streaming app made. It was the only app that had almost all the channels and features we wanted. Our current carrier is a local (fiberoptic) cable provider.

We knew the TV came with Hulu but when we tried activating the Hulu app nothing happened. To shorten a long story, the LG support tech told me that LG stopped supporting the Hulu app (at least for our particular model of LG smart TV). So, I have a TV that not only lists Hulu as an app, on the box. But it also appears as an app on the TV itself during start up.

Evidently (according to the LG tech), LG discontinued support of the Hulu app on my specific LG model 08/2019. However, I was able to get Hulu on my LG smart TV using Chromecast and EZMira. We ended up not subscribing to Hulu as my wife's favorite channel was not one of those offered by Hulu.

But I feel kind of ripped off by LG. The box showed Hulu as an app. Hulu was listed as an app on start up. Needless to say I won't be purchasing any LG products in the future. As an aside, several years ago my wife purchased an LG cell phone and it was the most complicated, least intuitive phone I had ever used. So, we've not had good experiences with LG.

Anyway, I hope you have good luck with your audio streaming issues. So far I've had good luck with my Roon Nucleus and it sounds great. No noise problems at all.
Click to expand...

For less than $30 ($50 if you want 4K) you can buy an Amazon Fire Stick that you can connect to one of your HDMI connections on your TV. To use the Fire Stick you must have an active Amazon account. The Fire Stick gives you access to all kind of channels including Hulu. In fact, if I recall, it is compatible with Amazon Alexa and can work with voice commands. The GUI of the fire stick is much better than that of any TV and the apps are updated regularly.

Another option is a Roku box. Works similarly to the Fire Stick but does not require Amazon subscription. The remote of the Roku is the most intuitive of any of these type of devices.

I should have one of each non 4K versions laying around. (I switched to 4K and therefore don’t use them anymore). If interested in any one of those, send me a PM with your address and I will give them to you at no cost.
 
nicoff said:
For less than $30 ($50 if you want 4K) you can buy an Amazon Fire Stick that you can connect to one of your HDMI connections on your TV. To use the Fire Stick you must have an active Amazon account. The Fire Stick gives you access to all kind of channels including Hulu. In fact, if I recall, it is compatible with Amazon Alexa and can work with voice commands. The GUI of the fire stick is much better than that of any TV and the apps are updated regularly.

Another option is a Roku box. Works similarly to the Fire Stick but does not require Amazon subscription. The remote of the Roku is the most intuitive of any of these type of devices.

I should have one of each non 4K versions laying around. (I switched to 4K and therefore don’t use them anymore). If interested in any one of those, send me a PM with your address and I will give them to you at no cost.
Click to expand...

Thank you for the heads up on the Fire Stick. I'd read just a little about it but am not very familiar with it. I'll check it out. Thanks again.
 
I was at a manufacturer today who confirmed directly that they do not get their products back when they send them to ROON in New York for testing. Not a rumor. Fact. Can’t speak to what other manufacturers experiences are.
 
Yup. And many are working on “hacks” as we speak as they are tired of the moving goal posts.

Should get interesting.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Smart guys at that company. Great sounding gear too. Need to try and hear the LinQ after the first of the year and I get the house in SC settled in.
 
Jack said:
Smart guys at that company. Great sounding gear too. Need to try and hear the LinQ after the first of the year and I get the house in SC settled in.
Click to expand...

I have ordered 5 and all sold before I got them!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
It seems like they hit a home run with this one and the elimination of USB is kind appealing. So have you actually not got to even set one up in the store for a listen?
 
Jack said:
Smart guys at that company. Great sounding gear too. Need to try and hear the LinQ after the first of the year and I get the house in SC settled in.
Click to expand...

I have ordered 5 and all sold before I got them!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
crwilli said:
I was at a manufacturer today who confirmed directly that they do not get their products back when they send them to ROON in New York for testing. Not a rumor. Fact. Can’t speak to what other manufacturers experiences are.
Click to expand...

I thought it was understood that Roon would keep the products sent in for certification. Is that not the case?
 
crwilli said:
I was at a manufacturer today who confirmed directly that they do not get their products back when they send them to ROON in New York for testing. Not a rumor. Fact. Can’t speak to what other manufacturers experiences are.
Click to expand...

Post #31
 
If more manufacturers adopt this hack, I suspect it may trigger a response from Roon Labs to address it in the future.
 
I also suspect it would be illegal. I assume that they would not advertised that they are Roon compatible because I am sure that would trigger a law suit.

As a software developer I really do not like hackers. If you do not want to use Roon, fine don't use it, but hack software in 100% unacceptable. They have every right to both control and protect their product. If a manufacture does not want to abide by that, fine, make you own system.
 
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