I appreciate this post Mike. It has challenged my belief and past tests that seemed to indicate I would notice little if any difference in fidelity between the Naim streaming app and Roon. I am a huge fan of Roon, with the ease of use, the meta data, the DSP/EQ ability as well as the ability to group multiple RAAT devices. This allows me to group my BSN2i along with my NDX 2 to have multi room playback both in my home theater (BSN2i connected to Anthem AVM60 + 5.4.4 Atmos) and my main 2 channel system as well as the rest of the home (couple of Muso QB2s and a Muso 2).
All that being said I have not done a listening comparison on my main 2 channel rig with just Roon vs Naim app since upgrading my PrimaLuna separates.
With the PrimaLuna Evo 300 preamp and mono blocks paired with the Rivals and NDX2, this is probably the most resolving system I have had in my home, which includes Luxman gear and Chord HMS+HTT2. I have KT 150s in all the amps as well as Brimar CV4003s in all gain positions and a pair of Phillips rectifier tubes in the preamp. All gear is on Symposium Ultra platforms and my streaming gear is on a Naim Fraim. Very supple and yet very sensitive and revealing pairing with the Volti Rivals.
Anyway since doing this experiment a few days ago I have been listening to only the Naim app (which limits me to my Qobuz streaming titles as all my digital files are on the Roon Core on my Innuos Zen III). I definitely can tell that there is an increase in detail, resolution, and separation when listening through the Naim app. As I said, I never noticed this before with doing shootouts when I was running the Supernait 3 but it is definitely noticeable with the PrimaLuna tube gear.
I guess the question is if I want to sacrifice the utility of Roon and the EQ settings I am using (which gives a little warmer bump around 52Hz) in order for that boost in resolution and space. I am not going down the HQPlayer road, etc… because all my files are on the Innuos server… and I am not sure if I want to convert my Innuos to a UPnP server rather than a Roon Core, but if I want to hear my hundreds of other albums in the Naim app I guess I would have to do that.
The only drawback for me besides the DSP of Roon is the familiarity I have with the playlists/queuing functions etc. I have yet to find a streaming app that is as simple to use for queuing on the fly playlists as Roon. If you are the type to listen only to entire albums that is not a problem, but I definitely build playlists for every listening session and it is not as intuitive on the Naim app as the Roon app.
All that being said I have not done a listening comparison on my main 2 channel rig with just Roon vs Naim app since upgrading my PrimaLuna separates.
With the PrimaLuna Evo 300 preamp and mono blocks paired with the Rivals and NDX2, this is probably the most resolving system I have had in my home, which includes Luxman gear and Chord HMS+HTT2. I have KT 150s in all the amps as well as Brimar CV4003s in all gain positions and a pair of Phillips rectifier tubes in the preamp. All gear is on Symposium Ultra platforms and my streaming gear is on a Naim Fraim. Very supple and yet very sensitive and revealing pairing with the Volti Rivals.
Anyway since doing this experiment a few days ago I have been listening to only the Naim app (which limits me to my Qobuz streaming titles as all my digital files are on the Roon Core on my Innuos Zen III). I definitely can tell that there is an increase in detail, resolution, and separation when listening through the Naim app. As I said, I never noticed this before with doing shootouts when I was running the Supernait 3 but it is definitely noticeable with the PrimaLuna tube gear.
I guess the question is if I want to sacrifice the utility of Roon and the EQ settings I am using (which gives a little warmer bump around 52Hz) in order for that boost in resolution and space. I am not going down the HQPlayer road, etc… because all my files are on the Innuos server… and I am not sure if I want to convert my Innuos to a UPnP server rather than a Roon Core, but if I want to hear my hundreds of other albums in the Naim app I guess I would have to do that.
The only drawback for me besides the DSP of Roon is the familiarity I have with the playlists/queuing functions etc. I have yet to find a streaming app that is as simple to use for queuing on the fly playlists as Roon. If you are the type to listen only to entire albums that is not a problem, but I definitely build playlists for every listening session and it is not as intuitive on the Naim app as the Roon app.