As I wrote, my expectations was that i would like Roon to sound better than the Rose app because i like Roon so much better than The Rose app. That seems a little backward regards what you are saying.
My signal path is:
NAS (Flac) => Ethernet => EtherRegen switch (served by an external clock) => HiFi Rose RS150B (as a streamer) => Topping DX9 (as a dac) => Schiit Freya+ (preamplifer) => Parasound Halo H21 (poweramplifier) => Martin Logan ESL (speaker) and REL subwoofer. And of course 
a lot of exotic cables. The signal path is the same for both Roon and Rose app
I give the DAC the same signal (calibrated of course), and still I can pinpoint the difference where the guitarplayer is playing within 1 meters difference when I compare Roon and Rose app playing the same music.
The question is, is there a difference because Roon an Rose app handles the signal different. I surely hope that you don’t claim that they don’t. Because how would you know.
Psychoacoustics mostly works on subconscious expectations. But you were expecting difference where there shouldn’t be any in the first place. So you heard a difference.
I mean the signal path from Roon, you get it if you click on the little star in the bottom playback control section.
In a blind test? If you really can, and I am being quite serious, we should pack you up and send you to Sweden, because this is, literally, a Nobel prize level discovery.
Both are supposed (assuming no DSP, no up/downsampling in Roon, and using RAAT rather than say Airplay in Roon) to deliver exact same bits to the DAC. How it gets there should not matter according to all the science used to design these DACs. Science could be wrong, of course, but then DACs would not work, and they clearly do.
Sure, it would be great to find some new law of nature, but you need to do it properly. In this case it means at least a proper blind test to prove that there is an audible difference. Then we can have professionals try to come up with an explanation how the exact same data being fed into a determenistic device like DAC can produce different response across channel for a guitar, and guitar only, and not anything else in the same frequency range.
Not saying that it is categorically impossible, but it does seem quite unlikely, whereas hearing a difference due to some unconscious expectation bias is not only highly possible, but has been demonstrated time and time again. Happens to everyone, subjectivists and objectivists equally, because it is a part of human nature.
I live in Sweden, so I don’t have to travel so far to get my Nobel prize. But I doubt that I can get a Nobel prize for believing what I hear.
To end this discussion we leave it to the conclusion that you believe in science and measurements and I believe in what I hear and everybody is happy.
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Thanks. The path does look clean.
For believing, no. But for demonstrating that there is a difference, rather than believing in it, that’s anotther matter. It would be big.
Might as well, these discussions rarely convince anyone of anything. You can’t really have a discussion with some objective repeatable facts vs. beliefs…
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Forgive my ignorance, but where is the ‘Roon’ core programme residing? On a computer or Roon Nucleus?
This has got to have an effect on the variations in sound quality you are hearing?
In the end, just enjoy the music and forget about all the figures.
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Nope, none whatsoever. (And Nucleus is just an overpriced computer anyway)
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So where is Roon residing?
Roon is residing on a computer. Whether it be a laptop, a nas or a nucleus. Depending on that choice of device, your system’s resolution and choice of interconnect, there may be quality differences due to high frequency interference.
Interconnects (unless they are of some super-pricy audiophile brand and do not follow any of the USB specs) have no effect here, though. And the digital data is high frequency noise. It would be very strange if the DAC was rejecting whatever analogue noise is die to data itself, but passing through significantly lower-level “other” noise. Not that one could her anything in MHz range anyway.
Low-frequency noise at high levels would be more of a concern but has generally been solved for many year as well.
I wrote this in another thread here: Roon comparistion and questions. So, I’m in the same mess as other users with Roon here and found no solution, so far. Take it as another confirmation, that Roon is laking SQ vs. direct streaming…
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I would also like Roon to give the same result as the dedicated app.
It’s generally less hot, less searched.
Roon is very pleasant to use!!
Gil
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Because we only support Roon Ready and not Roon core.
We are currently unable to add Roon to Rose devices or the RoseConnect app, but we will try to make it possible in the future.
This can explain the differences felt
I would like Roon to give the same sound because it is more user-friendly but unfortunately not
It doesn’t make really sense (and also, there isn’t an Android port for it), to add a Roon server/core to the Rose devices.
Roon is a server/client system, which needs a more or less powerful server, which handles the datas.
The Roon ready client needs only a stable network connection.
Also I don’t agree (and don’t discuss) the always starting discussion of bad/different SQ.
But: If you’ve server (which can stressed) and client on one system, then it’s possible, that you’ll get a disturbing in the client part and so RoonLab recommends to divide both.
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Yea, not sure rosehan’s response makes sense. Pretty sure all Roon endpoints are “Roon Ready”. Interesting that he admits that there is a difference though.
There can be differences, as Burki mentiones. What RoseHan says is that they will implement Roon core in future products. E.g. like in the Grimm MU2. If done well, the better option, both in overall price and SQ.
Yes, I know there is a difference. I had been testing, and ultimately canceled my Roon subscription.
I also abandoned my Roon subscription
Gil
Hey guys, thanks for sharing!