Roon Nucleus SQ

[jimbones]

I currently use a Dell laptop with JPlay Femto and connect USB into my Auralic Vega DAC, I just started using a trial of Roon and love it. I am thinking of getting the Nucleus. Question is should I expect the Nucleus to provide better sound than a laptop?  (Note I will not be using Sonore). My instinct tells me a stripped down Linux based device running only the necessary process for audio would sound better but I am also reading that the SQ is not dictated by the Nucleus. Your experience/advice is appreciated.

[BigAlMc]

Hi @jimbones,

 

No direct experience of Nucleus so only advice FWIW.

 

I've read good things about Nucleus. And as ever I'd expect the wiser heads here to correct me if needed. But personally I think it's probably a case of Nucleus being relatively turnkey and sounding great but at a slight premium. Versus an NUC or custom build with Roon Rock or Audiolinux (and Roon) being a bit more work but potentially sounding slightly better and being a bit less expensive.

 

Note the 'potentially' as nothings absolute and some of the potential SQ improvements might be effort related.

 

Hope this helps and others chime in with direct experience.

 

Cheers,

Alan

[davehg]

I bought a Nucleus recently and love it. I didn’t compare to a PC but I did compare to running Tidal hi res directly into a dedicated player, and the Roon solution sounded better. 

[AudioDoctor]

I use ROON right now on my iMac direct via USB to my McIntosh MAC7200 and like it. I am planning on buying a Sonore Signature Rendu SE when they update it with the optical module input. I am planning that because I have a good hunch it will sound better. I have once replaced a Mac Mini with an Aurender and the jump in sound quality was the opposite of subtle. I am hoping the Sonore unit will give me the same jump.

[jimbones]

Thanks, I am currently running Roon on the Dell Laptop and i have  been told that is a lousy way to run it. I am just wondering if a NUC sounds better. My Laptop has a touchscreen which I have been advised make the noise worse. However, I was running Femto on it and when I play in that mode it sounds very good. But I don't believe you can do Roon and Femto together.

[mrkoven]

Any dedicated server would be a huge jump from Windows/Mac.. I was skeptical until I tried it. Nucleus is nice build quality but essentially a super expensive fanless NUC... I owned it for a bit and enjoyed it.. external LPS helped a lot for USB to DAC usage. I am using Innuos now which is a significant SQ upgrade from the Nucleus IMO.

[KingRex]

On 1/29/2019 at 9:39 PM, AudioDoctor said:

I use ROON right now on my iMac direct via USB to my McIntosh MAC7200 and like it. I am planning on buying a Sonore Signature Rendu SE when they update it with the optical module input. I am planning that because I have a good hunch it will sound better. I have once replaced a Mac Mini with an Aurender and the jump in sound quality was the opposite of subtle. I am hoping the Sonore unit will give me the same jump.

If you get a $1k or so power supply, the sonore will sound very good. 

I have a Mojo Audio server and the SQ is significantly better than a laptop.  I demoed a (IMO) better than Sonore endpoint fed by my server and there was a slight improvement again.  I did not try the endpoint fed by a laptop.  I was told that would be very good, but my server feeding it was the best route.  

[AudioDoctor]

22 minutes ago, KingRex said:

If you get a $1k or so power supply, the sonore will sound very good. 

I have a Mojo Audio server and the SQ is significantly better than a laptop.  I demoed a (IMO) better than Sonore endpoint fed by my server and there was a slight improvement again.  I did not try the endpoint fed by a laptop.  I was told that would be very good, but my server feeding it was the best route.  

 

The Signature Rendu SE has the power supply and the output board in one box.

[KingRex]

43 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

The Signature Rendu SE has the power supply and the output board in one box.

My mistake, you are correct.  I am conditioned to Sonore equaling Micro or Ultra.  I forget about the Signature.  

[AudioDoctor]

26 minutes ago, KingRex said:

My mistake, you are correct.  I am conditioned to Sonore equaling Micro or Ultra.  I forget about the Signature.  

 

No big deal!

[Paul R]

On 1/29/2019 at 10:39 PM, AudioDoctor said:

I use ROON right now on my iMac direct via USB to my McIntosh MAC7200 and like it. I am planning on buying a Sonore Signature Rendu SE when they update it with the optical module input. I am planning that because I have a good hunch it will sound better. I have once replaced a Mac Mini with an Aurender and the jump in sound quality was the opposite of subtle. I am hoping the Sonore unit will give me the same jump.

 

I must have heard you say that before.  On my iMac I am running Roon (but not Roon Core) and outputting to a little Peachtree Nova 150 - mainly because it fits on my desktop.  

 

It sounds much better than I thought it was going to, both on speakers and on headphones. Caveat, this is a fully loaded iMac desktop system - I transcode everything to DSD for the Peachtree, and the resource drain from Room is unnoticeable.  When I find my little Proton or the iFi, they will replace the Peachtree, but dang.... it do sound good.

 

-Paul

 

[AudioDoctor]

4 hours ago, Paul R said:

 

I must have heard you say that before.  On my iMac I am running Roon (but not Roon Core) and outputting to a little Peachtree Nova 150 - mainly because it fits on my desktop.  

 

It sounds much better than I thought it was going to, both on speakers and on headphones. Caveat, this is a fully loaded iMac desktop system - I transcode everything to DSD for the Peachtree, and the resource drain from Room is unnoticeable.  When I find my little Proton or the iFi, they will replace the Peachtree, but dang.... it do sound good.

 

-Paul

 

 

I have everything ROON running on my iMac and have zero problems with it. Its basically a new one with an I7 and 64GB of RAM direct via USB. I don't upsample anything but I assume I could without much trouble.

[OldBigEars]

On 2/2/2019 at 12:48 PM, AudioDoctor said:

 

No big deal!

 

 

A CI Audio 7v power supply costing around $325 would be just fine.  No need to spend $1,000

[Hydrology]

I went from a SONY HAP-Z1ES ( which I loved) to the Nucleus, and I think I made a big step in the right direction. Of course the Sony is server and DAC in one, but having been fortunate to hear both through a set of Kii Threes, the Nucleus is the win for me.

[bobfa]

The Nucleus is a nice little box.  

 

 

You can go further down the sound quality road if you want. The main advantage in my mind is one box and you do not have to manage any of the software in it.  You will have fun with it.

 

Then you can go crazy with more stuff in the chain.  IT will sound better with a Linear Power Supply.  There are a lot of possibilities there. 

 

Do not go crazy for now.  Enjoy the sound/

[Ömer Saner]

Roon Rock on Asus vivo minipc > DHLabs mirage USB cable > ifi micro iusb3.0 > ifi gemini 3.0 > ipurifier2 > hegel h360 USB input. Very satifactory result. Micro details audible &  spacious sound compare to pc usb out to dac.

[ipeverywhere]

I'm a big fan of putting Core in a closest somewhere and keep your digital transport options open and on a separate budget. The Core in such a configuration should not impact sound quality. For that reason.. I'd save a few pennies and buy a NUC or other PC build, install ROCK on it, stick it in a closet, and use the savings for a very good Roon Ready transport near your DAC.