Roon with HQPLAYER is still the best sounding and function in my system.
@Progisus Thanks for reminding me to have another go with Roon + HQP on my K50 Server and with HQP NAA on the K50 Player.
With HQP on a non upscaling āpass throughā setting and with the K50 connected to my Mscaler + Dave, indeed it does sound good.
I will have a listen for a few days before changing back to Squeeze + Squeezelite but I have to say that the Roon + HQP initially now sounds better than Roon + Roon Player and better than Roon + Squeezelite (both of which sound so far off the mark to me that I would not want to listen to them for even a few days so Roon + HQP is at least passing that test!).
@NickBacon Glad roon is sounding better although using the hqplayer engine. I think youāll find the search engine much improved as well.
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With great reluctance after listening to Roon + HQP for a day and then Roon + Squeezelite for an evening I am going to have to retract what I said earlier about Roon have gone back to Squeeze + Squeezelite. It is subtle but it just sounds more natural. I really thought I was going to be able to use my Roon lifetime subscription. Oh, well.
I see you have been using the beta version of the Roon update due out on 20th Sept. I guess I will have another go with that!
The only way to appreciate Roon is to clean your palate as best as you can. Use Roon to play mostly unfamiliar music so the harm it does is less apparent. Your session has to be aimed more at music discovery than sound quality. Like how maybe you listen to a mobile system just for musical enjoyment.
My mobile system has gotten a lot better but itās not in anyway close to what I hear on the big rig. It can be immensely enjoyable as long as I set aside thinking about where it falls short. I can often do that with Roon/HQPlayer.
Yeah, but Iām talking about my main listening system where I have invested a significant sum of money, not least in the K50 (in fact the K50 is the most significant hifi purchase I have ever made), so when I listen I want the best sound quality. Unfortunately at the moment it seems Roon has no role to play in that despite me trying on repeated occasions.
Roon is not for you.
My K30 is actually my most significant hifi purchase too. It is for that reason that I canāt limit its usage to just the best sound quality. It has made Roon sound better than I thought possible, so I occasionally make use of it.
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A good example of approaching Roon with āa clean palateā: Iāve never heard the following album before, thus I have no frame of reference for how good the sound quality is. Well I am absolutely blown away by what I am hearing from Roon/HQPlayer. Itās a mono recording but man these guys can play. The trumpet is right up there with some of the most realistic reproductions Iāve heard. Nothing stands out as being smeared but I probably need to switch over to Squeeze to gain a sense of how Roon/HQP might be harming that. I honestly have no desire to do that as this sounds so freaking good.
@kennyb123 Thanks for that and I did download that album. I listened with Roon as you suggested. Initially with Roon + Squeezelite and then Roon + HQP (on pass through). It did indeed sound good. Listening to These Foolish Things there was a fair difference to Roon with the two different players. I think I prefer Roon + HQP (on pass through) based on that track (as opposed to Roon + Squeezelite). However I think I might hive fiddled with the Squeezelite settings and wonder if that has an impact?
I will try just using Roon + HQP for a few days and will resist the temptation to compare to Squeeze + Squeezelite.
PS, I am listening to the 2018 remix of Animals (Pink Floyd) on a hires Qobuz download with Roon + HQP into my Mscaler + Dave and again it sounds great. And again I am resisting swopping to Squeeze + Squeezelite to comnpare! One thing I am appreciating with Roon is that it recognises different versions of the same album and lists them separately where Squeeze thinks they are the same and piles all the tracks from all the versions into one album listing.
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