ROON + QOBUZ = Sublime+
Sitting on my sofa I realized that I have spent the past 40 years collecting vast quantities of LPs, tapes and CDs, not to mention Blu-Ray audio discs, SACDs, DVD-A and high resolution files – and all I have to show it is a lot of clutter and an empty wallet. Once you acquire Roon integrated with Qobuz – you have reached sight of digital audio nirvana. While there are few things as pleasurable in life as listening to, for example, a perfectly pressed Music Matters Blue Note LP, the ability to stream the same recording in high res straight into your hi fi system is pretty close. Of course, with Roon you can stream it to any wireless device in the house (including your tv); with any of the premium streaming services you can bring a compressed version with you on your smartphone. It is simply stunning.
By the by – my current Roon set up is an Intel NUC mini-computer (about 600 euro), connected directly to my router, connecting to my DAC by a cubox-I mini computer programmed with Roon (about 300 euro or less if you use a Raspberry Pi). You can buy a decent DAC, such as the wonderful Project Dac box pre for 300 euro – plugged into a quality power amp (or you can buy an amp with digital inputs) and speakers and you have a really good hi-fi system for less than 2 grand. A lifetime Roon subscription is $500 and worth every penny. Of course you could spend thousands on a “network steamer” – the majority of which seem to be relatively empty boxes with a single motherboard – don’t believe the hype – 1s and 0s have no audio signature – how information goes from the internet into your DAC is irrelevant as long as you have bandwidth.
The greatest resource for music information during the internet age has been the Allmusic Guide. I actually have the Allmusic books – Jazz, Rock etc. from the 1990s, which appear quaint now. Although Wikipedia does list and give information on most music releases, allmusic sets the context, the backstory and reviews the recording. It is invaluable and it is fully integrated into Roon. Better than sleevenotes.
A Qobuz substription with High Res Streaming runs at euro 250 per year (300 if you want to buy – and of course I do – seriously discounted high res downloads). That works out at about 1/3rd of the price of a cup of gourmet coffee per day. Colleagues of mine baulk at this – it is the price of about 20 CDs, 15 LPs or 2 mobile fidelity one-step vinyl releases. If you are disciplined – you never have to buy or own music again. No clutter. No thousands of CDs gathering dust in the attic.
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