I brought into Sooloos because it appeared to provide an Apple-like solution of matching a designed for purpose hardware with software designed for a superior user experience - but the end result wasn't for everyone, it was for audiophiles and it is awesome. It was and remains a premium priced solution. Overtime the hardware has improved (e.g. ID40 -> ID41) but the user interface has remained largely stagnant.

Streaming may be some people's answer but, not exclusively I would suggest, for the vast majority who already own an extensive catalogue of music already ripped onto a Sooloos drive. Tidal is only part of the streaming answer and it will never have a complete catalogue to everyone's taste. To me, the integration of Tidal into Sooloos software is just - okay - as if you know what you want to listen to it works. If you want to listen to something new or popular it may be available (subject to your tastes) and may even be recommended, but you have to switch to the Tidal app so you can see a discernible album cover or read anything about the music to help you decide - and then switch back to Sooloos to play it. Overall, it is a band-aid upgrade and is lacking in a richness of user experience.

MQA, which I have not had time to experience, if it (1) delivers what is promised, (2) is broadly/universally adopted by the music catalogue owners, (3) who are then prepared to invest in producing MQA-masters for (4) a broad selection of their back catalogues and (5) is supported by the desires of current artists, it will be a great advanced that is being shared with/licensed to the world. A lot of ifs still remain. IMHO M's ability to make MQA a success/industry standard is very limited and revolves around executive/marketing time and not engineering time save for updating/enabling its own product ranges.

Roon's software may well deliver a better music streaming / ripping / browsing / exploring / listening experience. It may be presented as good value as a Tidal subscription in the UK. A version may hit the Google app store. But already having paid a premium price I am paying again and no doubt a premium price again. While other can justify it - I do not - the music player on an iDevice comes for free. Apple gives their iOS and Mac OS updates for free. Who knows for how much M will earn from licensing MQA or what premium pricing will apply to the MQA encoded version of a track. The back catalogue owners and M's private equity investors reap their returns and the consumer gets gouged - well most probably the UK consumer at least.

In the absence of a clear roadmap for M's Sooloos software and being influenced by the normal levels of viral conjecture of HH threads of this nature (to which I am not doubt in part adding but trying not to), I will be disappointed if the current software version becomes an end of life product. One of half of the solution is kinda gone -although still usable. For me, it would also mean that some very expensive hardware is now probably of very little value given its proprietary nature if I on a rainy day I ever needed to sell it. The premium I paid and as an M Sooloos early adapter in that reality appears foolhardy.

Which makes me think that, in a lot of ways, the Sooloos/Roon situation is a bit of an asymmetrical outcome for HHs - those who invested in an M core, source and endpoint in an exciting and expanding M product range hailed as the audiophile's integrated solution by-in-large loose and those who didn't by-in-large gain by a much lower entry price for a Win/Linux core, source and (M) endpoint but for a much higher price for the software to drive it.

Z0: 861v8+ID41+Roon on a QNAP, Naim NAP300, Sonus Faber Amati Anniversario

Z1: Arcam AVR-450, Oppo BDP-103D, SkyQ, Apple TV, Kuro KRP-600A, Sonus Faber Guarneri Memento & Cremona Center M speakers, Martin Logan Descent-i Sub, 2 B&W wall speakers

Z2-6: Roon controlling MC600 Zones into Parasound amps to B&W ceiling speakers