Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Hardware with Roon Application How Much Will Roon Cost?

100 USD per year is insane, must be the lifetime cost for sure...

Until recently I had a Rhapsody, Spotify and a Tidal subscription.

I've already dropped the Rhapsody one and will drop the Spotify one, if Roon music discovery will top Spotify (Spotify is better than Tidal for me, but I expect Roon to blow it away).

This easily leaves budget room for Roon.

Correction, (Danny, please ignore previous)
Like I said, 100 USD is insane. I suggest Danny gets the discount coupons out for the poor Roon fanbase .

All kidding aside, subscriptions are the way to go in software country, SAAS is the way, even if running locally. Just like the Adobe Creative cloud. The only snag is the double cost due to the streaming subscription combo.

For existing Sooloos users, migrating to an updated system/UI at $100/year equalling �70/year (<�67/mo [typo]) seems reasonable. Wouldn't like to see much more though. That $/� needs to be watched otherwise its going to start being compared against a months mobile phone or broadband cost et al.

For new users, its a different picture as you are not duplicating kit you have not already paid for. Subscription is then excellent value compared with premium on Sooloos items containing core.

Actually <�6/mo

Russ

[pedant_mode] Actually both [/pedant_mode]

I think a little perspective is needed here as regards the cost of Roon.

Until 3 weeks ago [and even today], if a user wants to have the full fat Sooloos app, then the ONLY way to access that is to buy a C15 at �4,750... and indeed that's what many people here have done down thru the years... and it needs to be emphasized that in the vast majority of cases, these C15's were NOT being used as Cores or Stores... but purely as an attractive and 'flexible' UI to their music libraries.

Sure, users could also use the iPad app, but I think most who have used both can agree that there is a Chasm of difference between the 2 apps.

And even in order to use the iPad app, the User needs to invest �2,000 to �2,500 for a Core / Store.

When set against these headline and Upfront costs, the Roon investment of ~$100 really doesn't sound too bad IMHO... especially when many will be able to use EXISTING PC's and NAS's to run their Roon systems... and even if they don't, spending ~�500 on a NUC / Mac and another �250 on a NAS storage device sounds quite good by comparison to the above Sooloos "buy-in" costs.

In simpler terms, there is a lot of "$100 per year" buried within those Sooloos hardware costs .. something worth bearing in mind when considering the projected Roon subscription costs.

Ronnie

Well said.

Cheers

Russ

Very well said... wise words.

And am I right in thinking the Sooloos costs increase quite considerably again if you want to move from 2 to 3 endpoints?

One has to use a piece of dedicated Meridian hardware as an endpoint: MS200, MS600, 818/861 plus ID40/41 which has inevitable costs between �500 and �����

Or one can use a PC/MAC for a basic end-point with variable costs depending on how one interfaces it to the audio system.

Hi Tom,

You mention Sooloos cost, but this topic is about the cost of Roon, so forgive me if I've got the wrong end of the stick here.

From a Roon point of view all you have to do is add audio end points be they Meridian or non-Meridian.

Network Connected Endpoint Examples
MS200
MS600
MC200
MC600
808
818
861
AirPlay Devices
Others manufactures (in the pipeline)

Directly Connected Endpoint Examples
Meridian Prime
Meridian Explorer
USB DACs (asynchronous versions are best)
Mac internal audio device
PC internal audio device
Tablet internal audio device

So there is the cost of the hardware itself (be that Meridian or otherwise). As for Roon licensing; there has been informal talk of a one off fee or subscription. I guess it's possible that the licensing model could be tiered as well i.e. max number devices might be a factor ... but I really don't know. I suspect we will have to wait just a little while longer to find out.

Regards,
Carl

Hi Carl

Thanks for questioning my post. I had it in my mind that you needed a beefier Core to support more then one endpoint in a Sooloos system i.e. MC600, but I see that the MC600 has the endpoints built in. I was suggesting that it would be cheaper to use 3 + endpoints in a in a Roon system rather than Sooloos, because you wouldn't need this extra purchase, but wasn't 100% sure hence the question.

Cheers
Tom

The really intruiging thing is how this amicable separation can succeed for both Roon and Meridian. It seems to me that M are going to have to reposition themselves a bit, refreshing their product offering in the process, and that's maybe not a bad thing.
Mutually Assured Success for both companies seems in all our interests.