Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Hardware with Roon Application Switching to Roon from Sooloos - Pros & Cons

Hi Norway,

I have no insider info re. Meridian, however, I would strongly consider switching to Roon as it supports the Sooloos network protocol and thus could stream all your Meridian/Sooloos zones.

It also opens the door to support non-Meridian zones as well.

Regards,
Carl

Hi Carl,

This has crossed my mind. But I need a Roon core!? Any suggestions ?

Regards Klaus

Roon Core. I have found an Intel NUC with Roon's ROCK OS on it very satisfactory. I bought an 8th generation NUC with an i7 processor, 8GB of ram and a 256GB SSD on advice from an august and knowledgeable other hiker and it has been flawless. Probably more powerful than I need but it was about £480 all in so the bank was not broken.

I even managed to set it up myself successfully from Roon's instructions though I have since benefited from much help coping with Roon's bizarre and weird interface and settings.

I still prefer Sooloos for my admittedly simple needs.

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Personally, having spent a good long time now getting to know Roon, for me its only advantage is the ability to handle a wide range of endpoints. Its disadvantage, for me, is its needless optionality and complexity. For goodness sake, all I want to do is listen to music (my music, not someone else's choice).

The straightforward, nicely presented Sooloos interface which gets me where I want to be simply and easily without being overblown at all is just the ticket.
I think Meridian are mad (in US English, crazy) to give up on it and I hope they are rethinking their position.

Agreed. If you simply wanted to listen to you music, it was tough to beat Sooloos. I resisted the change as long as I could.

Since I adopted Roon, around 18 months ago when my MC200 disc died, I have largely forgotten what Sooloos looked like but If you display Artists on Roon I can't believe it's that different. You don't need to delve into any complexity.

Oh and there are many advantages like using my iPhone to stream Roon to a bluetooth speaker while working in the garage.

Neil

I agree Neil. These two images speak for themselves on that point.




If this is all you need to use then it works just the same.

I really struggle to understand as a disadvantage any additional functionality that I have no interest in and are not forced to use.
The computers, tablets and phones that forum members use to access this forum have masses of functionality users don't use. This forum does. Your car probably does. None of these are described in such terms.

One thing I just don't see mentioned enough in the discussion here is PRICE.

Imagine that Sooloos and Roon were viable purchase options when we all jumped on board.

Sooloos typical entry point - C15 plus MS600 = £4750 + £1750 = £6500

Roon typical entry point - Roon lifetime licence £700 + standard NUC £370* + £1750 MS600** (to keep the case the same) = £2850

Are people really suggesting that they would opt for Sooloos in a side-by-side functionality and price comparison ?

No, please give me the system with just the basics that only ever works with one system and let me pay £3000+ more for that.

Really ?

I understand the annoyance comes here BECAUSE folks paid the £6500.

* assuming you don't use the PC that you use for getting onto HH
** or whatever endpoint you have or want (£40 rPi, brand x,y,z upto £10,000 808.3)

My entry point to Sooloos was much cheaper than Roon. A QNAP TS253A, MS200 and, later, TouchPC on my touch pc. That was significantly less than even buying my Roon Rock NUC and then I still had to buy Roon. But money is not the issue for me. Roon's power and versatility, which are not in doubt in my view, make it hard to use - I don't think I have ever found the Roon screen shot you show! I will keep Roon because it can use endpoints that Sooloos cannot, but Sooloos will stay for my everyday listening.

Hi,

What device do you use to control Roon?

For Windows & Mac computers and devices iPad and Android tablet devices ... that screen "Album Browser" is directly off the main menu.



Regards,
Carl

That’s just the album screen which is selected from the drop down list. It’s just so easy, using Sooloos now, feels like I am in chains when compared to Roon. Horses for courses I suppose but Roon is no harder to learn than programming your first VCR (Remember them 😂) Just poke around a bit and it all becomes clear... poke around a bit longer and you find tricks that make it so much easier than Sooloos to get it exactly to ones liking.

It is perhaps THE most used screen.

Go to the Roon menu and select ALBUMS



It will look, feel and behave just like Sooloos.

Try the filter (top right funnel icon) and see how to access contents in that library in seconds.

Report back.

Thank you all for the helpful advice. It is always operator error and I think my mistake has been to use generic search routes rather than just going to my (Roon) library and scrolling through that.

Just one thing: how can I stop Roon taking up screen space with 'Recommended for you'?

Easy, just click View all in albums. That’s the overview screen you can just use the Album screen