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Do you think Roon is worth the cost even just as a front end for Tidal? Or are you using it as an interface for locally stored/streamed music, too?
JB-
If you used it only with Tidal you will want to be using it in a stable high speed internet environment. I think it's worth the cost but that's a personal choice, it will take a few years for the cost not to matter. The lifetime membership in dollars is a pretty good proposition if you get a lifetime of use out of it. Like most people I have discounted that possibility in my mind. Software is notoriously flaky as a long term bet.
I use it with a large library on disk simply because I'm old enough to have a large digitised library. Roon have recently expanded their radio function to include Tidal. If you start from a well known track either on Tidal or your own library it will serve up choice tracks for days. It can't do it with the more eclectic dance music that I have. If you start with Sarah Vaughan you'll get dinner time jazzy blues for days, it is especially good with the jazzy genres, probably a reflection of the average age of users.
The main attraction of Roon is the added metadata. It's like a massive music encyclopaedia, the interconnections between artists etc. When you find a band you like it helps connect the dots to the next band. Also just the reviews and background info on artists that you are discovering.
Airhead
Streaming was hard for me to adapt to. The idea of not owning the material part of the music is still hard for me to accept. I'm enjoying whittling down a big collection of CD's to a shelf of classic albums and searching for new music faster and more effectively than ever before. With Roon and Tidal I'm having a great time finding and listening to new music, the best time ever imho. I do have most of my music cd's & vinyl digitised too. It's not a minimal approach :)
I've just set up a Sonos connect:amp with some white Q Acoustic 2020i's in my kitchen. Very impressive little amp and the wifi connection capability is great. The phone app is a little bit clunky but most of them are.