Because one works and the other doesn’t. Also roon has parametric equalizer for headphones in my case and dsp. Multi room capability is also a factor. All in all, Audirvana was great for what it was. A simple, one off payment audio player with simplicity being its strongest point. Moving to a subscription model and roon is a different ballgame
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When I tried Roon, under a previous version, it had an equalizer only for Audeze headphones, and I used it because I have Audeze LCD-2. With which headphones are you listening to Roon? Does version 1.8 supports headphones of other brands?
I am using the following with roon
Audeze-LCD MX4
Sennheiser HD800S
ZMF Aeolus
Audio Technica WP900
Meze Classic 99
Wow, you have a nice headphones’ collection.
And does Roon provide filters for all these models out of the box, or did you install them?
For some there are presets and for the rest you can create your own profile using the parametric equalizer.
Thanks.
As a heavy headphones’ user, how do you use your many headphones to listen to your music?
Are you listening, for instance, to classical music with your Sennheiser, and to rock with another model?
Yes, it depends mostly on genre and mood. The sennheiser is my to go for classical, acoustic, jazz etc. the ZMF for relaxing mood and immersive feeling while the Audeze is visceral and great for pop, rock, EDM etc. with great punch and dynamics. you get the picture
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Thank you. Enjoy your headphones.
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Thanks. I really hoped that AS will be a contender because competition is always good but after having experience with both there is no competition on a subscription type model.
Don’t you think that some people will choose Audirvana to save 2-3 bucks of subscription fee?
Sure and I would have been the first one but I am sorry, it doesn’t work and it felt like a poor beta of a software full of bugs. I am here to use it not help develop it
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I’m using it on Mac.
AS has for the Mac an Integrated mode in which the Music app of the Mac serves as a library manager, and Audirvana processes the sound. This feature exists since Audirvana 1, and always worked.
I tried it this morning, because I saw that a user complained that it does not work. As soon as I launched a truck, Studio crushed. And after its relaunch, Studio refuses to exit this mode and go back to the main mode.
I’m stuck now since an hour with a player that won’t play anything. I don’t know what to do, except removing it from the drive and installing it again. 
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I guess you understand clearly now why I moved from a 70$ subscription software to a 120$ subscription software
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I understand your choice.
How does AS compare to Roon 1.8 in sound quality?
I don’t hear any sound difference whatsoever and haven’t seen any evidence to support the contrary. Is all down to operability, functions and as a software to manage library and play music. Using a Mac mini with 2TB ssd as a core and usb out to RME ADI 2 Dac fs
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I don’t use the subscription players, because I listen only to my own music, and do not stream.
The most important thing for me is the sound quality of the player. And for that I use two players that sound better than Audirvana and Roon. I posted about them earlier in this thread.
But when I tried Roon, I was impressed by its library management and other features. It’s a very pleasant player to use.
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And which is your favorite headphone?
I did subscribe to Audirvana Studio…I use it for streaming HRA. This works ok now.
I have Roon since May 2015. Love both services and intend to keep Audirvana.
I hope Audirvana keeps growing to become a real possible replacement for Roon.
There is still a lot missing, but I am hopeful.
Apple and Spotify look interesting with their recent offerings. There is movement now in these streaming services. We see interesting times.
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As I’ve mentioned earlier I have a year sub on both AS and Roon. Until now Roon was quite ahead of AS, but with the new Remote it gets more even.
At the moment AS is running on my MacBook Air in the living room and I’m using my Android to use as remote control through the Remote app. Local music on an SD card, and Internet music through online Radio stations and Qobuz. And that all in one program 
In my work/game place, where my 2 Windows laptops reside, Roon is running the show.
Discovering music is so much better on a laptop compared to scrolling on a phone screen. And the speakers in the “Office” are quite a bit better soundquality wise compared to the living room’s Harman Kardon 5.1 set that came with my Harman Kardon receiver way back.
My sub for AS expires in May next year, and Roon in June. So by then I hope to be able to make a decision which one to keep.
Downside on both programs is that each only allows one source to play music at any given time. Which is a bit meh if you have 2 rooms to supply with music. And disconnecting/connecting or logging out/logging in gets a bit of a nuisance rather quickly.
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Audirvana vs Roon: Roon requires an end point (at least in my case - Roon cannot see my AVR). If you already have a nice fancy endpoint that tickles your ears better, Roon can be a good addition. But if you don’t have - Audirvana is a great way of getting unfolded MQA straight to your AVR up to 96kHz -which ain’t bad at all. Sound quality - seriously - we are comparing hi-res vs hi-res - you really need serious dog ears to tell. User Interface - Roon is definitely better. Audirvana is still work in progress and has some serious road to cover. For me - UPnP is a winner. I have a Roon end point in one room and I don’t have it in another and I don’t plan on buying - so AS fills that gap perfectly. Also - AS tells me exactly what bitrate and bit depth I am streaming - Roon kinda does and kinda doesn’t. Library - it is best to wait for AS to iron out the glitches. I like Roon better - Roon shows Tidal My Mixes (With AS I have had to set these as my Playlists). Roon has good suggestions engine. But if you ask me - best is to get both and see your listening habit - which one you use most.