Lutece,
You are quite correct and I must apologise for my mistake, I am also dyslexic 
It is of course the 27” iMac and a beautiful beast it is too…
1 Like
Looks even better without the never-ending ‘Analyzing audio files’ progress bar a the top of the screen 
Oh how I wish I could get my display to look like that 
2 Likes
I have the same one, they seems so huge that I can’t even imagine how they can plan to release a bigger version of these beasts 
No the 27” is the perfect size, just need to wait until they do one with the M1 chip!!
1 Like
Well they’ve just announced a 24" model with M1 chip, so shouldn’t be too long now.
According to rumors, the 24’ is replacing the 21.5 but the 27” should be replaced soon by a larger display (29, 32 ?).
Hi Poseidon,
I think a lot of people are missing the point of using Audirvana or Roon with regards to all these new HD services such as Apple, Amazon & Spotify.
If I listen to Qobuz or a high quality radio stream using the apps within the Naim system controller the sound is noticeably poorer than when listening to the same source direct from within Audirvana, so for me at least I would only ever use Apple Music HD or the others mentioned if they were made available for Audirvana to use.
I think it is just the way that Audirvana takes control of the computer DAC that makes such a big difference to the sound.
I know if you listen with headphones then you would get an excellent sound from the lightning port of your phone via an external dac but only AS or Roon will give the best sounding networked output from your computer.
Unfortunately I do think that if more than just Qobuz & Tidal become available on the likes of AS and Roon the decision then about which one to use becomes very critical to the survival of the smaller ones.
1 Like
Peter,
Sound quality is subjective. When I read spacious, blackness, transparent and other words that don’t belong in reviews of stereo equipment, I have to shake my head. There are laws of electrons. Neither Audirvana or Roon possess a secret process that enhances sound quality. They both use the same signal path in a PC. If you compare AS vs Roon, using the same settings and equipment, the sound will be the same. Electrons don’t know if Roon is being used or AS is. And if people keep saying there’s such a huge difference between the two, my next question would be is there a sonic improvement with different cables!?
3 Likes
“Nervous”? I’ve never seen that word used in a discussion of sound quality. However, it works for you and I’m going to add it to my list of descriptive words used to explain differences in sound. It’ll join transparent, blackness, chesty, juicy, tubby and many others.
Enjoy the music!
1 Like
Maybe most people use “sound quality” when meaning “rendition quality”
In digital photography, where flux of photons and electrons obey dutifully the laws of physics, the rendition by this camera will be different to the one by another camera.
I believe that it is what we are talking about and there is nothing wrong in my view to be descriptive of one’s perceptions in an evocative way.
It’s all just semantics.
On a more technical point, I believe that seeking to find a path for the audio electron flux so as to avoid it being polluted by other electron flux on the way is still a valid quest. And it may even bring perceived benefits.
All I can say is what I personally have experienced as per my comments above.
I totally agree with you that neither AS or Roon can make the sound better but maybe what they are doing is allowing more of the full potential or the resolution of the source to come through by not allowing internal interference in the computer path.
There people far more experienced than myself who are convinced that the quality of cables does indeed affect the sound and are willing and able to spend considerable sums of money to achieve that end but I couldn’t justify criticising them without experiencing first hand the demonstration that led them to that conclusion.
It might all be about electrons in a purely scientific way but if that’s all it was about then there would be no difference between amplifiers and no need ever to upgrade and clearly there are considerable differences in this area but again it’s only electrons being moved from a to b, food for thought I guess 
My 2 pesos !
No matter how wonderful Roon is I do not want to use it even for free.
Even if you would pay me monthly salary as reward for using it ! ha ha
For me is simple
IT DO NOT SUPPORT SACD ISO playing
And please do not lecture me how to extract SACD ISO to single DSF files
As long as they do not support those images of SACD, I am not interested.
That’s it, Thats all !
After playing with Audirvana Studio, I am shocked by how poor and frustrating the ergonomic is; even the most basics tasks like tags are a pain…Can not tag multiple albums /artists; can not have a quick access to tags / playlist / metadata, erratic when I try the tag (sometime it’s ok, sometimes, the albums title won’t be applied).
Seriously what’s the point of this application beside SACD ? Even the standard Synology App is more effective…
I understand exactly what you’re saying. When I write about sound quality differences between Roon and AS, it’s a given that the comparison is judged using the same equipment and settings.
It’s very difficult to do an A/B between AS and Roon unless you have the ability to run the software on the same pc and can switch quickly from one program to the other.
One thing you’ll never see when judging cables is a blind A/B comparison. The odds are to high to risk finding out that you can’t tell the difference between a $20 cable and a $1,000 one. And the same holds true for hi res audio versus Redbook cd’s. I fell into that trap until I failed an online blind test. I knew I had the equipment and hearing to easily tell the difference. Wrong. I think I picked two right between hi res and Redbook. And those I guessed on.
It all comes down to personal choice. And the sole goal should be:
Enjoy the Music!
2 Likes
I’d agree. If there was a different path the signal could follow. But there isn’t. Everybody uses WASAPI, ASIO and kernel streaming.
Clearly you do not have in your library any of SACD ISOs
In this case you are ok to use iTunes or TuneBrowser for Windows
TuneBrowser would be better choice for you
Or Foobar 2000 highly recommended
That’s great!
Why did SACD fail???
Absolutely, we are all different creatures with different systems but the one thing we have in common hopefully is that we all enjoy the journey 
SACD never fail my friend. Maybe it failed for you with you.
Not my fault that you do not have interest in it and you do not own them
This year alone so many titles were released.
Stick with Flac and MP 3
I think people have this idea that is something is ‘old’ or has been around for awhile its no good. Typical “Audiophile” thinking…
new = better
expensive = better
looks = better
Fact is, Foobar2000 is still a fantastic piece of software that does it all and sounds fantastic. Remember Foobar2000 set the standard for Computer Audio. Kernel Streaming, ASIO etc all started with Foobar2000. Otachan’s fantastic ASIO plugins took what is possible in computer audio to another level. Of course this was before the fancy coverart era.
IMO, AS is clearly better than Roon in terms of ergonomics and ‘useful’ menu selections, its also clearly better in terms of sound quality. It can’t do everything great and has glitches but its a viable player to the right person.
IMO, LMS and Foobar2000 are still the best. Not fancy looking but they sound great, are ‘rock solid’ and literally do everything anyone could want. And of course they sound great. I’ve been around the block with computer audio over the past 20 years, tried everything under the sun, but I’ve come full-circle.