Very good questions. I have had some discussion with Benjamin and can try to articulate my perception of him and his philosophy. I have not made my final decision on a server and I am not prepared to categorically defend his product but I do see a lot of logic in his approach.
I was ready to get it but I keep coming back to these questions
It tough to get straight answers from Mojo, Benjamin really likes to hear himself talk:
Benjamin is a very passionate guy. I find politely interrupting him (if there is such a thing) in a way I would not with most people does not offend him and allows you to get what you want from him. I am somewhat persuaded that the "thing" that makes him so passionate in his dialogue is the same "thing" that drives him to absolute perfection in the optimization of his devices. Only the absolute best components and design will do for him.
Is 64gb large enough to handle future Roon improvements? Do u have 128gb SSD? (I'd feel better with 128gb ssd)
How much ram? If only 4gb, can u get 8 or 16?
What processor? Speed?
I agree with this concern if it is your intention to use Roon for DSP. You are going to need more of everything in this case starting with an i3 processor minimum and more cache, ram etc. The Mojo is optimized for "bit perfect" playback (NOT DSP) with Roon only managing the library and HQplayer serving/playing only "bit perfect" (i.e., no upsampling). There are kind of two camps in this regard. If you are in the "bit perfect camp" you DO NOT want all this additional topology in your server as it is deemed to compromise sound quality through noise, etc. He uses a low-noise ultrahigh-efficiency 6 watt main board. That is off the charts low and is the polar opposite of a DSP approach. The Mojo is all about "bit perfect" sound quality exclusively. Benjamin wants the best of everything and in his opinion it's like this:
--Bit Perfect > Upsampled (This is obviously dac dependent. It's true on the Mojo Dac as well as my MSB.)
--Roon is best at Music Interface.
--HQ > Roon as a server/player for sound quality.
As such he has designed a server that is optimized for absolute best sound quality predicated on these beliefs.
I get the distinct impression that the Mojo is set up to use internal SSD drives for music storage and not to access a NAS with a large library.
You are correct here as well. In Benjamin's opinion per his testing, when you have an ultra quiet, low jitter device like the Deja Vue, local SSD is better than a NAS source feeding the server through an ethernet connection. Somehow the ethernet pollution is worse than the local SSD's as a file source. Remember also, his SSDs are isolated in a ferrous shielded compartment, mounted on Sorbothane standoffs, and are powered independently from the main board for optimal performance. (He does feel the Samsung Pro's SSDs are necessary over the EVO's.) I discussed this at length and he is adamant in this regard for
his device based on his listening tests and comments from his customers.