Hello everyone,
A bit of a long post in order to explode the cornelian choice of the XACT versus a solution using Roon in an audiophile spirit, i.e. with a high level of SQ.
In my thinking, what I explain for the XACT is true for all high-end audiophile servers whose aim is to deliver ultimate audio quality.
However, the XACT is my preference because of positive feedback from JCAT and JPLAY products. I have a DIY audio server (USB and Network EX card + JCAT Optimo 3 Duo audio power supply, fanless audio motherboard, etc.). I was able to compare my configuration with the famous GRIMM AUDIO MU1. And I had an identical SQ, if not a little more qualitative.
My conclusion is that Marcin does a good job, and I'm not the only one to think so.
Hence my interest in the XACT S1, but the absence of ROON is blocking me.
However, I've looked at all the constraints and I've come to a conclusion that finally goes Marcin's way.
I wanted to share my analysis with you so that you could discuss and challenge it.
For us audiophiles, the absence of Roon is a critical issue, given the value this product brings in terms of the ultimate home audio solution. It goes beyond "audiophile" use to be deployed throughout the home, and now with ARC mobile access makes Roon unavoidable in my eyes.
For me, the positive attributes of Roon that make it a must-have are as follows:
1. Best user experience on the market
2. Incredible exploration tool to discover music that suits you. There's no doubt that this is the most important feature for me. I was able to discover many artists and tracks, increasing my passion even more.
3. Single interface for the house. Everyone accesses it with pleasure and simplicity.
4. Profile management to integrate family members, each with their own tastes
5. Multiroom, multidevice broadcasts.
6. Circonvolution to "master" acoustics (not my game, but why not).
7. And finally, ROON ARC for profile-compliant mobile broadcasting.
Only the SQ doesn't meet the audiophile community's objectives. Only a few products, such as the GRIMM AUDIO MU1, have worked closely with the ROON team to combine their player with an interesting SQ. HQ Player is also integrated into ROON. But my DIY Server, which uses JPLAY and JCAT products, does just as well as GRIMM AUDIO MU1, following A/B testing at home.
What ROON lacks is an open and standardized API (programming interface) dedicated to the PLAYER, so that third-party publishers can integrate their own players. Until this is achieved, I think Marcin's choice is justified in proposing a specific platform with an ultimate SQ perspective.
If ROON opens up and standardizes the API for the player, I think Marcin will find a solution to offer a version of JPLAY integrated with ROON. And thus offer, for example, an XACT server dedicated to the ROON player, as he is currently doing by transforming the XACT into an audiophile Switch.
I could imagine an ultimate XACT with 4 units, including one large and 3 miniaturized:
- One unit for the power supply, with an internal 3-unit power supply that noiselessly supplies the other 3 units
- A miniature switch unit
- A miniature unit for the XACT JPLAY player
- A miniature unit for the ROON JPLAY player
This bundle would feature a "low energy" mode to run ROON 24/7. And an SQ mode to run the rest when needed.
This architecture, which separates the power supply from the player, is already implemented on Innuos Statement and Aurender N30SA.
While waiting for this "hypothetical" opening of the ROON player, the solution for me is to mix a low-energy ROON server with an audiophile Streamer server such as XACT. ROON is used on a daily basis, and XACT for listening to specific tracks with a high level of SQ.
As mentioned above, in my opinion there's an advantage to having two servers (Roon and XACT), and that's the energy-saving part. Indeed, a Roon that is always open 24/7, ready for home use or mobility with ARC, should have a very low energy footprint.
In conclusion, I'd go for the following configuration:
- ROON Server: the NAS from QNAP, the TBS-h574TX-i5-16G with an Intel® Core™ i5-1340PE, with 32 TB in SSD. A NAS with the family's data and my audio files in RAID 5.
a) Power consumption: 46w
b) Yearly: (24 hours X 365 days) / 1000 = 8.76 kWh
c) Running cost per year (in France): 8.76 *0.2 = 2 euros per year.
- SQ Streaming Server:
XACT S1
a) Power consumption: ??? no idea (Marcin?)
With this configuration, I have the best of both worlds, while waiting for ROON to open up its API PLAYER for an eventual XACT version dedicated to ROON with a low energy footprint.
Regards,
Dream: The XACT Statment with Power supply and 3 dedicated unites on the top : JPLAY, SWITCH and ROON ;-)
