Roon
Premium music library and multi-room playback system for audiophiles.
- Verified facts
- 5 of 5
- Alternatives ranked
- 7
- Approved reviews
- 0
- Visits sent from here
- 0
About Roon
Roon is a music player and library system that combines your own files with TIDAL and Qobuz into one richly linked library, with artist biographies, credits, reviews and lyrics. A central Roon Server, running on a computer, NAS or Roon's own Nucleus hardware, manages the library and sends bit-perfect audio to more than a thousand supported devices, including networked streamers, DACs, AirPlay and Chromecast speakers, with multi-room grouping and a DSP engine for room correction and upsampling. Control apps run on Windows, Mac, iOS and Android, and the ARC app streams your library on the go. Roon is a subscription with a free trial, billed monthly or annually, with a lifetime option; the company is owned by Harman. It is expensive compared with other options, the server wants more processing power than typical NAS boxes provide, and it offers nothing for video.
Best for: Audiophiles who want a rich library and bit-perfect multi-room playback.
Pros and cons
What works
- Rich metadata merging local files with TIDAL and Qobuz
- Bit-perfect playback to over a thousand devices
- Powerful DSP and multi-room grouping
Why people leave
- Expensive subscription or lifetime price
- Server needs a fairly powerful machine
- Music only
Top Roon alternatives
See all 7- 1
Lyrion Music Server66.5Free, open-source multi-room music serving with deep customisation.
- 2
Music Assistant62.6Free multi-room playback that merges streaming services and local files.
- 3
JRiver Media Center59.6A one-time licence with strong audiophile playback and DLNA.
- 4MiMinimServer57.2
A UPnP music server with excellent classical music browsing.
- 5
Plex55.3Plexamp offers a cheaper music experience alongside video.
Why people left Roon
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Reviews
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Roon: common questions
Is Roon free?
No, Roon is a paid product. Monthly price: $14.99/month (checked on Roon's own site).
Is Roon open source?
No, Roon is not open source. Open-source alternatives include Lyrion Music Server and Music Assistant.
What platforms does Roon run on?
Roon is available for Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS and Android.
What are the best alternatives to Roon?
The highest-ranked Roon alternatives right now are Lyrion Music Server, Music Assistant and JRiver Media Center. See the full ranked list for pricing, platforms and verified facts.