PREVIEW OF ROON NUCLEUS PLUS SERVER

See the complete review for the Roon Nucleus Plus Music Server .

When I volunteered to review the Roon Nucleus Plus music server, I didn’t completely understand the function of the device nor its design intentions. Boy did **I** get an education!

Many of us are familiar with the Roon music player software package and use it on a daily basis. We typically use it with our home computer as a host, and the program works fine with a user-friendly interface. It has the ability to remotely control the music from a tablet and can access online content from TIDAL and Qobuz.

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I had been peripherally aware of the Roon Nucleus and Nucleus Plus products and initially thought of them as mere substitutes for a host computer, assuming that some folks wouldn’t want Roon on their home machines for one reason or another. I was right, and I was wrong. Though the Nucleus products can indeed replace a host computer, they have a plethora of additional capabilities that I was unaware of.

The Nucleus series products can access multiple library resources over the home network, stream to multiple endpoints (Roon’s term for streamers, DACs, and other analog-output devices), and access content anywhere on the internet. And unlike home computers that have resource limitations due to the overhead of the operating system and background programs, the Nucleus devices are custom-built for music and can devote ALL their resources to ensuring music delivery without slowdowns, gaps, or loss of quality.

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Additionally, the Nucleus products are hardware-optimized for sound quality with a customized operating system that is specifically designed to work with the Roon software package.

Interested? Stand by for the upcoming Roon Nucleus Plus review!

See the complete review for the Roon Nucleus Plus Music Server .

Glenn Young

I learned to play the guitar in high school, hoping to persuade Berma Sanchez to date me, but alas, no such luck! In the late 1970s, a neighbor who was the station engineer for the local PBS network took me under his wing and taught me the electronics of audio reproduction. Throughout college, I used that knowledge to modify Dynaco vacuum tube equipment for friends. After graduation from LSU, I took a job in the chemical manufacturing industry, learning about industrial hygiene and the mechanics of hearing. In the 1990s I learned to write, initially as the newsletter editor for my local Safety Engineering chapter. In the early 2000s, I had my first book published (I’m now working on my third). A few years ago, the Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity website issued a call for authors. I responded and was excited to be selected. Over the years, I’ve published a number of equipment reviews and am honored, in 2019, to be given the title of “Senior Editor.” But none of the above offers the “why” of my interest in home audio. My musical tastes are highly diverse, and my love of music (acquired probably in the church choir of Grace Baptist Church) has been passed on to my daughter, who got her B.S. degree in music and her M.S. in violin performance and music education before being switching gears and then going on to graduate from Harvard Law. Although the majority of my extended group of friends and family prefer hobbies such as hunting, fishing, football games, etc., I’ve found that I still greatly enjoy time with my audio system and discovering new music. At some time in the fairly near future, my hearing will decline and I’ll no longer be able to listen analytically. But so long as my audiograms show acute hearing, I’ll keep doing what I enjoy best - listening to wonderful music and sharing my thoughts and impressions with like-minded friends.