Roon server streamer with airplay

hi folks,
does anyone know of a high quality roon core server streamer combo that also supports airplay for apple music.
something with an external power supply and a reclocker.
something similar to an. innous statement which sells at 13k USD i guess.
which has usb and AESBU outputs.

IMHO, a Roon Nucleus + dCS Network Bridge gets you there under your budget.

Clocking the NwB gets you properly synchronised AES/EBU outputs. You don’t need a “reclocker” for USB out or UPnP/Roon-RAAT - they’re asynchronous interfaces, any supposed befits from re-clocking them are audiophile myths. :slight_smile:

thank you @Anupc i get your point.ok we can leave the reclocker aside.
i wanted to see whats the best solution out there that combines a roon core and roon endpoint and also supports airplay in one box.
i always wonder with good implementation of external power supply and careful selection of low noise components there should be some roon server-streamer that save me one box, reduce one network hop and perform good as well.
innous statement does this but it does not have airplay which i need for some music thats not available on tidal and qobuz.
and i do not have any local music and i only consume everything thru online streaming.
not in the context of dcs, just in general any other options where a roon server-streamer combo feeds a dac

Neither does it have AES/EBU outputs yes? And it’s severely under-powered to run as a Roon Core.

@Anupc absolutely i agree with you. i just gave innous as an example to point out a roon core-streamer with external power supply :slight_smile:
iam curious to know if there is something better is out there?

I’m pretty sure theres no such “one-box” platform in the market that has enough CPU horse-power for a proper Roon Core, and USB output, and Airplay, and AES/EBU output.

You definitely want to look at Roon Nucleus + dCS Network Bridge. It’ll be very hard to beat that combo from a sonic performance standpoint for anywhere close to that price points, if you want all those things you spec’ed out.

But what DAC are you planning to use? Or is this just a theoretical exercise? :wink:

@Anupc
i currently have a roon core on network and dcs rossini dac and clock :slight_smile:

iam exploring say for example msb reference dac driven by roon core- streamer combo.
iam a sucker for outboard power supplies and i always want to build a component chain where my source/ streamer/dac/preamp all get a separate outboard power supply

i know roon recomends separate endpoint over RAAT.but still wanted to see if its feasible to combine core and streamer

@PaleRider’s your man, I’m sure he can recommend whats worked well with his MSB setup. :grin:

Personally, I think you’re over-rotating on the outboard PSU angle. As for Core and Streamer in one box - a proper Roon Core needs at least an intel core i3 (or i5); having something that electrically noisy right next to a sensitive DAC is a bad idea IMHO. Roon-RAAT offers completely bit-transparent transport separation right into a supported DAC. Hard to beat that if your focus is on sonic performance. :+1:t3:

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@Anupc i agree with your assessment as they stand today.
absolutely my focus is on sonic performance.and i also agree that i may be needlessly fixated with external power supply but i want to keep an open mind

with msb approach i get an outboard power supply , built in analog pre amp. built in clock also can avoid two good power cables, two good clock cables , one good XLR cable and knock out my expensive pre-amp

ofcourse just exploring to see if any manufacturer has taken this path like innous or SGM taiko extreme.ofcourse computer is generally noisy, but if some one comes with special low noise mother board, better power supply.since i dont have a NAS or local media i always wondered why there cannot be good implementation where core and streamer becomes an integrated player which feeds to a dac.

mostly i will end up and remain with what i have but i always would want some one to come up with a good player which combines what roon core and roon endpoint does with a good interface.

Why do you want the Roon Core in the same box? One of the beauties of Roon is you can put the Roon Core off in a closet somewhere away from your listening environment. It can be noisy (fans) to allow using a beefy CPU if you need it for DSP, and it can also support multiple zones.

The dCS Network Bridge will do both Roon and Apple Airplay (and uses official Apple licensed agent, not the ShairportSync open-source project that a lot of streamers use).

I would keep the devices separate. Also makes it easier to upgrade independently in the future (more likely an issue for the Roon Core than the Network Bridge).

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