22-Dec-2016, 12:25
For clarity, I need to start by saying that I am a Windows user. However, I do use iTunes, Roon and JRiver. My first observation is that as a Windows iTunes user, I have not noticed any issues with iTunes becoming more intrusive, so this must be a Mac only issue I think. (Although I have noticed both my iPhone and iPad becoming a little more intrusive of late, trying to force me into iCloud and similar) I did an iTunes update last weekend so I am on the latest version and everything seamed to work fine to me. I am sure that once the various settings for iCloud, or whatever else Apple is trying to lure you into, are sorted, then iTunes should work OK. It is worth noting that for me, Windows iTunes does not sound as good as either JRiver or Roon.
In my case I continue to use the iTunes library as a kind of 'master' copy. With both JRiver and Roon, you can point the software at the iTunes library '.itl' file, give it some time and you library should appear in JRiver or Roon, still in reasonable form. The behaviour of Roon and JRiver are different. Roon does an excellent job of picking up any playlists that you have made in iTunes. In fact, you can have both Roon and iTunes open on one machine, you can make changes in an iTunes playlist and Roon will pick up these changes, more or less in real time. Roon does ignore some iTunes metadata, such as individual track ratings. JRiver by contrast does pick up most of the track ratings, but does not pick up the playlists. I guess the key point is that I have had no problems at all with either JRiver or Roon changing anything in my iTunes library, zero problems.
I know some folk are madly in love with Roon, but I have to say that I am not! Don't get me wrong, I can see why some people love Roon, in many respects it is superb. For me though, I do find Roon annoying. Some of the functionality is a long way from being intuitive, and for my usage there is some very basic functionality that is missing. For example Roon cannot sort playlists alphabetically (it can't sort them at all), playlists do not show the track artist (only album artist is shown). The latter is actually quite comical, as I end up with playlists with a vast variety of musical styles, all performed by that most versatile of bands the 'various artists' combo. Although as Hifi_swlon has mentioned, it looks like a major Roon update will be with us very soon, so the advice here is that if you do want to go for another Roon trial period, why not wait a week or two for the V1.3 Roon update to be live?
As things stand, I am not planning to renew Roon when my 1 year subscription expires. Roon has been good fun, but for me in my little world with my ways of using a music library, I'd rather use JRiver. In fact, I'd rather use iTunes, but it does not sound quite as good as JRiver, so that eliminates iTunes for the 'serious' listening. I am pragmatic though, my Roon sub has a few months to go, and I could easily see myself changing my view on Roon, depending on what the V1.3 update has to offer. I did here that there is a Windows version of Amarra coming out, which might be interesting option for dragging decent sound quality out of Windows iTunes. (or maybe not) When will all this end!
In my case I continue to use the iTunes library as a kind of 'master' copy. With both JRiver and Roon, you can point the software at the iTunes library '.itl' file, give it some time and you library should appear in JRiver or Roon, still in reasonable form. The behaviour of Roon and JRiver are different. Roon does an excellent job of picking up any playlists that you have made in iTunes. In fact, you can have both Roon and iTunes open on one machine, you can make changes in an iTunes playlist and Roon will pick up these changes, more or less in real time. Roon does ignore some iTunes metadata, such as individual track ratings. JRiver by contrast does pick up most of the track ratings, but does not pick up the playlists. I guess the key point is that I have had no problems at all with either JRiver or Roon changing anything in my iTunes library, zero problems.
I know some folk are madly in love with Roon, but I have to say that I am not! Don't get me wrong, I can see why some people love Roon, in many respects it is superb. For me though, I do find Roon annoying. Some of the functionality is a long way from being intuitive, and for my usage there is some very basic functionality that is missing. For example Roon cannot sort playlists alphabetically (it can't sort them at all), playlists do not show the track artist (only album artist is shown). The latter is actually quite comical, as I end up with playlists with a vast variety of musical styles, all performed by that most versatile of bands the 'various artists' combo. Although as Hifi_swlon has mentioned, it looks like a major Roon update will be with us very soon, so the advice here is that if you do want to go for another Roon trial period, why not wait a week or two for the V1.3 Roon update to be live?
As things stand, I am not planning to renew Roon when my 1 year subscription expires. Roon has been good fun, but for me in my little world with my ways of using a music library, I'd rather use JRiver. In fact, I'd rather use iTunes, but it does not sound quite as good as JRiver, so that eliminates iTunes for the 'serious' listening. I am pragmatic though, my Roon sub has a few months to go, and I could easily see myself changing my view on Roon, depending on what the V1.3 update has to offer. I did here that there is a Windows version of Amarra coming out, which might be interesting option for dragging decent sound quality out of Windows iTunes. (or maybe not) When will all this end!
1000 Pro - KEF Blade - iFi Zen Stream - Mutec REF10 - MC3+USB - Pro-Ject Signature 12
