Roon Labs Poor Man's NUCLEUS+

Selling the exact Roon Nucleus+ clone ... only better.

I have called it Poor Man’s Nucleus, as it costs 1/4 of Nucleus+, but the truth is - it has a much better performance than Nucleus+, so even’t though it is a Poor Man’s Nucleus cost-wise, it is certainly a Rich Man’s Nucleus performance-wise.

The server shares the exact same internals from Intel (same Intel part #) and runs Roon ROCK software, but is built of higher quality parts and offers even better performance thanks to faster RAM and faster SSD used. 

Like the premium Nucleus+, it has the Intel MotherBoard and Intel mobile i7 CPU - regular, non-plus Nucleus only gets the slower Intel i3 CPU. 

It has 2x the memory (16GB) of the premium Nucleus+ to manage even the biggest of libraries and 2x bigger SSD drive (256GB).

The SSD installed is a super fast Samsung 970 Evo Plus NVMe drive, which is not only twice as big and 3x more expensive than the budget Transcend SSD used by Roon in the Nucleus Plus, but most importantly - it is also 3x faster. AS SSD read benchamark for Samsung SSD used here is 1139 points, while Transcend from the Nucleus manages only 421 points on the same test (and the older Transcend SSDs was used in Nucleus Plus Rev.A models was even worse - got a trully disapointing 148 points). Faster SSD makes this Roon i7 server operate much snappier, with less lag than Nucleus Plus.

The aluminium case offers a perfect thermal stability. During normal native playback (no DSP) and at idle the server is not even warm to the touch (~3'C over ambient). While doing CPU intensive tasks it gets only a bit warmer: ~6'C over ambient while upsampling to DSD256 and ~12'C over ambient while upsampling to DSD512.

It runs the very same Roon ROCK operating system with the latest Roon Core v2.0 installed (with auto updates from Roon etc - everything works just the same as in Nucleus, as this is original Roon software).

Like the Nucleus/Nucleus Plus, the server can be fitted with the additional (second) SSD drive for internal storage (I have kept my files on a NAS, but putting a storage SSD inside is another valid option for those that do not have a NAS). I can install it drive cost, so pls factor in: 

1TB Samsung SSD > +$90
2TB Samsung SSD > +$150
4TB Samsung SSD > +$320
8TB Samsung SSD > +$580

The case size is only 25x25x5cm. I put a CD case on top for scale. 

Storage Devices

Roon can watch multiple storage locations for files at the same time. That means you can simultaneously use any (or all) of the following storage locations:

1. Devices connected directly to Nucleus by USB
   If your music is stored on an external USB drive, simply plug it in via one of the USB ports on your device. Nucleus supports USB drives pre-formatted as EXT2/3/4, VFAT/FAT32/FAT16/exFAT, NTFS, or HFS/HFS+. Note that HFS/HFS+ (also known as “Mac OS Journaled”) is read-only, which means that Nucleus will not be able to make changes or store new music on the USB drive.
2. A hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) connected inside the Nucleus via SATA
   If you have selected a additional SSD from the drop down menu we will install a 2.5″ hard drive to use as internal storage.
3. Network shares (such as a NAS)
   Just make sure the NAS is turned on and plugged into your network. We highly recommend connecting networked storage via Ethernet.

Audio Devices

Roon can output audio to devices in the following ways:

1. Devices connected directly to Nucleus by USB
   If you plan to use a DAC, headphone amp, A/V receiver, integrated amplifier, or active speaker system connected directly to you Roon Server via USB, connect them to one of the ports on the back panel of the server and make sure it’s powered on.
2. Devices connected directly to Nucleus by HDMI
   If you have an A/V receiver or other device with an HDMI audio input, you can connect the HDMI output on the back panel of the Roon server to it. The HDMI output supports both stereo and multi-channel audio content. Plese note: I have disabled in BIOS the HDMI audio output, as like most of the people, I didn't use it and it only made the audio menu in Roon cluttered. It can be enabled in seconds. 
3. Network audio devices
   More and more audio devices of all kinds (active speakers, DACs, integrated amplifiers, and A/V receivers) have networking capabilities. If you have any Roon Ready, AirPlay, Sonos, or other supported streaming audio devices, you should check that they are connected to your network (via Ethernet or Wi-Fi as appropriate) and powered on. We recommend connecting networked audio devices via Ethernet if possible.

Roon Enabled CD-ripping

CD Ripping is available with an external CD-ROM. I can supply the server with a very high quality Hitachi CD-ripper (+$30). CD Ripping is enabled from the web user interface. CD data is retrieved with very high accuracy and stored on internal SSD or attached USB drive. Metadata - album title, artist and track names are downloaded from the CDDB database. For superior user experience and the best metadata accuracy automated CD ripping should be used with Roon. Roon's cloud-based intelligent library management service corrects and enhances the CD metadata.

The server is just 3 weeks old - I have built it to myself while waiting for my new 'big' server solution - and looks (and is) brand new from every angle.

All enquires welcome and will be answered in full.

NO TRADES.  Payment by bank wire or PayPal.

Shipping via FedEx Air insured: $50

Please check out my outstanding AudiogoN feedback from the past 20 (!) years and buy with confidence.