Roon acquired by Harman

[audiogear]

Press release.

HARMAN Acquires Roon, a popular Multi-Device, Multi-Room Audio Technology Platform
Roon’s Audiophile-Quality Music Aggregation, Connectivity and Streaming Technology to Complement HARMAN’s Comprehensive Audio Offerings

STAMFORD, CT – November 27, 2023 – HARMAN, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. focused on connected technologies for automotive, consumer, and enterprise markets, today announced the acquisition of Roon, the music management, discovery, and streaming platform for music enthusiasts.

Roon is a music player platform for music enthusiasts, which features a rich interface for browsing and discovering music, compatibility with almost any audio device, and a playback engine designed to deliver the best possible sound. Roon is available for all popular operating systems and manufactures a line of hardware server appliances called Nucleus.

“At HARMAN we take great pride in our ability to create exceptional audio experiences for our partners and consumers around the world,” said Dave Rogers, President, Lifestyle Division, HARMAN. “The team at Roon shares our passion in bringing exceptional sound and connectivity to music lovers as they browse, discover, and listen at home and on the go. We are looking forward to welcoming Roon, whose impressive talent will join the HARMAN family and bolster our already robust engineering capabilities.”

Roon will operate as a standalone Harman business with its existing team. All Roon operations will stay in place and continue to be dedicated to serving and growing Roon’s community of device partners and customers, under a joint mission to deliver engaging and personalized audio experiences across a universe of products and platforms.

Aligned with its ‘work with all’ strategy, HARMAN is committed to growing Roon’s open device ecosystem which includes collaborating with more than 160 other audio brands, delivering audio to more than 1000 high-performance devices. Roon’s dedication to its loyal community and its exceptional UI/UX design expertise will continue to expand and flourish with the acquisition.

“Our team is ecstatic to join HARMAN, a visionary company that has been leading the audio industry forward for decades,” said Enno Vandermeer, CEO of Roon. “By combining forces with HARMAN, Roon gains the incredible scale, resources, and reach of a global technology leader, while maintaining our independence to invest in the business’s growth and future. We look forward to continuing to bring our advanced data management, SaaS expertise, and consumer engagement capabilities to our broad ecosystem of partners, as we join forces with HARMAN to deliver even greater audio experiences to our customers.”

[80B]

It will be interesting to see what they do with Roon, and I hope they don't mess it up, as can happen with mergers and acquisitions. Roon has had some software glitches over time, but is definitely a go-to as my gateway to most of my streaming.

[Formerly YB-2]

Originally Posted by 80B

It will be interesting to see what they do with Roon, and I hope they don't mess it up, as can happen with mergers and acquisitions. Roon has had some software glitches over time, but is definitely a go-to as my gateway to most of my streaming.

Amen to what you've said.

[piolaxo]

Originally Posted by 80B

It will be interesting to see what they do with Roon, and I hope they don't mess it up, as can happen with mergers and acquisitions. Roon has had some software glitches over time, but is definitely a go-to as my gateway to most of my streaming.

+1

Exactly my thoughts. Finally, I have a platform where I have spent plenty
of time to organize my database. I hope they keep it going forward and not
sideways (or backwards!).

[JoeN]

We have a Taiko Extreme. Though it uses what is called XDMS it depends somewhat on Roon too. I hope the SQ doesn’t change for the worst. Who knows Harmon may roll out better updates for music.

[audiogear]

What is the value proposition of Roon for an audiophile who doesn't own a collection of digital music or CDs?

Better Tidal/Qobuz sound and new music algorithm? I've read arguments for and against...though mostly have been positive.

An always-on-ethernet connected, low cost Core/Server, added monthly or lifetime subscription can add up negative points especially if listening habits don't take advantage of Roon features.

Would love to hear from Roon/former users, appreciate any feedback.

[clpetersen]

Originally Posted by audiogear

What is the value proposition of Roon for an audiophile who doesn't own a collection of digital music or CDs?

Better Tidal/Qobuz sound and new music algorithm? I've read arguments for and against...though mostly have been positive.

Would love to hear from Roon/former users, appreciate any feedback.

Regular Roon user here -
If you don't have a digital library, the Roon value proposition is certainly lowered.

On the other hand, Roon excels at creating real-time playlists based on a single artist or even song. This is my most frequent use of Roon - select an artist or album, most often something I have in the library, then turn on Roon Radio. Has led to many artists I was not familiar with.

Not sure how the other music services do in this regard - Spotify, etc.

Have you tried the trial subscription?

[crwilli]

Originally Posted by audiogear

What is the value proposition of Roon for an audiophile who doesn't own a collection of digital music or CDs?

Better Tidal/Qobuz sound and new music algorithm? I've read arguments for and against...though mostly have been positive.

An always-on-ethernet connected, low cost Core/Server, added monthly or lifetime subscription can add up negative points especially if listening habits don't take advantage of Roon features.

Would love to hear from Roon/former users, appreciate any feedback.

To build on CL’s post which I agree with, the only value ROON would bring to someone without their own digital library would be to those who stream Qobuz or Tidal. The ROON interface is agnostic to whether your digital library is made of files you own on a hard drive or it is made up of music you have highlighted / saved from one of those streaming services. It doesn’t matter where the media exists. Your hard drive or their cloud…

If you don’t listen to any digital music, then ROON has zero value to you.

[kubla36]

For me, Roon Radio is the value proposition.

I don’t listen to my old collection (though Roon has it). Everything is streamed through Qobuz (set as pref) and Tidal — I never bother with what/where music is. Wish they could get more streaming services (a downside). I like the artist info right at the music instead of going to another app.

Originally Posted by audiogear

What is the value proposition of Roon for an audiophile who doesn't own a collection of digital music or CDs?

Better Tidal/Qobuz sound and new music algorithm? I've read arguments for and against...though mostly have been positive.

An always-on-ethernet connected, low cost Core/Server, added monthly or lifetime subscription can add up negative points especially if listening habits don't take advantage of Roon features.

Would love to hear from Roon/former users, appreciate any feedback.

[audiogear]

Thank you gents! I’m currently running Tidal streaming. I have an M1 Mac Pro 16 and unused/dedicated i3 (8th gen, 8 ram) laptop I can use as a core/server. I suppose a Roon trial is in order to examine whether it fits my listening habits. I’m a bit hesitant adding another layer/always connected & on PC to the audio chain though the exploring new music and Roon Radio features intrigue me.

Subjective question, has anyone experienced a decreased/increased in audio quality using Roon with Tidal/Qobuz? Are you using the Roon DSP?