Roon Nucleus and Nucleus+ get new look, new features

Roon updates Nucleus and Nucleus+ core servers
(Image credit: Roon)

If you want to get serious about digital music, then you may well have heard of Roon. The software delivers a premium music browsing experience, offering a searchable "digital magazine" for your music collection. It's a great way to organise your tunes and find new music, and it works with plenty of 'Roon Ready' devices, such as the B&W Formation range. 

Alongside the music software, Roon offers servers around which you can build a multi-room digital music system, bringing with them the benefits of the Roon service on a core designed entirely for the purpose. And now the Roon Nucleus and Nucleus+ servers – "the best way to experience Roon" – have had an upgrade.

Firstly, Roon has moved manufacturing from the Far East to the USA. With this has come a fresh redesign of the units on the outside and an update to the internal layout. 

There's now a second HDMI output on the back while the new dimensions mean the devices now accept hard drives up to 15mm deep (previously this had been limited to 9mm). 

Last but not least, the new-look Roon Nucleus now comes with more eco-friendly packaging.

Roon Labs says the changes made in the 2019 Nucleus and Nucleus+ have no impact on any other specifications or the overall user experience. 

And the new Nucleus and Nucleus+ retain the same prices, at £1500 and £2500 respectively. The new models will become available across the UK during September 2019. 

MORE:

Best multi-room music systems

Everything you need to know about multi-room audio

Joe Cox
Content Director

Joe is Content Director for T3 and What Hi-Fi?, having previously been the Global Editor-in-Chief of What Hi-Fi?. He has worked on What Hi-Fi? across the print magazine and website for more than 15 years, writing news, reviews and features on everything from turntables to TVs, headphones to hi-fi separates. He has covered product launch events across the world, from Apple to Technics, Sony and Samsung; reported from CES, the Bristol Show, and Munich High End for many years; and written for sites such as the BBC, Stuff, and the Guardian. In his spare time, he enjoys expanding his vinyl collection and cycling (not at the same time).