Have you tried Roon yet? I haven't written much about it thus far, but to be honest it's sort of a game-changer in my view. Now any company wanting to make a streaming audio device can avoid the massive headache of designing their own user interface - as long as they can work out the licensing details with Roon Labs of course. UI is a frequent challenge, with otherwise excellent devices only earning "cautiously recommended" status thanks to their cludgy controls. Even Aurender, with their very well thought out Conductor App, can't compare to the joy of Roon.
This isn't strictly a Roon review though. The idea here was to find a really affordable way to integrate Roon into various zones in my home, feeding into a modest external DAC over SPDIF. Sure, I could spend $300 on a Sonore Sonicorbiter SE, but that's still a bit rich for occasional use such as a spare bedroom or garage. Or I could go cheap with a Chromecast Audio, but that lacks a number of features I find rather important. After considering my options, I decided I needed an Android media box with Ethernet capability (preferably gigabit speed) and SPDIF out - two things you don't always find on the plethora of media players out there. A solid CPU and generous RAM also seemed like desirable traits, as did full-size USB ports for ease of connectivity. Not that an OTG cable (included) is the worst thing in the world, but I like simplicity whenever possible. It was also very important to have a usable remote control included - yes, I could always run a control app on my phone, or plug in a USB mouse/keyboard, but I wanted ease of use for my family as well, and a real remote seemed like the best way to go. Lastly, Android 5.0 or higher was important, and some of these boxes still use KitKat.
I decided on this YCCTEAM branded MXIII G box which goes for a bit under $75. I flirted with the idea of going Raspberry Pi but that seemed like a rabbit hole from which I might never emerge. No, this was supposed to be a simple project without all the temptation for tweaking that a Pi would bring. I wanted a pre-rooted device that would be relatively easy to get going, and low maintenance to keep running long term. This little device seemed like just the thing. It ticks all the boxes from a hardware perspective and seems to have a good reputation as well - 89 Amazon reviews resulting in a 4 star ranking.
The MXIII box looks to have been around for a while in one form or another, and you'll find many variations out there at different prices. I spent a little more to get the 2GB RAM/16GB storage version with the fast S812 quad-core processor and octa-core GPU - you definitely want to keep things feeling responsive in a device like this, lest it start feeling slow compared to your phone. There are models available with even greater specs but this seemed plenty for my needs. The main "upgrade" I see is the S905 chip which isn't necessarily a big improvement anyway http://www.cnx-software.com/2016/01/29/amlogic-s905-vs-s812-benchmarks-comparison/, so I don't feel like I'm missing much.
I believe the YCCTEAM branding mainly accounts for the pre-installed software package - you can get the same hardware with different branding and it won't be configured the same way out of the box. I've had some poor experiences with other Android boxes as well as tweaked Apple TVs, so I definitely wanted to avoid a repeat. The YCCTEAM box is loaded with popular software, all preconfigured for you, and it ends up working nicely for general use.
For my intended purposes though, the thing unfortunately doesn't work as well as I had hoped. It actually DOES run Roon, and I had no problem streaming from my server which lives on the other side of the house. However the experience is simply not ideal. Problem number one: the included remote (which is actually pretty decent in general) doesn't really work for scrolling through my Roon library. I see the albums listed and can use the virtual mouse option on the remote to select anything I need.... but only on the initial startup screen. It won't let me easily scroll to the next page of albums. I have to grab the little horizontal scroll bar using the virtual mouse, which is nowhere near ideal considering my library has over 6,000 albums. The end result? The whole thing is pretty much unusable. I can load Roon Remote on a phone or tablet and use that to control playback, or I can plug in a wireless USB mouse and keyboard, but none of that is consistent with my goals for this system. I really wish I could scroll using the left/right buttons on the remote as that would be simple and effective - but nope, it doesn't work.
Problem number two: this device resamples everything to 48kHz for the optical output. I was hoping this would not be the case, because I've encountered it before. It seems to me a simple passthrough of the stream would be the logical choice, but for whatever reason that wasn't done here. So I can play anything from CD quality 44.1kHz to high-res material and it all ends up as 48kHz over Toslink. I probably don't have to tell you that manipulation of the sample rate - especially by a lower grade, non-audio-specific device, is generally unwelcome, unless we're talking about a dedicated, high quality upsampling DAC.
I suppose it's only fair to point out that many other devices have the same problem - Google's Chromecast 2 has this issue, as well as the Apple TV 2, 3, and 4.
Still, I don't like it. Running everything through my little Audinst DX-1 DAC via optical connection, there's a noticeable degradation in sound quality taking place. Even compared to a Blu-ray player used as transport - and in this case I'm just talking basic Sony player, nothing "audiophile" caliber - the Android box takes a back seat in SQ. I typically find computer audio to be superior in most cases but this time the disc spinner wins. Some DACs seem less impacted than others - my Anedio D2 for example seems to make the most of the lower quality MXIII signal, resulting in less difference compared to the Blu-ray player. Still, it's not a great result.
To be realistic, the MXIII-G is a budget device with a wall-wart power supply, so perhaps there is more to the equation than just the resampling aspect. I also realize this sample rate was likely chosen due to being more commonly used for video. This may very well be a case of my expectations and needs just not lining up with the intended focus of the device. Unfortunately I don't have any HDMI-equipped DACs (like the NAD M51 for example) that list incoming sample rate, so I don't know if this same thing is happening over HDMI.
As a last ditch attempt to salvage this thing for my intended use, I tried connecting the DAC to a USB port, hoping for bit-perfect output. I tried all the usual Apps like Onkyo HF Player, USB Audio Player Pro, and HibyMusic, with only moderate success. The players all immediately recognized the DAC - unfortunately things got weird from there. I was sometimes able to play a song or two without issue, but more often than not there was random audible artifacts, along with frequent disconnects. The Audinst DAC works well with several Android and iOS devices I own, so I can't blame this connectivity issue on the DAC either. Ultimately it just seems that the YCCTEAM box is not cut out for my type of use.
Aside from that, it actually works well for other needs. I ran Kodi (which handily comes preconfigured), Emby, and Plex for movies, and all worked perfectly. I used Google's Gallery to scroll through high-megapixel photos at a rapid pace, with the same snappy feeling I would expect from a modern higher-end phone. I played all sorts of games ranging from emulators to demanding modern titles, and all worked nicely with very smooth graphics - with the caveat that any title relying on accelerometer controls won't translate well to this format. I don't have a 4K display yet - I'm waiting for 4K OLED to come down in price - but it's nice to know I can play 4K material when the time comes. I believe it's limited to 30fps or 24fps rather than 60, but not having a 4K display myself means I don't really know how important that is.
Overall this seems like a very useful media box for what I'll call "normal" tasks. It just isn't equipped for audiophile needs, or at least not within the parameters I set for it. When I add a Logitech K400 Plus wireless keyboard/trackpad to solve the Roon scrolling issue, and adjust my expectations for sound quality, this does the job well enough for casual use. I like it enough for other reasons that I think it will have a long term home in my spare room. But the search for a simple, affordable, easy to recommend Roon solution continues.
I settled on a 2.5 star rating: 1 star for running roon or just as a streaming audio device in general, and 4 stars as a media box for movies and games. The average there is 2.5.
