Hi Res Quest and Roon start from the same observation — two editions of the same album are not equal — but they do not act at the same point. Here is what each one does, without caricature. Roon is also a source recognized by Hi Res Quest (playlist export).
Roon measures what you own. Hi Res Quest verifies what you stream.
Roon is music library management and playback software: a server (Roon Core) that indexes your files and your Qobuz/TIDAL subscriptions, a browsing app, and bit-perfect playback to a wide range of devices, with signal processing (DSP) and multi-room. Its dynamic range (DR) feature analyzes local content — your files, after import and analysis — and shows the DR on the album page, in the “other versions of this album” window, and in a column of the track browser. It is a measurement made on your file.
Hi Res Quest is a web service — nothing to install — that audits the playlists you stream. For every track, it establishes the resolution declared by the platform, cross-checked (ISRC codes, Discogs, MusicBrainz, TIDAL), the authenticity of the hi-res (fake 24-bit flagged and explained), and the best edition of the same recording (via the ISRC and MusicBrainz families), then helps you get it — in place or on a hi-res platform. Dynamic range appears there as one provenance clue among others, next to resolution and authenticity — obtained without owning the file.
| Roon | Hi Res Quest | |
|---|---|---|
| What is analyzed | The files you own (local library), after import and analysis | What you stream — Qobuz, TIDAL, Apple Music, Deezer, Spotify playlists, Roon export |
| Dynamic range (DR) | Measured on your local file; shown on the album, the other versions, and the track browser | Provenance clue per edition (community database), among resolution + authenticity + best edition |
| What you get | A playback ecosystem: DSP, bit-perfect, multi-room, 1000+ devices | A quality audit + help choosing and syncing the best version (not a player) |
| Installation / hardware | A Roon Core (dedicated machine recommended) + compatible playback endpoints | A web page; nothing to install |
| Hi-res authenticity | No (not its purpose) | Yes: fake 24-bit (upsampling) flagged and explained, closest master highlighted |
| Best edition of the same track | Comparison between versions you own | Search for the best available edition of the same recording, streamable or for purchase |
| Model | Subscription or lifetime license; software | Annual subscription; online service |
Roon pricing and features: see the official Roon website. Prices change — we do not reproduce them here to avoid outdated information.
If your music lives in a file library, played on a system driven by a Roon Core, Roon does a job Hi Res Quest does not: it plays the music, and it measures the dynamic range of your files. Hi Res Quest plays no music. Its value comes upstream: knowing, before listening or buying, which edition of a streamed track is the most faithful — and doing it from a plain browser, including on mobile. Many audiophiles use both: Hi Res Quest to choose the right version, Roon to play it at home.
Roon's DR feature applies to local content after analysis. Hi Res Quest, for its part, shows a dynamic range clue per edition for what you stream, without owning the file.
Not exactly: Roon is a player and a library manager; Hi Res Quest is a quality audit and sync tool. They complement each other more than they replace each other — Roon is also an audit source accepted by Hi Res Quest.
No. It is a web page; auditing a streamed playlist requires no dedicated software or hardware.