Nucleus Media Storage And Audio Devices
Roon can watch multiple storage locations at the same time, so you can use any or all of the options below together.
Storage Devices
Devices connected directly by USB
If your music is on an external USB drive, plug it into your Nucleus. Nucleus supports drives formatted as exFAT or HFS/HFS+ (read-only, so Nucleus can't add new music or make changes to a drive formatted this way). NTFS drives are also supported, though we've seen occasional reports of Nucleus not reliably detecting them. If your NTFS drive isn't showing up consistently, reformatting to exFAT often resolves it.
An internal SSD connected via SATA
We recommend an internal SSD, up to 8TB, for the most reliable internal storage experience. Please see our installation guide for step-by-step instructions.
Network shares (such as a NAS)
Make sure your NAS is turned on and connected to your network, and have your share's username and password ready if it needs one. We recommend connecting networked storage over Ethernet. Please see setting up your NAS for details.
Audio Devices
Devices connected directly by USB
If you're using a DAC, headphone amp, A/V receiver, integrated amplifier, or active speaker system connected directly to Nucleus over USB, connect it to one of the back panel ports and make sure it's powered on.
Devices connected directly by HDMI
If you have an A/V receiver or another device with an HDMI audio input, connect it to Nucleus's HDMI output. This output supports both stereo and multi-channel audio.
Network audio devices
Many audio devices, active speakers, DACs, integrated amplifiers, and A/V receivers, connect over your network. If you're using a Roon Ready, AirPlay, Sonos, or other supported streaming device, confirm it's connected to your network (Ethernet or Wi-Fi) and powered on. We recommend Ethernet where possible.
If you're still having trouble getting your storage or audio devices set up, please get in touch with our Technical Support team here.
Related Articles
Nucleus Internal Storage
Your Nucleus supports an internal 2.5" HDD or SSD to create a self-contained music server. For a completely silent system, we recommend using an SSD. If you chose to use an SSD here, the system will stay fully silent. The entire internal storage ...Storage
Overview In Roon, Storage refers to the location(s) of your local library. Below, you will find a handful of popular storage locations along with their descriptions. Local Folders On first launch, Roon will find the default music folder on your ...Nucleus Migration Guide (Nucleus/Nucleus+ Rev A | Nucleus/Nucleus+ Rev B | Nucleus One | Nucleus Titan)
If you're setting up Nucleus, and your Roon Server had previously been running on Mac, Windows, or Linux, you'll need to migrate your Roon database. Your database includes your playlists, edits, play history, tags, settings, and more. This guide will ...Roon Server on NAS
Roon Server requires a more powerful processor than most media servers due to our architecture. Historically, most NAS devices have not been powerful enough to deliver a first-class experience with Roon, but an increasing number are becoming capable. ...Nucleus Manual
Introduction What is Nucleus? At the heart of every Roon system is a Roon Server. This is the brain behind the entire Roon experience: it manages your music collection, streams to your audio devices, and stores the Roon database. The Roon team ...