Please help with Roon server/core issue


Hi AGers, 

So long story short: I only stream music (do not own any). I have Tidal and Qobuz streaming through Roon. And that is my problem. I started out using a M1 Mac Mini to stream but I often lost connection to Roon. So I bought a Small Green Computer i5 Sonictransporter and LPS. SQ improved but not the Roon problem. 

We have fiber optic to the house, a fully wired network and I have Silent Angel N8 switch feeding the SGC Roon server and my Lumin T2. No wifi anywhere. 

Finally after a couple of years, the problems increased to the point that 192/24 files crackle and pop. So I wrote to the Roon Community Forum under the Support section.

The Roon support person wrote back that:

*****We’ve activated diagnostics for your account and RoonServer and here’s what we can confirm:

  1. Track downloads from Tidal and Qobuz’s servers are timing out with 24/192 FLAC files, and the prebuffer is barely ahead of playback. At times, it’s dropping out.
  2. There are sample dropouts reported with by RoonServer on T2 Zone. These at times accumulate sufficiently to cause unnatural interruptions on the stream.
  3. RoonServer constantly loses connection to upstream internet services due to network reachability changes in logs.

Your RoonServer’s intranet and internet connection appear to be struggling. How are you connecting your RoonServer machine to the internet?*****

Peter Lie from Lumin kindly wrote back and suggested I try changing my DNS to 8.8.8.8 - which I did. That did help a lot with SQ and speed but did not fully resolve the crackle and pop issue with 192/24 files. 

I would welcome any suggestions. 

Thanks, Nadine

128x128atanarjuat99

Hi Nadine,  I also only stream so I can understand your frustrations.  It can be so good and then so frustrating when it glitches.  And everyone runs to the ‘network issue’ excuse, which might in fact be very true.  So we(I) chase down every thing we can control.  My speed tests were also always good, yet Roon tests showed drops and losses that no one could explain.

I formerly had a setup similar to yours, going from Mac mini to Nucleus as server, with LPS and I also had the same Silent Angel switch!  Sound kept improving as I did these upgrades.  And I am Not knocking your equipment.

But the Grimm MU1 is such an upgrade on several levels.  It runs Roon core, so right away you eliminate your SGC and its power supply, power cable and connecting Ethernet cable.  It is rock solid as server.  But it is its streamer side that gets all the accolades; so again you eliminate the Lumin and get (IMHO) better sound.  

Also watch for the 100mb vs 1g thing.  I had a Network Acoustics Eno Ethernet filter that was only rated at 100mb and it was not compatible with my other stuff.  Replaced with the Muon Pro filter at 1g speed rating and things worked out better.  I also upgraded my service to 1G (available here with Verizon Fios).  I may not have needed this but again, to me it is worth it to do everything I can!
 

Good luck with all of this.  Keep the faith, quality streaming can sound amazing, and you seem to be doing all the right things!  Get back to us when you get it sorted out and I can bug you about a switch upgrade! :)

Ken

 

Why not judt buy a decent fedicated streamer ? 

They sound far better innuos has very nicr and good entry level

No roon needef innuos sounds better and very well

Organized, also on your router get rid of the horrible wall wart 

And buy a quality lps from linear tube audio 

On Audiogon $700 much better sound 

And a decent ethrrnet  switch like tje lhy sw8

Best in class under $600 , Everything counts.

Often, opting for the simplest approach yields the best results: Lowering your sample rate from 192 can significantly help, and you're likely not to discern any difference. I use 24/96, and it works wonderfully for me. In truth, by persisting with the higher rate, you're complicating things due to the unreliability of consumer fiber connections and ethernet problems. After participating in extensive testing, including double-blind trials comparing High-Resolution audio to Redbook, I found my accuracy was only about 50%, equivalent to making a guess. Once I reduced my bitrate, all issues with audio artifacts vanished.

@mapman 

Why not judt buy a decent fedicated streamer ? 

I like this:  combination between federated and dedicated. 😎

@fastfreight I see the path pointing me to the Grimm MU1 :) I have a NOS DAC so that might be a good combination. However, strategically I feel I should wait - after having persuaded my non-audio loving partner that our music will be so much better with the Sopra 2 speakers. But two questions: are you using the stock power cable with the switching power supply on the MU1? And did you add a LPS? Oh, and do you use the AES output?

@audioman58 I would go to the Innuos. I love their philosophy but I am committed to Roon for music discovery and the feeling of being in a record store online. If Innuos were a Roon core, it would be a no-brainer. 

@adsell I am going to try that tonight. Honestly 96/24 is already such an improvement over Redbook!