Core Machine (Mac OS X 10.14.5/MacBook Pro 15" 2018/Roon 1.6 build 416) Network Details (Fritz! WLAN repeater WiFi) Audio Devices (Nexum TB21 Airplay Streaming Box)
Hello, anyone out there streaming to a Nexum TB21? I have two of those, one running Firmware v1.1.1.1231, the other running Firmware v1.1.3.0712. Both streaming boxes work well when I stream from iTunes on my Mac or from iOS devices over AirPlay.
Unfortunately Roon only seems to work with the box that runs the older firmware. Both are recognized by Roon and are configurable. Roon seems to be streaming to both, but only the one with the older firmware outputs anything on its analog cinch output. The one with the newer firmware remains silent.
When I stream from an iOS device to the one with firmware 1.1.3, and then start streaming from Roon to the same device, it actually interrupts the stream from iOS (as it should), but there’s no sound output.
I’m wondering whether anyone else has experienced this behaviour.
The Nexum is an older device that supports only AirPlay 1. I don’t think that the upgraded firmware added AirPlay 2 support – at least there’s no information about that anywhere on the developer’s site (https://www.nexum-design.com/tunebox2).
Does the progress bar move when you are streaming to the newer firmware zone and just audio is not heard? Does this same behavior occur with multiple sample rates or does this issue occur with just higher sample rates?
Yes, the progress bar moves, both when streaming Qobuz and when playing locally stored files: MP3, AAC, FLAC in all qualities from low-res to CD to 192/24. None of these lead to any output from the TB21.
If I stream from my iPad to the TB21 and then start a stream from Roon, the iPad stream is halted. If I stream from Roon (with no output) and then start a stream from the iPad (with sound output), the progress bar in Roon continues to move.
I don’t believe we have this DAC in-house to check, but I wonder if logs indicate anything further. Can you please reproduce the issue and let me know the exact local time + date you start a track (e.g. 11:52AM on 8/5/19) and let me know this info? I will then enable diagnostics for your Core and see if there are any additional clues.
I started playback to the DAC in question at 12:25 pm today August 6, 2019. The result is the same as before, no audio output from the Nexum TB21, even though Roon seems to be streaming and the progress indicator is moving.
Thanks for letting me know that timestamp. I have gone ahead and activated diagnostics mode for your account and what this actions should do is automatically upload a set of logs for analysis. I have been on the lookout for this report, but unfortunately I am not seeing it arrive on my end. Can I please ask you to use these instructions to manually send me the logs from your Core machine (via Dropbox / Google Drive / Send.firefox.com)?
Thanks for sending those logs over. I have asked the technical team to review them and they appear to be as expected, on the Roon side of things.
Since this behavior is different between the two firmware versions, this would indicate that something on the Nexum side’s behavior has changed.
We do not have any Nexum devices in-house to verify your findings, but have you by any chance reached out to Nexum yet regarding your report? They would best be able to clarify what exactly has changed with regard to the firmware update.
Yes, I have reached out to Nexum, without any reaction so far. I’m not sure whether they answer to feedback in English. I bought the DACs in Taiwan, and even their site doesn’t have a lots of English content.
Anyway, it was just something nice to have for a multi room setup. I am very happy with my Raspberry Pi with a HifiBerry board that’s connect to a Cambridge DAC. The combination of Roon core on my Mac, a Roon bridge on the HifiBerry and the Cambridge DAC is amazing.
Thanks for letting me know you already reached out to them. As I mentioned, since we unfortunately do not have this device in-house, we would not be able to perform any troubleshooting from our end. If you do hear back from Nexum regarding any of the changes they made to the firmware do let me know, but otherwise I think we may not get any further with troubleshooting from our side.