"An audio file is loading slowly" occurs frequently

Support
1

Greetings @support
Roon Version 1.3 (Build 204) stable 64-bit (Windows 10 Home)

Core is running as Roon Server on Asus N53SV-DH72 laptop with 2.2 GHz Core i7-2670QM, 14 GB RAM, 256GB SSD boot drive, 1TB internal HDD (High-res FLAC is stored here), 3TB external HDD connected by USB 3.0 (1 TB of CD rips are stored here as FLAC), Ethernet connection to network. Currently 52,735 tracks (local and Tidal).

Control is running on Asus F555LA-AB31 (Windows 10 Home 64-bit), WiFi connection to network

The Issue: I am getting “An audio file is loading slowly” frequently (with the track stopping) on files played from the USB 3.0 HDD. It seems to be occurring more frequently lately. So far I have not gotten this from the internal HDD, where my largest (High-res) files are stored. I have moved as many files as possible to the internal HDD as a stopgap, but there is only so much room.

I had a similar problem with JRiver, but it was solved when their “load entire file into memory before play” option was perfected. I know that Roon reads the file incrementally, but can’t figure out what the threshold for “loading slowly” might be. I have tried several step (learned from internet search) including setting the drive for “fast performance” and going into BIOS to turn off USB compatibility mode.

As usual, the problem seems to get worse the more I try to fix it. Thanks in advance for any help.

Here is a disk benchmark from the internal hdd:

CrystalDiskMark 5.2.1 x64 © 2007-2017 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/

  • MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]

  • KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes

    Sequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 63.909 MB/s
    Sequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 63.906 MB/s
    Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 1.211 MB/s [ 295.7 IOPS]
    Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 1.353 MB/s [ 330.3 IOPS]
    Sequential Read (T= 1) : 64.171 MB/s
    Sequential Write (T= 1) : 62.706 MB/s
    Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 0.526 MB/s [ 128.4 IOPS]
    Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 1.399 MB/s [ 341.6 IOPS]

    Test : 1024 MiB [E: 95.6% (890.5/931.5 GiB)] (x5) [Interval=5 sec]
    Date : 2017/02/22 19:49:25
    OS : Windows 10 [10.0 Build 14393] (x64)

Now the benchmark from the USB 3.0 drive:

CrystalDiskMark 5.2.1 x64 © 2007-2017 hiyohiyo
Crystal Dew World : http://crystalmark.info/

  • MB/s = 1,000,000 bytes/s [SATA/600 = 600,000,000 bytes/s]

  • KB = 1000 bytes, KiB = 1024 bytes

    Sequential Read (Q= 32,T= 1) : 153.323 MB/s
    Sequential Write (Q= 32,T= 1) : 134.976 MB/s
    Random Read 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 0.628 MB/s [ 153.3 IOPS]
    Random Write 4KiB (Q= 32,T= 1) : 1.935 MB/s [ 472.4 IOPS]
    Sequential Read (T= 1) : 155.810 MB/s
    Sequential Write (T= 1) : 155.178 MB/s
    Random Read 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 0.580 MB/s [ 141.6 IOPS]
    Random Write 4KiB (Q= 1,T= 1) : 1.902 MB/s [ 464.4 IOPS]

    Test : 1024 MiB [F: 38.2% (1067.2/2794.5 GiB)] (x5) [Interval=5 sec]
    Date : 2017/02/22 19:41:54
    OS : Windows 10 [10.0 Build 14393] (x64)

I did find this message in the log file at the time I was playing a track that failed (Porgy and Bess):

02/22 14:40:48 Warn: Track Stopped Due to Slow Media

I can send the log file if you like.

2

Also having this problem suddenly. Never had it before the Build 204…

3

I’ve been noticing it too, depending on drivers and bitrates.

4

@support
I had posted this topic on 2/23/2017 but have not heard back yet, so I will just paste in the original post.

[Moderator Edit: Duplication removed and post merged]

5

Afraid I am suffering the same fate. My MoCA coaxial cable to ethernet cable modules failed. This is basically a performance issue, so I am going to have a dedicated data line installed once and for all. Too many items on my wi-fi to carry the load, especially if hi-res conversions are involved.

Any recent changes to your setup.

6

I have been spending the past few days frantically checking the performance of my USB drive. I am now satisfied that it is performing properly and in fact is giving me a faster transfer rate than my internal drive (where the problem does not occur).

I am an old retired programmer but PC is not my expertise, so I was refraining from full troubleshooting mode, but I broke down and looked at the log and saw interactions with my DAC before the timeout.

I will now back off and wait to hear from @support before going further.

8

2 posts were split to a new topic: Playback issues - iMac Core + MacBook Pro endpoint

9

@support
I received a notification from Yahoo Mail that Eric had sent me a PM, but the message itself did not show up in Mail. Could it be sent again? Thanks.

10

@Gerald_Richardson — Please confirm that you can see the PM, thanks!

PM: https://community.roonlabs.com/t/an-audio-file-is-loading-slowly-occurs-frequently/21935/12

-Eric