Audio disturbances when connecting Bluesound node to DACs via Roon (ref#8QDND3)

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· Connectingng Bluesound node via Roon to ifi ids diablo or Audioquest dragonfly red i hear stops, clicks and hiss.

Tell us about your home network

· Mac OS tahoe 26.1, Roon updated, Bluesound updated, the problems appear on USB connection, different usb cables tested

[vadim]

Hi @dgeorgakopoulos,

I am sorry to hear you are experiencing audio disturbances like clicks, stops, and hiss when using the USB output on your Bluesound Node.

To help us narrow down whether this is a network/RAAT issue or a hardware communication issue between the Node and your DACs, could you please try the following steps and provide a bit more information?

1. Test outside of Roon (Isolation Test) Please try playing music directly through the native BluOS app (using a service like Tidal, Qobuz, or a local radio station) to your iFi Diablo or DragonFly Red.

• If the clicks and hiss still occur via the BluOS app, this points to a hardware or firmware compatibility issue between the Bluesound Node’s USB output and those specific DACs. In this case, reaching out to Bluesound support directly would be the best next step.

2. Adjust Resync Delay If the issue only happens during Roon playback, the DACs might be struggling to lock onto the signal fast enough when sample rates change.

• In Roon, go to Settings → Audio and click the gear icon next to your Bluesound Node.
• Select Device Setup, and find Resync Delay.
• Try setting this to 500ms or 1000ms and see if the clicks and stops disappear.

3. Share your Signal Path While music is playing and you are experiencing the issue, could you please click on the glowing light in the left side of the Roon app music control buttons and take a screenshot of your Signal Path? Please upload that screenshot here so we can see exactly how Roon is processing the audio.

4. Provide a Timestamp If the steps above do not resolve the issue, please note the exact local time and date (e.g., June 22 at 2:15 PM) when you next hear the hiss or clicking, and the name of the track you were playing. We can then activate diagnostics for your account and check the server logs for that exact moment.

Looking forward to your reply!

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Hi

1. Outside of Roon (Isolation Test) Bluesound NODE (2021) no problems occur.

2. Roon detects Bluesound NODE (2021) via WIFI but doesn’t play connected via USB to IFI IDSD Diablo or other DAC.

How can we fix this ?

3. Roon detects Bluesound NODE (2021) via AirPlay2, connected via USB to IFI IDSD Diablo (for earphones use) plays music with some stops clicks and hiss

kind regards

DG

[vadim]

Hello @dgeorgakopoulos,

One clarification on our end - looking at the Bluesound NODE’s Roon Ready specifications, the USB port on the NODE is listed as a storage input (for USB drives with music files), not as an audio output to an external DAC. This means connecting an external DAC via USB to the NODE is not part of its Roon Ready implementation.

To confirm this definitively, we would recommend reaching out to Bluesound support and asking whether their RAAT implementation supports USB DAC output. If it does not, then using the iFi Diablo connected directly to your Mac as a Roon endpoint would be the recommended path.

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Hi

I am back summarizing the problem that despite all yours and the Bluesound assistance team suggestions I was unable to fix.

I am trying to successfully connect the NODE as a streamer to an external DAC via Roon.

Outside of Roon (Isolation Test) Bluesound NODE (2021) no problems occur.

Bluesound NODE (2021) USB is an audio output connection.

Roon recognizes the Bluesound NODE in two ways:

1. as Bluesound NODE

It shows that it is connected to it but does not produce sound.

For the connection i tried both USB and OPTICAL

I consider the quality of the “direct” connection better than the AirPlay2 and I wish to restore it.

2. as AirPlay2 connected via USB to IFI IDSD Diablo or other DAC

It plays music but produces a few times sound quality problems like stops clicks, stops and noise.

I am waiting for your guidance and help.
Kind regards
DG

[benjamin]

Hi @dgeorgakopoulos,

While that might be the case, unfortunately, specific to the Roon Ready certification, the only available I/O options are:

Inputs:

• RAAT
• AirPlay
• S/PDIF (TOSLINK)
• Line Level (Single Ended)
• Other: USB Storage

Outputs:

• S/PDIF (Coax)
• S/PDIF (TOSLINK)
• Line Level (Single Ended)
• Subwoofer Out

@vadim is correct here, within the Roon Ready/RAAT implementation, the NODE's USB port is storage-only, and routing RAAT to an attached USB DAC is not supported.

So both things are true at once: USB DAC output exists at the BluOS/hardware level, but it is not exposed through Roon Ready. These don’t contradict each other, they’re just different layers.

You could connect the iFi Diablo directly to the Mac and run it as a Roon endpoint there for a true RAAT signal path, or use the NODE’s supported S/PDIF output into a DAC that accepts S/PDIF if you want to keep the NODE in the chain. AirPlay remains the only Roon route to a USB DAC through the NODE, and its WiFi buffering is the source of the dropouts.

I hope this clears things up!

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Following your instructions I connected the Bluesound NODE to the iFi Diablo with an optical good quality TOSLINK cable.

The results were also very disappointing with many “interruptions” and “clicks”.

So i am not sure that the problems are due to the NODEs USB output.

Best regards

DG

[benjamin]

Hey @dgeorgakopoulos,

Thanks for the update! Sorry to hear you’re still having issues. If you’d like us to take another look, please share a more specific track name, or date and time, the next time you experience issues.

Thank you!

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Hello

I would like to add to our previous correspondence something that I overlooked:

Ι realized that the problems occurred in the last period of time, perhaps after the last ROON updates (I have been using this BLOUESOUND TO DIABLO USB connection via ROON for over a year) .

Note also that as music source I use TIDAL through ROON.

Since the same “clicks” and “interruptions” occur over USB and optical TOSLINK when using ROON, but playback is clean when connecting the NODE directly to the iFi Diablo without ROON in the signal path, this confirms the issue is not related to the NODE’s USB or digital output.

The common factor in every instance of the problem is ROON itself, regardless of the physical connection used.

Best regards

DG

[vadim]

Hello @dgeorgakopoulos,

Thank you for the additional detail and for clarifying that the issue persists across both USB and TOSLINK connections, while the direct NODE-to-Diablo connection without Roon is clean.

To clarify one thing from our side: there have been no changes to Roon’s audio playback engine in any recent update, including the most recent one - the core RAAT streaming and signal path logic has not been touched. So while the timing correlation you noticed is a useful clue, it likely points to something else changing around the same time rather than the playback engine itself.

Since you mentioned you use Tidal as your source, a few things to narrow this down further:

1. Does the same issue occur with local files (if you have any), or only with Tidal streaming? This would tell us whether the problem is specific to the streaming pathway or affects all playback through Roon.
2. Could you share the exact date and time of a recent occurrence along with the track name? We can then check the diagnostic logs for that specific moment to see what was happening on the network/streaming side at that time.
3. Has anything else changed in your network environment over the past year - new router firmware, ISP changes, other devices added to the network, etc.?

[dgeorgakopoulos]

HELLO

The problems occur with music from:

1\. TIDAL  30/06/26 3:26.    NODE connected via Roon as Airplay 2

2. My network Library 30/06/26 3:29. NODE connected via Roon as Airplay 2

3. From live radio 30/06/26 3:35 ex. France Musique via Roon as Airplay 2

Initialy ROON started recognizing and playing NODE directly through the network (WIFI) with no problems.
For a while now recognizes the NODE directly, it seems to be connected (foto) but the sound comes as sporadic sort noise signals with big interruptions.

Τo address the problem I activated the AirPlay 2 connection with the known quality problems.

Is it possible to reinstall NODE in ROON Audio section ?

No changes in my network

Best regards

[benjamin]

Hey @dgeorgakopoulos,

Thank you for the detailed timestamps and screenshots, and for the clear summary. We activated diagnostics and went through your Roon Server logs around the times you reported, and we have a much clearer picture now. We also want to correct the direction of our earlier replies, because the logs point somewhere different.

First, you were right about one thing: since the interruptions happen on both USB and optical TOSLINK, and only when Roon is in the chain, this is not about the NODE’s USB port or its digital output. We can set that question aside.

What the logs actually show:

There are two different ways you have been reaching the NODE, and they fail for two different reasons.

When you play to the NODE as a native Roon Ready endpoint (the “direct” zone, shown in your logs as “Foyer”), Roon and the NODE have to agree on a shared clock so audio stays sample-accurate. In your logs, that clock handshake is failing badly. Every sync between Roon Server and the NODE shows the NODE’s reported clock drifting by roughly a million parts per million, where a healthy endpoint drifts by only a handful. A few seconds into your local-file test at 15:30 on June 30, this built up until the NODE reported a dropout and Roon stopped and tore the stream down. That tear-down loop is what you hear as stops and noise on the direct connection. Importantly, we see the exact same broken clock pattern on every direct-playback attempt in the logs, including ones from June 27, so this is consistent rather than a one-off.

When you play via AirPlay 2 (the “Foyer earphones” zone), the clock problem goes away because AirPlay handles its own timing, which is why AirPlay plays. But we do see the NODE repeatedly renegotiating its AirPlay session during the day, which lines up with the occasional clicks you get on that path.

So the common factor is not Roon’s playback engine, which has not changed, but the timing handshake between Roon and this particular NODE, at the clock level. The most likely thing that changed around the time you noticed this is a BluOS firmware update on the NODE, since that is the part producing the clock values Roon is rejecting.

What we would like you to try, in order

1. Fully power-cycle the NODE. Unplug it for about 30 seconds rather than using standby, then power it back up. A corrupted clock state on the endpoint often only clears with a cold restart, so please try this first.
2. Check the BluOS version on the NODE and when it last updated. In the BluOS app, look under the player's settings for the firmware version and update history. If you can tell us when it last updated relative to when the direct connection stopped working, that timeline is genuinely useful to us.
3. Run one test with the NODE on a wired Ethernet connection instead of Wi-Fi. We are seeing some long round-trip times to the NODE, so this cleanly separates a network issue from a clock issue. If the direct path still breaks up on Ethernet, that confirms it is on the NODE's side and we would loop in Bluesound at that point.
4. Re-add the NODE in Roon, as you suggested. Go to Settings, then Audio, disable the NODE, then enable it again so Roon rebuilds the device and reruns the handshake. This is quick and worth doing, though it will not help if the firmware clock is the underlying cause.

After the cold reboot, please try the direct (non-AirPlay) zone again, and if it still breaks up, give us the exact local time and the track. A timestamp from the direct connection specifically, rather than AirPlay, is the most useful thing you can send us next.

Looking forward to your results.

[dgeorgakopoulos]

Hello

First of all, thank you for the immediate and detailed response.

1\. I unpluged NODE for several minutes : No results the problems remained.

2\. I disabled and enabled both NODE direct and NODE AirPlay 2.

I also restarted ROON App in my iPad.

**Magicaly  problems disappeared** !! In both NODE direct and AirPlay 

**Ηoping this will last**

I also have to point out some other problems:

1\. After some upgrade of Roon, every time I restart Mac, Roon still does not open,  unless the following sequence is applied (following **alex_h** previus instructions of 16/09/2025): Applications>Roon>Contents>Roon server>open

I think you should do something about it. It’s been quite a while since September 2025.

2\. Many times my iphone and iPad  don't find the Roon Server, although my M1 MacBook Pro (where Roon Server is runing remains continuously open connected with power.

I also have to point out some other problems:

1\. After some upgrade of Roon, every time I restart Mac, Roon still does not open unless, unless the following sequence is applied (following **alex_h** previus instructions of 16/09/2025):

Applications>Roon>Contents>Roon server>open

I think you should do something about it. It’s been quite a while since September 2025

2\. Many times my iPhone and iPad  don't find the Roon Server, although my M1 MacBook Pro remains continuously open (where Roon Server Is running), connected with power and no network problems occur.

Best Regards

DG

[vadim]

Hello @dgeorgakopoulos,

Great to hear the NODE issues have resolved - the cold reboot and re-add cleared the stale clock state as expected. Hopefully it stays stable!

Regarding the two additional issues:

1. Roon not launching automatically after Mac restart

This is a known behavior change introduced in recent macOS versions where the OS applies stricter controls over background process launches. Unfortunately this is managed at the operating system level by Apple and there is nothing we can change on the Roon side until Apple addresses it. The manual path you found (Applications → Roon → Contents → Roon Server → open) is the correct workaround for now.

2. iPhone and iPad not finding the Roon Server

This is related to macOS Local Network permissions. Please go to System Settings → Privacy & Security → Local Network and make sure Roon is listed and enabled. If it is already enabled, try toggling it off and back on, then restart Roon on the Mac. This should allow your iOS devices to discover the server reliably.

[noris]

Hello @dgeorgakopoulos,

Just checking in on this. Were you able to try the Local Network permission change we mentioned on the Mac, and does Roon still need the manual launch path after a restart?

If we don’t hear back from you, please note that this thread may close automatically soon, and if it does, you can reopen the issue by submitting a request through the technical support help form and asking that it be reopened. Let us know what you’re seeing, thanks.

Technical Support Request