Audio Drop Out - Returns After a Minute or More - Playback Paused

Roon Core Machine

Apple Mac Studio
M1 Max
64GB Ram
MacOS Monterey Version 12.6.2

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Router - Netgear Orbi
|Hardware Version| RBR50|
|Firmware Version| V2.7.4.24|
Netgear Dumb Switch
VPN - NordVPN
All tracks are on a TrueNAS Core server version 13.X

Connected Audio Devices

The problem applies with any DAC in the signal path
Schitt Modius
Topping E30 II
Geshelli JNOG2

Number of Tracks in Library

91633 tracks

Description of Issue

Everything plays fine for a while. Several times a day playback stops for 30 seconds - 2 minutes. It then comes back with playback paused.

Of note: I also have Plex. 99% of the time they are not in use at the same time. The problem occurs when it’s not. I can play 4K video with DTS or Atmos sound and have no dropouts like this.

Waiting patiently.

From Mac Studio directly into the DAC. Roon Core is currently on the Mac Studio but I have tried it on one other computer. Same thing.
It also does it on a Macbook Pro playing through internal speakers and a Raspberry Pi into a Geshelli JNOG2

I’ve looked at the logs too. I don’t understand all of the entries so it’s difficult to try and run it down that way.

NordVPN is a well-known VPN provider. Fairly standard piece of kit nowadays.

The network is Cable Modem → Netgear Orbi → Switch → All hard wired devices including the TrueNAS box and the Mac Studio (with Roon Core).
MacBook Pro and Raspberry Pi connect via WiFi

TrueNAS Box is 32GB Ram with several 8TB drives. It serves movies/TV at HD + 4K resolution via Plex and utilization never goes above about 25%. No bottleneck there.

80% of my library 16/44 with the rest a mix of 96 and 192. No single type triggers this behavior.

I really don’t use either Tidal or Qobuz.

Security. Had a few attacks on my setup a while back via my public IP.

Just used as a cable modem. Orbi is the router and primary Wi-Fi access point.

Sorry not going to do all that. It would be a major pain in the butt and disrupt everything else dependent on the current network setup.

If I can play 4K vids with DTS multichannel or Dolby Atmos without a hiccup, I’m not inclined to go down that rabbit hole without a sound technical reason.

I appreciate your willingness to help.

Thanks.

I do have disable IGMP proxying checked. I can try unchecking it, but would prefer to wait for support to respond.

Man, what does it take for Room Support @support to actually help with a problem?

Hi @tinylittlenukes,

Thank you for your patience. The team has pulled and reviewed your logs with development and encountered the following:

  1. Repeated network dropouts and connection refusals affected RAATServer and several key and backend Roon processes.
    a) As an initial troubleshooting step, please try disabling NordVPN, as it’s more than likely at a minimum introducing additional network logging that is obfuscating the issue here.
    b) Next, refresh Roon’s database:
  • Create a Backup of your current database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “Roon”
  • Rename the “Roon” folder to “Roon_old”
  • Reinstall the Roon App from our Downloads Page to generate a new Roon folder
  • Verify if the issue persists on a fresh database before restoring the backup
  1. RAATServer dropouts on the Core device. It’s possible that multiple audio drivers are competing for the attention of the system output since you have Global Delight and other room correction/immersive audio drivers present.
    a) Please share a screenshot of your Audio Midi setup.
    b) You can generate a fresh instance of RAATServer by taking the following steps:
  • Create a Backup of your current Roon database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “RAATServer”
  • Rename the “RAATServer” folder to “RAATServer_old”
  • Restart the Roon App to generate a new RAATServer folder

14 days to get an official response. Yikes!!

I ended up putting Roon Core on a dedicated computer. Would have liked to stay with the Mac Studio as described above, but the thought of going through the troubleshooting steps and waiting 14 days for each response is untenable.

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