Ethernet network in my house, no VPN used, Router TP Link Archer AX20, swith D-Link DGS-1016D
Connected Audio Devices
Mola Mola Tambaqui DAC, streaming over Ethernet network in my home in another room than the PC with Roon core
Other devices in the network (Oppo BD-105, 2x Chromecast, etc.), not relevant for this case
Number of Tracks in Library
2000 files on NAS, several thousands on Tidal Master
Description of Issue
I have my Mola Mola at home for 2 days and experiencing frequent audio dropouts when streaming from Roon. Usually 1-3x per track, sometimes more or not at all. Looking at the network bandwidth on the PC, no drops in sending or receiving data volume indicated during the audio drop outs and also the internet connection (ping, speed) is ok. The drop outs are occurring for both Tidal and library tracks saved on NAS, regardless of sampling rate. Setting the Headroom parameter to -6db didn’t help.
I was streaming number of years before getting Roon from Tidal and Spotify on the same network and dropouts never occured (only when the internet connection was slow once in a time).
Edit: Just realized I assumed wifi when you’ve already stated Ethernet.
Leaving this rather than deleting as you may have already been bothered by a notification.
My apologies.
It’s likely a consequence of using wifi.
I’m by no means a networking expert but the simple explanation is that Roon is more demanding of your Network than, say, the Tidal app.
The possible issue here isn’t a matter of speed or bandwidth.
It’s more likely a consequence of wifi interference or the fact that wifi isn’t “full duplex” as Ethernet is.
I’d suggest, at least temporarily for trouble shooting purposes, connecting the Mola via Ethernet if you’re able to and see if this helps.
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
3
But you weren’t streaming to the Mola Mola box? What were you streaming to? And could you try that device, see if the problem still exists? If so, it’s not the Tambaqui.
I’d look in the Roon Server log files, too, to see if there are any obvious errors. There should be a file called RoonServer_log.txt somewhere on your Win11 machine.
Looking at the Tambaqui manual, I see the bit about upsampling possibly causing dropouts. But you’ve already tried the suggested fix. Are you upsampling or doing any other processing on the files?
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
4
Before getting Mola Mola I was streaming to Oppo BD-105 and Chromecast (not from Roon, but directly from Tidal & Spotify). I still have those devices and when I changed the streaming to them yesterday (not from Roon), no dropouts occurred. I’ll try today streaming from Roon to Chromecast to see if I experience the same issues as with streaming from Roon to Mola Mola. I don’t do any upsampling on Mola Mola. My logs are here: Dropbox - Marek Matustik Logs.zip - Simplify your life.
I had to return my Tambaqui. The issue of no output returned last weekend within a month time. I now lent the demo model of the shop where I bought the DAC. Apparently he had no issues with his version. Lets want and see what happens.
Hi Bill, did you have the chance to have a look at the logs? I was reviewing them on my own in the spots where the drop outs occurred, but I didn’t see anything unusual. Also, sometimes Mola plays without dropouts for quite a long time, sometimes there are many drop outs, typically when the network is more busy (more people at home, etc.), so probably it has something to do with network traffic interruptions by other SW or devices. Nevertheless, when streaming from Roon to Chromcast inserted in Oppo and from there via Coax to Mola, no drop outs occur (but the sound quality seems to be better with direct Ethernet streaming to Mola). So Mola is probably more sensitive to network issues than Chromecast. I was just wondering if there are any settings in Roon which could make streaming more reliable/less affected by network issues (e.g. bigger buffering or so)?
Bill_Janssen
(Wigwam wool socks now on asymmetrical isolation feet!)
8
You can change the buffer size in Roon, but I doubt it will help. Sounds like the issue is with the network, probably the router settings.
As for the logs, probably Roon support should do the looking here, as they have more experience spotting problems. But I do see “network reachabilty change” messages, and errors from Tidal about tracks not available for streaming.