Audio drops every 20-60 seconds, Intel NUC, Windows 11

Support
1

Roon Core Machine

Roon Core runs on a Synology NAS:

  • Model: DS 720+
  • OS: DSM 7.1.1-42962
  • CPU Intel Celeron J4125, Quad Core, 2 GHz

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Eveything connected via ethernet, home network, no VPN, cables are not the issue.

Connected Audio Devices

Roon Client running on Intel NUC PC

  • Latest Windows 11, all updates
  • Core i5 11th gen
  • 16 GB RAM
  • Intel Xe integrated graphics
  • Fast ethernet connection
  • Dual HDMI output: one to AV processor, one to a monitor
  • Audio device is a Primare preamplifier / AV processor connected with a 75cm HDMI cable
  • Audio device running as WASAPI, 5.1 channel
    ROON client is newly downloaded from the ROON website. Sees al my albums on the NAS, browsing is all very responsive.

Number of Tracks in Library

Something like 300 albums

Description of Issue

Audio drops every 20-40 seconds. The player will continue playing, but the audio signal is lost for about 5 seconds, then the audio signal returns. Only to be lost again after some 20-40 seconds.

I have tried the following:

  • Removed “HD Audio Driver for Display Audio” drivers (all three in my case: I have three of the same listed? don’t know why) at Windows device manager > restart Windows
  • Reinstalled “HD Audio Driver for Display Audio” drivers
  • Reinstalled the Intel Iris Xe Graphics driver
  • Reset my router
  • Switched HDMI cables
  • I even did a CLEAN install of Windows 11, installing carefully all drivers and running updates before installing ROON: same issue persists

In ROON client software > Steeings > Audio > Device setup

  • Exclusive mode: ON (Off doesn’t work for me: ROON will skip all tracks in quick successive manner, but that’s a whole different issue. Exclusive mode ON works)
  • Resync delay: tried different values
  • Enable Event Mode ON / OFF
  • Buffer size: tried different values between 10 and 100 ms

This is annoying! Hope someone here can help, that would be greatly appreciated!

Matthijs van Santen de Hoog
Utrecht, The Neterlands

3

Can you stream to a phone or tablet without it dropping?

4

Hi Ged,
Thanks for your reply.
Yes, streaming to other devices is no problem (Android and another PC in the same network).

5

Can you post a screenshot of the Settings > Audio screen showing the available devices of your NUC?

6

Daft question, why not use the NUC as the core and the NAS as the source , for that many albums it’s far better spec than the NAS.

Does the Celeron even meet the minimum spec for Roon ?

1 Like
7

Another daft question, why not use the NUC as the core and source and use the NAS as a backup?

Much faster and better experience.

–MD

8

Do you have a different cable to test with?

Nevermind, I see now that you switched the cable.

–MD

9

What do you have the HDMI hooked up to?

–MD

10

The minimum spec is an i3. Quoted from here:

Typical Usage

For libraries that contain fewer than 100,000 tracks, with moderate DSP and multiroom usage, the following specifications will typically be sufficient:

Device Type OS Version CPU RAM Drive
PC Windows 10 Intel Core i3 8GB SSD
Mac macOS 10.15+ Intel Core i3 8GB SSD
Linux Latest Ubuntu or Arch distro Intel Core i3 4GB SSD
11

Transfer the Core from Synology Celeron to the NUC i5.

12

I knew that I was wondering if the OP had even checked :smiling_imp:

The advice above is clear !!

13

image
image1100Ă—248 13.1 KB

14

Is that all? Just two devices? I would have expected to see the HDMI audio devices as well at the very least…

15

Thank you for all the reply’s.
The Core running on the Synology NAS is not the problem. Because:

  • Streaming to other devices works fine
  • Streaming to my previous HTPC was fine

I think it is a problem with the audio drivers of the Intel NUC itself.
So I have also posted the issue at the Intel community. Turns out: there are more people with an 11th gen Core i5 and integrated Xe Graphics having this problem.
Not easy this one…

17

Hi @Matthijs_van_Santen,

Thank you for patiently awaiting an official response from Roon support.

How are things going on your end?

If you’re still having an issue, would you please duplicate the problem and report back here what the date/time/track played was? I would like to see what your core’s diagnostic logging looks like and try to pinpoint things a little better!

Thanks,
Wes

18

This topic was automatically closed 45 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.