Connectivity issues with Tidal since I added 2 Devialet Phantom II speakers

Roon Core Machine

hp Elite Book 850 G3/ x64-based PC /Intel(R) Core ™ i5-6300U / RAM installed Physical memory 16 GB

Networking Gear & Setup Details

WIFI Globe Broadband subscriber and using the ZTE ZXHN H108N V2.5 modem with firmware version V.2.5.9_XXX, (Philippines)

Connected Audio Devices

Devialet Phantom I (1 speaker)
Devialet Phantom II (2 speakers - stereo) -
both set up with devialet app

Library Size

no library only streaming

Description of Issue

I added the 2 Devialet Phantom II speakers (in stereo mode) to my Devialet Phantom I. I grouped all speakers.
When playing most tracks from Tidal (streaming) then the following happens:

  1. The Phantom I stops playing
  2. Within about 1 or 2 seconds later, also the 2 Phantom 2 stop playing
  3. I get a message on Roon that there are Connectivity/Network issues.

This problem only started after I added the Phantom II speakers. Before it worked fine. I have not changed anything else in the settings.
If I play all speakers via the same internet network/WIFI - via my iphone (Tidal app and Devialet app) everything works fine…

Hi @Oswald_Jochum Thanks for reaching out. You’ve provided a lot of good details, which is really helpful. Would you try turning your streaming quality down to the minimum and try playing through that setup again? Let me know if that helps.

Also, What happens if you play to just the 2 Phantom II speakers? Does that change the behavior?

Many thanks for your reply! I am not sure how I can turn the streaming quality down for TIDAL when using Roon?
When I just play the 2 Phantom II speakers it also happens frequently. However, when I play the Phantom I only it does not seem to happen. The 2 Phantom II were set up as a stereo pair with the Devialet app via my iphone.

To lower the steaming quality in Roon, click on the hamburger patty (the three lines at the top left), then go to Settings and then Services. Beside Tidal, press the Edit button and then near the bottom you will see a dropdown box under Streaming Quality, and you can select Normal. That should lower the streaming quality to see if that improves the connectivity, simply in order to isolate where the issue lies.

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I also tried to re-install the 2 Phantom II on the Devialet app. Now one of the speakers won’t even play via Roon giving me the message “Connectivity issues”…“too many failures” - while the other Phantom II still works via Roon.
Via Airplay on the iphone and the devialet app without roon everything works fine…

Many thanks. I found that and set the Streaming Quality to “high” for now. There is still 1 Phantom now that will not play at all via Roon (Connectivity issues… too many failures)

I paired the Phantom II speakers again - and now the same problem as before exists. Too many connectivity issues … I already lowered the streaming quality

I also tried to re-install the 2 Phantom II on the Devialet app. Now one of the speakers won’t even play via Roon giving me the message “Connectivity issues”…“too many failures” - while the other Phantom II still works via Roon.
Via Airplay on the iphone and the devialet app without roon everything works fine…
When I pair the speakers (Phantom II) on the Devialet app to play stereo mode, I have the same connectivity issues… (even with lowered streaming quality of Tidal)

@GKern Thanks for your helpful instructions!

Hi @Oswald_Jochum
Thank you for trying that out. Since the behavior improves (slightly) when using just the Phantom II speakers and it disappears when using the Phantom I by itself, it sounds like there may be a networking issue - perhaps overloaded bandwidth. Roon uses more bandwidth than most, so playing via devialet or Airplay isn’t really a comparable test.

Please go back in and lower the streaming quality from Tidal all the way down to the minimum. (This isn’t a fix, it’s a test.) Once it’s set to minimum, reboot your devices simultaneously and try playing some music. Let me know which endpoints are working and which ones aren’t. If they’re still not all working, try playing just to the Phantom II pair and see if that has improved. Once we’ve run the test, feel free to share your results here and set the quality back to your preferred level.

Hello @Oswald_Jochum,

I work alongside Kirsten on the Customer Success Team and I’m jumping in as your post has triggered a very productive conversation within our expanded team, about all the ways you can group Devialet devices and use them in Roon.

What you’re describing seems to point to a network connection issue, but, to be sure, could you please temporarily connect your Devialets via a wired connection? Do you experience the same issues?

Many thanks in advance :pray:

I lowered the streaming quality of Tidal to “low quality”. Now, it appears to be working (all of them). I have not raised the quality level yet to see what will happen then though.

if the bandwidth problems is the cause - is there something I can do in the network to improve performance?

many thanks for getting in touch Rebeka. Unfortunately I cannot connect the Devialets via wired connection atm as they are installed close to the ceiling of a loft type Condo. Is there anything else I could try?

The system has now worked on the lowest stream setting for a while. After raising the stream setting to enhanced again - the problems occurred again. What possibilities do I have to fix this? Many thanks

Hello @Oswald_Jochum,

Thanks for keeping in touch :pray:

It looks like you’ve achieved differently (lowering the streaming quality) the same test (wired connection) that brought to light the fact that the connectivity issue seems to be caused by the network connection.

Especially considering the beautiful audio equipment you have :star_struck:, the network connections should be as strong and reliable as they can be. Checking with your Internet Service Provider to see what router or connection options they have available would be a great step. Also, working with a professional to setup your network might be another option to consider.

Of course, if you think we can help with anything with Roon, don’t hesitate to let us know :nerd_face:

thanks for your input. I do have some follow-up questions:

  1. If I understand this correctly, then setting up a wired Lan system for the connection from Roon core to speakers would solved the problem with the speakers connectivity. Is this correct. In order to that, I wonder what kind of Core would be sufficient for that. Most Laptops only have one LAN output (would it be ok to add a LAN-splitter? if so, which one would be recommended? If buying a Laptop just for the Roon core, which specs would you recommend? thanks

I doubt that you need a new core. You probably only need to improve your wifi connectivity. Have you run a speed test at all to determine the strength of your connection? Also, if you haven’t already, you might want to check out this link to see if there is anything that you can do to improve your existing system:

Lastly, if you need to improve your wifi connection, a lot of users have had success with mesh systems, like Eero or Orbi. You may want to look into those.

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Many thanks for your answer; consistent speed of the internet might be a problem here in the Philippines. Having said that, as long as I only ran one Devialet speaker streaming high quality music from Tidal via Roon, there were never any Connectivity issues. Only once I added 2 more wireless speakers (or even only 1 additional for that matter) the problems started. I will have an engineer from the internet provider over in a few days but would like to give him some info on the requirement: e.g. how much bandwidth do I need for the 3 Devialet speakers connected to Roon, streaming high quality music from Tidal? Any other technical specs would be helpful. Thank you!

So, I would surmise that your have increased the demands on your wifi with the new speaker, which is why the issue has only arisen now. Also remember that, IIRC the Phantoms are using wifi to communicate between themselves when they are linked together (I have a pair of Phantom Golds). Roon is very demanding on networks, and so it’s not an uncommon issue.

I doubt anyone can tell you exactly what the specific requirements are to make it all work for you, but if you can I would err on the side of having a more powerful internet service.

I had the service technician from my Internet provider over. The findings were: If I play Hifi-quality on just the Phantom I it works; if I play HI-quality on just the Phantom II I also have connectivity issues. If I play low quality the system works - also when connected. I have 20 MBPs - and no better one available at the moment. What I do not understand is why via the low quality streaming there are no issues for the whole system; whereas when playing high quality streaming one speaker works fine (the original Phantom I), whereas when trying to play high quality streaming on the Phantom I - it has connectivity issues