Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)
MacBook is wireless to router, no Ethernet.
Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)
MacBook connected to Hegel H360 amp via usb, only stream from Tidal hifi.
Description Of Issue
In the audio settings I see 3 items connected to core.
System output
Built in output
Speaker
I’d like to know the difference between system output and speaker, they both play music through the usb setting on the Hegel. Is there a better option to use? Speaker has some additional setting options but I don’t understand the difference…
When using “System Output”, audio is routed through the Operating System’s audio mixer, using the Hegel output directly allows Roon to communicate directly with the Hegel audio driver instead of relying on the system to perform the mixing. I would suggest using the “Speaker” output, not “System Output” for the best results.
While the Mac software mixer does not do anything too gross, it might be performing software-based volume adjustments or sample rate conversion before playing the audio. As such, we can’t guarantee that the output quality is lossless, so we label it as “High Quality”.