Crackling background noise persists after pausing music on Roon with Nucleus and Meridian system (ref#JVBP4P)

[Peter_Goodman]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· I am experiencing really annoying background noise on any track I play. It's a 'crackling' sound and when I press the pause button the sound continues for a second or two then stops and all is quiet. This only happens when I play roon music. Other hardware, e.g. DVD player, Satellite TV, Record Player, are all perfect. This is ruining my listening to my music collection and cannot guess what the problem might be. I have a Nucleus which is connected to a Meridian system.

Tell us about your home network

· The router is a Sky product. I can't see any model number

[noris]

Hi @Peter_Goodman,

Thanks for the details. The next thing we need is a recording of the crackling, including what you’re hearing when you press pause and it continues for a second or two before stopping.

Please upload that here and let us know once uploaded:
https://workdrive.zohoexternal.com/collection/nocvrfc5b2ddab55140af8640f1d7ce13291e/external

[Peter_Goodman]

Hi Noris
I have uploaded a 2.5 minute sample of the end of a Moody Blues song which has quiet, spoken passages so you can, I think, clearly hear the distortion/crackling going on. I have also uploaded a small passage which I have paused so you can hear the noise goes on after the song stops.

The weird thing about this is that I have roon also playing in several other audio zones and it sounds absolutely fine! Also everything else I play through my Meridian equipment sounds fine too, from TV, DVD player, Record Deck, etc. It is only when playing roon I get this problem. So could this be something to do with the settings I’m using in my main audio zone? As you can hear, it makes listening to roon music in my main room impossible.

Thanks for your help.

Peter

[benjamin]

Hey @Peter_Goodman,

Thanks for the additional information and for sending a sample of the issue over!

For some next steps in troubleshooting:

Step 1: Check the Roon signal path and DSP settings for the Cinema zone specifically

Go to Roon → Settings → Audio → click the gear icon next to the Cinema/ID40 zone. Check:

• Is "Volume levelling" enabled? If so, disable it. This applies gain adjustments that can cause clipping artifacts with certain content.
• Is any DSP (EQ, convolution, sample rate conversion) active? Try disabling all DSP for this zone as a test.
• Check what sample rate and bit depth the signal path shows when playing.

Step 2: Give the Cinema zone's ID40 a static IP address

The logs show the ID40 reconnecting and being rediscovered frequently. Each reconnect risks a brief audio interruption. Log into your Sky Hub (at 192.168.0.1), find the DHCP client list, and assign a permanent/reserved IP to the MAC address 00:24:C5:00:01:4E (the Cinema ID40’s MAC). This stops the device being rediscovered mid-session.

Step 3: Ensure the Nucleus and ID40 are on the same network switch (wired)

Meridian’s clock synchronisation protocol is sensitive to jitter. Confirm both devices are connected via ethernet cables, ideally to the same physical switch rather than daisy-chained through the router.

Step 4: Reboot the ID40 / power-cycle the Cinema Meridian system

Power off the ID40 and any Meridian components in the Cinema zone completely (unplug from mains) for 30 seconds, then bring them back up. The logs show the ID40 reporting inconsistent firmware states across sessions, which can sometimes be resolved by a clean restart.

Step 5: Test with a different audio format

In Roon, when playing to the Cinema zone, check the signal path light (the coloured dot near the volume control). If it’s purple (DSP active) or yellow (some processing), try a track that plays bit-perfect (green light). If the crackling only happens with certain sample rates or when DSP is engaged, that narrows it down further.

Step 6: Check for firmware updates on the ID40

The ID40 is an older Meridian network module. Log into the Meridian app or check Meridian’s support site for any available firmware updates for the ID40. Older firmware versions have known compatibility issues with current Roon versions.

Step 7: If none the above don’t help, swap the Ethernet cable to the ID40

A marginal cable causing occasional packet errors won’t show up as a complete connection failure but can absolutely cause the kind of crackling described, especially since it continues for a second or two after pause (the buffer draining). Swap the cable between the ID40 and your switch.

We’ll be monitoring for your reply and results!

[Peter_Goodman]

Thanks for that. I’ll start on that tomorrow when I get back from a short trip and get back to you ASAP.

[benjamin]

Sounds good @Peter_Goodman! We’ll be monitoring for your reply and results. Thank you

[Peter_Goodman]

Hi Benjamin
Here’s an update as to where I am with this issue. I’ll comment on your points as you listed them:

Step 1.

• “Volume Levelling” is off
• All DSP disabled but problem still persists
• I cannot see how you get ‘sample rate and bit depth’?

Step 2
After looking at this and Sky ‘help’ pages, it appears that my hub will not allow a permanent/reserved IP address to be assigned to the ID40?

Step 3
I confirm that both devices are connected via ethernet cable and have tried putting them through a switch but it doesn’t cure the fault.

Step 4
I have tried powering off all the Meridian components and removing the plugs but it doesn’t stop the problem.

Step 5
I don’t appear to have a ‘coloured dot’ near the volume control? I attach a screenshot of my roon display.

Step 6
I have contacted my roon dealer and he says that there are no updates for the ID40 although there is an update for my 861 which he has sent me. He doesn’t believe this will make any difference but I’ll give it a try. Apparently Meridian no longer make an ‘end point’ card for roon/Sooloos?

Step 7
I have tried swapping the cable between the ID40 and the switch but this doesn’t improve the situation.

[benjamin]

Hey @Peter_Goodman,

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, and I’m sorry you’re still running into issues!

To follow up on your follow-ups

Step 1: How to find sample rate and bit depth: While a track is playing, tap or click the signal path icon, it’s the small light/dot that appears in the “Now Playing” bar at the bottom of the screen, directly to the left of the play/back icons. It may appear very small. This opens the signal path view showing the format (e.g. “FLAC 44.1kHz 16bit → Meridian ID40”). Please share a screenshot of that view while the crackling is occurring, it will tell us exactly what format is being sent to the ID40.

For example:

Step 2 — Static IP workaround for Sky Hub: The Sky Hub’s built-in DHCP reservation UI is limited on some models, but there is a workaround: I believe you can set a static IP directly on the ID40 itself via the Meridian Sooloos/MSR software or the ID40’s own network configuration page. Alternatively, if your switch has management capabilities, it may allow MAC-based DHCP binding. The core reason this matters: the logs from your previous session showed the ID40 dropping off and being rediscovered repeatedly, which correlates directly with audio interruptions. Getting it on a stable IP is important.

Step 5 — Signal path dot not visible: From your screenshot, it looks like you may be viewing the Roon remote rather than having a track actively playing. The coloured dot only appears during active playback. Please start a track playing to the Cinema zone and then take a screenshot, the dot should appear in the playback bar. This is the single most useful piece of diagnostic information right now.

And with that, we have a few new step to try:

Go to Settings → Audio, find your Cinema zone (the ID40), and click the gear/cog icon. Then look at:

• "Max Sample Rate" — if this is set to a value higher than what the ID40 natively supports, Roon may be upsampling, which can cause issues. Try setting it to "No limit" or 44.1kHz/48kHz as a test.
• "MQA Capabilities" — set this to "No MQA Support" if it isn't already.
• "Clock Master Priority" — lower this to "Low" or "Disabled" as a test.

Test with a very simple source: To rule out whether the crackling is content-dependent or zone-dependent, please try playing a basic 44.1kHz/16-bit CD-quality FLAC or TIDAL stream (not hi-res, not MQA) to the Cinema zone and report whether the crackling is still present. If you’re not sure what format a track is, the signal path view (Step 1 above) will show it.

Thanks, Peter!

[Peter_Goodman]

Thanks so much for your response Benjamin. While waiting for your reply I contacted a Meridian specialist and have just sent him my ID40 card and he is going to test it and confirm whether the problem is in the card itself. He should be able to do this quickly and it will at least rule out the card if it’s working properly with him.

I would be grateful if you could keep the thread open until we know the outcome. Obviously, if the card is fine I will run the tests you have requested and get back to you ASAP.

[noris]

Hi @Peter_Goodman,

Thanks for the update. Sending the ID40 card out for testing is a sensible next step, and it should help narrow down whether the problem is in the card itself. We’ve extended the auto close a bit so there’s time for you to hear back.

Please let us know what the Meridian specialist finds. If the card checks out, we can pick up with the tests we previously outlined next.