I just signed up for the trail Roon subscription to use with my Devialet Expert 200. Installed the software on my PC (Windows 10 64 bit), set up the application to point to my music files (on a Synology NAS) and let the Roon application catalogue my files. Started playing the music and it sounded great at first but now I’m finding that I cannot even play a single track in entirety - after about a minute it starts stuttering and then stops. Does exactly the same thing whether it’s a music file (flac) on my NAS or a Tidal track (normal or hires).
Ah I see - PC is connected via Ethernet cable to router (Virgin media superhub 2) then via Ethernet and powerlines (via homeplug) to Devialet. No other network switches or anything like that.
Not really - my Devialet is about 30 metres from my router. I’ve been using powerlines for years to stream music (normal and hi-res) from my PC and Tidal to my Linn Majik DS and never had any problems at all.
ah ok… so let me explain what is going on, and I apologize now for getting so technical so quickly.
Your Linn Majik DS is pulling data from your NAS via Linn’s UPnP-like protocol, which is going to be using TCP to stream the audio file in a compressed form from the NAS to the Linn. The Linn is then sending it to your Devialet via SPDIF (that’s your digital input).
Roon is going to be sending raw uncompressed PCM/DSD from Roon to the Devialet Expert directly via Devialet’s AIR protocol, which is going to be using UDP.
UDP has it’s place in audio, but in this situation, the UDP data is both larger because it is not compressed and it is less tolerant of errors caused by the network.
My guess is that your powerline system might be sufficient for the lower data rate & TCP solution that the Linn uses, but not the higher data rate & UDP solution that AIR uses.
If you can run a temporary long ethernet cable from your router to your Devialet, it’d be worth testing.
Normally I wouldn’t even bother to tell you all this, and just be content to say your situation is already working, so don’t change anything. However, in this case, you will benefit from multiple items if you do indeed get this working:
-`Devialet alone in your audio pipeline will most likely result in better sound quality
than using the Linn->SPDIF->Devialet setup.
if you are satisfied, you can sell that Linn or use it in another room.
Roon + Devialet will give you many experiential benefits such as the highest quality volume control, standby, convenience switching, etc…
You get the Roon experience
Anyway, it’s worth a shot in my opinion. Do let us know which way you end up going, and if you require more assistance, just ask!
Ok thanks, that’s very helpful advice. I’m off travelling tomorrow for a few days but will give this some more thought when I get back. I can buy a 30 metre cat5 cable cheaply enough and run it down the stairs between rooms but not sure how I’d do a permanent install like that. Roon does indeed seem to sound better than with my Linn though, so I guess I’ll need to consider my options further. Don’t suppose Roon steaming works over wifi?
The orbi might well work, I’m not sure how RAAT differs from AIR described above but I recently installed a 2 hub Orbi wifi setup and can now stream to my Roon bridge headphone setup via wifi upsampled to DSD256 with no drop outs or issues.
If the netgear throughput is enough for that it should handle anything the Devialet can stream?
I had a similar issue streaming over wifi. I used an Airport Extreme (previous generation) as wifi router and just could not get one single song to play properly. I threw the Airport out and bought an Asus AC1900 to replace it and problem is solved streaming over wifi. I think the data throughput is actually much higher than one would anticipate and therefore a very stable connection is needed. Ethernet is probably the way to go if it is possible in your house.
Ok now back from a trip overseas and thought I’d return to trying to get Roon working on my Devialet. Thought before I arranged for a new Ethernet cable to be run through the house I’d better test it. So I disconnected the Devialet and took it upstairs to the router. Connected it up to some spare speakers I had with a 1m cat 5e cable direct between Devialet and my router. Fired up Roon and pressed play and…
…it does exactly the same thing it did when connected by powerline plugs - after 10 seconds or so it stutters and then stops.
Playing around with device settings and tried increasing the buffer size substantially. Now seems to play without stuttering for a few tracks. Will continue testing…
That is a pity!
Is your Devialet amp on the latest firmware? (i.e. 10.1.0) Expert or Pro (shouldn’t matter but good to know…)
Are you using Windows? Works with Devialet’s virtual AIR card using a different player?
Roon on the same PC does not work?
EDIT: reread your first post: Win10 64bit and D200
More EDIT: I see you are getting some responses over at DC. I still think flagging this to @support is a good idea. Having them check your logs ought to give an indication where the problem is.
Ok thanks. Good point about the flagging to @support - should have done that in the first place.
Just been trying to just play files for one album from my PC hard disk, disabling all other Roon directories but nothing seems to make any difference - PC hard disk, NAS, Tidal files all behave in exactly the same way. The larger the buffer setting the longer the tracks play before crackling and then stopping but even at 3000ms I’m finding it won’t play a full album.
