Dirac 1.2 (not Roon) update = occasional buffer static again

I need to double-check on a bit more material, but I think I heard a few ‘crackling’ noises during a high-res file playback (DSD downsamled by Roon to 172 or something). Is that what the ‘static’ sounds like - it was reminiscent of the appalling Devialet AIR.

I have the power of 2 buffer activated.

Yes it is intermittent crackling that can vary from track to track, that once frequent enough sounds like constant breakup of the sound. Try turning power of 2 off for a moment and you will hear what it sounds like full blown.

This solution doesnt work with a RME Babyface Audio Interface and Dac.
And with an Oppo 105 Dac the static noise comes back again after a couple of minutes, when playing.dsf files.
Both used with a Mac Powerbook.

This solution doesn’t work for me either. Tried Dirac 1.2 with Audirvana without any problems. Somethings wrong with Roon/Dirac. So for me Roon is at this stage unusable and for me, I cannot miss Dirac.

Come on Roon, solve this problem.

Yes Dirac 1.2 has made the problem even worse such that on some systems even the power of 2 buffer setting doesn’t fully mitigate the issue. I would guess that Roon will fix this pretty quickly - right?

Hey @nquery @hifi_swlon (and anyone else experiencing this issue) – we are going to do some testing in house to see if we can get a sense of what’s going on here, and whether there’s something we can do on the Roon side.

@vova and I will report back about how the testing goes. It would be great if everyone experiencing this issue could let us know:

  • Your audio settings in Roon (like the screenshots shown here)
  • Whether this happens only with certain types of media or content, or with everything you try to play
  • Any relevant settings in Dirac we might need to match your setup as closely as possible

Thanks guys! We’re on it.

  1. see attached settings for Dirac Audio Processor 1.2 running on Mac Mini.

  2. Dirac 1.1 + Roon 1.2 - no issues afaik.
    Dirac 1.2 + Roon 1.2 + “power-of-2” disabled - completely unusable across all content
    Dirac 1.2 + Roon 1.2 + “power-of-2” enabled - works for most content, but occurs on occasion. Have not noticed any correlation with sample rate.

  3. Dirac Settings - Maybe the most important thing to note is that this occurs even with Dirac Filtering turned off in the Dirac Audio Processor. i.e. it’s not the Dirac filters but just sending the audio via the Dirac Driver in and of itself. See attached.

Dirac audio processor - latest - OS X 10.9.5
RoonServer, latest.

Not used it much but have tried unchecking power 2 buffer and it’s unusable as mentioned above. With it checked I haven’t noticed any issues with tidal or redbook but it’s only been setup since weekend.

Pretty sure settings are same as above.

Thanks for having a look.

(Ps miles Davis isn’t my usual listen but it does get an outing sometimes, tonight over dinner - hope that’s not sacrilege)

Hello guys,

So we did some tests and we can’t reproduce the reported issue. We were using the following setup: MacBook Pro with OSX 10.11.4 + Dirac 1.2. As an output device we tried built-in speakers and several DACs (Meridian Explorer, iFi iDSD). During our test we tried to playback all file formats / sampling rates through Dirac virtual sound card with and without Dirac filter.
More info from @Cantodea and @miklats about their setup might help us to reproduce this issue.

Thanks

I use a Macbook with the latest Operating System as an endpoint. Roonserver is a Windows PC setup, some distance away.
I use Dirac 1.2 with a RME Babyface Soundcard and DAC setup or an Oppo 105 as DAC.
I didnt have any static noise problems with Roon 1.1 and Dirac 1.1 on both Dac.
The Rme Babyface with Roon 1.2 and Dirac 1.2 produces only digital noise, doesnt matter which setup option I choose.
Roon 1.2 with the RME Babyface alone works perfect.
When I use the Oppo as DAC noise problems with PCM files are fixed with the solution provided here. Static noise problems came up when I switched listening to .dsf files. Roon converts the .dsf files to pcm. Here after 2 minutes or so static noise appeares… Not as severe as with the RME Babyface, still clearly audible. When the Oppo is used without Dirac there is no static noise problem.
Hope this helps.

The better solution would be allowing the use of AU plugins so you could use Dirac AU plugin directly. I’ve followed the discussion on that and noted that there are issues regarding the AU architecture and needing to open a GUI, and that this would be a problem for headless “devices” running Roon/Dirac. But if my understanding of what I read is correct it wouldn’t be an issue for single machines running both server and playback (i.e. not using multiple zones), and personally I’d be happy to use AU plugins in this scenario and accept the limitations that would impose.

I use a mid 2011 Imac with the latest OSX. Latest Roon is in use and Dirac 1.2. My DAC is an Audioengine Wireless D2. Before the upgrade To latest Roon there were no problems. Sometimes the systems plays good for a few hours. Then sometimes it begins after a few minutes. The problems occurs with my own music and with Tidal content. It does’t matter if it is Hi-res or not. With same setup I tried Audirvana, Itunes and Jriver no problems here.

Any progress with Roon 1.2 build 142? Someone tried it already?

Roon 1.2 (latest build) and Dirac 1.2 now work perfectly with the RME Babyface Dac.
No digital Noise.
Kudos to the Roon Team !

I was a bit premature.
The playback is working for files up 24bit/48kHz.
All above that (88.2 up to 192) does not play. It simply refuses to be played.
Tested that on some files I play frequently.

Yesterday evening I could test the Oppo with Dirac and the latest Roon build.
Nothing has changed here. Digital Noise appears after some play time.
That problem still needs some attention.

Did the Roon update this week and now it is much better, however every now and then static noise appears. Simply restart the song does the trick. Anyway, it must be a Roon thing and let’s hope with next update it will be solved.
Long time ago, I can remember that Audirvana had the same problem with Dirac. Eventually they solved it too.

I have the same issue. My settings are identical to the two already posted. Random pops and clicks .

< Yes, another one here with the same problem. Having finally got a version of Devialet AIR that sort of works, I wanted to implement Dirac but the combination of Roon/Dirac/AIR is not stable. I have tried every permutation of Roon settings, but it alway turns into a Dalek at some point. Note that Roon to AIR seems OK, so of course the problem may be on the Dirac side.

(iMAC/El Capitan/Roon 1.2/Roonbridge/Dirac 1.2 trial/AIR 3beta)

Would be great if you could sort this one.

Hello Roon,

Any progress? Right now I’m using Roon 1.1, because I can’t use Roon 1.2/Dirac. Hope, you can find a solution.