Distortion on NUC HDMI

zenyatta80 · January 3, 2023, 3:16pm

Hi - I have lately started having severe audio distortion through HDMI output of my NUC ( NUC10i7FNH) into my Oppo UDP-205. To isolate the issue I plugged the HDMI directly into my AVR and the issue persists. I have also switched HDMI cables and that did not help either. Happens on both stereo and multi-channel audio. I can confirm that this issue is recent but I am not sure if its related to any of the recent Roon OS updates. USB audio works fine.

My Rock is still on Build 254. I have a done a re-install but never got it updated to 256.

My NUC HDMI audio settings are:

Signal path

rock status

Appreciate any help with troubleshooting.

Geoff_Coupe · January 3, 2023, 4:23pm

I’ve moved your post to a new topic in the #support category where it can be better addressed.

wklie · January 3, 2023, 4:41pm

Try these one at a time:

Disable DSP Engine (you should not have headroom adjustment in the signal path)
Channel layout: 7.1
Bit per sample: 24

Dennis_Mutsaers · January 3, 2023, 6:24pm

What does the distortion sound like? I had some issues with a MeLE Quieter3Q. I had to change some pipewire configuration parameters to solve my HDMI problems. It sounded like a severe slow down or wrong samplerate.
A reboot of the MeLE Quieter3Q solved the problem too.

AceRimmer · January 3, 2023, 9:20pm

It sounds like you might be clipping, is your clipping indicator turned on? This toggle is to be found in the headroom management section of DSP…this then would show red in the signal path if it is clipping… possible solution would be to turn dsp off or to lower the headroom even further from current -3db

zenyatta80 · January 4, 2023, 12:17pm

Thanks a lot everyone for your suggestions. I will try these and report back. I have clipping indicator turned on and it never turns red. Strangely enough I have not made any changes to any of my set up or configurations and this problem has only started occurring recently. I don’t believe the NUC BIOS would update automatically and any change at the NUC level is only an update to Roon OS (build 254). I am wondering if I should try installing the early access build and see if that helps.

Hoping someone from Roon technical support would advise.

benjamin · January 18, 2023, 7:37pm

Hey @zenyatta80,

Following up on this issue, are you still running into issues with distortion?

As @Dennis_Mutsaers mentioned, are you able to provide more details around what the distortion sounds like?

If possible, can you share a timestamp (data, time) of when this issue happens specifically?

Does this happen when streaming local content, or tracks from Tidal/Qobuz?

zenyatta80 · February 3, 2023, 4:09pm

Hi please see attached audio clip. Severe distortion and dropouts.

https://recorder.google.com/share/6f0818db-2da2-4039-9ed8-c02edb20e8b0

It happens for all content.

Timestamp is 3-Feb, 1519.

Dennis_Mutsaers · February 4, 2023, 7:25am

I had this happening when I wasn’t using an Ultra High Speed HDMI (HDMI 2.1) and setting the HDMI display resolution to 4K (60Hz) on my mini-pc. Switching my old HDMI cable (probably HDMI 1.4) with a new Ultra High Speed HDMI (HDMI 2.1) solved my problems.

zenyatta80 · February 4, 2023, 9:56am

This is the HDMI cable I am using.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08KSLP4KB?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I have already changed HDMI cable once.

I reiterate that everything was fine until about a couple of months back. So something must have changed through firmware updates.

@benjamin How can I update ROCK to one of the early access builds? I can only see links for Roon Server early access builds not Roon OS.

Until this is fixed I have lost all ability to listen to Multi-channel audio through Roon.

Dennis_Mutsaers · February 4, 2023, 11:27am

Your HDMI cable should be fine and not cause any problems.