Mac mini M1 16GB, Wi-Fi only, with direct USB connection to a DAC
Networking Gear & Setup Details
ASUS RT-AX86U router, Roon core using Wi-Fi only, desktop computer connecting to router via 2.5G Ethernet, iPad connecting through Wi-Fi, no VPN
Connected Audio Devices
Roon core Mac mini has a Topping D10 connected via USB (which translates data to optical which goes into a Chord M-Scaler)
Number of Tracks in Library
44k tracks
Description of Issue
I have this very annoying issue in Sonoma, that I start an album remotely in Roon from my desktop computer running MacOS 14, and my Roon Core (a remote Mac mini, also running MacOS 14) starts playing not only through the DAC but also on the default audio output on my desktop computer (which is not the Roon Core, just running a Roon for remote control there). So the music comes both through the DAC & headphones, as well as through the speakers of my monitor. And when I go to Roon settings I can see that the default audio of my desktop computer was never configured. So why is Roon sending music there? Then I tried to control Roon from my iPad but the music still reached the default audio of my desktop Mac. The only way to stop it was making it sleep or restarting it (or as a workaround setting the default output to an inaudible device). Never experienced this issue with MacOS versions before 14. Extremely annoying.
One workaround is to use Jump Desktop, an excellent alternative to the native MacOS Screen Sharing in the Bonjour mode or turn off audio sharing for the remote connection settings.
Just FYI, @GaborL - Like you, I had exactly the same issue on my M2 Mac Mini. Now I re-installed the MacOS Sonoma by the Recovery app, and now this problem has gone, and the Screen Sharing seems to behave much better.
Another bonus is that HDMI audio out now supports multiple channels, but I set it at 192 kHz/24 for 2 channels out.
OS Sonoma brought changes to how the Apple Core Audio engine interacts with multithreading. This trickles down to increased sensitivity to internal routing changes that remote access, third-party software, external plugins, or any other process touching the audio kernel.
Please navigate to the Audio Midi Setup utility application in Applications → Utilities on your Mac Mini and share a screenshot of the available settings for your affected USB DAC. That should illuminate the extent to which we can force Roon to recognize the DAC instead of the system output as an available Zone.
However, Roon’s ability to navigate system routing will ultimately be dictated by Core Audio’s own instructions unless you disable the system output entirely.
Thanks to @Imperial_Line for the helpful comments, workarounds. Really grateful for those.
Let me confirm: it’s a headless Mac mini M1, and the double output happens when connecting to it via the built-in Screen Sharing app. When I disconnect Screen Sharing, the issue is gone. (And since this fixed the issue for me, I didn’t reinstall the OS.)
