Drop outs from Mac Server to Clients causing interruption (ref#IQ9XHU)

What’s happening?

· Other

How can we help?

· I am experiencing freezes or crashes

Other options

· Other

Describe the issue

Drop outs from Mac Server to Clients

Describe your network setup

Google Wi Fi, hard wired modem to switches

Hi @Sal_Marano,
Thanks for reaching out to us about this issue. We will need some more details in order to assist you with troubleshooting. Did only audio stop or did the clients lose the connection to the server. When the dropouts happen are you still able to play music from the Mac server’s system output? If possible can you please reproduce the dropouts and let us know the date and time that it happened? That would help us locate the event in your logs which will be useful for troubleshooting.

these drop all clients no matter if its the computer or Ropiee, or Wiim devices.

It appears the server drops the clients and then has to reconnect.

all the devices are hardwired including the server, it doesn’t matter. I have no issues with any other devices such as Apple TV or such disconnecting from the internet either Wi-Fi or wired. It has happened at least six time today and at 8:30 9:30 7:30 on various clients. And I have rebooted the server and the clients with no luck the Mac m1 is only serving the Roon, and it is not used for other tasks. The Clients and the server have static Ip addresses as well.

Hey @Sal_Marano,

Thanks for the additional information. Based on a recent diagnostic report, we saw the following errors repeating throughout playback:

Trace: [Worker (1)] [Studio WiiM] [zoneplayer/raat] too many dropouts. stopping stream

As a next step, please test out bypassing any switches and any additional network gear, and setup a direct ethernet connection from your Roon Server machine to your router, and let me know if run into the same issues.

It may be worth reviewing your router settings as well, and check to see if you can allocate network priority to your Mac running Roon Server.

We’ll be on standby for your results :pray:

I am unable to bypass the switch, as it is located in the lower part of the house. I believe that the reliability of the connection will remain the same, regardless of whether I use a switch or not. I am not experiencing any issues with the other connections I have. I have a static issue on all the clients and the server that connect to Roon through the Mac server. I have managed to reduce the dropouts to a lesser extent since an update to the Mac server, but the connection is still not reliable. Additionally, Arc is ineffective, as it has only worked once since its introduction.

Hi @Sal_Marano,

Server diagnostics indicate network-related errors during playback. While other network connections may seem stable, streaming hi-res audio is much more sensitive to network conditions than even 4K video streaming.

Unlike video, which buffers ahead and can adjust quality on the fly, hi-res audio relies on real-time playback with a constant bitrate. This means even minor network delays, packet loss, or jitter can cause dropouts or interruptions. Additionally, some routers prioritize video traffic over other data types, which can further impact performance.

If you’re able to temporarily simplify your network setup—such as bypassing extra switches or testing a direct connection—it could help rule out potential bottlenecks. Otherwise, I’d recommend checking your router settings to see if you can allocate network priority to your Roon Server. Let us know what you find!