Dropouts in hard-wired system

[phantomtides]

Core Machine (Operating system/System info/Roon build number)

ROCK on NUC 8i3BEH with 8GB RAM. Roon build 1.7.571.

Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)

Netgear Orbi system, one base router, one satellite router. ROCK is hard-wired (CAT-6) to the satellite. Music is stored on a Synology DS-418play, also hard-wired to the Orbi satellite. No apparent problems with any other devices connected to the Orbi. No Qobuz or Tidal. DSP is OFF.

Audio Devices (Specify what device you’re using and its connection type - USB/HDMI/etc.)

Devialet D-250 Expert (not Pro), also hard-wired to the Orbi satellite.

Description Of Issue

Dropouts and static, intermittent, not easily reproducible, but continual, maybe 3-4 times per hour, lasting a few seconds each. ROCK has been rebooted, with no apparent changes.

Thank you for any advice!

[ged_hickman1]

You might try a cheap switch off the Orbi some users have found this to work well.

Can't connect to Roon on Orbi/Xfinity network

I had all kinds of problems until I did this - stuck a switch after the orbi device (between Mac mini core and Orbi router) - now has resolved most problems, although on Mac remotes I still have some problems connecting sometimes (need to repoint the remote to where my core lives). I have no technical explanation why this has resolved the majority of my problems…

[phantomtides]

Thanks for the reply. That sounds like complete nonsense. I’ll give it a try!

[ged_hickman1]

I know but you never know…

[phantomtides]

Hey, if I can fix it for a $15 part I have lying around anyway, I don’t need to ask questions! Thanks again. I’ll let you know if it works.

[Still-One]

It did for me. Netgear support cannot tell you why this is needed.

[wkimbel87]

It worked for me too. I stuck a TrendNet unmanaged switch down stream of the Orbi router and my sonicTransporter-AP server (Roon Core) and Auaralic Aries G1 streamer have run more or less flawlessly ever since.

[YYZ]

Worked for me - I had an issue list as long as my arm with my new orbi’s - sticking a switch in between core and router (internet to switch, the connect core machine and Orbi router to switch) resolved almost all issues. Netgear is unresponsive on this…

[phantomtides]

Thanks @wkimbel87 and @YYZ.

Sean: The Orbi Satellite router connects to the Orbi Base wirelessly, by design. So did you insert the switch between the Orbi and the Roon Core machine? It seemed like you were saying two different things there, but I’m probably misunderstanding and I want to be clear. Thanks!

[YYZ]

From my troubles, I figure that Netgear Orbi’s are not handling multicast traffic properly, hence the issues. Netgear won’t give me a proper explanation for this. I am also running my Orbi’s in AP mode so do not have access to all the fun stuff.

My setup is the main Orbi router and 3 satellites using wireless backhaul. My Roon core is in same room as my Orbi router so the connection is wired. I simply dropped a switch in between the core and the Orbi router, as opposed to having the Roon core plugged into the ethernet port on the back of the router directly. This eliminated almost all problems.

I still have some issues when Roon remotes are connected to an Orbi sattelite - zones disappearing, album art not available etc. - hence my hypothesis that the Orbi’s firmware is just not ready for prime-time as far as multicast traffic is concerned. Have not yet tried using wireless backhaul (which I will bet will resolve the final issues)

[wkimbel87]

@YYZ

My Roon core is in same room as my Orbi router so the connection is wired. I simply dropped a switch in between the core and the Orbi router, as opposed to having the Roon core plugged into the ethernet port on the back of the router directly. This eliminated almost all problems.

This is exactly what I did.

[phantomtides]

Perfect — thanks, fellas! My Orbi and core are not in the same room, but there’s a cable between them so I’m confident I can put a switch at one end of it! Will report tomorrow or the day after, when I’ve had a chance to get at it. Thanks again!

[nuwriy]

Hello @phantomtides, glad you got some good suggestions here! Please let us know how it goes.

[phantomtides]

Thanks again to you fellas for the replies. The verdict is: Partial success. Completely unscientific estimate is dropouts reduced by 50%. Anybody have any success with other interventions? (I have plenty of Scotch whisky, but I think that’s a tree-forest-sound question.)

[phantomtides]

Is there any reason to believe that the NUC is underpowered? Specifically, if I were to upgrade to an i5 or i7, is there any reason to think processor capability would make a difference in this situation? Thanks for any insights.

[nuwriy]

Hello @phantomtides,

Now that you’re getting better performance, can you check to see if playing to system output of one of your remotes shows the same symptoms as the Devialet? Let’s see if we’ve narrowed the issue down a bit. Let me know!

[grossmsj (Scott G)]

@phantomtides

Is there any reason to believe that the NUC is underpowered?

No. That is essentially what a Roon Nucleus is. Plenty of power to ‘just’ stream music. Actually way more…

[phantomtides]

Just looked that up… thanks! The Nucleus is a 7i3 and the Nucleus+ is a 7i7… so should be fine. Also, do you think it should have been typeset as a “NUCleus”?

[phantomtides]

Very good suggestion, thanks. Will report back!