I uploaded a DSD128 album to the internal SSD on the Auralic Altair, and it does not play properly, giving the error:
Roon: An audio file is loading slowly. This may indicate a performance or hardware problem.
Is the data being shipped to Roon and back to play locally???
They are connected over WiFi via an Apple Airport Extreme, Roon is running on a 2015 Apple MBP.
Any ideas?
Thanks, Richard
In Roon architecture all data passes through Roon Core, so it can process (DSP) and distribute to multiple endpoints if needed/desired.
In you case, this is not ideal as your data does make a two-way round trip over WiFi indeed. Having your data local to the core (or having a wired connection to the Altair) will likely solve your problems.
It kind of defeats my objective, and a wired connection is not a readily practical option. With time you’re likely to see more devices like this and you may want to consider taking it into account in your software.
I must say, I’m surprised the round trip of 2 streams of wifi audio data is enough to trigger this, when we can run video comfortably across these links. In fact, I doubt it. When I get a moment I’ll do the numbers on it. My alarm bells are going off.
Meantime I’ve replaced it with the DSD64 bit version to see how that goes. It’s just started playing as I write this and so far, so good.
Thanks,
Richard
It is not just a question of adding up the numbers: a single point to point video stream can be buffered as much as is needed. A distributed audio system is more real-time in nature, so multiple streams to grouped zones can be kept in sync. This also means it is more dependent on low latency / ample bandwidth all of the time – temporary lapses or retransmissions that are quite common in home/WiFi networks wreck havoc quickly.
In the server/multiple client architecture that is the heart of Roon (heavy lifting at Core, allowing for light-weight endpoints), it makes sense to store the files local to core (or with network connection wired to the Core) to avoid round-traffic. While for a single endpoint playback situation like Altair with Lightning storing files at the endpoint may be fine – when using Roon, it is not a great idea.
So much for theory – of course, environmental variables like WiFi speed (sustained) and stability make a lot of difference. In general, not using WiFi when sending high bit rates is the best recipe for trouble free operation.
To be clear here: we moderators are merely volunteers weeding this community garden a bit and do not work for Roon. They do read the forums closely though. 
Thank you, Rene, for taking the time clarify. I appreciate it.
I will connect a LAN cable temporarily between the two and see if it tidies things up. If so, I’ll get under the floor…
Kind Regards,
Richard