Endpoint output distortion

Support
1

Hey there! I am new to the community so please be forgiving.
I have a few problems getting architecture and configuration right.

Core Machine
Roon Server for QNAP NAS version: 1.7 (build 528) stable; QPKG-Version: 2019-06-09.
NAS: QNAP TVS-472XT with Intel Core i7 8700T, 16Gb of RAM, Roon running on SSD and music stored on RAID5 HDD volume.

Network Details
Edge firewall/router: Cisco ASA5516.
1GbE LAN switching: Ubiquiti UniFi Swith 8 and D-link DGS-1008P.
10GbE(copper&fiber) LAN switching: two MikroTik CRS305-1G-4S+IN.
WiFi: Ubiquiti UniFi AP AC-Pro.
Connections: Roon core - 10GbE, Endpont 1 - 10GbE, Endpint2 - 1GbE, Endpoint3 - 5GbE.

Audio Devices
Endpoint 1: Windows 10 virtual machine on the NAS -> USB -> Hegel H190 DAC/amp -> speakers.
Endpoint 2: nVidia Shield (2019) -> HDMI -> Samsung TV -> TOSLINK -> Hegel H190 DAC/amp -> speakers.
Endpoint 3: Windows 10 PC -> USB -> RME ADI-2 DAC -> RCA -> Marantz M-CR510 amp -> speakers.

Description Of Issue
Something wrong with Endpoint1 output. I hear cracks and pops with default configuration. I have tried to play with H190 USB audio device in Windows10 settings with no effect. Changing settings in Roon solves the issue. If I enable DSP Sample Rate Conversion and change Output sample rate to Max PCM rate, boom! no cracks and pops. Any other settings (for compatibility only, Max PCM rate power of 2 or custom [bar 96KHz]) produce distortion. Although in this case I see not a purple light next to a track in Roon remote but blue if track’s sample rate is lower than H190’s 96KHz or green if track’s sample rate is higher than 96KHz.

Other questions
Could you please direct me to Roon ecosystem best practices?
Should I try to connect Hegel H190 USB directly to the Core and use it also as an endpoint?
Should I use Chromecast streaming through nVidia Shield or my TV will downsample the signal to 48KHz anyway?

Kind regards,
Nikolai Akimov

2

If you connect endpoint 3 to the Hegel does that work without setting DSP?
Just trying to see if a physical W10 solves the issue.

4

The Hegel ought to be available directly from the Core over USB. Please shut down the virtual Win 10 and see if the audio is distorted when going directly from the QNAPs native Server?

5

Hi @Nikolai_Akimov,

As the other users have suggested, I would try connecting your Hegel to your Windows 10 PC and verify if the same behavior occurs there. That should tell us if the issue is related to the Windows 10 VM or the Hegel itself.

6

Well, I was unable to connect Hegel H190 to my desktop PC due to both endpoints are far from each other. But as was suggested by @Mikael_Ollars H190 direct USB connection to the Roon core on my NAS indeed worked perfectly. So I assume the problem was with Win10 VM.
I will stick to the @Mikael_Ollars solution while I am waiting for @Anders_Ertzeid to finally announce Hegel’s Roon Ready availability.
Thank you all for your support!

Nikolai

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