Group playback roon has lost control of the audio device when mixing bluesound and rPi bridges

[luigi_martusciello]

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

Mac Mini Core i9 OS Big Sur Roon 1.7 build 710

Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)
Netgear Orbi mesh network mixed wired wifi wired where possible

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

Nad t758 wired
Bluesound pulse flex wifi
Bluesound powenode 2 wired

2 x rpi roon bridges with external amps 1 wired one wifi

Description Of Issue

When mixing Rpi and bluesound devices in the same group , playback will not start and the error
roon has lost control of the audio device appears

This setup has worked in the past and no modifications have been made.
Issue does not occur when grouping blusound or Rpi only in the group.

Software and firmare is latest version on all devices.

Tiring… to say the least

[luigi_martusciello]

Rooted the problem its the NAD integated amp, if added in a group with an Rpi, playback will not start. The other bluesound devices will play in group with the Rpi bridges. Frankly i’ve tried eveything and dont know what to do. I havent done a factory reset because i will lose my dirac settings and honestly, im not really sure it would make much of a difference.

[luigi_martusciello]

Quick update
Mqa seems to be the problem
The system has no issues group playing non mqa tidal songs
When i try an mqa title the nad doesnt play well with the rpis (or viceversa who knows where the issue is)
Here is a log output of my nad player when attempting to play mqa in group with a raspberry pi

Jan 10 13:10:40 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=4): I100
Jan 10 13:10:40 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=5): I5000
Jan 10 13:10:41 (none) user.info dspout: Volume: 1000 => 255 -> 255 (min=0, max=255)
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info ./ms.pl: Controller::play Controller.pm (1778) IDLE
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info ./ms.pl: Controller::_Codec_play Controller.pm (1265) Raat:raat_pcm01:pcm/96000/24/2/mqaCore=96000/77
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.debug ./ms.pl: CaptureCodec::_initRtpOrLoopback CaptureCodec.pm (435) /tmp/pcmsock
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Stream: id=52 96000/24/2 replay-gain:0 version:0x2a06
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: capture_latency: 50000µs; n_slaves=0
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Playback device is default:mqa_render,96000,1,0
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Stream parameters are 96000Hz, S24_3LE, 2 channels
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] ALSA lib pcm_rate_mqa.c:337:(mqa_init) Invalid input format S24_3LE
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] Unable to set hw params for playback: Invalid argument
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] Setting of hwparams failed: Invalid argument
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] Cannot open & configure default:mqa_render,96000,1,0 (4)
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: state=0 new_state=1
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.warn ./ms.pl: Controller::decodingFailed Controller.pm (3040) streamId=52
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=7): L50
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info ./ms.pl: Controller::streamStarted Controller.pm (3255) streamId=52
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=4): I100
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=1): S
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: state=1 new_state=0
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Playback device is default
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Stream parameters are 44100Hz, S16_LE, 2 channels
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout:     buffer-frames=13230, period-frames=441
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] ALSA lib control.c:954:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL analog
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: open_mixer(digital) success
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: [error] ALSA lib control.c:954:(snd_ctl_open_noupdate) Invalid CTL usbsub
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=4): I100
Jan 10 13:10:50 (none) user.info dspout: Command(l=5): I5000

[luigi_martusciello]

Nad’s support response and my reply
(Short version reach out to roon)
Thank you

This worked before so I don’t understand why it stopped now. I have reached out to Roon and waiting for a reply.

The issue seems to be Mqa (unsurprisingly)

If the title played is a non Mqa song there are no issues.

If the title is Mqa then the error occurs.

If I setup Roon to ignore the mqa capabilities on the BluOS products (effectively using the internal Roon mqa software renderer) then there are no issues in group playback.

It’s a shame but until I can afford another 2 bluesound speakers, this is the only workaround.

Like I said it used to work a few weeks ago so I’m sure there must have been some changes somewhere in the Mqa chain that are causing this issue.

Best regards

Luigi.

On 10 Jan 2021, at 14:51, The BluOS Support Crew support@bluos.net wrote:

##- Please type your reply above this line -##

Hi Luigi

Thanks for taking the time to contact The Support Crew.

This email is to inform you that we have closed your support request under the SOLVED status.

However, if this was done in error, or you require any further assistance regarding this particular issue, simply reply to this email to reopen the request, or alternatively click on the link below and we will be happy to help you out further.

Thanks for #LivingHiFi

https://support.bluos.net/hc/requests/213193

Sam R. (BluOS)

Jan 10, 2021, 8:50 AM EST

Hello Luigi,

Thank you for contacting the BluOS Support Crew.

Bluesound and BluOS enabled players are designed to be grouped with other Bluesound and BluOS enabled players. Outside of a custom solution, it would not be possible to group these players with a Raspberry Pi.

As the BluOS players are able to group with each other without exhibiting this issue and you are experiencing this issue while using Roon, please reach put to Roon support if you require further assistance.

We apologise for the inconvenience but thank you for your understanding.

Sam R.
Support Crew Analyst

[noris]

Hi @luigi_martusciello,

Thanks for reaching out and for the additional info + logs snippets, these are really helpful! I’ve forwarded your report to our hardware team for further review, thanks for bringing this to our attention!