I’ve had a Hegel HD30 DAC for about 4 months and out of the box used it with Roon with a Mac Mini Core, running via an Oppo 205 streaming endpoint, with digital coax going into the Hegel HD30.
Everything always worked great, but then this week I got an Innuos Zen MK III with the intention of ditching the Mac Mini and Oppo and just going direct from the Innuos streamer into the USB DAC on the Hegel.
But, the Hegel isn’t recognized by Roon in the Audio settings. It appears, and then flickers and disappears and is totally unstable. The front panel of the Hegel shows input sampling rate then flickers and disappears and comes back again.
Running the Innuos into the Oppo via ethernet and running digital coax out into the Hegel works fine again on the Hegel’s coax input. Optical inputs from my LG OLED work find. Plugging the Hegel directly into a macbook via USB and playing a hi res file in Quicktime works fine…
The issue is interfacing with Roon.
Is this SUPPOSED to work with Roon via USB? I am running USB from the Innuos into my Luxman DA-06 DAC and it works like a charm. Neither the Hegel nor the Luxman are “Roon certified.” But the Luxman works through USB (both in LMS squeezelite and regular Roon Core config), the Hegel does not work in any configuration.
I am planning on selling the Hegel but now I have to confirm what’s going on with Roon before selling it to someone who thinks it’s supposed to work via USB input.
I agree I would say the Innuous does not have the correct driver or its not well supported in general on Linux platform which I believe the InnuOS is based on. Have you tried it running their own playback software to see if it works, this would rule out if it is a driver issue from the innuous or Roon.
I have an H360. Next to the USB input, there’s a mode switch. I saw that the HD30 also has that switch. The HD30 manual does not explain what the switch does, but the H360 manual does:
USB Mode Setting:
The USB mode selector switch on the rear
panel determines the mode setting of the
USB audio interface. Please note that the
USB connector must be disconnected
before changing this setting.
With the switch set to “A” (default), the USB
audio interface is set to plug & play mode,
and up to 96kHz and 24bits resolution can
be achieved.
With the switch set to “B”, the USB audio
interface can achieve up to 192kHz and
24bits resolution, and native DSD64 and
DSD128. B mode is plug & play when using
MAC, with the exception of DSD. With DSD
you need additional software, please consult the H360 section of the Hegel website.
If you are using a PC, running a Windows
operating system, an additional driver has
to be installed on the computer for booth
PCM and DSD. To download and install the
driver, please consult the H360 section of
the Hegel website.
Thanks Fernando, yes I am using that switch in “B” position. It should be working “plug and play” with Mac OS but the Innuos OS is Linux-based, so think that’s why the Hegel is getting no love from Roon here. I just want to be able to send a USB signal from Roon into the Hegel but I don’t think it’s going to work out with the Innuos unfortunately.
Maybe next year Hegel will come out with a new DAC based on their 590 integrated amp (I hear that DAC outperforms the HD30) and they will get this working with Innuos. Then again, it’s a pretty niche market so I am not holding my breath.
In the meantime it seems like the answer is using the Oppo 205 as a “mixer,” as a Roon endpoint via ethernet, then sending a coax signal to the Hegel. Unfortunate because that means no DSD or LMS/Squeezebox via USB.
As far as I am aware, the Hegel HD30 is able to be used on Linux at rates up to PCM 192kHz without issue. It has been noted that the HD30 was not capable of playing DSD while connected via USB to Linux, Hegel has a custom implementation that requires drivers on MacOS and Windows. I can schedule some testing during the week to see if there are any interactions between the Innuos and Hegel USB implementation specifically. Here is a post with some further information on the issue of Hegel and Linux.
Thanks John… the issue I’m having seems to be the Hegel isn’t even visible in Roon. It appears in the Audio setup, and then flickers in and out like there’s a short in a cable or something. If it stays “available” long enough for me to select it, I have gone in to play a song, then an error saying “Roon has lost control of the transport” and the Hegel disappears again,.
Because the Hegel is available and playable outside of Roon when connected directly to my Macbook Pro, it doesn’t seem like a mechanical issue, more like a USB conflict with Roon.
I can access the Hegel via Airplay - or via coax input if I use my Oppo 205 as a transport (ethernet from the Innuos into the Oppo). It just isn’t possible to use it via direct USB connection from the Innuos.
I also just remembered, I connected via USB directly to a Mac Mini Core (no Innuos) and had the same issue (not recognized in Roon).
I know the USB cable you are using seems to work for your other methods of connectivity, but maybe try an alternate USB cable just to completely rule out ?
Is the Hegel HD30 Roon Ready? If I plug it into an ethernet cable via my ethernet switch will my RoonNUC10 serve recognize the Hegel as a Roon Ready device? I only want to use it through the Ethernet and then have my network pick it up as a Roon ready device. I can’t see this exact question.
Does Hegel have Roon certification to run the DAC and Streamer as Roon Ready?