Hi-res streaming issues with Roon to Benchmark DAC3 B and HiFi Rose RS151 (ref#N6AELW)

[Tom_Gurgui]

What’s happening?

· Other

How can we help?

· None of the above

Other options

· Other

Describe the issue

Hi,

I have a lifetime Roon subscription. I also have subscriptions to Tidal and Qobuz.

My Roon "Core" is a Roon Nucleus Titan. I also own a Synology-based NAS server on which music that I own is stored. Roon "sees" my NAS storage drive. Most of the files that I own are 44Khz FLAC files that I ripped via JRiver software on my personal computer; but I also have some hi-res (DSD and FLAC) files that I've purchased and downloaded from HD Tracks.

I have a Benchmark DAC3 B digital to analog converter (connected to my personal computer via USB cable); and I recently purchased a HiFi Rose RS151 streamer (which is connected to the network via ethernet cable). Both of these devices are capable of playing hi-res music files.

I also own several Sonos Connect boxes throughout the house. These Sonos devices are limited to 48K files, so when I play a DSD file via Roon into a Sonos Connect box, apparently it is actually playing the music as a 48Khz file.

When I play music from the Roon app into the Sonos boxes, everything plays without issue (albeit, at 48Khz). This works regardless of music from my NAS drive, or streamed music from either Tidal or Qobuz.

However, when I play hi-res music files from Tidal or Qobuz into the hi-res-capable players, the songs play for a few seconds and then stop playing (or skip to the next track but fail again after a few seconds). The Roon software then displays this error message:

"An audio file is loading slowly. This may indicate a performance or hardware problem."

I also wanted to point out that if I play the same hi-res Tidal tracks via the Tidal app into my Benchmark DAC3 B, the music plays perfectly fine. Same goes for the HiFi Rose. If I use their app to stream hi-res files, they play perfectly fine.

I only have this problem when using Roon player to send hi-res streamed music to my hi-res players (Benchmark DAC or HiFi Rose).

Is there possibly a setting in the Roon software that may be causing this problem?

I will also check all of my ethernet cables and switches to make sure that there are no defects; but I would appreciate any suggestions that you may have, please.

Thanks!

Tom

Describe your network setup

AT&T 2 gigabit fiber optic service.
I have Ubiquiti multigigabit (2.5 gigs in 4 ports, gigabit ethernet in all other ports) layer 3 switches.
My Roon Nucleus Titan (my Core), Synology NAS server, HiFi Rose RS151 and my Windows 11 personal computer are all also hard-wired into the switch via ethernet cable.

I also have Sonos Connect devices (which are limited to 48Khz files) are also hard-wired into switches.

I do not rely on WiFi - only ethernet.

When playing higher resolution (192Khz FLAC files or DSD files) to the HiFi Rose or to my DAC, the files stop playing; but when I play those same files to the Sonos devices (which are limited to 48Khz), they work fine.

[benjamin]

Hey @Tom_Gurgui,

Thanks for writing in and providing such thorough details around your issue!

We were able to review a fresh diagnostic report from your Nucleus, and saw the below error traces around your issue with playback stopping:

Trace: [DAC3 B] [Lossless, 24/192 FLAC => 24/192] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 0:05/2:13] Stephanie - Buckingham Nicks
Trace: [Benchmark DAC USB Audio 2.0] [raatclient] GOT [10] {"status":"Dropout","samples":96000}
Warn: [DAC3 B] [zoneplayer/raat] Too many dropouts (>3s dropped out in the last 30s). Killing stream
Trace: [DAC3 B] [zoneplayer/raat] too many dropouts. stopping stream
Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer -> stream] All streams were disposed
Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer -> stream -> endpoint] All streams were disposed
Debug: [raat/tcpaudiosource] disconnecting
Warn: [zone DAC3 B] Track Stopped Due to Slow Media

The key piece of information here is that we’re still seeing a 100% buffer percentage right before playback stops due to too many dropouts.

This tells us that you’re not having network bandwidth issues between your server and upstream services from the internet, but more so, there are things potentially throttling bandwidth within your local network setup, causing playback to stop.

@Tom_Gurgui

I have Ubiquiti multigigabit (2.5 gigs in 4 ports, gigabit ethernet in all other ports) layer 3 switches.

As a first step in testing, can you temporarily set up a simpler network layout? Get a direct ethernet connection from your Nucleus directly to your router, as well as your HiFi Rose. See how things perform in this setup, and if it improves playback performance.

We’ll be on standby for your reply and results, thank you!

[connor]

Hi @Tom_Gurgui,

We haven’t seen a response in some time here and this topic thread will soon close due to inactivity without a post from you. We wanted to reach out to ensure we’d equipped you for success moving forward with this local network setup.

Roon sends audio uncompressed to these endpoints; a small amount of packet loss or a few packets arriving out of order can be sufficient to overwhelm the buffer if you’re playing large, high-resolution files.

Without any Wi-Fi interference, the most likely culprit here will be network software that it inadvertently scheduling packets in a way Roon or the endpoint does not expect.

Do you have any managed switches in this setup? Try bypassing a switch, if possible, and connecting one of the hi-res DACs directly to the same router serving the NAS.

We’ll watch for your response. Thank you!