Intel Macs running Sequoia unable to drive USB DACs in direct mode [Ticket In]

[Sean_Birdsell]

What best describes your playback issue?

· Music doesn't start when I press "Play"

What type of Zone is affected by this problem?

· *Directly-connected Zones* are affected.

Does the issue affect all file formats?

· The issue affects *multiple/all* file formats.

Does the issue happen with local library music, streaming service music, or both?

· *Both streaming and local* *library* music are affected.

Do you encounter any playback errors with the "System Output" Zone?

· The System Output has *no problem*, it's only my other Zone.

How is the affected Zone connected to your RoonServer machine?

· Network - WiFi

Which network audio protocol is the Zone using with Roon?

· RoonReady

Does the device show up at all in Roon Settings -> Audio?

· Yes, it shows up there, but it isn't Enabled

Does the "Enable" button unlock the Zone?

· I pressed Enable, but the Zone remains disabled

Does the device play audio from another source when using the same connection?

· The device has no problems with another audio source

Have you checked that Roon is whitelisted in any firewalls?

· I've checked the firewall and the issue remains

If the device has multiple output options, do the other options work as expected?

· Only one output type is affected while the other output type works as expected

Is the device using the latest firmware as per the manufacturer?

· Firmware is up-to-date but the issue remains

What are the make and model of the affected audio device(s) and the connection type?

· Gishelli J2 via USB-A and Chord Mojo2 via USB-C

Describe the issue

Intel Macs running Sequoia unable to drive USB DACs in direct mode

Describe your network setup

Nucleus to Wifi to affected machines

[Sean_Birdsell]

Some clarifications that the automated questions didn’t really allow me to answer…

• This involves testing on two different Intel-based Macs. One is a 2020 27" iMac with a 3.6 GHz 10-Core Intel Core i9; the other is a 2019 MacBook Pro with a 2.6 GHz 6-Core Intel Core i7.
• In both instances I am running Roon Remote 2.0 (build 1455)
• The issue only affects USB-connected DACs when attempting to use Exclusive Mode (both machines/DACs work fine with Exclusive Mode turned off)
• Playback starts in that the app shows time code changing and the slider moving; there’s just no audio coming out of the connected DACs
• Question 9 didn’t have a viable answer for me: both devices show up under Audio and both are enabled

Let me know if you need me to generate any logs for you.

[connor]

Hi @Sean_Birdsell,

We can see the playback events in RoonServer logs - there are timeouts with Tidal content from which the stream recovers, and RoonServer does indeed proceed with playback. To determine why the stream isn’t audible, we’ll need to inspect RAATServer and Roon logs from the Intel Mac instances themselves. Those currently appear to be offline - simply open Roon on both machines and the upload should proceed automatically to our servers.

In the meantime, please reproduce the issue with local library content as well, and pass along the name of the track or an approximate timestamp. Thank you!

[Sean_Birdsell]

Run The Jewels’ “Oh My Darling Don’t Cry” played from local library at ~00:36 UTC from 2020 iMac to Gishelli J2 via USB connection using exclusive mode. No audible output.

ABC’s “Beauty Stab” played from local library at ~00:43 UTC from 2019 MacBook Pro to Chord Mojo2 via USB connection using exclusive mode. No audible output.

Both systems have Roon Remote up and running now.

[Sean_Birdsell]

Sorry, I didn’t hit reply to what you posted. My answer is here though.

[Christine_Dougan]

Turning of Firewall in Sequoia fixed my issues.

[Moderator Edit: Addendum] …

Disabling Firewalls - Important General Guidance

Hi all, In some Support and general discussion topics you may read advice to switch off the devices firewall. I’d like to clarify that this advice should not be followed blindly, and user should always consider their own systems setup and understand the implications. Leaving the firewall disable may leave the system vulnerable to malicious attack. Typically, the advice to disable, is purely as a temporary troubleshooting step, just to rule out if the firewall / firewall rules are blocking Roo…

[Geoff_Coupe]

As I said elsewhere:

macOS Sequoia - Private WiFi address

Please stop posting in various forum threads that you fixed your issue by turning off the Sequoia Firewall. As others have said, this is not the “fix” and it is bad practice not to have a Firewall active on a Mac (or PC). You omitted to say that you actually have a third party Firewall active on your Mac - so in this instance you should not have the Sequoia Firewall enabled in any case…

[Sean_Birdsell]

Did you get everything you need? Anything else I can provide?

[benjamin]

Hey @Sean_Birdsell,

Our QA team is taking a closer look into things - we’re all set for now, but may reach out if the team has additional questions along the way.

Thanks for your patience in the meantime!

[Sean_Birdsell]

In my case, I just found the issue (was coming back to close the ticket). I have been using Rogue Amoeba’s SoundSource with Roon Remote for years without issue. When I would play music through Roon, SoundSource would switch the output to iMac Speakers and everything would just work. Now, if SoundSource is running, Roon can’t access the device. Close SoundSource and music starts playing. I’ve reached out to Rogue Amoeba, but I’m not sure if it’s a solvable problem.

In your case I would ask: do you have any other software that connects to your DAC? Might be a similar thing.

[desbiss]

No other software in my case. Thanks! Will reply to @daniel in the other post he split my inquiry into.

[connor]

HI @Sean_Birdsell, @desbiss, @Christine_Dougan,

The team has a ticket in for this issue. You should see a fix first merge into Early Access and then into the Production build after that in the coming weeks. Thank you!

[desbiss]

Thanks for the update @connor! I don’t expect my issue will likely be resolved though…(It’s seeming to be a Mac issue) @daniel split my comments to a new topic in the dialogue above: Oppo HA-2SE no longer showing up in Roon or MacOS system settings

[connor]

Hi @desbiss,

My apologies for the erroneous tag; since you’re running an ARM-based (Apple Silicon) Mac, your issue will have a separate underlying cause. We’ll continue that discussion in the thread you shared. Thanks!

[desbiss]

Much appreciated @connor, hopefully it is something that can be resolved soon… wherever the culprit lies…