Intermittent Song Drops Post 2.58 Upgrade on Roon NUC Core (ref#112KH0)

[Dean_Clough (Dean)]

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· Since upgrading this morning to 2.58, I am getting intermittent and momentary drops in songs. I have used Roon for years, and have never had this experience. Roon Core is a Roon-spec NUC, and my Bridges all RPi-based. Everything is connected via Ethernet.

If you can review my logs, this problem just occurred again at approximately 5:15 seconds into the song "Plainsong" by Fred Hersch, et. al.

Tell us about your home network

· Modern TPLink Router, Trendnet switches. Has worked flawlessly for years until today's update.

[vadim]

Hello @Dean_Clough

Thanks for providing the timestamp — we’ve reviewed the activity around the moment you mentioned.

Based on the logs at that time, playback within Roon was operating normally. Below is a snippet from the exact window you referenced:

02/09 18:15:40 [Local 02/09 10:15:40] Trace: [Living Room] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:05/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:40 [Local 02/09 10:15:40] Trace: [Headphones] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:05/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:42 [Local 02/09 10:15:42] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:42 [Local 02/09 10:15:42] Info: [stats] 8695mb Virtual, 2704mb Physical, 1175mb Managed, 1529mb estimated Unmanaged, 381 Handles, 87 Threads, 1.3% of runtime in GC pauses, 29ms last GC pause duration
02/09 18:15:44 [Local 02/09 10:15:44] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:45 [Local 02/09 10:15:45] Trace: [Living Room] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:10/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:45 [Local 02/09 10:15:45] Trace: [Headphones] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:10/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:46 [Local 02/09 10:15:46] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:48 [Local 02/09 10:15:48] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:49 [Local 02/09 10:15:49] Trace: [library] endmutation in 29ms
02/09 18:15:50 [Local 02/09 10:15:50] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:50 [Local 02/09 10:15:50] Trace: [Living Room] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:15/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:50 [Local 02/09 10:15:50] Trace: [Headphones] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:15/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:52 [Local 02/09 10:15:52] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:54 [Local 02/09 10:15:54] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:54 [Local 02/09 10:15:54] Trace: GetImageData[Remote](id=176358 spec=4by3_2048 key=axakaaaa uri=https://imagecache.roonlabs.net/im/1/artists/7a004d4e30303030323030353933/photo/4by3_2048.jpg) => fetched in 88ms status=304 size=0 overalltime=96ms
02/09 18:15:55 [Local 02/09 10:15:55] Trace: [Living Room] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:20/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:55 [Local 02/09 10:15:55] Trace: [Headphones] [Lossless, 24/96 TIDAL FLAC => 24/96] [100% buf] [PLAYING @ 5:20/5:51] Plainsong - Fred Hersch / Drew Gress / Joey Baron
02/09 18:15:56 [Local 02/09 10:15:56] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success
02/09 18:15:57 [Local 02/09 10:15:57] Trace: GetImageData[Remote](id=103836 spec=4by3_2048 key=spxfaaaa uri=https://imagecache.roonlabs.net/im/1/artists/7a004d4e30303030313336393536/photo/4by3_2048.jpg) => fetched in 73ms status=304 size=0 overalltime=80ms
02/09 18:15:57 [Local 02/09 10:15:57] Info: [stats] 8687mb Virtual, 2704mb Physical, 1170mb Managed, 1534mb estimated Unmanaged, 381 Handles, 83 Threads, 1.3% of runtime in GC pauses, 58ms last GC pause duration
02/09 18:15:58 [Local 02/09 10:15:58] Trace: [Living Room + Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] sync snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi -> snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi result: Success

What we can see from the logs:

• Playback was Lossless 24/96
• Buffer remained at 100%
• RAAT synchronization was successful throughout
• No dropouts, buffer underruns, or RAAT errors were reported by Roon

This indicates that, from Roon and RAAT’s perspective, playback was stable at that time. If an audible dropout occurred, it would have happened outside of Roon/RAAT, most commonly at the network layer or on the endpoint itself (for example, the RPi / HAT / DAC), which may not always report transient issues back to the Core.

To help isolate the cause, we recommend:

• Temporarily ungrouping zones and testing playback to each endpoint individually
• Trying a different Ethernet port on your router or switch
• Swapping Ethernet cables
• If possible, testing with an alternative endpoint

If the issue happens again, please note the exact timestamp (minute and second) and the track name, and we’ll be happy to review the logs again.

[Dean_Clough (Dean)]

That’s great, but the drops continue. I had two more yesterday. The drops probably occurred 5 - 10 seconds before these were taken.

Being 4 - 5 years old, I went ahead and bought/installed a new router this morning, yet a drop just occurred. Here is a screenshot, and as above, it probably occurred about 5 - 10 seconds before this shot.

I have ungrouped the listening zone, but I have not replaced the Ethernet cables - I’d be pretty stunned if that were the issue.

And while things may look normal from your side, the coincidence that the problem occurred immediately after my 2.58 upgrade (yet had nothing like the issue ever before) leaves me remaining suspicious.

With that said, I recognize you know far more than I and appreciate your assistance.

[benjamin]

Hi @Dean_Clough,

Thanks for the fresh timestamp! The log shows a clear manual command: Trace: [zone snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi + Headphones] PlayPause Trace: [zone snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi + Headphones] Pause

The music didn’t stop because of a connection failure; it stopped because the server received a command to pause. If you didn’t mean to hit pause, you might have a “ghost” touch on a remote or a secondary device (like a phone in a pocket) that triggered it.

We also saw a discrepancy in how the two devices are staying in sync:

• Living Room (RPI): Has a very stable drift of about 590µs (0.5ms).
• Headphones: Shows a drift of 42,933µs (~43ms) by the end of the snippet.

A drift of 43ms is relatively high for RAAT. When Roon sees zones drifting apart like this, it performs "resync" adjustments to keep the audio aligned. If the adjustment is aggressive, it can sometimes manifest as a tiny click or a "micro-stutter."

Do you experience the same issue without the headphone zone active?

Does this happen no matter the sample rate of the media being played?

[Dean_Clough (Dean)]

Uh, I hit pause on purpose, so I could take a screenshot. In all cases (and the new one below) the problem is listening to music → momentary drop → I hit pause to take a screenshot → take screenshot → resume playing. Do you really think I’d complain about the music stopping because I hit pause?

Regardless, the problem just happened again, probably about 3 - 10 seconds before I hit pause during the playing of “Smokin’” by Boston. The zone I am using is not grouped, and connected via Ethernet to my new router.

[benjamin]

Hey @Dean_Clough,

Thanks for the clarity and additional info, makes sense!

From the more recent timestamp you’ve provided, there are no indicators of an audio dropout or playback instability immediately preceding the manual pause.

It’s unclear if you saw the other information in my prior post:

@benjamin

Does this happen no matter the sample rate of the media being played?

Did you test out swapping ethernet cables yet? As well as ethernet ports?

Thank you

[connor]

Hi @Dean_Clough,

Thanks for your patience thus far.

Here’s what we see in logs around the time “Smokin’” stopped playing:

02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: FTMSI-B ti/29A388FB download status: AllBlocksDownloaded accessTimeout:True openFiles:0 prev:(AllBlocksDownloaded,True,1)
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: [raat/tcpaudiosource] disconnecting
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer -> stream] All streams were disposed
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer -> stream -> endpoint] All streams were disposed
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [audio/env] [zoneplayer] All streams were disposed
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: sleep 39ms after flush
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: FTMSI-B Cache open file ti/29A388FB domain: zoneplayer:12 ordinal:7
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: FTMSI-B ti/29A388FB download status: AllBlocksDownloaded accessTimeout:True openFiles:1 prev:(AllBlocksDownloaded,True,0)
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: FTMSI-B FileCache removed ti/60BEC8D5
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: FTMSI-B-OE ti/60BEC8D5 exit thread signalled
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: FTMSI-B-OE ti/60BEC8D5 exit thread signalled
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: FTMSI-B 1 FileCache ti/FB2F26D8 dwStatus:FirstBlockRetrieved files:0 accessTimeOut:True priorities: ('zoneplayer:7':290) --> bw limit:0kbps
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: FTMSI-B 2 FileCache ti/263D9816 dwStatus:FirstBlockRetrieved files:0 accessTimeOut:True priorities: ('zoneplayer:7':289) --> bw limit:0kbps
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: FTMSI-B 3 FileCache ti/29A388FB dwStatus:AllBlocksDownloaded files:1 accessTimeOut:True priorities: ('zoneplayer:12':7) --> bw limit:0kbps
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: FTMSI-B FileCache disposed ti/60BEC8D5
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [Headphones] [zoneplayer] Open Result (Playing):Result[Status=Success]
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [Headphones] [zoneplayer] Starting playback
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] StartStream Sooloos.Broker.Transport.RaatZonePlayer+Endpoint: StreamFormat(channels=2, bitspersample=24, samplerate=44100, isdts=False, mqa=44100) => StreamFormat(channels=2, bitspersample=24, samplerate=44100, isdts=False, mqa=44100) streamid=2066490931
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi] [raatclient] SENT [765]{"request":"teardown"}
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [Headphones] [zoneplayer/raat] Endpoint snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi State Changed: Prepared => Idle
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi] [raatclient] SENT [766]{"request":"setup","format":{"sample_type":"pcm","sample_rate":44100,"bits_per_sample":24,"channels":2,"sample_subtype":"mqa","mqa_original_sample_rate":44100}}
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [zone Headphones] OnPlayFeedback Playing
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [Headphones] [Lossless, 16/44 MQA TIDAL FLAC => 24/44 MQA] [PLAYING @ 0:00] Smokin' - Boston
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Trace: [prebuffer] ready 149940/441000 (34%) @ 0/261 sec
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [metadata/albumdetails] Created album details screen for a6003333393234393039
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Info: [metadata/albumdetails] 79004d5730303030313839333139,79004d5230303032373538373534,79004d5230303030373338333035,79004d5230303030363835383739,79004d5230303030333732333633,79004d5230303030323536343932,79004d5230303030313431363330,79004d5230303035333431313831,79004d5230303034393539313630,79004d5230303034373937343735,79004d5230303034373439353632,79004d5230303034363335373731,79004d5230303033343230303333,79004d5230303033313931383433,79004d5230303031323434333531,79004d5230303031303030313334,3e015ee777ef56f3af3b8cdf6dce690d693b,3e018389edeebeec744892b32295acb17068,3e019b3f48e89765d446ab0593a3ea80436c,3e017cc606e13159844aaa9718516c5a94ff,3e01793fcb7ad1bacc35bec59b7fe6a0190b,3e01a9a6705cab438d44a53e0c7e933a6856,3e017dc5194f2731c74f9a15a2d637e8a7e6,3e01ab68534c118ba046bea15d3102d886b1,3e01aab3a41dc1de654abe6a42131364a5d2,3e01a4e590fa88beef4ebe17fec83123d50b,3e0182f631fc184f6542ac7001206eb07067,3e01606168f77378e93f8d47883c759f73fc,3e015aa462dfe95c9136930465b87fceb3d3,3e01f07d68cb616ad34e999a6d5c289f6eb9,3e010b7107c5faf94241abf6d4feaab04054,3e019a13b0a90bb5c04db55679cd1b0343ab,3e01f88903a28d871b39bc1b8046a0203ff4,3e01dd82f8a0fd992e4aa66933a5797f6a29,3e01bc2b2d939d5d7a419be468239e6405a2,3e01af2a738342bd6a32b8f4ccd6ffde2272,3e016fcf1e80ad6cfa4ca022377666436e7c,3e01373b227087ee813c932cfc41bd3b3f38,3e010fd55a6d05d1124696d0067cecd5d271,3e016e669858ce2acd439833d25e21942666,3e012be6aa4c09631e4baf30f133f8329dae,3e017a63ca3df4d74b41851369ef754a819e,3e0125ef9f22578e6534bb920569b3ed1b8c,3e01baa01517e464433e8252e9890195ef52,3e018c26500d9c43ba40924d131424e54ce9,3e01c62442099fc9954186bd624ca0d438fd,3e0126506fab52f64341a5892b4bf0cc6b50,3e0110512f21cd8139488cf8b8a19065c245,3e011486bec9b1386e458ad4411010dbc57c,79004d5230303034383939393532,79004d5230303034313938333134,79004d5230303033383530393238,79004d5230303031343033393334,79004d5230303031333839333334,3e01798a7c7f7d64a94ebe404d27d560aa05,3e017487bfa08561324bb769714daa7baf13,79004d5230303034373539333738,79004d5230303031343132343539,79004d5230303031343033323332,3e019225df80dd0cc74894ea42b31006a687,3e01636eff767a519b48b138ab25f97c8531,3e0197d8322618067c439480b481e2ed67a8,3e010ed16424c178524a87fefb334bea5b44,3e0173bcfd066cf2374380b6bb65bf7abc0c,79004d5230303031323335303536,a6003333393234393039,c800786f7063357178683964747a61,c80030383836343434383234393732,cd004c5f765a4939346559574c6c5144774e6245,cd00442d39356c527064646277644f41716f366b,cd00576b74465f36426a4976566e6c7a4f454d5a,cd005372727a6d7979777a3676576c7246684b6c,cd00436b2d6957596c7a57345461322d725f3144,cd00537135354176326c4b74524a53424b625668
02/18 14:44:33 [Local 02/18 06:44:33] Debug: [easyhttp] [11896] GET to https://api.tidal.com/v1/tracks/213065?countryCode=US returned after 151 ms, status code: 200, request body size: 0 B
02/18 14:44:34 [Local 02/18 06:44:34] Trace: [snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi] [raatclient] GOT [761] {"status":"Teardown"}
02/18 14:44:34 [Local 02/18 06:44:34] Trace: [snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi] [raatclient] GOT [766] {"status":"OutputMessage","message":{"signal_path":[{"type":"output","method":"alsa","quality":"lossless","alsa_device":{"driver":"RPi-WM8804","components":"sndrpihifiberry","name":"snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi","longname":"snd_rpi_hifiberry_digi","id":"sndrpihifiberry","mixername":""}}]}}

This logged event is different from a transport failure or audio dropout. The audio packets arrive at the bridge correctly and intact, but Roon receives an explicit teardown request from the RAAT client as playback begins. The sustained TCP connection between RAAT and the endpoint is being reset.

The latest Roon release didn’t contain any changes to Zone connectivity enumeration, so we’ll need to investigate the variables within the LAN. We understand you’re hesitant to consider a local-network cause, but these logs unambiguously point to an external reset at the network layer.

Features like Energy Efficient Ethernet (EEE), IGMP snooping behavior, or brief port renegotiations can interrupt Roon’s persistent TCP connections. Port tests won’t reveal these vulnerabilities because they don’t test sustained throughput. To verify this conclusively, we recommend a simple controlled test: temporarily connect the ROCK NUC and a single endpoint to the same switch, disable Wi-Fi on the endpoint, and try to bypass any managed switches as your physical setup permits. Let us know if you reproduce a dropout and we’ll pinpoint the event in logs.