Issue with Tidal connection

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

Sonic Transporter version 2.5
Roon Server Version: 1.6 (build 416) stable

Network Details (Including networking gear model/manufacturer and if on WiFi/Ethernet)

Netgear Nighthawk router/wifi
TP-Link powerline ethernet network adapter

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

ultraRendu
Benchmark DAC2

Description Of Issue

For the last 3 months, I have been having sporadic connectivity issues with Tidal. Sometimes it tells me it cannot connect to Tidal (red error modal pops up), and when I try to reconnect it does not work. Sometimes it simply is unresponsive and does not play music but shows no error (pause/play button is unresponsive). The last time this happened was at 9:30am Mountain Time on 9-17-19. The only way to fix this is to reboot my Sonic Transporter, and even then it still does not work and I must wait a day or so for “something” to reset itself.

Thanks for your help

Hi @Jeffrey_Kear,

Welcome to the forum. Can you clarify further how the powerline adapters fit into the equation? Is the SonicTransporter using the Powerline adapter or does it connect to the UltraRendu endpoint only? I ask because we have often seen issue surrounding powerine adapters with Roon.

Also, we should try to simplify the network setup a bit, ideally I would try connecting the SonicTransporter to the router and the Benchmark DAC via USB as to bypass part of the network and verify if this issue still occurs, as well as making sure that the Nighthawk is on newest firmware.

Thanks for your reply.

The SonicTransporter connects to the router directly via ethernet cable. The router connects to the ultraRendu via the TP-Link powerline adapters (with ethernet cables).

Here’s the connection sequence:

SonicTransporter (ethernet cable) > Nighthawk router (ethernet cables and TP-Link network powerline adapters) > ultraRendu (USB > Benchmark > preamp > amps

I don’t understand how the powerline adapters would affect the connectivity with Tidal as the Tidal connection is upstream from the TP-Link adapters.

Thanks for your help.

Hi @Jeffrey_Kear,

Thanks for clarifying the network setup. If TIDAL music is stopping suddenly on just the UltraRendu, it could be a powerline connectivity issue, but you are correct, it would not explain the “cannot connect to TIDAL” message.

I would double check to see if this issue occurs on other zones, or if possible connect the Benchmark DAC via USB to the SonicTransporter as a test and see if that works as expected. Also, how are you DNS servers configured? We have often seen an improvement in TIDAL streaming performance by switching to Google or Cloudflare DNS.

Honestly I only really listen through it on Roon via my ultraRendu, so I don’t have any other feedback using other devices.

My Benchmark is downstairs in my home and SonicTransporter upstairs next to my router and DSL entry point and its not possible to connect via USB unless I go buy a 50 ft USB cable.

Also no idea on DNS server configuration as I’m not a network IT specialist. To be honest I thought using the SonicTransporter with Roon would be a no-brainer and require little technical expertise, but now I’m not so sure. Thanks but I think your advice is over my head.

Hi @Jeffrey_Kear,

If you are having a networking issue with your ISP provided DNS servers, it could be a cause of the behavior you’re seeing. You can change the DNS on a router level to Google or Cloudflare, this guide provides some additional details on how to do this and Google DNS or Cloudflare DNS might help with you case.

If you don’t feel comfortable changing the router settings, another test we can do is try hosting Roon on a different Core and checking to see if this behavior is specific to the SonicTransporter. Do you by any chance have another PC around the house which meets our Minimum Requirements and is able to run Roon? As a precaution, I would ensure that you have a Backup made of your current library before switching the Core.

Thanks,
Noris

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