am running Roon Core on my PC, Windows 10, Intel i7-8550U, with 16GB RAM. But when use Roon or Roon Remote to play music from TIDAL library, the connection to my speaker, KEF LS50W is spotty. It comes in and out, not stable.
I tried playing from the PC and my android tablet (running Roon Remote), same result.
But if I were to just run TIDAL music app, without Roon, playing on the KEF LS50W speakers, no issue. I am using the KEF Streaming device with TIDAL integerated, which uses Wireless streaming. I also tried just using TIDAL with bluetooth, no problem.
FYI, I am testing this, using the same 3 songs, all from TIDAL.
Hope you can help me resolve this issue as I am on trial with Roon, really like your software but current setup is not acceptable, so I would not be willing to pay for membership.
Some network setup info would be helpful in getting started.
How’s your core connected to the network. Wireless or wired. Do you use any switches? Are the kefs connected wirelessly? Are you connecting s DAC to the speakers or streaming directly to them?
Not sure if this is related or not. But I just noticed that after lunch, I went out, and the KEF speakers power down. And after I power up the speakers, I was not able to see KEF speakers listed as a device anymore on Roon or Roon Remote.
That will likely be you issue. You likely over taxing the wireless network. If your core is connected wirelessly it’s having to pull and push wirelessly. Try hard wiring the core to see if it helps. Roon really don’t recommend having the core on wireless as it needs a lot of bandwidth to do its job. Endpoints are fine but your likely saturating the wireless network with both server and endpoint . It works when using the speakers as its pulling direct not through another wireless device which will add latency.
Got it, will setup computer running core hardwire and see how it goes. I am planning to see how I like Roon before spending money on a NAS or dedicated NUC for Roon.
Is it also because of wireless setup, that I am not seeing KEF speaker now? But strange, why available during setup and then when KEF speakers is power off and back on, KEF device is no more available as a source on Roon or Roon remote
It should help. Wireless really isn’t up to the job for most server situations. Also check that the channels your using for wireless are not overlapping with any nearby access points of your neighbors. This can cause all sorts of wireless issues with streaming as if they overlap you can get reduced bandwidth.
Also, I would welcome your suggestion as to what is the best (most cost effective) way to setup a dedicated server for Roon. NAS? Or NUC? Or … Appreciate your help as I am very new to all these.
I would check that you have a good steady 5ghz signal where your speakers are. 5ghz is prone to less interference but is blocked easy by walls and such. You can download apps on phone to help with this.
NuC is the best way and likely the cheapest. But you need to decide on what you want to achieve. I have a dedicated pc running ROCK Roons own operating system for the core with a usb drive attached for music and use Nas to backup only, among other duties as running Plex and some other media related stuff.
If your planning to have your system grow and add more endpoints about your home, use Roons DSP then a higher spec NuC is advised . If your looking at say six endpoints and not DSP or very limited DSP then you can get away with an i3 NuC.
A Nas specced to run Roon will cost a lot more as you’ll need all the discs and it’s recommended at least to have an i3 which a lot of the Nas devices are Celeron with expensive ones running i3 or higher.
My music library is not large, only about 300 albums, and do not plan to add on as I am depending on streaming, like TIDAL. Yes, also thinking of using NAS for Plex and storage and backup.
Then NAS looks like it better suits your needs. Some on hear do use the Celeron models that have decent cpu but it’s really recommended and supported on i3 or above.
Thanks for contacting support, I’d be happy to assist here. As @CrystalGipsy mentioned, it is best to have the speakers and Core connected via Ethernet as to ensure that there is enough bandwidth and they have a stable connection.
Can you please let me know how exactly the connection is not stable? Does Roon output any error messages? Is one speaker playing music and the other is not? I would also try to completely exit out of the KEF Streaming app when using Roon and see if they work as expected after doing so.