Mac audio playback issues

Support
1

Hi, I’m having a similar problem. The difference is that I am running Roon from my MacBook Air as a remote. It plays a few songs and then it stops. It happens repeatedly.

My Roon core is a Rock. When I use my phone as a remote the issue doesn’t happen.

The end point is an Ifi-Zen.

Any suggestions? Thanks for your help.

2

Hey @Javier_Cardoso,

I’ve split your post off into its own thread for proper visibility. How is your Rock connected to your router? Please provide more information around your network setup below:

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Your network gear (model of routers/switches) and if on WiFi/Ethernet

With that, how is your Zen connected to your network? Does the same issue occur when streaming from the system output of your Mac?

I’ll be on standby for your reply. :+1:

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Hi @benjamin the Rock is connected to the router through an Ethernet cable. The router is an Askey model RAC2V1K.

The Zen is connected via WiFi to the network and then I have a Chord Mojo DAC connected via USB to the Zen.

Regarding if the same issue occurs when using the laptop as System Output: I don’t use it very often that way, so if it happens I haven’t noticed yet. I 'll do that and keep my ears open.

I’m also under the impression that the problem is relatively recent. I have been using this setup for almost a year and I just started noticing it recently, maybe the last month or so.

Please let me know if you need additional info. Thanks for your help.

Javier

5

Might also be a good idea to check all annoying and problematic energy saving settings in:

  • Lock Screen
  • Screen Saver
  • Energy Saver
1 Like
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Hey @Javier_Cardoso,

Thanks for the additional information! Based on the initial diagnostic scan of your core, we’re seeing some general networking hiccups, but nothing specific yet. If possible, can you reproduce the issue and share the specific date, time, and name of track?

With that, I’d be curious to see how things function if you temporarily hardwire the Zen directly to your router, if at all possible.

I’ll be on standby for your reply. :+1:

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Hey @benjamin, thanks for your response.

I tried last night using the System Output and didn’t notice any issues.

I was able to replicate the issue 3 times this morning at around 7 am EST. It was a Rita Lee track, probably “Baila Conmigo”. Then it was a track from “Os Mutantes”, probably “Fuga No II” or “Cantor de Mambo”

After I started playing it stopped after around 7 minutes, and then 15 minutes after that.

I have another DAC connected directly to the router, I’ll try to replicate the issue there. I will also try to replicate the issue with the Zen if I use my phone as a remote, instead of the laptop. My impression is that only happens when I use the laptop as the remote.

Looking forward to your comments,

Javier

1 Like
9

Thanks @ffk! I thought about that. I did notice that Roon stops when it receives a Facetime call if I start playing from the laptop.

Since I’m using the laptop as a remote, not as a core, I would expect that if I close the laptop Roon should continue working, and it does (I just tested it).

1 Like
10

Thanks for the update @Javier_Cardoso!

Let’s do a refresh of your RAATserver database and see if that eliminates the pauses:

  • Create a Backup of your current Roon database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “Roon” and “RAATServer”
  • Rename “Roon” to “Roon_old” and “RAATServer” to “RAATServer_old”
  • Reinstall Roon from our Downloads Page

I’ll be on standby for your reply. :+1:

11

Thanks @benjamin!

I want to double check that the issue is isolated to the Mac. As I said earlier, my impression is that the issue doesn’t happen when my phone is the remote.

I want to try a couple of things before doing the reinstall:

  1. I will do what I’ve doing with the Mac but with the phone instead. I’ll do it for a couple of days.
  2. I will use the Mac as a remote to the other DAC I have and see if I have any pauses. Also, I have the funny impression that the pauses tend to happen in the morning but not in the evening.
  3. @ffk mentioned the power settings, one thing I did was to disable Focus mode. The following morning, I only had 1 pause. I guess I can call that an improvement. If you want to take a look, it happened when I was playing the track “Lighthouse” from Emmanuel Wilkins on Friday the 19th, at 7:07am EST.

Please let me know any questions or comments.

Javier

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@benjamin, an update here:

I had a few days without any interruptions until today a few minutes ago (~6:57 pm EST, while playing “Thinking out loud”). I think I know what I did different this time:

Last night I played on the laptop to bluetooth with the “Audio will play out the default device” setting. I didn’t use the laptop until I came back from work. After ~10 min or so of playing to the DAC (not on the laptop), it stopped. That’s pretty much what happened on the previous interruptions, the difference was that I started playing music in the afternoon instead that in the morning.

On the days that I didn’t play music in the laptop the night before and started playing to the DAC from the laptop in the morning I didn’t have any interruptions.

Please let me know if that helps you pinpoint the issue.

Regards,

Javier

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Hey @Javier_Cardoso,

To confirm, did you refresh your RAATServer as mentioned in a previous reply?

I’d also test out hardwiring the Zen as well, and let me know the results. Thanks! :+1:

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Hi @benjamin, no, I haven’t done the RAAT server refresh you suggested.

After I disabled Focus mode on the Mac the interruptions have clearly reduced (almost disappeared, except for the one I noticed on my previous post).

I’m, happy with the performance now. Since this was a problem limited to using the Mac as a remote and I’m not having issues with all the other devices I’m using as a remote, I’ll skip the RAAT server refresh for now.

Thanks for your help!

Javier

1 Like
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