Mac Big Sur problems

Support
1

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

SGC sonicTransporter-AP i7
Roon Build 667

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

CAT-5 ethernet connection from Orbi Router via Trendnet unmanaged switch to iMac endpoint

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

2017 27" iMac Quad Core i7 (OS 11.0.1) connected by USB to Schiit Audio Modi Multibit DAC–>Schiit Audio Magni 3 amp

Description Of Issue

Since I upgraded the iMac to Big Sur, Roon has been randomly dropping its connection to all Core Audio devices under “This Mac” in Roon Audio settings. No other endpoints (Mytek Brooklyn DAC, 4 Sonos 1 zones, Chromecast Audio) are affected–they all continue to play normally. When the iMac disconnect occurs, tracks appear to play (based on the oscillating “playing” icon next to each track) without sound, but the progress bar is frozen, and the tracks skip from one to the next after about 5 seconds of play. If I quit Roon and relaunch, all the Core Audio devices listed under “This Mac” in Audio settings disappear; only the System Output remains but nothing will play to it. Restarting Roon Server or rebooting the sT-AP core machine has no effect; only rebooting the iMac restores those connections and normal playback–until it happens again. This never happened prior to the upgrade to Big Sur.

Edit: My symptoms sound a lot like the ones reported here: Coreaudio related dropouts/crashes on MacOS Big Sur
But my core machine’s IP address is already set to static in the router’s settings.

2

Hi @wkimbel87,

Have you noticed any patterns at all? How often does it happen? Is there any specific content that seems to trigger it, or a specific timeframe?

4

@dylan, thx for the quick reply. It happens once or twice each day, usually when I return to Roon from a period of inactivty. It does not happen, as far as I can recall, during playback but only with the attempt to start to play something. But it is intermittent and occurs with both Qobuz and file-based content.

5

Hi @wkimbel87,

Since the iMac is acting just as a Roon Remote in this case, can you please try to perform a full reinstall of the Roon app on the iMac and let us know if it helps? You can use the below instructions to do so (on the iMac ~Library/Roon path):

  • Make a Backup of your current Roon Database
  • Exit out of Roon
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “Roon”
  • Rename the “Roon” folder to “Roon_old”
  • Reinstall the Roon App from our Downloads Page to generate a new Roon folder
6

Thanks, @noris. I haven’t experienced the problem in the last 24 hrs, but will keep your recommended solution in my back pocket.

1 Like
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Thanks for the update @wkimbel87, yes do give those instructions a try if the issue returns.

8

Hi wkimbel87,
did you restore your data of an existing backup after you did the reinstall of roon?

Thanks for your feedback,

Marcus

9

Fortunately, the problem did not occur again so I did not need to do the reinstall. However, as the iMac is acting as a remote, not the core, a restore of the database should not have been necessary in this circumstance.

1 Like
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