Mac mini M4 experiencing audio file slow loading and skipping issues (ref#33K3MN)

Support
1

What app are you having the slowness issue with?

· Roon

What kind of performance/speed issue are you experiencing?

· Adding music to library take a long time/doesn't complete

Please try to reboot your Roon Server

· No, the issue is still the same even immediately after a reboot

Please try to reboot your networking gear (Router/Switches/etc.)

· No, the issue is still the same even after a reboot

Is there any change in behavior if you try to navigate to Roon Settings -> Library and set both Background and On-Demand Audio Analysis to Throttled or Off?

· No, the issue is still the same

Does the issue happen on multiple Roon Remotes (controllers) or just one?

· I only have one Roon remote to test with

Please try to restart your Roon Remote (controller) app

· No, the issue is still the same even after a restart

What is the operating system of your Roon Remote (controller)?

· Mac

Reinstall Windows/MacOS Roon Remote App

· No, I am still having the issue even after reinstalling

Router Domain Name System (DNS) change

· I don't know how to do this

What is the operating system of your Roon Server host machine?

· MacOS

Timestamp of issue occurrences

· It happens with every song I play from my HDD.

Describe the issue

I have a new Mac mini M4 with 24 GB of memory and playing music from my external HD at ~2.41s, I get the dreaded prompt, Audio files loading slowly, may indicate a performance issue. I have rebooted everything a dozen times and I it still skips. Can you help me?

Describe your network setup

Mac mini M4 w/ 24 GB of memory. I connect my HDD directly to my Mac with a wire.

2

Hello @Mark_White,

Thanks for reaching out, and I’m sorry to hear about the playback issues you’re experiencing.

Given that this happens with every track played from the external drive, and considering your Mac mini M4 has more than sufficient CPU and memory, the most important next step is to better understand the external storage and its connection, since this is a very common cause of the “Audio files loading slowly” message.

Could you please provide a bit more detail on the following:

  1. External drive details
  • Is it an HDD or SSD?
  • Brand and model (if known)
  • Approximate capacity and how full it is
  1. Connection method
  • What type of cable is used (USB-A, USB-C, Thunderbolt, adapter/dongle)?
  • Is the drive connected directly to the Mac mini, or through a hub/dock?
  1. Drive behavior outside of Roon
  • If you try to copy a music file from the drive to your Mac’s internal storage, does it copy quickly and smoothly, or does it stall/slow down?

Traditional spinning HDDs, certain USB adapters, or failing cables can easily cause intermittent read delays that result in buffering and skipping during playback, even on very powerful systems.

Once we have these details, we can narrow this down quickly and advise on the best next steps.

Looking forward to your reply.

3

@vadim

My HDD is a recent WD MyBook 8TB and it is at 92% capacity.

The drive is connected with a high end USB C connection which goes through a bus with 10 inputs.

My Mac has no other problems downloading files.

4

Hello @Mark_White,

Thank you for the additional details. The combination of a mechanical HDD at ~92% capacity and a multi-port USB hub creates a very specific scenario for Roon.

While your Mac mini M4 is more than powerful enough, Roon relies on low-latency, sustained read access. This makes it more sensitive to storage and USB “traffic jams” than normal file transfers, even when using high-quality cables.

To help isolate the cause, please try the following steps:

  1. Bypass the USB hub (important test)

You mentioned the drive is connected via a hub with multiple ports. Large USB hubs often share bandwidth and introduce micro-latency, which can trigger “Audio files loading slowly” errors even when raw throughput seems fine.

Please connect the WD MyBook directly to one of the Mac mini’s USB/Thunderbolt ports, completely bypassing the hub, and test playback again.

  1. Test playback from internal storage

Mechanical HDDs slow down significantly as they fill up (due to fragmentation and increased seek times), especially above ~85–90% capacity.

Copy a few albums that are known to fail from the external drive to your Mac’s internal SSD (for example, the Desktop).
Point Roon to that local folder and test playback.

  • If playback is stable from the internal SSD but problematic from the external drive (even when directly connected), this strongly indicates a drive latency / read-speed limitation on the nearly full HDD.
  1. Verify the USB connection speed (macOS built-in tool)

You can precisely confirm whether the external drive is operating at the expected USB speed using macOS System Information.

How to check:

Method 1 (fastest):

  1. Hold the Option (⌥) key
  2. Click the Apple  menu
  3. Select System Information

Method 2 (standard):

  1. Apple → About This Mac
  2. Click More Info…
  3. Scroll down and select System Report…

Where to look:

  1. In the left column, select Hardware → USB
  2. Locate your external drive in the USB Device Tree
  3. Check the Speed field

How to interpret the result:

  • Up to 480 Mb/s → USB 2.0 (major bottleneck for Roon)
  • Up to 5 Gb/s → USB 3.0 / USB 3.1 Gen 1
  • Up to 10 Gb/s or higher → USB 3.1 Gen 2 / USB 3.2

If the drive unexpectedly shows USB 2.0 speeds:

  • Cable: Some USB-C cables are charge-only or data-limited
  • Hub: Many hubs downgrade or share bandwidth internally
  • Re-plugging: A slow or partial insertion can cause fallback to USB 2.0 — try reconnecting firmly

A USB 2.0 connection alone can fully explain intermittent loading errors, especially with a nearly full mechanical HDD.

Please let us know:

  • Whether bypassing the hub improves playback
  • What USB speed macOS reports when the drive is connected directly with the screenshot
  • Whether playback from the internal SSD is fully stable

This will allow us to clearly distinguish between USB transport limitations and physical drive performance and advise on the best long-term setup.

5

Hi @Mark_White,

We haven’t seen a response in the last week and this thread is at risk of auto-closing due to inactivity. Do you still require additional assistance with this issue?

Have you tried bypassing the USB hub and relying on the USB port on the computer?

6

This topic was automatically closed 7 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.