I wonder whether with the IFI ZEN DAC V2 as decoder and renderer and Roon Core decoder deactivated, the gapless problem would be solved. In that scenario, the problem would move I guess to not have DSP, but one would have full MQA unfolding.
I have the iFi NEO iDSD, which is also a decoder and renderer. It has the same problem with gapless MQA playback. This is the case in both Renderer and full-Decoder modes. The only way to get gapless MQA playback with an iFi DAC in Roon is to set MQA capabilities to āNo MQA supportā. Iām hoping they can find a way to fix this in firmware, but it has not happened in several years.
TBH, this is not a problem that I notice often. Also, although my other MQA DACs donāt exhibit as much of a break between MQA tracks, none of them are perfect. Even my Gustard X16, which implements MQA decoding inside of the DAC chip instead of XMOS firmware, shows a little bit of a ātickā between gapless MQA tracks.
Probably the best solution is to move from TIDAL to Qobuz. This is actually not that terrible if you pay for a Soundiiz Premium account for one month to migrate your favorites. More work if you have a TIDAL family plan, but if you listen to a lot of gapless albums, it may be worth the one-time effort.
Thank you, David! In your experience, Qobuz files are better than MQA Tidal Files with 1 unfold, in a way that moving to the former is justified. Furthermore, recently Roon updated the Classical Music metadata for Tidal, so that nowadays the presentation is very nice (composer, conductor, orchestra, etc). Not sure whether with Qobuz I would have the same experience.
Iām still getting crappy performance with my iFi Zen Dac v2 and Roon with many MQA files.
Really, is there anybody watching these threads? Either from Roon or iFi?
On macOS, while performance with Tidal desktop app and MQA is flawless, when switching to Roon app itās a disaster. Everything is up to date, network seems fine, etc. I really donāt know what else to check.
Itās been a long time since Iāve had TIDAL desktop installed anywhere. I guess I should give it a try, but Iāve assumed that the gapless playback issue exists everywhere.
Iāve mentioned this before, but this album is a good test since itās live and there are a number of very short tracks, starting at track #4:
Hey @David_Snyder not sure if you are responding to my comment but to clarify things, my issue is about a horrible stuttering playback. Playback path keeps switching from lossless to enhanced resulting in clippings and stutters every 5-10s. Unacceptable performance. Sorry I didnāt specify the issue.
Ifis have a history of bad mqa with Roon. When I had the Ifi Nano BL it would not do gapless and mqa at all also had random audio mutes. This was solved by using the alt firmware for the DAC they made it used their GTO filter for everything else non MQA no idea why this fixed. I didnāt like the GTO filter at all so sold it on.
Well for me the problems actually started after a Roon update. I havenāt done any firmware update to the iFi DAC before that. Maybe you are right but it would be nice if someone from either side could just investigate these issues and reports where the problem lies after all.
Well, as it seems my history with iFi devices started and ends with Zen DAC v2. And itās not that I care that much about MQA but since Roon selects that format by default and the DAC āsupportsā it, well I expect to enjoy and relax listening to my music and not getting mad and frustrated.
I guess I could try to request an older version of firmware and see what will happen.
I did search again for the stuttering playback and found that topic
Thereās something funny happening with the DAC, the iFi iPower X, the USB ports, the current and the high frequency noises. When i disconnect the iPower X and switch to another USB port, the stutter seems to be eliminated. But, when thereās playback happening and I lock the macOS, the stutter comes back. When I unlock it, the stutter goes away. Now, if I reconnect the iPower X thereās no stuttering playback until something changes the power to the macbook or the docking station.
I really canāt keep up with that kind of issues. Iāve never had a similar issue with any hardware. So, Iām about to give it up with the iFi gear.
I had a email exchange with iFi and Jonny Darko ā¦ they know about it (but still have no solution) your only choice is to disable the MQA render and it will then be converted by your core.
Iāve been watching this thread for a while as I have a ifi Zen DAC v2 which is plugged in via a mac mini which runās ROON (Server & Player). I too am experiencing some strange behaviour when playing MQA from Tidal via ROON.
As CvK has described its erratic and strange behaviour, which is difficult to pin down. Iām new to all this HI-FI setup stuff, iām more of a Home cinema enthusiast however since working from home I have taken a plunge in this setup to listen to headphones whilst working.
So far i keep having to switch off the MQA Support to get the music to play without stuttering (converts to PCM as the light is white). I did switch everything back to full Decoder and Renderer which then started to work and i thought great sorted, so I switched back to my work screen played music for about an hour with no issues, then changed the album via my phone app and hey presto issue back again instantly, I wondered if id gone back to the computer would it have happened? No idea and too late to try.
Its as if a buffer gets full somewhere and starts the issue off, however Iām clutching at straws.
I havenāt upgraded the firmware on the zen dac v2 its as i took it out of the box about 2 months ago, i did wonder if i needed the power supply to help boost it? but again iām clutching at straws.
In all honesty i just wanted to write something to give support to you all who are having this problem, your are not alone. Iāll keep an eye on the thread and update if i manage to solve anything.
Good luck and thanks for all your previous good work on trouble shooting it has helped me tackle things from my end.
Having similar issues as the ones you describe and have followed this thread too. Oddly Roon mentions the Zen Dac V2 as āRoon Testedā in the blog-post with an overview of partners winning awards. As far as I can see, thatās not the case yet, but perhaps a heads-up that this is forthcoming shortly? Roon partners win big at the What Hi-Fi? Awards 2021 - Roon Labs
