Nucleus not outputting to dac after latest update [Solved - DAC USB Board Replaced]

It could well be that my Core has audio endpoints built in…but then again so does the Nucleus as USB and HDMI so that is why I would have expected to see something showing in audio for the Nucleus?

However as I said my knowledge of the Nucleus is limited so I will let someone more up to speed comment further.

Hi @Steven_Mercer ,

According to diagnostics the “Gumby” zone you have under Connected to Core is actually your Nucleus HDMI output, you have identified the device as your DAC in Device Setup, but this is still the HDMI output according to diagnostics from today.

(You can click on “Load Defaults” - Top Right - to bring it back to HDMI status)

The HDMI shows up as a zone even if there is nothing connected to the HDMI output. The issue here is that your USB zone is not showing up properly, when before it did. You can try to perform a RAATServer refresh to see if this helps:

You can generate a new RAATServer instance on your device by following these instructions, but please be aware that this will reset your Roon Settings → Audio Tab to factory settings and I would advise making a backup of any custom DSP settings you have:

  • Create a Backup of your current Roon Database
  • Stop RoonServer from running in Nucleus’s WebUI
  • Navigate to your Roon’s Database Location
  • Find the folder that says “RAATServer”
  • Rename the “RAATServer” folder to “RAATServer_old”
  • Restart the RoonServer in the WebUI to generate a new RAATServer

If the RAATServer refresh does not help, do let us know once you’ve tried another USB device from your dealer with this Nucleus and verify if the other device shows up properly. Thanks!

Noris – thanks, I tried the server reset and it’s still not working. Now I see how the nucleus is trying to connect to the DAC via HDMI, but nothing’s actually connected. Let me go take this to the dealer as soon as I get a chance, hopefully this week (lots of work to attend to) and I’ll get back to you here.

Hey @Steven_Mercer

Thank you for hanging in here with us and troubleshooting the issue.

When you say above ‘Now I see how the nucleus is trying to connect to the DAC via HDMI, but nothing’s actually connected’ do you mean that nothing is connected via HDMI or that the Schitt isn’t currently connected to Nucleus?

Your Schitt DAC would need to be connected and powered on to be seen on the Audio page. HDMI will appear even if a device isn’t connected. USB out must have a connected and powered device in order to appear.

Jamie – thank you and your colleagues for hanging in there with me to try to get this fixed!

The Schitt DAC is currently powered on and connected via USB to the Nucleus. Nothing is connected to the HDMI output on the Nucleus.

After I reset the RATT Server, and then go to Settings – Audio I see that there is a device waiting to be enabled that is connected to the core (the Nucleus.) I attached a screenshot of this before I enable the device. Again, nothing is connected to the HDMI output on the Nucleus but from this stage, it looks like the Nucleus thinks there is something connected to the HDMI output

When I click the “Enable” button, it seems to think that it has found my DAC (that’s the device with the name Gumby). Here’s another screenshot.

When I click the year/device set up, the details show that this device is connected to the HDMI output. See third screenshot below.

I know you and your team are probably familiar with how all this works, I’m not so sorry if I’m sharing too much detail.

I just don’t have any way of telling the Nucleus to output to the Schitt DAC via USB. It is connected via USB, and there’s nothing connected via HDMI so I don’t see how it could be confused.

Hi @Steven_Mercer ,

Are you still having the issue at the present time?

I’ve just double-checked and the Gumby zone is most definitely an HDMI output, not sure why it is auto-detecting as Gumby.

Did you get a chance to try any other USB DACs, do they work on the Nucleus?

One other thought comes to mind, which is to try to factory reset the Nucelus. Please first ensure you have a recent Backup of your Roon database and then use the Web UI to reset it:

Note: After the reset, please try to use your Nucleus for a while without restoring from backup to check if the Gumby is functioning as expected.

Norris – thanks for the follow-up. Yes, unfortunately I’m still having the issue. And also unfortunately, I have not had a chance (between work and quarantine) to get to the dealer. That’s still on my to do list as soon as I have a moment. However, thank you for the additional suggestions. I’m going to take the steps and I’ll see what happens. Thank you again.

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I reported this previously but the thread expired, which is my fault.

After a recent update, my nucleus plus would not output to the DAC connected to USB. For some reason, the nucleus thinks the DAC is connected to the HDMI. It is not. Nothing is connected to the HDMI. But the settings/audio shows that it thinks my dac is connected to HDMI.

On the advice I got from Roon support, I did a factory reset of the database and settings on the nucleus through the web interface. When I restart and re-login to my account, the “old” DAC is still displayed as a device that is connected to the HDMI. Something is quite wrong because the nucleus is not even connected to the DAC any longer. I disconnected everything.

Here’s a screenshot showing that the nucleus thinks there’s something connected to the HDMI (I haven’t enabled this yet) but again, physically nothing is connected.

I have a feeling that the database and settings reset didn’t actually work.

What makes you think this? From your screenshot, HDMI, which is an audio device, is not enabled. No other audio devices, e.g., a DAC, are connected to the Nucleus.

What DAC are you using and how is this connected to the Nucleus?

No point not mentioning what make and model the dac is…and the connection is use. If memory serves me well usb-c is maybe not supported. Not all dacs are supported under Linux either, especially ones that demand windows drivers to work.

If I enable this dac it will show that it is connected via HDMI. It is not. It’s always been connected to the USB.

I’ve reopened and merged the topics.

The dac is a schitt gunguir. Has been working Connected to the USB output on the nucleus for several years. I don’t think it’s a problem with the dac.

Hi @Steven_Mercer ,

Have you had a chance to try a different DAC on the Nucleus USB ports?

This screenshot looks as expected.

If you have re-named your HDMI output to Gumby, this does not mean that the Nucleus detected your DAC, simply that you chose to rename your HDMI output.

I suggest testing the behavior with a different DAC to confirm if just the Schitt is impacted. Please let us know if that works, thanks!

Noris

Thanks for getting back to me.

  1. I will try to hook up another DAC; that might take a little time.

  2. I have connected the DAC directly to my computer (totally bypassing the nucleus), and its functions properly. So whatever it’s worth, I thought I’d mention that.

  3. The primary issue (as I understand it) is that the DAC is not connected to the HDMI. Nothing is connected to the HDMI. I don’t have any other DACs connected to the nucleus USB. The only item connected to the nucleus is the DAC via USB. I’ve never had anything connected to the HDMI output on the nucleus.

  4. When you noted that the screenshot looks as expected to look, I disagree because it indicates that the DAC is connected to HDMI, which, as I mentioned above, it is not.

  5. The name of the DAC does not seem to be an issue.

Hi @Steven_Mercer ,

This is an interesting observation, at least we know that the DAC works with the other PC.

Yes, please do let us know if you are able to reproduce this with another DAC as well, that would help confirm if the issue is DAC specific or occurs regardless of the DAC in use.

I am still trying to get access to a different USB DAC. I’ll let you know when I do.

But I’m confused about something else that was recommended previously. Previously it was recommended by Support that I reset the database and settings. I’ve done it several times. IIt seems to be successful, but I get a popup message that is confusing. The popup says: “it seems the IP address of your device has changed, so you need to return to the room and application to determine the new IP of this device.” What does that mean?

Second, after resetting the database, I log into my Roon account through the app. When I set up the audio devices, it still shows that the DAC in question is connected. It is not physically connected to the Nucleus. The DAC is powered down entirely. There are no devices physically connected to the Nucleus, just wireless Sonos on my network. Why does it show that there’s something connected to the HDMI output still? It seems like the database isn’t really resetting all the way. After resetting the database shouldn’t the DAC no longer display as a device that is connected to the core? Again, I have no devices connected to the core/Nucleus, just networked speakers.

I finally made it to the dealer and hooked up another USB dac. It worked perfectly so something is wrong with my Schiit Gungnir. My dac works fine as a USB device when connected to my MacBook, but for some reason, the Nucleus no longer recognizes the Schitt as a device that is connected to the core when plugged into the Nucleus. It worked fine for years.

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