Nucleus Reverts to "PAUSE" Spontaneously, Tardy on "PLAY"

Support Nucleus Support
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Roon Core Machine

Nucleus (not +) Rev B

Networking Gear & Setup Details

AT&T Gateway > Synology 802.11ac router > ethernet > Netgear GS116 LAN > ethernet > Apple MacMini, 2018, Ventura 13.0.1 OS; and
AT&T Gateway > Synology 802.11ac router > WiFi > Apple MacBook Air, 2018, Ventura 13.2 OS

Both computers are used to control Roon. Until now, operation is fine. Not using a VPN. Ethernet and WiFi both working normally in all other usages/apps.

Connected Audio Devices

Playback through one HDMI output, optical isolated and connected directly to DAC Toslink. One USB used for disc recorder only; one USB used for 8 TB external HD only. No problems in connection with playback performance, i.e. audio quality. No problems with content management operations; Roon responds normally to all navigational commands.

Number of Tracks in Library

10,790 tracks in library.

Description of Issue

While playing a track, audio stops spontaneously. This is not a failure to output signal, per se. Nucleus is showing that the track is in PAUSE status. It switches from PLAY to PAUSE without a hint as to why. The ‘Now Playing’ indicator just left of the track title is present but frozen, and the PLAY-PAUSE button is correctly reporting.

If I allow at least 10 seconds to elapse, I can hit PLAY and the track will resume where it stopped and will play normally until the next time, which could be a matter of seconds or minutes. But I have to wait for about 10 seconds or longer or the Nucleus won’t respond to the PLAY command. When it does, the ‘Now Playing’ indicator un-freezes and seems to show normal playback underway, but it takes several more seconds for the audio to come on. By the way, for some time now Roon has been doing this all the time - I hit play, track’s ‘Now Playing’ indicator goes active, but no music for a few seconds. I haven’t been bothered by this overmuch because it does not appear that the program content is being clipped. Audio is just slow to begin, and this seems abnormal to me.

But back to the problem at hand, on at least two occasions when this drop-out has happened, when I hit PLAY, Roon did not resume in the track where it stopped, but started at the beginning of the next track.

I did a hard-restart on the Nucleus and both computers. No effect. Any clues where we go from here?

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@PaulG, some additional information would be useful:

  1. What version of Roon is used on your Nucleus?
  2. I see what and how you are using the mini and Air as Roon Remotes, but are any endpoints connected to these Macs? It is not clear in your description of connected devices.
  3. Where is your music library stored, on the Nucleus or the 8 TB external HD connected to something (the mini)?
  4. Is your WiFi turned off on the AT&T gateway? Also, what is hte model number of the AT&T gateway?
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Thanks Robert;

  1. Roon is Version 2.0 Build 1311, “You have the latest version installed”. If I do a hard I-O re-boot, would I get any updates automatically?

  2. I am unclear about the meaning of this question. What do you mean by “endpoint”? The LAN workswitch feeds the Nucleus and other devices on ethernet as you might expect to see, such as a printer and other computers in the network. There are no apparent problems with the LAN functions. The router’s WiFi is working just fine with all computers and phones in the network.

  3. I have some items stored as ALAC files on the hard drive. The hard drive, as stated, is connected by USB to the Nucleus. The rest are all FLAC files obtained from Qobuz through Roon. One reason I really liked Roon is for the seamless archival management/presentation.

  4. The Gateway is BGW 320-500. This is AT&T’s obligatory proprietary fibre-optic-ethernet router. My IT consultant installed the Synology router as a fire-wall and operational buffer. All device addresses are internally generated. The router is the WiFi hub, not the Gateway. I cannot tell if the Gateway’s WiFi is turned off, but I assume my IT guy has set up the system correctly. In any case no alterations have been made in this system since long before the present difficulty.

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  1. B1311 is the current released version in the Production track.

  2. An endpoint is the audio device you are using and is seen by Roon to play music. This may be a DAC connected to headphones, or a streamer connected to an amplifier, or a smart speaker that supports Roon, AirPlay, or Chromecast, among many other combinations. Basiscally, what are listening to. Are all your endpoints connected directly to the Nucleus?

  3. Where are these files stored? Does your Nucleus have an internal file storage SSD in addition to the Roon system and database drive?

  1. Sounds like WiFi is set up properly on the Synology. The newer AT&T gateways acutally are pretty good routers and WiFi APs and can be expanded with mesh repeaters similar to other mesh systems. Much better than the legacy 5268AC unit I have.
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  1. Good to know since that’s what Roon is telling me.

  2. Roon Nucleus is outputting signal to a single playback device, the DAC, via one HDMI output. There are no other endpoints. For control, the Nucleus is plugged into one workswitch port which is its only connection to the LAN. This has always worked faultlessly. The MacMini is connected by ethernet and the Air is connected by WiFi. These computers are not routinely connected as audio sources to any device.

  3. The ALAC files in the 8 TB HD are rips. I ripped much of my CD collection when using I-Tunes (pre-Roon). This HD is not mounted internally to the Nucleus but utilizes one USB connection. No other means are used to store content. All other content is streamed from Qobuz directly through Roon. This is how I use Roon. No effort is made to store any file which I can access by subscription. If I elect to purchase an item, I presume Nucleus will put it on my HD.

  4. The Gateway is used simply, by necessity, as the modem interfacing fiber-optic broadband to ethernet. The router function proper is handled by the Synology-Netgear LAN. This is a small system in a small house and no repeaters have been necessary.

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That seems to describe an HDMI audio extractor. Quite possibly the source of the problem.

AJ

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AJ;
I certainly appreciate your interest. I would be interested in the rationale behind your suspicion. This is, in fact, an HDMI optical extractor, but it does nothing more than channel the audio-only portion to a fiber line terminated with a suitable connector (Toslink). It is not altering the signal is it? The Nucleus is looking into an HDMI; audio is transmitted by fibre-optics without alteration. If I am not understanding this properly, I definitely want schooled on this.

What needs explaining is why this has worked for two years, and now suddenly has turned hinky with no changes whatsoever.

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I am wondering about two ideas, one triggered by @WiWavelength’s comment and one other based on my experience.

Regarding the audio extractor, or any of the connections (USB, TOSLINK, Ethernet, etc.), have you tried replacing any of the cables between devices. The HDMI extractor may be failing (either the electonics or possibly the connector), or any of the cables may be having issues. It could be useful to replace each cable one-by-one to see if this stabilizes your network.

Another idea would be to check the DNS settings on your router. When I first added a cascaded router to my AT&T gateway, I kept AT&T’s DNS service. However, AT&T’s DNS is not as reliable as DNS provided by Google, Cloudflare, and other free providers. While you may not be able to change the DNS preference on the '320 gateway, your Synology could have an option to select your own DNS provider (which I was able to do by using Google for DNS on my second router). Just another option to consider.

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After 10 hours of running in PLAY mode, there have been no drop-outs. This problem has gone away. I’m calling it “solved”. If it happens again I’ll be back!

1 Like
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