Roon Nucleus purchased 2020
OS Version 1.0 (build 227) stable
Roon Server Software Version 1.8 (build 831) stable
Networking Gear & Setup Details
Fritz!Box 7490
Roon Nucleus is on Ethernet
Connected Audio Devices
ModWright KWI 200 amp with integrated hiFace DAC, connected to Nucleus via USB - no issues
Apple iPad, iPhone, MacBook Pro, connected to Nucleus via WiFi - no issues
Digital Audio Player: Onkyo DP-X1, connected to Nucleus via WiFi - issues, see below
Number of Tracks in Library
15,434 tracks
Description of Issue
Dear Support Team,
one of my Roon endpoints is a digital audio player from Onkyo, the DP-X1. On this device I use the latest Roon App to play music from my Nucleus. Both from its built-in hard drive and via Qobuz. I listen via my Bowers & Wilkins P7 wired headphones.
My problem: Roon plays the music through this endpoint with crackles and small glitches. I don’t have these with any other endpoint. The DAP is very high quality and with the Qobuz app, for example, there is no such interference. Is this a known problem with this DAP, can I do something against it? My current solution is to use the Qobuz app, but it lacks the functionality of Roon…
Move the onkyo temporarily to where you can connect it with a cable and see if the crackling goes away. This test will see if it is the WiFi that is the issue.
Tracks streamed from the Nucleus’ internal hard drive cause fewer problems.
Many tracks streamed via the Qobuz interface experience clicks and interruptions/disturbances. I am currently testing it with Lana Del Rey’s new album (Blue Banisters), where it is particularly noticeable.
Addition: the wifi module on the Onkyo player is not the best, however, that is a fact.
Does no one have any ideas? This means then that the Roon app on Android 5.1.1 is not the optimal solution, I guess. I think I’ll install the USB Audio Player Pro as a test and stream Qobuz with it, in the hope that it works without interruptions and sound dropouts.
Hey @UliR we’re so sorry for the delay in our reply, please know it was not our intention.
I wanted to check in to see if you’re still experiencing issues with the Onkyo DP-X1?
If so, I noticed that you are using a Fritzbox, as stated in our Networking Best Practices guide,
The FRITZ OS 7 update includes a feature called “Software Packet Acceleration” that can cause issues with remote connectivity. We recommend disabling this setting from the FRITZ GUI.
Could you please try changing this setting and see if there are any further issues? You can also change the DNS.
We have seen users have a better experience in the past if they change their Router’s DNS servers from the ISP provided ones to Cloudflare DNS, Quad9 or Google DNS. Can you please give this a try and let me know if it helps?
Hi Ashley, thanks for your advice. I disabled FRITZ OS “Software Packet Acceleration” and changed DNS to Quad9, but there are still issues with the Onkyo and the Roon app.
In between, a short, like static “crackling” can be heard, like dust on a record. Again and again. The sound is never really as clean as with any other WiFi endpoint. In addition, if you play the same track directly via the Qobuz app, everything sounds as it should, at least there are no dropouts / crackles…
I am using the Onkyo as a mobile device, so I carry it around the house, but we have a very good Mesh WiFi, and the crackling is there even if I am sitting very close to the router.
No DSP settings in use. Should I try using it?
Attached some screens. Just for your information, the player is MQA capable, but I do not use MQA as I am a Qobuz guy.
What I would like to add - it is a great pity that the Roon app apparently does not use the Dual DAC of my player, but outputs audio via the Android system. It would of course be a huge step forward if this could be changed. If it is possible at all…
Well, Roon uses the Android Audio system and there is nothing you can change about that at the moment. There have been Feature Suggestions to add a perfect audio path to Roon’s output on android, and there are such threads that you can add your vote to them.
Just to make sure it is not the transcoding from 44.1 to 48k causing the issue, try and find some 48k content and play it so Roon is not doing anything to the audio stream, and see if the crackles are there.
Thank you for the message. The problem also occurs with 48k content, i.e. without transcoding.
Thanks for the advice on the feature suggestions. I will try to find them and cast my vote.
Thank you, Marin - fixed volume control unfortunately is not an option as I use the DAP with headphones only.
But I will try the suggested DSP settings later on. Thanks again.
When I set volume control to fixed in the Roon settings, the volume knob does not allow any adjustments. Roon tells me that “Volume control is fixed” when I try to use the voume knob.
Hey @UliR I’m so sorry for taking so long to get back to you.
I wanted to ask if the DP-X1 is on the most recent firmware update? I see that they released an update on November 30th and it includes a decent amount of fixes. Could you please update to the most current version and let us know if the issue still persists?
