On my Win10 PC, which houses my Roon core, is there any value in optimizing for audio, such as eliminating unnecessary processing, before I play Roon via Devialet Air? My Devialet 200 is hard wired to a network switch and sits in a different room than my PC. I ask this because when I use DSP I sometimes get static on certain tracks, which suggests my processing power is sub-optimal. My PC is fairly new and robust – i7 processor at 2.7GHz with 16GB RAM and Roon core on its solid-state drive – so my guess is that I should have enough firepower for aggressive digital signal processing. Another option, as I use Google WiFi to connect my PC, is to prioritize my PC during playback, which is possible with a Google WiFi option, but perhaps that is not necessary.
Roon will tell you if your PC is suboptimal when DSPing. Simply look at your playback chain popup, there is a processing number at the top when DSPing. It’s formatted like this: 0.0x Tell us what that number is when you see issues.
I suspect the issue is probably Devialet Air or your Wifi, not your computer. General rule of thumb: If you own Devialet, the issue is probably something to do with Devialet.
When you say “Devialet AIR” do you mean Roon’s integration of AIR or Devialet’s AIR app? I’ve found Roon’s AIR integration far more solid than Devialet’s AIR app. If you are using Devialet’s AIR app, I’d suggest uninstalling it and just letting Roon AIR work.
Your PC is definitely configured with more than enough power to do dsp, but using wifi between PC and router may be part of the problem. My experience with wifi is that you’ll occasionally get dropouts and stuttering, particularly on higher-res music. But I’ve not heard static. Is the static consistent with certain tracks (e.g. hi-res perhaps) or does it happen randomly?
@DrTone Jeff, I have seen some wide variations on the processing power. From 2x or 3x on some tracks to 60x. Seems that some hi-res songs require much more processing, which makes sense.
@mdconnelly Michael, I should have been more precise; I am using the Roon AIR integration with Devialet. My PC is connected to Google wifi (not by Ethernet) and I am getting excellent throughput. The Devialet, in a different room, is connected by Ethernet to a switch. I am not getting any stuttering or dropouts; it’s definitely static for a few seconds on certain hi-res tracks.
How hi-res? I know Devialet was having problems with streaming 192/24 at one point (although I thought that was just with one of the beta releases for the Pros)
Also, is the static only with dsp on? If it never occurs with dsp off, then I’d have to think it is Roon related…
@Flashman Don’t forget, the first thing the D does with DSD is convert back to 192. Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it if it sounds better to you, but just so you know how the D works internally (if you didn’t already).
