Playback and ARC connection issues on Asus 11000XT Pro (ref#08MS6C)

[mario.j.salazar]

What best describes your playback issue?

· Music doesn't start when I press "Play"

What type of Zone is affected by this problem?

· *All of my Zones* are affected.

Does the issue affect all file formats?

· The issue affects *multiple/all* file formats.

Does the issue happen with local library music, streaming service music, or both?

· *Both streaming and local* *library* music are affected.

Do you encounter any playback errors with the "System Output" Zone?

· The System Output has the same problem as my other Zone.

Do you have a complex network setup?

· Both the device and RoonServer are connecting to a *single router*

Please try rebooting your router.

· No, I'm still having trouble

What are the make and model of the affected audio device(s) and the connection type?

· Nothing works:Sonos Era100s, Connect gen2s, Wiim Pro Plus, Denon 4400h, Onkyo RZ50. Nothing!

Describe the issue

Nothing works! No playback, etting "Too many failures, stopping playback" message; arc can't connect even though I forwarded the port, multiple errors on every playback. Never had this much trouble setting anything up. Pretty tech savvy as well. Asus 11000xt pro that has had no issues with anything else. Everything connected through ethernet.

Describe your network setup

Everything is connected with cat6 ethernet cable. Server attached to the same 10Gbe switch the router is connected to. Everything else is connected to a 2.5 gbe switch that is connected to the 10 gbe switch. But your player won't even play locally.

I hate to be a Debbie Downer, but wow, is this frustrating.

What a weird way to start a support ticket. I thought I was writing to support, but I guess it is run through the forum. The ever-devolving target of what is considered proper support, it seems. Let’s see how this goes, I hope I am pleasantly surprised.

I am new here and am a little confused about what all the fuss is about considering the issues I have. Believe me, I had high hopes for Roon. I have been lurking here and researching the application for a week before diving in. I was already thinking about a lifetime subscription if it could deliver. When I discovered it, I could not believe I had not heard of it before, and its features were all I had dreamed about. It’s like Roon was the answer to the question of: why don’t they make a player that could do this?

But things started on the wrong foot, to say the least. The last thing I need is to run down another rabbit hole with a product that promises the moon but does not deliver much other than more headaches and hoops to jump through. Some of the things I read here concern me. It certainly seems that the feature set cannot be dependably relied upon, which is a deal-breaker for me. I need rock solid! I thought this was supposed to be solid as far as synchronization, and all the promises of streaming to multiple protocols in sync don’t seem to be true, as I cannot group multiple different devices I have. It seems I have three different “types” of devices that play with each other, but not all of them together. But what is worse is I can’t even get the player to play locally! What a joke! All I have are errors. Nothing has ever played. I keep getting the “Multiple Errors” when playing back. I am running this on a new AsRock ws790 board with a w3-2423 with 128 Gb of RAM, Samsung 990Pro SSD for OS (Windows 11 PRo), with all my media on Seagate EXOS, so it should not be my system. As reported above, I have a pretty high-end router, and everything is hard wired using CAT6 cable. I can run Sonos, Plex, Ariplay2 and Wiim though the same network with no issues (other than syncing) on the same exact setup. I really don’t understand why this program is giving me so many issues.

I also can’t get ARC to see my server even though I have configured the open port. I get this error:

{

“ipv4_connectivity”: {“status”:“NetworkError”,“status_code”:504,“error”:“error: Error: ETIMEDOUT, response code: undefined, body: undefined connected? undefined”},

“external_ip”: {“actual_external_ip”:“174.aaa.bbb.ccc”,“actual_external_ipv6”:“null”,“router_external_ip”:“null”},

“natpmp_autoconfig”: {“status”:“NotFound”},

“upnp_autoconfig”: {“server_ip”:“192.XXX.XX.1”,“found_upnp”:true,“error”:“doaction request return statuscode: UnknownError”}

}

(I Replaced some of the server’s address with XX)

Hopefully this is an easy fix, but it is a bummer that I have to come here for help when what I am trying to do should be very simple.

[Wade_Oram]

@mario.j.salazar

(I Replaced some of the server’s address with XX)

It’s unlikely thay you need to do this. The Server’s ip address starting with 192.168.aaa.bbb is a ‘non routable’ address meaning that it cannot be used by anyone from outside of your network.

If you think about it, there will probably be millions of home networks with a device with the same ip address (each on their own local network) so how can a machine outside of your network identify which one to send to - answer - it can’t, and it doesn’t even try.

With respect to the problem with your devices, do they also have ip addresses starting with 192.168 (and with the third number the same)? This is a requirement to run Roon - all of the devices involved in your Roon system (Server, endpoints and clients) must all be on the same subnet. Since most home networks have a 255.255.255.0 netmask (defining which parts of the ip address define the subnet prefix and which identify the device on the subnet), I would expect all devices to have the same first three numbers in the ip address.

If they do all have the ip addresses in the same subnet, have you enabled the devices in the Audio settings found by selecting the Cogwheel:

There you should be able to see all of the audio endpoints that the Roon server is aware of. Like:

Some devices may show up more than once with different streaming protocols (or, in the case of the Roon Server or a PC/Mac client, different audio outputs (speakers, headphones, USB connected DAC, etc).

You need to choose which ones you want and enable them. Be aware that endpoint can only be grouped if they use the same network protocol (RAAT in the case of Roon Ready devices or Roon Server/PC/MAC computers or even other computers running Roon Bridge). A couple of other protocols you might see are Airplay(1 and 2) and Chromecast.

If your audio devices are not all on the same subnet (one or more of the first three numbers of the ip address differ), then there are a couple of possibilities:

1. you have another device in your network that is acting as a router
2. all the device that can’t be seen are set to static ip addresses - probably appropriate to your network with your old router but not appropriate for the network setup by your new router.

In the second case, you can either go around the devices resetting their network settings to use DHCP or you can change the subnet configured by your new router to be that used by your old router.

e.g. if your old router created a 192.168.0.x subnet and your new router creates a 192.168.50.x subnet, you could change the LAN side address of your router to 192.168.0.1 (to match your old router) .e.g.

[mario.j.salazar]

Thanks for the response, Wade. Every device has an address that starts with 192.168., so that should not be the issue. I thought I did not have to disguise the numbers, but if there is an area on computing that dumbfounds me, it is networking, so I thought it would be best to be safe. I have enabled all the devises and realized that some devices were giving me multiple options, so I named them accordingly: Era 100 Sonos, Era 100 Airplay 2. It is unfortunate that all devices have to be the same protocol to sync, but I got around the fact that I can’t play locally and to airplay by using Shairport. Unfortunately, the shairport endpoint does not stay in sync with the other airplay devices: Onkyo RZ-50, Demon 4400h, and the Sonos Eras. Disappointing. Also, I have experienced several dropouts and moments were playback just stops completely which is exactly what I was trying to avoid coming to zoom.

I will admit that Roon is still processing my files. It uploaded all of them but is still processing some changes. I have a huge library of 90371 files, and it is at 61279. This is just a small, curated fraction of my total musical collection which is much much greater. This is just what I have tagged and imported into itunes. I have it using all the 12 cores on the fast setting. I don’t know if that could be the issue.

The Roon server seems to be connecting to the arc, but intermittently. I did nothing to the settings, it just started working, but at times it loses connection.

[Wade_Oram]

@mario.j.salazar

Thanks for the response, Wade. Every device has an address that starts with 192.168., so that should not be the issue.

The third number of the ip address is also important.

For example,

192.168.0.23 and 192.168.1.17 are on different subnets assuming that your netmask setting is 255.255.255.0 (which it usually is by default on residential routers).

If one of the above ip addresses was your Roon Server and the other was an audio endpoint, then that endpoint would be invisible to the Roon Server.

[mario.j.salazar]

All are on 192.168.50, so what else could be the issue?
Other issues I am experiencing:
-When I change volume on the roon app on the iphone (also on 192.168.50) it takes 10-20 seconds for the change to occur.
-If I disable a speaker from streaming, the whole system stops streaming for a while and then picks up. I would assume this app could drop a stream and keep going without being challenged, as how would dropping a speaker affect latency and the system buffer?
-As I mentioned before, but you did not address, my local listening endpoint, which is shairport , is way out of sync with the rest of the system.
-The library is still processing over 30 hours after I started uploading my files. All the files currently added are on a SSD Corsair 850. Not the fastest ssd, but for reading it should be plenty fast. It has been stuck in the last 30k for over 24 hours. It processed the first 60k+ in less than 16 hours.
-Roon is listing some albums by the folder name instead of the album name. When does it perform the metadata analysis to look for errors and correct the library?

[connor]

Hi @mario.j.salazar,

Thank you for your post. Please note that @Wade_Oram is not Roon staff and was simply volunteering time and expertise while the team pulled diagnostics to respond.

How is your network configured? Logs reported to our server from your account show packet loss and timeouts both in the audio stream download and distribution. This is underpinning your issues with playback, device sync, and remote connectivity. This symptom is most commonly a consequence of stateful network management software (in L3 switches and routers especially) that is a little hyperactive in handling packets between devices.

Please describe how you’ve arranged the hardware relative to your Roon devices and endpoints. In particular, please share the make/model of the network switches and any wireless access points or mesh nodes involved in this topology.

Please enable multicast forwarding and IGMP snooping in your router settings.

Add any Airplay devices to the Apple Home app on your iPhone, to assist with AirPlay traffic handling on this network. Make sure Compatibility Mode is toggled in the Device Setup page for any Airport Zones.

We’ll watch for your response.

@mario.j.salazar

-Roon is listing some albums by the folder name instead of the album name. When does it perform the metadata analysis to look for errors and correct the library?

Please share a screenshot of the Settings → Library → Import Settings screen. This will determine Roon’s handling of local file metadata.

Who is your internet service provider? The diagnostic snippet you’ve shared from your Roon ARC settings page indicates that the port forwarding is timing out upstream of your account. This is almost certainly a consequence of carrier-grade Network Address Translation (CG-NAT), unless you have a second router involved in this setup somewhere. You can try Tailscale in the meantime, which bypasses port forwarding entirely.

[mario.j.salazar]

Hello Connor.
Thanks for clarifying.
My server, an Asus 11000xt Pro Wifi 6E router & a 2.5 Gbe and a keepLiNK 8 Port 2.5G unmanaged switch are attached to a MikroTik CRS305 10 Gbe unmanaged switch. The router has 2 mesh units (Asus 8xt) using an ethernet backhaul. The following endpoints are attched to the 2.5 Gbe router with cat6 cable:
2 Sonos Era 100s,
1 Wiim Pro Plus
Onkyo RZ50
Denon x4400h
Sonos Connect (which is going back soon),
I also have a wiim mini I run through one of the Sonos Eras and it is attached wirelessly.
My server was assigned a static ip by the router. I just ran a 12-hour experiment using a Wiim Pro Plus, a Mini and iTunes and they keep in perfect sync, and it was much more responsive than Roon, which has become very laggy.

@connor

Please enable multicast forwarding and IGMP snooping in your router settings.

I have no idea how to do this.
Here is a screenshot of my import settings.

@connor

Who is your internet service provider?

I am using xfinity and realized from your comment that maybe I had to forward the port there as well. I did so and now ARC is connecting, so lets wee if this changes some of the behavior.