· The Nucleus boots up and I can connect to it in the Roon app without issue, but I have a question about configuration/storage/attached devices
Describe the issue
I'm having trouble playing Roon through the Nucleus server on a Boulder Amp 866. Whenever I try to play something, I get a message telling me to wait. I have to restart the Roon server software first before I can play the stream
It sounds like Roon Server on your Nucleus is getting stuck in a state where it needs to be restarted before it will hand audio off to the Boulder again.
To get a clearer picture, a few things would help:
What else is connected to the Nucleus right now, such as USB storage, a display, or any other audio device?
Is the Nucleus connected to your network by Ethernet, and is the Boulder on the same network?
Has anything changed recently, like a power outage, network change, or physical move?
In the meantime, please try stopping and starting Roon Server from the [url=https://help.roonlabs.com/portal/en/kb/articles/roonos-webui]RoonOS WebUI[/url] rather than rebooting the whole unit, then test playback again and let us know whether the same message returns.
If you can also share the exact text of the message you see, that will help us confirm whether this is a playback handoff issue or something else on the server side.
Hey @Andreas_Hohn, thanks for the screenshot and the network details - that helps a lot.
I’ve gone through your logs, and we have a clear picture of what’s happening.
Root cause: The Boulder 866 runs both a RAAT stack and an AirPlay (ShairportSync) stack simultaneously. When Roon receives a TTL=0 mDNS packet that expires the Boulder’s AirPlay advertisement, the amplifier sends an standby event over RAAT, which drops the active stream. Roon immediately tries to restart playback by sending a new setup command - but the Boulder’s internal audio subsystem gets stuck re-opening the audio device while it’s still finishing the teardown. It never replies to the setup, Roon waits 15 seconds, times out, and the zone is left in the broken state you’re seeing. Restarting the Roon Server clears it because it forces a fresh connection.
Steps to fix this:
Disable AirPlay on the Boulder 866. This is the most targeted fix. Log in to Boulder's web interface (http://192.168.0.77) and disable the AirPlay/ShairportSync feature. The TTL=0 mDNS packets are originating from Boulder's own AirPlay stack resetting, and removing that removes the trigger.
Assign the Boulder a static DHCP reservation in your FritzBox 5590 settings (for the MAC address of the Boulder). DHCP lease renewals can also cause mDNS re-announcements with TTL=0, which would trigger the same failure.
Check for a Boulder firmware update. Your unit is on firmware version 2.04. Boulder Amplifiers may have addressed this RAAT/AirPlay interaction in a newer release - worth checking with them directly.
The underlying issue is a firmware bug in the Boulder 866: when a setup command arrives immediately after a standby/teardown event, the audio subsystem hangs. We'd recommend reporting this to Boulder Amplifiers support with - they would have what they need to reproduce and fix it.
Let us know if disabling AirPlay on the Boulder resolves the issue for you!
Wanted to follow up on this. Were you able to try disabling AirPlay on the Boulder 866, set a DHCP reservation for it in your FritzBox, and check whether there is a newer Boulder firmware than 2.04? If any of those changed the behavior, let us know what you found, and thanks.
The latest firmware is installed,
and DHCP reservation has been in place since setup.
Unfortunately, I can’t find a way to disable the AirPlay option.
The connection has been working for months. No changes to the system, just a Roon update.
Can you share a screenshot of your Roon Settings > Audio?
You can click the cogwheel > Disable to do this. If the airplay protcol option is not enabled in the first place, you will see a purple ‘Enable’ option - if this is the case, leave it disabled.
Have you reported this to Boulder directly yet?
Lastly, I’d perform a full RAATServer database refresh. Steps below:
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:
