Playback issues (Roon vs Audirvana+)

Support
1

Hi all,
Is there a simple explanation why Audirvana + plays all files perfectly on my setup but Roon ,( my preferred player for exploring music), rarely will play anything above 24/96 without stalling maybe 40% through track and moving onto next track. Always throws up this message;
“An audio file is loading slowly.This may indicate a performance or audio problem.”
I guess my weak link is a powerline av2 2000, connecting my Netgear Nighthark router to my 2.8GHz i7 MacBook Pro on the otherside of the room. I’d like to continue to use my Seagate NAS rather than setup and use a usb storage device hardwired next to MBP.
Why does audirvana+ play up to dsd128 perfectly, yet roon usually cannot?
Any ideas gratefully received
Thanks
James

2

I might have this wrong but A+ i think plays from RAM buffer. The power line is probably the worst way to connect ethernet…even most recent wifi tech should beat it within a room - assuming you are not in the royal albert hall :wink: .

3

Thanks for reply. I don’t know why but have always thought wifi( and I have a pretty robust 5g one here), would not allow anything over 16/44 playback. I guess I was getting mixed up with bluetooth back then. So wifi will allow all hd files ( 24/192, dsd etc),to be played bit perfect( if that’s the correct term).?

4

Hey @James_O_Brien – a good overview of the current state of WiFi can be found here.

I would also tend to think that the powerline adapters are the problem here, but you can confirm that by moving some gear around and testing using ethernet temporarily.

We do some pretty aggressive buffering, but we don’t buffer the entire song, so it’s possible Roon is a bit more sensitive if your network is having issues here. Lets confirm that’s the problem James, then we can help you get this solid. Testing with the powerline stuff out of the way is a good first step here.

Thanks!

1 Like
5

Thanks very Mike. I’ll hard wire the connection and report back.

6

Well, I hard wired the router to the macbookpro to eliminate the powerline adapters. Initially I wasn’t convienced the problem was fixed…tracks were still stalling. I did notice roon was analyzing at this stage,( the wheel at the upper right was spinning). I left roon playing while I left home . Checking history on my return , the focus selection of 24/192 albums playing randomly had been playing 100% for 3 hours. I then focussed on dsd 64’s and 128’s. Also playing 100% with no issues whatso ever. I disconnected the hard wire ethernet and switched to 5g wifi. Still playing 99.9% perfectly, ( except dsd128).
I have been using roon since it’s inception. Absolutely love the interface, but, have always had to use audirvana+ to reliably play any above 24/96.
It looks like the problem may be solved. It looks like the powerline adapters( although gigabit speed), may have been the issue. I’ll reconnect them at some stage to see if problem returns.
I still haven’t assertained if a link between roon analyzing tracks and the inital stalling when hardwired is present.
Am really hoping I can now use roon as I intended for the start. Fingers crossed.