Playback of local files halts unpredictably -- turns out be be USB issue (ref#IXY891)

[Jayson_Chung (Che-sun)]

What best describes your playback issue?

· Music stops playing unexpectedly

What type of Zone is affected by this problem?

· *Directly-connected 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. *[2/22 note: I may have answered this question wrong. Based on more testing, I think only local library files may be affected. See my 2/22 followup post.]*

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

· The System Output has *no problem*, it's only my other Zone.

How is the affected Zone connected to your RoonServer machine?

· Cable (USB, HDMI, SPDIF, etc.)

Is your device connected directly to the Roon Server via cable or over the network, or is it chained through another device (such as a streamer, Roon Bridge, or Roon Remote)?

· Connected directly to my RoonServer machine

Does the device show up at all in Roon Settings -> Audio?

· The Zone is listed under the wrong protocol. *[But see my note at end of post]*

Does the device play audio from another source when using the same connection?

· The device has no problems with another audio source

Have you checked that Roon is whitelisted in any firewalls?

· I've checked the firewall and the issue remains

If the device has multiple output options, do the other options work as expected?

· Only one output type is affected while the other output type works as expected

Is the device using the latest firmware as per the manufacturer?

· Firmware is up-to-date but the issue remains

Do you have an approximate timestamp of when the issue last occurred?

· Last occurrence: Feb. 22, 1:10 AM GMT -6:00. During "Floater" on Bob Dylan's Love and Theft.

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

· 2023 Mac mini M2 (macOS 15.3.1) connected by USB to miniDSP Flex (latest firmware, Rev. 1.1.20)

Describe the issue

Here’s my version of the issue of track playback just halting suddenly on a recurring but irregular basis. I’ve read a number of threads on this topic but haven’t come up with a solution yet.

The devices involved:
Mac mini M2 (macOS 15.3) runs Roon Server and holds the files for my local library. It outputs to two devices, both by USB. The main device is a miniDSP Flex that drives my main system. The other device is a Topping DAC that connects to a kitchen system. I use Roon Remote mainly on a MacBook Air M2 but also on other macOS or iOS devices.

I think this problem started only after I updated the Roon Server and Remote software to version 2.47, but I can’t be certain. It began on February 20, the day I updated the software, and I think the first thing I saw and acted on when I launched Roon that morning was the notice that the update was available.

Basically, playback of tracks would just halt completely at unpredictable and irregular intervals. After I restarted playback, the time till the next halt ranged from a few seconds to about a half hour. Sometimes, the error message, “Playback interrupted because a track failed to load—Too many failures stopping playback,” would appear. Other times, no message would appear.

The play head would always move to the beginning of a track (and just sit there) after a halt occurred. But which track that was varied. After I started paying close attention to this point on 2/21, I noticed that at least once the play head returned to the beginning of the track that was playing. Four times it moved to the beginning of the fourth track after the track where the playback problem happened—I found that interesting. Once, the playback halt produced a message, “Skipped five tracks due to unavailability.” Five happened to be the number of tracks left on the album.

A different issue that occurred once was the Roon Server inexplicably disconnecting after finishing playing a queue of songs. No Roon Remote apps on any of my devices, including the Mac mini that ran the Server, could find it until after I restarted the Mac mini.

Things that I did during the unsuccessful troubleshooting process that were not specified in the troubleshooting guide were shutting down all hardware involved in the playback process, including disconnecting the USB connections before restarting the devices, and resetting my router/gateway.

By the way, one step in the troubleshooting guide didn’t seem apt. Question 6c asked:
*Does the device show up at all in Roon Settings -> Audio?* and gave these choices:
A. No, does not show up
B. Yes, shows up but isn’t Enabled
C. The Zone is listed under the wrong protocol

None of these applied. Each indicates an abnormality, but in my case, my device showed up normally—enabled and in the right place. But I had to choose one to move on with the process, so I arbitrarily chose C.

Any enlightenment would be appreciated.

Thanks, Jayson

Describe your network setup

My gateway is AT&T BGW320. The Mac mini with Roon Server is connected by ethernet via a NetGear FS108 switch.

[Jayson_Chung (Che-sun)]

During further tests, I found that the playback interruption issue only affected tracks that were in my my local library and not tracks that I streamed from Tidal. This makes me doubt my original answer—that both types of music were affected—to the troubleshooting guide’s question on this matter.

My original answer was based on memory while first encountering the problem, before I started paying close attention to specifics of the issue. It’s possible the short duration of playback of a couple cuts on that album showed by the playback history was due to me cutting off the playback and not the problem popping up. I just can’t be sure.

While scrolling through the playback history today, I saw the word Unavailable in small, red letters briefly appear for a few seconds above the track name and then disappear for a couple of tracks that had been affected by the problem. Later, I was quick enough to capture a screenshot (attached) of a page of the playback history when this ephemeral Unavailable label appeared briefly above every track. Does anyone know what might cause this? It certainly seems likely that it is related to the problem.

Details of my local file storage that I didn’t cover in my original post: My music file folder is on an external SSD connected to my Mac mini M2 by a USB-A cable and a USB-A to USB-C adapter cable. The SSD is a Samsung 860 EVO 500GB with a manufacture date stamp of 2020.10. I’ll start paying more attention to this part of the system after a little more general testing.

[Jayson_Chung (Che-sun)]

I may have isolated the problem to the USB connection between the SSD that my local “watched” music folder is on and the Mac mini that runs the Roon Server. The “Unavailable” label that briefly appeared above tracks in my Roon history led me to focus on that part of the playback chain.

But first, just to be thorough, I tested playback some more under existing conditions. Playback suddenly halting continued to occur sporadically. It was an exception that an album would play completely through without incident. With only a couple of exceptions, when the problem occurred, the playback head would end up—as I had previously found—at the beginning of the fourth track down in the album. In the couple of exceptions, the playback returned to the beginning of the interrupted track. I found that pattern quite amusing.

Being aware of what a snake pit USB connections can be, I then homed in on the short USB-A to USB-C cable that enabled me to plug the SSD into one of the mini’s USB-C ports as a possible weak link. I substituted an Anker hub that I faith in for that cable. And since then, I have played many hours of music without incident (except once that a specific circumstance might explain). I will continue to monitor the reliability of this set up. In anticipation of having correctly identified the issue, I’ve ordered a USB mini B to USB-C cable so that I can plug the SSD straight into the Mac mini.

(As an illustration of how squirrely USB connections can be, I found that the Topping D10s DAC driving my kitchen system that occupies one of my mini’s USB-A ports does not work when connected via the Anker hub. Go figure.)

I need some more hours of testing, including putting the possibly offending USB-A to USB-C cable back into the chain, before I conclude that I’ve correctly identified and solved the problem. I’ll come back to post an update.

[Jayson_Chung (Che-sun)]

Alright, it’s a wrap. The USB-A to USB-C adapter cable was definitely the culprit. In the end, nothing indicates the problem had to do with Roon itself. I guess I’ll never know why after almost every occurrence of the fault the playback position skipped to exactly the fourth next track.

I’ve modified the thread title to better reflect the nature of the problem.

[noris]

Hi @Jayson_Chung ,

@Jayson_Chung

The USB-A to USB-C adapter cable was definitely the culprit. In the end, nothing indicates the problem had to do with Roon itself.

Thanks for the update here, glad to hear that you were able to pinpoint the issue to the adapter!