Popping sound when music stops (ref#CKO8QY)

Support
1

Hi! What’s not quite right with Roon?

· None of the above quite fits

None of the above quite fits

· None of these quite match

Tell us what's going on

· Popping sound when music is stopped.

Tell us about your home network

· Netgear RAX200> Cat 6 to Nucleus One> USB to Bryston BDA-3> RCA to Bryston BP-19

2

Hi @Shawn_Norris,

Thanks for the details on the popping sound when music stops. Please let us know the exact local time + date and track where you can next reproduce it, and we’ll enable diagnostics to review the logging.

3

I will play the track Cobra by Geese on Quobuz at 12 Noon (Eastern Timezone)

tomorrow, Wednesday, May 6th, and reproduce the pop that occurs approximately 8 seconds after stopping or pausing a track. Thank you.

4

Ok. I played track at 12 Noon, and 8 to 10 seconds after pausing the track is when the pop occurs. I did this with 16bit and 24bit versions, and it did not make a difference. Regardless of what is played, the pop will happen 10 seconds after the pause. Also, It doesn’t seem to matter what source I use (ripped CD, Tidal, Quobuz) the pop is there with all of them. Thank you.

5

Hey @Shawn_Norris,

Thanks for the timestamps! Here’s exactly what happens when you pause:

The “5-10 second suspend” timer is triggering an ALSA device teardown, which causes the Bryston BDA-3 to pop.

From the log at 05/06 16:00:59 (pause time) → 05/06 16:01:04 (~5 seconds later):

[zone Bryston DAC] no playback for 5s, suspending to release audio device
[zone Bryston DAC] Suspend / Stop
Endpoint Nucleus One HDMI Output State Changed: Paused => Prepared
SENT [78]{"request":"end_stream"}
SENT [79]{"request":"teardown"} 
Endpoint Nucleus One HDMI Output State Changed: Prepared => Idle
sleep 39ms after flush

The ALSA teardown sends a final buffer flush to the DAC, and the Bryston BDA-3’s output stage reacts to the abrupt USB signal termination with a pop roughly 8–10 seconds after pause (accounting for the DAC’s own internal buffer drain time after the digital stream ends).

Let’s see if the steps below help:

In Roon, go to Settings → Audio → [Bryston DAC zone] → Device Setup. Look for:

  • "Resync Delay" — increase this (try 500ms or 1000ms). This adds a small silence gap on resume/stream changes but won't stop the teardown.
  • If you haven't already, try setting the zone to Fixed Volume in Roon's device settings. This eliminates any DSP volume ramping that could interact with the teardown.
I’d also check to verify the BDA-3 is on the latest firmware. Bryston has addressed USB lock/unlock pop behavior in past firmware revisions. The pop is the DAC's analog output reacting to the loss of USB lock — newer firmware may handle this more gracefully with a mute relay.

Let me know if the above help, thanks Shawn! :+1:

6

I tried changing the suggested settings, and also updated the BDA3 firmware, and still popping on pause. I contacted Bryston and am going to see what they can do. I will post here if a solution is reached, for anyone else who may encounter this problem. Thanks for the help.

7

Hello @Shawn_Norris,

Thank you for the update and for giving those settings and the firmware update a try.

While it is frustrating that the popping persists, reaching out to Bryston is definitely the right move. Since the issue revolves around how the hardware handles the ALSA device teardown and the sudden loss of the USB lock, their engineering team will be best equipped to address the DAC’s analog output behavior.

We really appreciate you keeping us in the loop! Your follow-up will be incredibly valuable for other users who might encounter this exact same hardware quirk.

Standing by for your updates!

8

Bryston had me try a beta firmware, but still the popping occurs. At least they are aware of the problem and are working on it. I will post any future updates and results .

9

Hello @Shawn_Norris,

Thank you for the update! It is great news that Bryston’s engineering team has officially acknowledged the issue and is actively working on a solution.

Please do keep us posted on any future updates or a final resolution from them. Documenting the outcome here will be incredibly helpful for other users who might run into this exact same behavior with their setups down the road.

Thanks again for your patience and for keeping the community in the loop!

10

Hello @Shawn_Norris,

Have you by any chance heard of any new updates from the Bryston team? Since we need to hear from them and the thread may auto-close in the meantime, please select to reopen this existing thread when creating a new support request. Thanks!

11

Unfortunately, I have not heard anything from them, since they asked me to try a beta firmware.

I will request this thread be reopened if any further progress made.

12

No problem @Shawn_Norris, we’ll keep monitoring this thread for updates. :folded_hands: