Qobuz Playback Issues on Cambridge DAC

Support
1

I have the same issues. Running my Roon Core on an iMac and outputting via USB to Cambridge Audio Stream Magic. I do have a rubbish internet speed at approx 10-11mb/s on a good day. The native Qobuz app streams everything fine up to 24/96 (although have occasional trouble with gapless playback) but with Roon I frequently get error messages about slow loading or tracks skip with files up to 24/96. Sounds like a buffering issue - at least I can see how fast the Qobuz app is buffering a track and keeping ahead of playback but I can’t see this with Roon.

3

Hi @Sam_King,

I have split your post from the previous thread so that I can better assist here.

  • Can you please let me know how your iMac is connected to the network here?
  • Are you using Ethernet or Wifi?
  • Is the behavior the same if you use Ethernet?
  • Do local tracks exhibit this behavior?
  • Does the same issue occur for multiple endpoints?

Thanks,
Noris

4

My iMac is connected via Ethernet power line adapters, but behaviour same whether I use Ethernet or WiFi. Local tracks play fine up to 24/192. I get the failing to load errors using Qobuz no matter what end point I use (e.g. Stream Magic, iPhone, iPad, Roon Bridge on my Linux laptop).

5

Hi @Sam_King,

Thanks for letting me know that info. As a general suggestion, we have seen powerline adapters cause issues in Roon in the past, and thus would advise not using them (as mentioned in our Networking Best Practices).

10-11mb/s is a pretty low speed to try and stream Qobuz files on, so this might end up being a limitation of your network itself. Is the behavior the same if you connect your Core directly to the router via Ethernet and bypass the powerline adapters?

Thanks,
Noris

6

I have just listened to a whole 24/96 album using my iPad as and endpoint outputting to a USB DAC, while someone else was streaming a half hour episode of a soap on their iPad using same network. No problems this time. Still using power line adaptors. It would seem the USB output from my Mac to my Stream Magic might be the issue, or my network speed is very variable and I had a lucky window (second seems more likely). Strange though as I would have thought the all wired solution would be superior.

7

Hi @Sam_King,

Thanks for running that test. I too am wondering if this could be due to the USB now that you mention it. I have a test in mind here, if you try to output a Qobuz stream to the Core’s “System Output” zone, do you still experience this behavior? At least then we can separate the Endpoint from being the case.

It is also possible though, as you mention that the network was a bit more stable while you were running these tests. Would be good to know if the stability still remains on the iPad for an extended amount of time. At the end of the day though, 11Mb/s won’t get you too much bandwidth though.

Thanks,
Noris

8

This is really puzzling. So I have listened to 24/96 albums choosing my iPad as the end point in the Roon app with a usb DAC attached and no glitches - all smooth playback. This morning I have listened to a 24/96 album choosing my Linux laptop Roon bridge and this outputs via usb to my Cambridge Audio DacMagic 100 and once again smooth playback with no hitches - and the laptop is in my bedroom where the WiFi signal is weak. It seems it is only usb output to my Stream Magic from my Mac that I am having issues with. I played a 16/44 album without a hitch yesterday to the Stream Magic. The Qobuz macOS desktop app outputs without a hitch from my Mac via the same usb cable to the Stream Magic without a hitch for all hi res files.

9

Hi @Sam_King,

It’s strange that this behavior only affects the Mac and not the other machines, a few things you might want to look into:

  • Are your audio drivers on the Mac up to date?
  • Are you on the latest OSX version?
  • Have you tried a different USB port on the Mac?
  • Is the behavior the same across reboots?
  • Does “System Output” exhibit the same behavior on the Mac?

Thanks,
Noris

10

Thanks for that. Points 1,2 and 4 already checked and ok. Points 3 and 5 I was thinking of testing those next so I will let you know how that goes.

Cheers
Sam

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11

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