roo6D - The wireless high-end physical volume knob for Roon

Audio Gear Talk rooExtend
142

Which rooExtend release did you use? Same on old and new Pi?
What type of Pi are you using before and after the change?
Wired or wireless? Did this change?
What else changed?

I have no reports from others regarding this. So I need more information. I expect the connection between Pi and Roon is faulty. Either WiFi or defect Ethernet cable.

Best DrCWO

143

Hello @DrCWO

  • I used the previous 3.0.6 (now upgraded to 3.0.7) - Same release on both PIs
  • I was using a brand new Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.5 with 4GB, then moved (swapped with rooNuimo) roo6D back to my Pi 4 Rev 1.2 with 2GB
  • Wired 1GB link- ALWAYS, never changed other than new Cat 6 cables
  • What else changed? - I swapped Nuimo and roo6D so I had to revoke and reinstall licenses, I also reflashed this one again, reset my router and restarted everything a few times including roon CORE.

Maybe there is something wrong with the older Pi? ā€“ I was experiencing some less than ideal sluggishness with my Nuimo when on the older Pi.

144

Do you use a bluetooth antenna?
I would recommend:

  • Swap back to the new Pi
  • Put it exactly at the same physical location as the old one
  • Use exactly the same cable and antenna

Test if this improves things If yes swap back to the old Pi and test again.

It is important to have exactly same physical location, same case same everything and then swap to see if the Pi v1.2 is defect. Wireless things are prone to minimal changes so to be able to really compare you have to keep anything exactly the same as with the other Pi.

Best DrCWO

145

Iā€™ll give you a story to illustrate. On my bedside table I have a pi3a+ running RooExtend, which I use solely as a Roon Bridge (the headless install that @DrCWO built is the absolute best for these devices without an Ethernet port like this one and the zero). Normally it has been flawless; streaming at any bit rate even 192/24 over Wi-Fi no problem, not a hiccough. Last night, with a 192/24 going (Monk & Coltrane, glorious through Thieaudio Monarch MkIIs) I started to get dropouts left and right on hi-res, and even occasional dropouts on 16/44 and Qobuz ā€œyour content is losing slowlyā€. Took me 15 minutes to figure out that it had been moved so it was about 16 inches closer to my Schiit Jotunheim 2 and was pinned under a power cord. Moved it back to where it normally sits, on its own under my bedside table, 20 inches away from any audio gear, and back to normal - flawless. EM radiation is a thing.

1 Like
146

Carl,

I did as you suggested above + some additional troubleshooting. I moved this back to the other RPI and tried it on yet another one. The RPIs seem to be quickly multiplying over here. :face_with_peeking_eye:

Here is what I found:

  • It appears that the issue is when rooNuimo and roo6D are trying to control the same zone - from different RPIs, obviously
  • I can replicate this by moving my rooNuimo to/from another zone, as soon as I do roo6D works perfectly - no lags or blips
  • It is sporadic, the Nuimo always works, the roo6D gets laggy or just wonā€™t adjust volume, while other controls seem to work, sometimes.

I believe this was working in prior releases but the question for you is, is this expected behavior? I have the rooNuimo in my Office zone setup to NOT follow playback bc that way it alwys controls the volume to my Roon Ready amp. The roo6D does follow playback for play controls and should allow me to control my amp if back to my Office Zone.

Please let me know if I can share any logs or other info?

147

Hmm, they run on different PIs right?
Did you ever test running them on the same Pi?
If not please do and report if the issue is also there in this configuration.
Both PIs with Ethernet right?

148

Carl - Update for you. I also rebuilt my Roon Core on a better NUC a few days back. I had the issue I reported yesterday morning, but after moving the Nuimo to another Zone and my roo6D to another RPIā€¦ EVERYTHING appears to be working now even after a few reboots. So for now, I am going to STOP tinkering and leave things working. Fingers crossed. Thanks for your prompt replies, always a pleasure.

1 Like
149

Hello, I just bought the RooExtend box and a new Space Mouse Wireless and tried ithem out the first time today. I like the Roo6D application and the haptics very much, but Iā€™ve got the following issue: the SpaceMouse works well when connected via cable to the RooExtend box. Connected wirelessly via the USB wireless dongle, it works only up to ca. 2m distance from the RooExtend box (with a direct line of sight). Is this small wireless distance what I should have expected or might there be anything wrong in my setup that I might change to increase the wireless distance?

Note: I had to remove the Bluetooth antenna from the only USB port of the RooExtend box to insert the USB dongle of the Space Mouse (I will try out whether I can use a USB hub for several USB devices), but this shouldnā€™t affect the wireless distance of the Space Mouse, should it?

150

Hi @drakee,
the transmitter of the SpaceMouse is not that powerful as the Microsoft Surface Dial but in my living room I am 4m away from the rooExtend Box and it still works. So here my hints to improve the distance:

  • Use a regular USB extender cable to connect the receiver to the rooExtend-Box. Its metal case acts like a shield and putting it away from the rooExtend-Box should help.
  • With such a USB extender cable you also have the chance to bring the receiver closer to your listening position for example to the front side of a drawer or anything like this.

Please try and report back. This might also be interesting for others.

Regarding the USB-Hub.
You can connect a USB-HUB to the rooExtend-Box to add additional devices like DAC, ADC, Antenna and for example an Apple Super drive all at the same time. Please use a USB-3 HUB that has its own power supply as devices like CD ROM drives are very power hungry. In the rooExtend-Box manual you find a recommendation regarding the Hub. With this special device you can also use the USB-Power of some ports as a trigger output.

Best DrCWO

1 Like
151

Hi @DrCWO, thanks a lot - you were right, the rooExtend box seems inded to shield the wireless dongle: I have now connected the dongle to the rooExtend box via a USB extender cable, and this has increased the distance at which I can use the Space Mouse considerably. I now can use it from the other side of our lving room which is ca. 10m away from the wireless dongle. So, this is a highly practical solution!

And thank you for the other hints - Iā€™ve ordered that USB hub and will try out the other applications of the rooExtend box.

Best wishes, Andreas

2 Likes
152

@DrCWO Iā€™ve recently noticed that the set volume changes when the resolution of the music files changes. So itā€™s not noticeable when you hear it within an album. It occurs when switching to another album. The volume is reset to 100% from the value x. Likewise, muting is deactivated again if it was previously muted.

I canā€™t say since when this happened. I normally listen to my Linn Klimax over the network, but it is currently in Glasgow for repairs. So now Iā€™m using the USB port of the digital module on the AVM Ovation PA 8.3 - The Roon server is directly connected with a USB cable. By default, I listen with full input voltage, i.e. 100% device volume. Sometimes I want to turn down the volume a bit without having to use the remote control. I had never noticed that with the Klimax. So much for explaining why Iā€™m noticing this now.

rooExtend release: v3.1.7
Device: Raspberry Pi 4 Model B Rev 1.1

Here is a screenshot of my settings:

roo6d
roo6d563Ɨ849 74.2 KB

153

This sounds strange to me as I never saw that before.

Did I get it right that you have a USB cable running from the Raspberry Pi to the AVM?
If not please connect it this way as rooExtend includes Roon Bridge so I have a scenario that I can reproduce.

Did you use device or DSP volume in the device settings?

Best DrCWO

154

No. I run a single USB-Cable from my Cirrus 7 with roon rock to the AVM digital input module. And yes, I use the device settings for the volume. Screenshot:

roo6d
roo6d589Ɨ715 63 KB

I have now tested the behavior several times. It changes whenever the sample rate of the files changes. E.g. from 44.1 kHz 16 bit to 24 bit, also from mp3 to FLAC or DSD and vice versa.

155

Would you please switch to DSP volume for test purposes and check if the issue persists.

I doubt there is something wrong with device volume of the AVM digital input card.

Have you observed if the volume slider in Roon also jumps up when format changes?

Edit:
One more question. Did device volume change the volume shown in the front display of the AVM or did this only change if you turn the knob?

Friend of mine runs an elder AVM and uses Ethernet input with rooUPNP. This works with device volume even if format changesā€¦

156

This works without the volume changes described. It stays as it is set.

Yes, this moves when the volume is reset. If the muting is deactivated, the cross on the volume symbol also disappears.

No it doesnā€™t change. It shows always the same volume.

Since the issue with the DSP volume works perfectly, I think that the issue can now be considered resolved. Many thanks!

1 Like
157

Hi @DrCWO

I recently switched AVRs (NAD T778 for Arcam AVR 21).

I have ā€œChange volume at playback onlyā€ set to ā€œNoā€ and where volume could be changed with the SpaceMouse when not using Roon with the NAD, this does not work with the Arcam - I can see volume changing in the Roon app but AVR volume doesnā€™t change.

Assume this is a limitation with the Arcam AVR? Any suggestions to get this handy feature working when not using Roon?

Thanks

158

Please check that you have set ā€ždevice volumeā€ in the Roon setting of the AVR.

If yes and it did not work you should contact Arcam support as this is an issue at their side.

Best DrCWO

159

Thanks for the prompt reply.

I can confirm that Volume control was set to Device volume.

To confirm SpaceMouse (roo6D) work fine with Roon, just not when not using Roon.

Was okay with my previous receiver so one for Arcam as you say.

Best

1 Like
160

I just purchased the rooExtend box and attached my Spacemouse wireless via cable and it works. When I plugged in the dongle it didnā€™t work. I have to check if I have another dongle at home but I am not sure why it is not working. I will keep you posted.

161

Last thing is that if I take out the dongle and plug in a cable it works when I restart the rooExtend. The character inside of the brackets changes.