As some users have already reported, I too have a feeling that 1.4 has caused the sound quality to degrade. For the first time since I started using Roon, my dCS Network Bridge sounds better through USB attached storage than through Roon. This goes both for the usual network connection as well as the direct “bridged” connection (core -> ethernet cable -> endpoint). The Roon Core is running on a Windows 10 machine.
I have done extensive testing and this is what my observations are:
Playback through Roon causes some sort of clipping (slight distortions). I tried everything I could think of (headroom management, lowering volume in Roon, lowering volume in the dCS Network Bridge, lowering volume on my dCS Paganini DAC, etc), but nothing helped. This does not happen with the dCS app playing files from a USB attached SDD.
The stereo image is muddy and smeared, not nearly as focused as when using the dCS app.
Digital glare is very apparent and causes fatigue
Now I’m thinking, could it be because of my ethernet cable (Wireworld Starlight 7)? This is the most recent addition to my setup. I may have to double check that too.
Wait, for some it’s improved, for others regressed and yet for me it sounds as good as it always has either via direct USB from ROCK to dac or via Ethernet to dac. Go figure.
Sure, if it’s mashed, or broken and can’t sustain 10Mbps or more. At work, we just upgraded from ABG wifi radios to AC. The old were only capable of 100Mbps uplink, one of the new radios came up at only 100Mbps, we found two pairs (of the four) not punched down properly on one end of the termination. 100Mbps only requires 2 pairs to be functional, gigabit requires all 4 pairs. The point is, twisted pair Ethernet (unshielded or shielded) is very tolerant of loss, damage etc, especially so when only ~10Mbps is required. But I digress from the sarcastic remark I made above…cheers.
Red ones are often wired as crossover cables but with auto-MDI/MDIX interfaces on the vast majority of consumer switches, it’s mostly irrelevant unless you specifically want to connect two devices directly together.
True. But even with working cables the troughput can vary a lot. I have a 50mb down / 30mb up internet subscription. I have had to try three different cables to actually get this speed. All worked according to the cable checker. Two where labeled cat5e one as cat6. With one cable speed dropped to 28mb (cat5e) another came to 40mb (CAT6) and the last was 48mb (Cat5e). Two where probably chinese junk but hard to tell from the outside. Problem is that most stores sell chinese junk nowadays.
Is that a direct ethernet connection? Aren’t you going through a powered switch or router? Are you using power lan anywhere in your home network? Wireless bridging somewhere?
It is a long shot, some have reported SQ issues with all the above powered ethernet components. Personally I have only ever heard an impact on SQ with power lan. I have never heard any SQ differences with ethernet cables (although I have never tried exotic audiophile ones). There are technical reasons why poorly made ethernet cables may be the wrong spec or impact throughput or not work at all but SQ is unlikely. There is a long thread on that:
Analogue cables are something else. Again it is a long shot but often when I am mucking about plugging things in an out in tight spaces , or adding a new cable or component I put it all back together wrong. Accidentally, reversing the polarity of speaker or amp cables for example. It might be worth double checking.
Direct (“bridged”) configuration 1: iMac (Roon core) -> Supra CAT8 cable -> dCS Network Bridge (Roon endpoint)
Direct (“bridged”) configuration 2: iMac (Roon core) -> Supra CAT8 cable -> SOtM ISO-CAT6 lan isolator -> Wireworld Starlight CAT8 cable -> dCS Network Bridge (Roon endpoint)
When I run the “bridged” configuration, the iMac is connected to the internet through WiFi (connection 1), and through an Ethernet cable to the Roon endpoint (connection 2). These 2 connections are then bridged so that the Roon endpoint can have internet access. It works without bridging too.
In all of the above scenarios, there is clipping and digital glare.
Another addition to the setup is the Fidelizer 8 Pro program. I should investigate that part as well.
Hi @Jan_Koudijs
my extensions have disappeared too.
but, when trying (windows 7 machine) to start again the roon extension service (which was stopped) it say that it cannot be started. no nodes.js processes.
any idea?
actually, it’s something that already happened, so i don’t know if it’s related to the update. but, when it happened, it also solved by itself…
