I have a new install on an Asus Edition 30 X299 system. It uses an I7 7800X Extreme processor with 64GB of RAM. The OS is Windows II Pro version 22H2 build 22621.3007. All system drives are solid state M2.NVMe drives and music storage is on a Synology DS1821+ drive with 100TB of storage
The software installed without any problem. I pointed the music library to the /Music directory on the NAS and it began to load. It found 1849 Artists in 8028 Albums and 100926 tracks. I set the backup to the local SSD drive (which in turn is backed up by both Dropbox and Backblaze.
Networking Gear & Setup Details
I have a Nighthawk Modem, Eeros 6e wireless system (the system is hardwired from the router with Cat8 cable. I do not use a VPN on this system. I have tested it using the wifi and peripherals (IPad) always sees the server without issue.
Connected Audio Devices
My PC is connected to the receiver using Bluetooth. The only device tested so far as a remote link was my IPad and it worked until the audio page popped up on the server.
Number of Tracks in Library
100,926
Description of Issue
During the loading process the audio screen would pop up at about 2 minute intervals. I had already pointed it to my local system and my Sony Receiver for output. This continued for the next six hours as my library loaded. Attempts to play music worked fine - until the audio screen popped up again stopping the playback. I would hit enter and it would go away for a few minutes. I would then have to restart the track. Next, I attempted to name the receive and successfully saved the name (My Sony - an STR-DH790 was not on the list of Sony default systems. I simply called it “Sony.”
Thank you for your post and we’re sorry to hear you’re encountering difficulties and interruptions to playback.
Are you able to elaborate on this? From your description, it sounds as if the Roon → Settings → Audio tab is reloading, indicating a new Zone has been connected. If that’s the case, the report sounds suspiciously like the Bluetooth connection is resetting due to network dropouts.
While BT is reliable for sending control functions between Roon Remote and RoonServer, the audio streams between RoonServer and the Sony receiver are far more sensitive to packet loss. If there’s a source of interference in the environment strong enough to cause a Bluetooth timeout, it’s possible the iPad-RoonServer test over BT wasn’t sufficiently sensitive to expose it.
Here’s what I’d recommend:
Test whether Bluetooth or RoonServer is the vulnerability by trying another protocol to connect to the Sony receiver (HDMI, etc.). Are you able to replicate the issue then?
Using the iPad as a Roon Remote and playing music using its speakers, are you able to replicate any dropouts?
Lastly, how is this PC connected to the internet? Are you using the mesh WiFi, or is it hardwired to a node or the main router? The RoonServer machine itself may be encountering media dropouts due to accumulated packet loss, but there would be a popup error within Roon, eg. “Too Many Errors - Stopping Playback”
The Roon → Audio → tab does seem to be the issue. While I routinely (prior to installing Roon) used Bluetooth for Tidal and other streaming music I can see where Roon could be more sensitive.
As for suggestion 1 - The PC does have an optical output it is a optical spdif output. I can switch to that using the TV in input (I am using eARC from the television. I will have to order the cable to implement another protocol. This will take 1-2 days (thanks Amazon).
2… Ironically enough playing from the iPad or my iPhone I do not receive dropout when using Bluetooth to stream. (All devices are within 10-12 feet from one another.) any musical services I’ve tried have worked well.
3. The PC is directly connected to the main router with shielded Cat8 (I wanted to future proof it).
I’ve also noticed that even now that all of the music has been loaded, the “working” icon (little swirling thing) periodically clicks on for long periods of time 1-2 minutes. Right now I’m attributing that to it looking up metadata. Under settings I’ve given the machine access to all cores. This machine is only used for audio and video (via Plex) and the two are never being used at the same time with their background processes shut down when not in use. Backups are on a separate (local) physical drive. Depending on Amazon I will switch the protocol in a day or so and respond back then. Thanks again.
Connor
Amazon came early. Attached the PC directly to the optical in port on the receiver (disabled Bluetooth). Everything is now working fine. Been testing it for a few hours now. This area (highlighted) by arrow is still circling after a few days of continuously running. Is this normal? Other than that everything else seems to be working fine.
