Netgear unmanaged 1G/10G switch.
Don’t know if you care about cabling, but ethernets are cat8 in network and AQ Cinnamon from inputs.
Connected Audio Devices
Cambridge Audio CXA81 & CXN V2, hardwired to the same network as the NAS.
MacBook Air (WiFi) connect to Buchardt I150.
(The Roon signal path list the Buchardt as a Boulder 812 DAC preamp.)
Number of Tracks in Library
1000 files.
Description of Issue
Both systems have stuttering playback issues when playing 24 or 16 bit FLAC files off the NAS.
I do not have stuttering issues when playing the same files in my car via ARC (Honda Accord, iPhone Carplay, iPhone 13 mini 5G), WiiM Minis, same Windows PC using MusicBee, or MacBook Air using Colibri. Or the one remaining SONOS now that I think of it… or AirPod… but who cares.
I recently rebuilt the Win11 PC to get out of the insider program. Important note: my PC is also a gaming PC, but never a Roon core at the same time.
After “rebuilding” I reinstalled Roon the way it was working before - re-did the backup to Dropbox, removed the Roon data to the NAS and re-scanned the Music folder. I even got rid of some Synology packages that I’m not really using at the moment. But I’m stuck.
Black Sabbath - I can crank Supernaught in my little educator Honda, but on my nice stereo’s it is an embarrassing, warbly mess. So much for the data just gets there or it doesn’t.
Any help? Of course, this just started to happen after my free trial was over.
My suggestion is to copy a small selection of the files which stutter to your core pc, 2 or 3 you know consistently have the issue. Then play the local files through Roon to the endpoints and see if they stutter.
I don’t know what you use in your car, but if it’s ARC then the data path is completely different and there may be an issue in one and not the other. Also, ARC uses cached transfer and not the nearly real-time that RAAT uses, so network issues will manifest differently
Do you have any helpful info though? I’m not worried about the ARC settings or signal path or what I’m using in my car, although it is stated above as requested by roon’s autobots.
The thing that doesn’t work seems to be the simple thing, files on a nas not streaming to stereo 1 that is hardwired (as stated Cambridge Audio CXN V2) and streaming to a Mac, about 15 feet but a wall away.
I would look at the network. Copying the album to the PC and having the same mess when playing to the endpoint probably rules out some things but the network to the endpoint is still involved. I’d try enabling the local output on the Win11 machine and playing the local files to that local zone. This way, the network is almost entirely out of the picture. Does that work or issues as well?
Just to clarify, the PC and macA play Roon from the NAS fine (like from the system output to computer
speakers)? Just not to the connected devices you mentioned?
OK I can see how that’s weird but it’s some commonality there, i.e. everything is fine expect both external DAC/amps, being on different networks. Am I seeing this right?
I can’t see anything obviously being a red flag. I’m not a fan of Cat8 and boutique non-Ethernet cables, but if they worked before, whatever.
Nevertheless, as nothing obviously sticks out, if it was my system I’d radically simplify and rule out things one by one, although many/most of them won’t be the issue. Maybe I’d go like this
Get rid of switch for now (although unmanaged and not likely an issue)
Ignore one of the endpoints and focus just on one of them for the time being. Probably the Cambridge because it allows separation of streamer/DAC and amp.
Leave out NAS for now, playing local files from PC. Confirm that these files are good by playing them in another simple player
Run a single cheap new ethernet cable from Nighthawk to PC, and another one from Nighthawk to CXN V2. And as an alternative test leave the Nighthawk out of it and connect PC and CXN V2 to the switch, again with new cables.
Disconnect CXN V2 from CXA81
Connect CXN V2 with analogue out to to some other output, anything simple that can take an unbalanced RCA input, for instance.
I know it sucks, but if it works, you have a better idea what else to focus on and can switch things back in one by one. If it still fails, it’s much easier to see what else to isolate
Editorializing aside: this exact system was fine until I had to reinstall software. Why are you assuming it is now a hardware problem? I don’t want to follow steps because you are not a fan of which cable I bought.
