Roon not playing on my DAC (Allo + Aesthetix CD Transport/DAC)

I have had Roon about 5 weeks now. Set up:
Roon Rock
Linux on NUC
End point is Aesthetix CD Transport/DAC connected via USB Class 2
Bridge=Allo

The 1st week was great. I went out of town and not music is not playing:
Roon recognizes the endpoint and all the music I try to play a song and the music bar and the bottom of the screen stays at -0-. I then test then change the zone to my computer and it works fine. I have restarted all and get the same results.
Any suggestions???

Hi @Derek_Delisle — Thank you for the report and sharing your feedback with us! The insight is appreciated and sorry to hear of the troubles.

Moving forward, to help aide in our evaluation of this behavior you are experiencing with the Aesthetix CD Transport/DAC may I very kindly ask you to please provide me with the following information:

  • My assumption is that the experience is the same when trying to playback both locally stored content and TIDAL content, but please verify.

  • Please confirm where your musical collection is being stored/accessed from.

  • It is a touch unclear to me but where is the Aesthetix CD Transport/DAC connected to? The NUC or another device? If it is indeed the latter, please verify the make and model of the device being used.

  • Since noticing the behavior have you…

    • Tested the current USB connection with another DAC just to verify what the experience is like?

    • Tried using a different USB port and/or USB cable?

-Eric

  •    Please confirm where your musical collection is being =
    

stored/accessed from.[DD->] Music is stored on a separate hard drive = (Seagate). It is connected to the NUC via USB

  •    It is a touch unclear to me but where is the Aesthetix CD/
    

Transport/DAC connected to? The NUC or another device? If it is indeed = the latter, please verify the make and model of the device being = used.[DD->] The Romulus Aesthetix DAC is connected to the Allo via USB = Class 2 and the Allo is connected the switch via the ethernet.

  •    Since noticing the behavior have you=E2=80=A6
    

o Tested the current USB connection with another DAC just to verify =
what the experience is like?[DD->] I did connect via my lap top = computer as another zone at the music played fine with no issues.

o Tried using a different USB port and/or USB cable?[DD->] I have not =
tried using a different USB port. I am not sure if the Allo has an alternate USB port. I have not tried switching the USB cable. I will try that.

Hi Eric-

I was thinking about the possibility of a cable issue. Roon does see the DAC and all the music.
If the USB cable is a problem would it still be possible for Roon to see the DAC?

Hi @Derek_Delisle — Thank you for touching base with me and taking the time to answer my questions, the additional feedback is appreciated!

Continuing forward, when you tested with the mentioned laptop you mounted the DAC to it, correct? The reason for my asking is because I would expect another zone to work in this case but I am curious to know how the DAC performs. This will also tell us if this behavior is isolated to the just the ALLO.

In regard to testing with another USB cable, I agree that if the cable were damaged that the device would most likely not appear. However, in my experience it is always better to rule out as many variables as possible in order to get closer to the answer. :wink:

-Eric

Hi Eric-
Thank you for your message…

Lap top was not connected to Allo in my test. I have a Cambridge Music Streamer/DAC in the office and I can test with Allo tonight.

USB Cable Understood… will also try this tonight.

Laptop

I appreciate the follow up @Derek_Delisle, very appreciated! :sunglasses:

Sounds like a plan, I am eager to hear the results. I think testing with a another cable and DAC will be good next steps here. Additionally, I would also consider testing with the Aesthetix CD Transport/DAC connected to the laptop just to confirm how it performs when it’s not mounted to the Allo.

-Eric

Hi Eric
I did not know that I could connect the lap top to the DAC… My lap top does not have an Ethernet connection so the lap top would not be connected to the switch. Is this an issue?

Hi @Derek_Delisle ---- No, I don’t believe this will be an issue as the goal is to verify how the device performs when it is not connected to the Allo :microscope:

-Eric

HI Eric

Plugged lap top into DAC and all worked great!! Reconnected to Allo and no music. :frowning:

Thanks for the update @Derek_Delisle, glad to hear the Aesthetix DAC worked as expected when mounted to the laptop. Did you have a chance yet to verify how the Cambridge performs when mounted to the Allo?

-Eric

To connect the Cambridge is more complicated but can be done. I will do this tonight and advise.

Thanks @Derek_Delisle, I appreciate the effort here. The result of this test with the Allo + Cambridge will help further isolate this issue. Looking forward to hearing the results :slightly_smiling_face:

-Eric

Hi Eric-
Connected Cambridge to Allo and it worked fine… no issues.

HI Eric-
Any update for next steps??

Hi @Derek_Delisle —— Thank you for the continued feedback and more importantly, thank you for your patience here. My apologies for the delay on my end.

Moving forward, I would like to enable diagnostics on your account so our techs can have a closer look into this behavior you are experiencing, but before I enable this feature may I kindly ask you for the following:

  • Please reproduce the issue and note the time when the error occurred and what track was being played.

  • Please also provide a screenshot of your signal path when the issue occurs.

-Eric

Hi Eric-
Thank you for your reply. I will do this tonight. Question… how do see the “signal path”?

11:00 PM Eastern Std Time

Hello @Derek_Delisle - The signal path can be found by clicking on the colored point of light to the right of the track name anywhere it appears on a ‘now playing’ screen. See below:

Hope that gets you a little closer to a solution!