Roon + Qobuz issues on ISP-provided networking gear

[noris]

Hi @Georg_Kuklick ,

It looks like this thread has morphed from a Support topic to a general discussion about Roon and Qobuz + Network stability with many others chiming in, so I have moved it over to the Roon Software Discussion software section where such discussions are encouraged. The Support section is primarily for troubleshooting an issue with a user.

@Georg_Kuklick

I have standard router/wifi from my internet provider without any fancy adjustments.

I know this is probably not what you want to hear, but this does indeed look like you are having a networking issue, and this is very likely what is causing the Qobuz issue to occur on your end. I will explain why this looks like a networking issue below.

@Georg_Kuklick

Wifi > MacBook Pro M1

I have enabled diagnostics mode for your account and what this action does is automatically generate and upload a log set to our servers for review. I see that a log report just came in from your Macbook, so it looks like you are using this as your current Core. Looking over the Macbook logs, this is what logs show:

1. Connection failure to TIDALs servers and TIDAL sync failure:

11/30 20:43:06 Warn: Error in web request https://api.tidal.com/v1/playlists/6a1e6550-7352-46a0-90ef-175344097100/tracks?countryCode=US&offset=2500&limit=50: NetworkError (Error: ConnectFailure (Connection refused))
11/30 20:43:06 Trace: [tidal/storage] sync completed unsuccessfully in 19937ms: Result[Status=NetworkError]

2. Network errors when connecting to our metadata servers to get Qobuz track info:

11/30 20:43:06 Warn: [easyhttp] [3937] Get https://metadata.roonlabs.net/1/albums/200:0:0724384775858/tracks?c=qobuz-us web exception without response: Error: ConnectFailure (Connection refused) Connection refused
11/30 20:43:06 Warn: [easyhttp] [3938] Get https://metadata.roonlabs.net/1/albums/200:0:eebrvaqej4t3a/tracks?c=qobuz-us web exception without response: Error: ConnectFailure (Connection refused) Connection refused

3. Lots of Airplay/MDNS (multicast) requests, once every second, suggesting that Multicast is likely not working properly:

11/30 19:02:27 Trace: [mdns/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'getproperty' value=0
11/30 19:02:27 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: getproperty
11/30 19:02:28 Trace: [mdns/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'getproperty' value=0
11/30 19:02:28 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: getproperty
11/30 19:02:29 Trace: [mdns/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'getproperty' value=0
11/30 19:02:29 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: getproperty
11/30 19:02:30 Trace: [mdns/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'getproperty' value=0
11/30 19:02:30 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: getproperty
11/30 19:02:31 Trace: [mdns/dacp] [airplay/dacp] got command 'getproperty' value=0
11/30 19:02:31 Trace: [airplay] unknown transport control: getproperty

Based on these above log traces, I would say that your Macbook is also in an unstable state with regard to adding Qobuz content, so it doesn’t look like just the Nucleus was affected.

@Georg_Kuklick

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Magenta AT? - I’m not a network admin

@Georg_Kuklick

Wifi > MacBook Pro M1

The issue here is very likely your router, we have seen ISP-provided gear be underpowered and cause issues, time and time again, and as such we highly suggest staying away from ISP-provided gear. We mention this explicitly in our Networking Best Practices Guide:

Poor quality or underpowered routers can play a major role when it comes to networking difficulties. 802.11n was superseded by 802.11ac five years ago, so at this point, 802.11n routers should be considered obsolete. Furthermore, the performance difference between early 802.11ac routers and current models can be substantial due to differences in CPU/RAM allotments. ISP-provided routers are often underpowered and poorly behaved. Finally, we strongly recommend against using Apple network devices such as the Apple Airport Extreme and Airport Express (note: it’s fine to use the Airport Express as an Airplay device). To ensure the best performance, we recommend against using these devices.

Having the MacBook as the Core on WiFi is also highly discouraged and can cause issues with stability. I suggest looking over this thread for a more in-depth discussion on Roon and network reliability:

Why is Roon so demanding of Wifi

I recently have been taking some advice on another thread about getting Roon to work in my upstairs office. I don’t want to go into the details as it is all in the other thread. To sum up well it is not that easy is it. I am even thinking about giving up on the idea and just using the native Tidal app, as it seems to work . I am a bit of a Roon fanboy if you like and this is not aimed as a dig at Roon but I need to try and understand what makes it so complex. It appears Roon needs to be hard…

@Georg_Kuklick

It seems like the Nuc is not even booting anymore.

I’ve responded to your Support request regarding the Nucleus hardware aspect in your other thread, it’s unfortunate that both issues occurred around the same time, but these should be handled as two separate issues. If the Nucleus was still operational, it is likely we would see similar networking errors.

Nucleus does not start anymore

I turned off my Nucleus Rev B to put it in another room. Now it does not start anymore. It also does not appear in my local network anymore. Normally is shows here at wired devices. [Screenshot 2021-11-30 at 11.33.26 AM] I already read some articles and already did the following: detached the internal SSD drive put my tv on HDMI port A but there is no signal my tv says Nucleus Int is attached but also there is no signal [IMG_2192] Another observation is that the power button light goes o…

Hope the above explanation helps clear things up a bit. Do let us know the Nucleus details in your other thread and we can handle that separately. Thank you.