Is the affected network Zone connected with Ethernet or WiFi?
· Ethernet
Does the issue affect all file formats?
· The issue affects *multiple/all* file formats.
Does the issue happen with local library music, streaming service music, or both?
· *Only streaming* music is affected.
Please select the streaming service(s) with which you're encountering playback problems.
· TIDAL
Have you tried logging out and back in again to your streaming service in Roon Settings?
· Logging out and back in had no impact, the issue remains
Do you have an approximate timestamp of when the issue last occurred?
· No
What are the make and model of the affected audio device(s) and the connection type?
· Marantz AV 20
Describe the issue
I’m having a problem with native Roon Ready playback to a Marantz AV 20. Roon discovers the AV 20 normally and allows me to select it as a Roon Ready endpoint, but when I start a track, Roon remains at “Starting playback on your Audio device. This may take a moment!” and no audio plays.
System:
* Roon Server: Nucleus – 10.0.0.46 * Roon Server: 2.71 (build 1683), production * RoonOS: 1.0 (build 259) * Marantz AV 20: 10.0.0.66 * AV 20 firmware reports Up to date * AV 20 RAAT version reported in RoonServer log: 1.1.47 * Roon endpoint version: 3.139.173 * RAAT protocol version: 3 * AV 20 RAAT port: 40073
The AV 20’s general network functionality appears normal.
What works:
* HEOS playback on the AV 20 works normally. * AirPlay 2 from Roon to this same AV 20 works normally. * Another Marantz Roon Ready endpoint on the same network works normally. * The AV 20 passes its network diagnostics. * Roon successfully discovers the AV 20 as a Roon Ready endpoint.
Troubleshooting already performed:
* Restarted/power-cycled AV 20. * Disabled and re-enabled Roon Ready on the AV 20. * Disabled/re-enabled the AV 20 endpoint in Roon. * Tested both Device Volume and Fixed Volume. * Performed the AV 20’s network reset and reconfigured networking/Roon Ready. * Confirmed AV 20 firmware is current. * Confirmed Nucleus/Roon Server is current. * Tested a normal PCM stereo track. * HEOS and AirPlay continue to work after these tests.
I have not factory-reset the AV 20 or reset/reinstalled the Nucleus/Roon database.
Just tested Roon Ready on my Marantz AV 20, and it’s all working as expected here, including TIDAL. I’m running Roon Early Access, though I doubt that matters. Wish I could be more helpful, my setup behaving normally unfortunately doesn’t make your problem go away.
Thanks for the detailed write-up! We were able to review a fresh diagnostic report from your Nucleus, and saw the following:
When you press Play, Roon asks the AV 20 to prepare its audio path and report back the ports to stream to. The AV 20 acknowledges the request, then goes silent and never sends that response. After 15 seconds Roon gives up:
Failed to prepare Marantz AV 20 in 15000ms. Giving up
That’s the “Starting playback on your Audio device” message you’re seeing.
Measuring every one of these handshakes across three weeks of logs: when the AV 20 is already awake on the Roon Ready input, it responds in 0–4 seconds and playback works, about 60 successful starts. Every slow or failed one is the first attempt after the AV 20 has been in standby, taking 14–17 seconds or never completing at all. And once that wake-up handshake fails, the AV 20’s Roon Ready service stays stuck and stops responding entirely until it restarts, which is why every attempt after that fails too.
This fits your test results: HEOS and AirPlay use separate subsystems and never touch Roon Ready, and your other Marantz endpoint handles the same handshake fine on the same network.
What to try:
Wake the AV 20 manually, switch it to the Roon Ready input, give it a few seconds, then press Play. If that works, it confirms the diagnosis and gives you a workaround.
Check the AV 20’s Quick Start / Standby mode, Auto-Standby, ECO mode, and HDMI Control settings, a deeper standby state is the likeliest reason the audio path is slow to come up. Your network reset wouldn’t have affected these.
Did anything change on the AV 20 around September 6th (first failure) or September 15th (when it became constant)?
Honestly, this looks like AV 20 firmware rather than something we can correct on the Roon side, the device answers 16–17 seconds late or not at all, and that timeout isn’t adjustable. If steps 1 and 2 don’t help, it might help to bring the diagnostics to Marantz directly.
Unrelated aside: the Garage zone is set to convert output to 16/44.1 even for higher-res sources, in case that wasn’t intentional.
Tried turning on the Marantz before playing from Roon and still doesn’t play. What would a Roon Ready input be? I have never had to change inputs to play Roon.
Turned off Standby and HDMI Control turned off. Still won’t play.
Nothing changed with the AV 20.
Garage zone is set to convert output to 16/44.1? How do change this? I don’t see where it is saying that. It shows hi-res playing the Roon app before it stopped playing. Not intentional.
I don’t have any problems playing my two other Marantz receivers. They start up and play, even being off.
On the Marantz AV 20, there’s no separate Roon Ready input. The RAAT endpoint is exposed under HEOS, because all network‑based streaming runs through the HEOS stack. AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth are separate inputs, since they use the AVR’s own AirPlay and Bluetooth implementations rather than the HEOS streaming platform.
My Marantz AV 20 firmware version: 3000-1090-E071-9331, HEOS 3.139.173
Thanks for testing those. You’re right that there’s no separate Roon Ready input, it lives under HEOS (thanks @Dennis_Mutsaers), and please disregard the Garage note: that zone is an Apple TV over AirPlay, which is always 16/44.1, so there’s nothing to change.
The diagnostics we just received were actually from a second Roon Server running on your Mac mini, not the Nucleus, and they turned up something important. Roon Server on the Mac mini has been running in the background alongside the Nucleus. On September 16 it briefly took over your license, started playback on the AV 20 and claimed it as its audio source. When the Nucleus took the license back that evening, the Mac mini kept running and has kept connecting to the AV 20 ever since, including right now. Two Roon Servers talking to the same Roon Ready device is a very likely reason the AV 20 stops answering the Nucleus.
Could you try:
On the Mac mini, quit Roon (and Roon Server, if it’s installed separately), and turn off “launch at login” so it doesn’t come back. If you still want to control Roon from the Mac, open Roon and choose Choose a different Roon Server and pick the Nucleus, so the Mac acts only as a remote.
Power-cycle the AV 20: unplug it for about 30 seconds.
Try playback to the AV 20 from the Nucleus again.
I’d also update your Nucleus to the latest version of Roon Server and see if the same issues occur.
If it still fails after that, please send a fresh timestamp (date, time) while you’re connected to the Nucleus, and let us know the time of your attempt so we can find it in the logs.
Wanted to follow up on this and see whether you were able to try the Mac mini cleanup we mentioned, plus the AV 20 power cycle, and then test playback from the Nucleus again. If you’re still seeing the same behavior, could you also make sure the Nucleus is on the latest Roon Server update before you retest? When you have a fresh attempt timestamp while connected to the Nucleus, send that along and we can line it up in the logs.
Please note, if we don’t hear back from you this thread may close automatically soon. If the thread auto-closes and you need further assistance, please submit a reopen support request via the technical support help form below and specify that the issue should be reopened. Thank you.
