I have a Roon Core installed on a headless 2020 Mac Mini M1, which is connected to a Linn Akurate DSM/3 via Cat5 ethernet. The Mac is only used for Roon and as connection to an SSD with a large collection of music. Qobuz is generally the only streaming platform I use, besides streaming WBGO radio.
The system has been good-sounding and trouble-free until recently, when I updated the Mac to Sequoia OS. Roon is up-to-date.
Since then, it has been skipping and stopping, and not responding to controls. I have control setups on a very recent MacBook Air, iPhone and iPad Air. All was well until it wasn't.
Since this issue happened after the OS update, it’s possible an updated MacOS settings is affecting you. Can you please navigate to macOS System Settings > Privacy & Security > Local Network , and make sure Roon is allowed. If it is already enabled, toggle it off and on again. Then reboot your Mac, and see if the same issue persists.
Thanks for that suggestion. I made those updates, but I’m still having problems. Playback stops, on album and playlist play. Our home network has been ultra-reliable, so I’m still thinking it’s an OS compatibility issue. Checked download speed, and it seems adequate @ 114.38 Mbps. As I understand “streaming”, the packets of info are downloaded and opened to be played, not really a continuous stream of data opening and concerting simultaneous with your hearing it, so a speedy connection may not really matter too much.
Will shut everything down later, and see if it makes a difference.
My wife is a Spotify fan, and that plays without interruption, but not sure it can find my local library, which Roon excels at.
@Kevin_O_Connell can you provide more detail around the “Apple Express” in your network:
Roon works differently than streaming applications such as Spotify. Roon requires a stable home network where the streaming occurs in real time without any caching typical to Spotify and other music services. More information about your home network may be useful in the diagnosis of what you are experiencing.
The AirPort Express is connected via Cat5 to a standard issue Verizon Fios router. The Mac Mini and Linn Akurate DSM/3 are connected to the Express with a single Cat5 cable to a splitter, then to each unit. The Linn’s streaming protocol is mostly Cat5 based.
The stalling started when I updated the Mini to Sequoia. Super stable until then. I had really been enjoying Roon’s performance, especially it’s ability to gather from Qobuz and my local (Apple Music) files for playback queues.
What is the purpose of the Airport Express in this configuration, the ability to stream AirPlay to the Linn? And what do you mean by Ethernet splitter, a small Ethernet switch or an actual Ethernet splitter?
Not obtuse, but Ethernet splitters tend to be less common than a switch. Apple’s Sequoia update has made a significant number of under the hood networking changes to the MacOS, some of which are annoying but manageable. In your case, I am thinking that using a splitter, which may share an IP address with two devices, may be disrupting the Mac from being able to see the end devices compared to the previous MacOS releases. Do you have an option to replace the splitter with a small Ethernet switch?
Can your Verizon router also provide connectiivty to your devices? The reason I am asking is that the AirPort Express is fairly old, and as a networking device is very limited due to both its networking interfaces (slower versions of WiFi) and security. I use my AE only as an AirPlay endpoint for Roon and depend on my main network for WiFi to my devices. Is this an option for you?
As the only change to my system was the Sequoia update, I’m reluctant to start messing with the physical network, which would force me to redo network settings and WiFi passwords on myriad devices here.
I would like to address Roon/Sequoia compatibility issues rather than rebuild my network.
My Roon has just auto-renewed, so solving this seems important.
As @Robert_F has mentioned, since the typical solutions and workarounds don’t seem to help your case, it would be helpful to rule out any potential network-related issues, no matter when the issue started occurring.
If you plug your Mac Mini running Roon Server directly into your router, and use the system output for playback, how do things perform?
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My Linn DSM connects thru Cat5, so rather than pull another cable, I chose to try a splitter, which worked immediately, and has performed without any problems until the Sequoia update.
I would like to know if there are known issues with Sequoia and get help, rather than get suggestions that sidestep my original questions.
The specific symptom is neither remote (controller) disconnection to the broker nor audio dropouts. Instead, you’d see Zones disappear in the Roon Settings → Audio page.
In this case, diagnostics tell a different story. The prebuffer is failing over Airplay in several instances, and clients disconnect repeatedly from the broker. The loopback remains in tact.
Logs point to traffic routing as the primary issue here. There’s a second ethernet interface active on the RoonServer machine; instead of focusing on the splitter, let’s start by restricting this machine to a single ethernet interface using the same subnet as the client controllers.
We’ll watch for a response. Thanks for your patience.
Most of your response flew over my head. Is your recommendation a parallel ethernet connection to the Mac Mini Core and the Linn streamer? I only use Roon on the Mini, and it connects only to the Linn. There are no other Zones in use.
The connectivity has been better in the last week or so, but it stlll stalls. I can usually cajole it by FF to the next song in Album/queue. It’s more annoying than catastrophic.
If the parallel connection is important, I can work on that. As soon as we bought this 1928 house 31 years ago, I pulled wires for music in the kitchen. I was 38 years old then, now 69. Pulling wires is hard work now.
Hi @Kevin_O_Connell,
There’s no need for you to pull any wires fortunately.
What @connor is asking you to do here is change the settings on your computer to only use 1 ethernet port. To open these settings, choose Apple menu > System Settings, then click Network in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) That page will show you a list of your active network interfaces. You can switch off an interface by clicking it and switching off the toggle. Do that for all of them except an ethernet interface.
That takes care of the single ethernet connection part. Now let’s address subnet. For this you will need to go to your router settings. Compare the IP addresses of your Roon server machine and your client controllers. Ensure that the second to last number is the same for all of them (as an example let’s say an IP address takes the form of AAA.BBB.C.DDD you want to make sure that the C is the same in all of the addresses). If it isn’t you will need to change your router settings under DHCP and set an address range that is all within the same subnet.
I hope that this explanation clears things up for you. If it doesn’t please let us know and we will continue to help you out.
As I understand this, I have switched off Wi-Fi on the Mini, and am still connected to the Linn DSM via the ethernet/splitter connected to my Airport Express. All of the IP addresses appear to have .1. as the second last numeral.
My control devices are iPhone, iPad and MacBook Pro. The phone appears to be able to access my Library, Qobuz and Roon Radio.
I will give this a try in a bit.
Thanks for the guidance.
Best,
Kevin
Kevin O’Connell
Friday Letters & Pictures LLC
(Personal info hidden by support)
Roon has been running pretty smoothly until yesterday’s update. It has changed the Linn Subnet from 192.168.1.0 to 127.0.0.0. As soon as I tried after updating, it failed to find my streamer.
It seems to me that I should be able to type in the Linn IP address to direct Roon.
EVERYTHING IS OK!
I fixed it by switching everything off/on and restarting the Core Mac Mini. Thanks.
> System Settings, then click Network 
in the sidebar. (You may need to scroll down.) That page will show you a list of your active network interfaces. You can switch off an interface by clicking it and switching off the toggle. Do that for all of them except an ethernet interface.
