Roon Core machine: Apple Mac mini (2023), Apple M2 Pro, 16 GB unified memory, macOS Tahoe 26.5.1. Internal SSD with ~300 GB free. Running headless RoonServer; controlling via the Roon desktop app on the same machine.
Library size: ~38,485 albums, a a few hi-res (DSD/DSD64, FLAC up to 192/24).
Storage setup: Music files on a Synology NAS (SMB). Roon database/RoonServer folder on the Mac’s internal SSD. Backups scheduled to an external SSD and the NAS (not on the internal drive).
Issue:
During normal playback I repeatedly get the “Uh oh, something’s not right — make sure your Roon Server is turned on” dialog, sometimes followed by “Waiting for your Roon Server” and “No audio devices found.” Music then resumes after a short delay.
Watching Activity Monitor during these events:
RoonAppliance climbs to roughly 15–16 GB, at which point macOS memory pressure goes amber and compressed memory rises to ~5–6 GB.
When it reaches the ceiling, the Core either stalls or restarts (I’ve seen the RoonAppliance PID change, e.g. 3678 → 5058), which produces the dropout.
After recovery it settles lower (~7–10 GB) and pressure returns to green, then climbs again.
This happens during ordinary playback, not only on first boot.
What I’ve already done:
Confirmed plenty of free disk space (~300 GB on the internal SSD).
Set Background Audio Analysis to Scheduled (1 AM–5 AM) and On-demand analysis to Throttled.
Let the initial library scan run uninterrupted to completion; it settled briefly but the spikes/dropouts returned during playback.
Ruled out other heavy apps (quit all other apps etc.).
My questions:
Is RoonAppliance reaching ~16 GB expected for a library of this size, and is 16 GB of RAM simply insufficient here — i.e. would 24 GB or 32 GB resolve this?
Or do the logs show a specific cause (a problem file, corrupt metadata, a bug) I can fix without new hardware?
Anything else I can do to reduce the Core’s memory footprint?
I’m happy to send logs — please let me know the best way. Thanks!
Thank you for the thorough write-up and for the detailed observations from Activity Monitor - that’s very helpful.
To answer your questions directly: yes, this is a known issue that our R&D team is actively working on, and a fix is targeted for the next release. The memory growth pattern you’re describing - RoonAppliance climbing to the system ceiling, triggering macOS memory pressure, and causing the Core to stall or restart - is consistent with what we’re seeing on large libraries regardless of hardware. A 38k-album library is well within the range affected.
To your specific question: yes, 16 GB is more than enough for a library of this size - the issue is not a hardware limitation. RoonAppliance should not be climbing anywhere near that ceiling under normal conditions, which is exactly why this is being addressed on our end.
Workaround until the update is available:
Set up a daily scheduled restart of RoonServer during off-hours (e.g. 4:00 AM) to reset the memory state before it reaches the ceiling. On macOS you can do this with a simple launchd job or an Automator/shell script scheduled via the built-in Calendar or a tool like cron. This won’t eliminate the climbs entirely but should prevent them from reaching the point of dropout during your listening sessions.
Once the next Roon update is out, please update and monitor for a few days. If the dropouts persist after updating, reply here and we’ll ask you to send your logs and database so we can dig into whether there’s anything library-specific contributing on your end.
Thanks for your patience, and sorry for the disruption to your listening.
thank you!! i just purchased a new Mac Mini M4 Pro with 24GB which i will be only be able to test after 4 weeks as i am traveling… hopefully that will help and i am positive the update next month will be well timed… thanks!!
We’re unable to speak on specific timelines, but we do have a version of some of these optimizations over in our current Early Access version of Roon, and are fielding feedback and findings.
So it shouldn’t be long! Thanks for your ongoing patience in the meantime.
Not a problem, @Arvind_Mohindra . Since you’ll be traveling a while, it’s best we close the issue and if you still need assistance after the next update/when you return, please submit a reopen support request via the technical support help form link and specify that the issue be reopened. Thank you!
