Searching for Roon Core (Nucleus via Ethernet and wifi)

Support Nucleus Support
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Roon Core Machine

Roon Nucleus (2020)
OS Version 1.0 (build 259) production
Roon Server Version 2.0 (build 1311) production
Internal Music Storage: 1000GB, Samsung SSD 860 (34% of 924 GB available)
Roon Labs Software Version 1.0 (build 14) production
System Status: OK for all of the above
Roon lifetime subscription
Qobuz subscription

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Router: FRITZ!Box 7590 AX with current FRITZ!OS 7.57
Repeater: FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 1750E
Roon Nucleus connected to router via CAT.7 ethernet cable over 1 Gbit/s port (real-time priority set)
Both Roon Nucleus and my Mac Studio have assigned static IP addresses

Connected Audio Devices

Roon Version 2.0 (build 1311) on Mac Studio with OS 13.6 Ventura (but also Roon app on iPhone & iPad)

  • USB: headphone amplifier Burson Conductor 3X Performance
  • Ethernet cable: to FRITZ!Box > Ethernet cable to KEF LS50 Wireless II
  • Wifi: bridge ifi Audio ZEN Stream (5GHz, max. 433 Mbit/s) > headphone amplifier
    Massdrop X Alex Cavalli CTH + SDAC

Number of Tracks in Library

18,539 tracks

Description of Issue

Global issue: over the last year or so, Roon has become very unreliable – slow and unresponsive, even via Ethernet, very often interrupted and unavailable via wifi. I often have to switch to my Qobuz app if I want to listen to music at all.

Issue #1: Ethernet-connection with Roon on my Mac Studio
A) Even though both the Roon Nucleus and the Mac Studio are connected to the router via Gigabit ethernet cables with real-time priority, the connection to the Roon Core is lost quite regularly (usually when I haven’t had the Roon app in the foreground for a while and switch back). When this happens, it takes considerably longer to find the core than you would expect from an ethernet connection, sometimes the search even hangs up with “couldn’t find the core”, and I have to restart the Roon app.
B) Listing the album covers from my SSD drive takes a lot of time, as if it went over a very slow Internet connection instead of Ethernet. Same goes for scrolling, when the Roon app responds very sluggishly (my Mac Studio is a beast, it definitely isn’t for lack of memory or CPU power).

Issue #2: wifi connection with Roon app on iPad/iPhone
Wifi listening is a game of chance, one that I very often lose. The connection to the core is lost several times a day and/or playback is stopped due to “slow loading”, when either Roon starts to frantically skip forward from song to song, or decides that it cannot find the core at all. I have a fairly new router, and I have assigned all Roon-related devices priority, plus this happens with music that I have on my Nucleus’s SSD. This is super annoying, given that I spent a little fortune on Roonlabs licences and the Nucleus, as well as on keeping my network and the connected devices up to the latest standards.

I am aware that both issues are difficult to evaluate from an outside perspective, but maybe there is a “best practice” guideline for how to identify the causes? The one thing that really needs to work with any home music server is that it delivers reliably to all audio devices within the network. Roon is gradually becoming a nuisance, and I am more and more tempted to try out alternatives… which I would hate to do. Please help.

1 Like
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Hi @K52,

Thanks for writing in! Can you confirm that the issues above still occur on the latest Roon build?

If yes, could you please reproduce the issue and share the specific date, time and name of the track playing when the issue occurs?

Once you let me know this info, I’ll go ahead and enable diagnostics for your account so I can review the logging for clues.

If you’d rather do it yourself manually, please use the directions found here and send over a set of logs to our File Uploader.

Thanks!

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Thank you, Benjamin!

About 5 minutes ago, I had the same wifi issue again: using my iPad’s Roon client to stream to my iFi Zen bridge, several tracks that are stored on my Nucleus just stopped playing back, and I needed to restart them again by pressing the Play button several times.

Those were the first two tracks of Justin Johnson’s “Smoke & Mirrors” (ALAC 16bit / 44.1kHz version).

It is not specific to a record, though. I have the very same effect with others – plus the “loading slowly” issues when playback stops and keeps skipping from track to track. And it doesn’t really matter what audio quality the track is: CD and hires versions are both suffering from it.

Prior to that – when I woke up my iPad – the Roon client had lost connection to the core, and I needed to kill and restart the app, before it found it. That’s annoying, but not as bad as the playback issues.

My iPad runs Roon v2.0 (build 1167) production, and the core on my Nucleus is on 2.0 (1353) production.

I will collect the logs and upload them in a moment.

EDIT:

  • Uploaded the log files from the Nucleus a moment ago (file names starting with “K52_”).
  • Activated logging on the iPad app, restarted it, restarted playback of the album - had the same effect (great! Well, for debugging…)
  • Uploaded the log file from my iPad app (also starting with “K52_”)
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Hi @K52,

Thanks for sending those over.

I strongly suggest updating your iPad to the latest build to avoid any potential issues. Let me know if you run into issues after updating - we’ll be examining the logs you sent over in the meantime. :+1:

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Hi @benjamin,

I have now updated my iPad’s Roon Remote app to the latest build.

I was trying to listen to music in the last 30-45 minutes over the above mentioned wifi connection (both iPad as remote, and ifi ZEN as bridge in the same network), but playback stopped and the connection to the core was lost several times (album “HYbr:ID II” by Alva Noto, first tracks, 16bit / 44.1kHz). The effect appears for both devices: the remote app and the bridge. I can see the app searching for the core, and the bridge loses connection as well.

I have just supplied the latest version of my iPad’s logs to the uploader. If the reason was recorded you should find several entries relating to it, I hope.

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Hi @K52,

Are you able to test out hardwiring your ifi Zen?

Oddly enough, I see errors relating to potentially corrupt files on the HYbr:ID album:

Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/09 Ectopia Singularity.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/08 Ectopia Field 1.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/02 Ectopia Elastic 1.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/01 Ectopia Environment.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/07 Ectopia Radiation Mechanics.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/06 Ectopia Interacting.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/03 Ectopia Quarks Minus.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/10 Ectopia Gravitation.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/04 Ectopia Removing Infinities.m4a
Warn: bad track/media "Music" in Music_KM/Alva Noto/HYbrID II/05 Ectopia Elastic 2.m4a

If possible, I would run a diagnostic check on the integrity of your local library to see for any additional media issues (third-party applications like dbpoweramp can be useful for performing this).

Does this issue happen when the ifi Zen is disconnected, and playback is from the system output of the iPad?

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Hi @benjamin ,

I am running a number of different setups now, and at first glance it looks that the issue might be connected with a part of my device chain: the Audioquest Cobalt DAC that sits between the ifi ZEN and my headphone amp.

I connected it directly to my iPad (via a powered iPad connector), and I experience lots of dropouts with “device disconnected” messages. If I take the headphone output instead, and it seems to have no (?) issues.

I keep testing, and will update this thread accordingly.

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Hi @benjamin,

I have replaced the DAC in my wifi setup (now running an iFi ZEN One Signature DAC), and I have had no issues so far – I will keep a close watch, especially what happens when playing back large/hires files.

But just a few minutes ago I ran into the issues described in my initial post with my wired setup. Even though both my Nucleus and my Mac Studio are connected to my FritzBox router via very short CAT7 LAN cables (and given priority in the router’s settings), I run into massive performance issues.

Starting up the Roon client took ca. 25 seconds, before “My Library > Albums” showed any content. The connection to the Roon Server was lost a couple of times…

I have just started to upload both the server and client logs under the link you sent me (files starting with “K52_”).

Can you identify why I might have these issues?

Thanks a lot!

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Hey @K52,

There may be a fix already in testing over in the Early Access category that might relate to your issues. If interested, you can follow these steps to move your RoonServer and Remotes to early access.

Otherwise, rest assured the team is working on the issue and will release a fix in the next upcoming release. Thank you!

1 Like
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The solution for my issue #2 with title skipping when playing back via my wifi connection seems to be connected with my FritzBox Router > FritzBox Repeater setup. I followed the steps described in Titles Skipping constantly [resolved - deselected the Package Accelerator in Fritz Box] - #28 by Ole_Johannsen1 (disabling Package Acceleration in the repeater’s configuration), and so far the effect has not returned.

I am currently playing back albums where the effect was very noticeable in the past.

This is not yet a final confirmation, because the skipping problem showed up irregularly, and it needs some long-term testing. But if after a week of listening it does not re-appear, I am quite confident that it may be the solution to my major issue :grinning:

EDIT: After a lengthy stretch of listening to demanding albums/tracks that almost always had issues with skipping and drop-outs, I am fairly confident that this fixed my wifi issue.

Looking forward to the next product update for the fix concerning my wired setup. Thank you, @benjamin , for your support :pray:

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