Skipping to next track after 5-6 seconds

Hi @Stephen_Crawford,

Thanks for the additional info!

There’s one setting you will want to change with this router for a better Roon experience, please see Networking Best Practices Guide:

Netgear Orbi Routers

If you’re making use of an Orbi router, we recommend unchecking Disable IGMP Proxying in your router’s settings. This setting can interfere with the ability for Roon Remotes to connect to the Roon Core.

Let me know how the new router and System Output test goes!

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Many thanks Noris. I will follow your advice on the router and let you know how it all goes. Fingers crossed.

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Hi Noris,

I did some more testing this morning while the Virgin SuperHub 3 was in Router mode.

Sending Qobuz tracks with Roon to my Lyngdorf 3400 gave me the following:

Standard CD resolution – Plays without any issues. No track skipping that I could find.
Hi Res 24/96 resolution – Plays some tracks without skipping, but occasional skipping still occurs.
Hi Res 24/192 – Every track would skip after about 4-6 seconds.

I then tried all the same using system output (MacBook internal speakers). There were no skipping issues on any tracks at any resolution.

Now onto my trying an Orbi router and using the Virgin SuperHub 3 as a modem. This was an epic failure and no matter what we did, we could not get the two of them to play nicely together. As a result, the Orbi is packed up ready to be returned to Amazon. I’ll do some more research on routers and plan also to call Virgin Support to see what I can find out to improve the service. FYI, I measured the speed I’m getting on my MacBook via the SuperHub and it gets a consistent 80-95 Mbs.

Looking forward to any thoughts and/or recommendations you may have.

Cheers,
Steve

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Sorry if this is a dumb question but did you change the SuperHub 3 to modem only mode?

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Not a dumb question. Yes we did change the SH3 to modem only mode, but could never get the Orbi to see an internet connection. Tried everything over a period of 4 hours + before we gave up. My nephew who was helping me had set up exactly the same router on a BT Hub at his parent’s house without any issues a few weeks ago, so he knew what should happen. Must be the Virgin SH3, so I’ll call their support if I can get hold of them next week.

I would highly recommend one of these. Fantastic router, with great software.

https://www.synology.com/en-global/products/RT2600ac

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Many thanks. I will definitely check it out. I’m sure it will be available in the UK. :+1:

Hi @Stephen_Crawford,

Sorry to hear you couldn’t get the Orbi up an running, perhaps you just got a defective Orbi unit?

In any case, it does sound like there is a bandwidth issue here, so if you have another router to test with, that would definitely be a good step.

I would also check the Signal Path when you have music playing, and keep an eye on the Processing Speed there.

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Hi Noris,

Agreed that the Orbi could have been defective. I do plan to try another router very soon. Just waiting for Amazon to get some new stock in.

Also agree that it sounds like a bandwidth issue. Can you please clarify how would go about monitoring processing speed and/or checking the signal path while music is playing. I’m not particularly strong on computing, hence the stupid question.

Thanks.

Steve

Hi @Stephen_Crawford,

No worries, do let me know how the new router works.

Signal path is a button you press after you start playback to get some more information on what’s happening to the audio stream, signal path looks like this for example:

As you can see, I have a 27x processing speed there, and anything above 1x is generally a good sign. When you have too much DSP turned on that you tax the system (like DSD up-sampling for example), the processing speed drops below 1x and this can cause performance issues if the hardware is not up to spec.

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Many thanks Noris. I’ll give this a go later and let you know what I get.

Hi Noris,

This is what I get. No sign of any processing speed. What am I doing wrong?

Thanks.

Steve

Stephen, from what I can surmise from other posts, processing speed is only displayed if it drops below 100x. As one Roon Support tech put it elsewhere: ‘If you don’t see processing speed, that’s a good thing’.

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Thanks Patrick. That’s encouraging, but not sure why I get the issues I’ve been getting.

I’ve ordered another router that will arrive today, so will try that tomorrow.

Thanks for your help.

Steve

Hi @Stephen_Crawford,

Thanks for checking that! @Patrick_Van_Osta is correct here, if you don’t see the processing speed at all, that is a good thing, meaning it is not a processing speed bottleneck, but elsewhere.

While we wait for the new router, I reviewed your original post and noticed one other potential source of the issue:

Have you tried temporarily connecting the Macbook via Ethernet cable to the router? Since we know this is a bandwidth issue somewhere, perhaps this is a WiFi issue?

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Hi Noris,

No, I haven’t tried that form of connection as my MacBook doesn’t have a traditional ethernet connection. I’ll try to get a suitable cable or converter to try it.

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Hi Noris,

Still testing and getting better results with CD quality now. Hi Res still occasionally dropping out, but no track skipping so far.

Quick question – is there a buffer in Roon settings that can be adjusted to accommodate Hi Res a little better?

Thanks.

Steve

Hi Noris,

Some further info from some testing today…

At 16.38 UK time, I encountered a track pause on the Tidal Hi Res version of Tiny Dancer by Elton John. Processing speed was shown as 25x when it happened.

At 17.07 UK Time, I had a track skip on the Tidal Hi Res version of Blue Jean Blues by ZZ Top. For the few seconds before the track skipped, processing speed was showing at around 23x.

I measured WiFi speed to my MacBook after each issue and I was getting 100-110 Mbs.

Please could you look at this and if possible, let me know your thoughts on the issue and how it might be rectified. I have been getting better results in the last few days, so I think we are making progress.

Many thanks.

Steve

Latest info on the issues I’ve been experiencing…

By connecting both my Lyngdorf 3400 and my MacBook to powerline connections, I’ve been getting solid results with no skipping or drop outs so far after 3 days of testing. I expect this is the method I’m going to settle on.

I do have one remaining question though and would appreciate some ideas from all you clever folks. When a processing speed is shown in the Signal Path Enhanced pop up, is it better to have a low speed, e.g. 12x or a higher speed, e.g. 25x?

Thanks.

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Hi @Stephen_Crawford,

Thanks for letting us know the Ethernet connection helped!

For processing speed, a higher speed means that your Core is processing DSP faster, but the key here is you’ll want to make sure it doesn’t drop under 1x or so, as that would mean the system is being taxed too much.

If you don’t see a processing speed there at all, that’s a good thing and means that it’s over 100x. More info on processing speed can be found in our DSP Engine doc. Hope this helps!

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