Slow start on first TIDAL track via Roon on Mac Mini with Holo Audio DAC (ref#9104JI)

Support
1

What app are you having the slowness issue with?

· Roon

What kind of performance/speed issue are you experiencing?

· Tracks take a long time to play

Please try to reboot your Roon Server

· No, the issue is still the same even immediately after a reboot

Please try to reboot your networking gear (Router/Switches/etc.)

· No, the issue is still the same even after a reboot

Is there any change in behavior if you try to navigate to Roon Settings -> Library and set both Background and On-Demand Audio Analysis to Throttled or Off?

· No, the issue is still the same

Does the issue happen on multiple Roon Remotes (controllers) or just one?

· Issue happens on multiple remotes

Router Domain Name System (DNS) change

· I was able to change my router's DNS servers but it did not help

What is the operating system of your Roon Server host machine?

· MacOS

Timestamp of issue occurrences

· 18/03/2026 at 18:20

Describe the issue

I am seeing a reproducible problem with Roon when using TIDAL.
My setup is: Roon Server on Mac mini, Holo Audio DAC connected by USB to the same Mac mini.

The issue is that when I start an evening listening session, the first track of the first album often takes about one minute to start. After that, changing albums or tracks is usually much faster. Native streaming performance is much better, so this appears to be a Roon–streaming integration issue, not a DAC or general internet-speed issue.

Given the cost of a Roon subscription, this is a serious problem because streaming-service integration is one of its core functions.

Describe your network setup

ISP is Telekom.hu

2

Hello @Zsolt_Regaly,

Thank you for the detailed report. I completely understand how frustrating it is to wait a full minute just to get your evening listening session started—especially when seamless streaming integration is such a key part of the Roon experience.

I took a look at the diagnostic logs from your Mac Mini to see exactly what the server was doing at your provided timestamp of 18:20 on March 18th. However, there is a gap in the server’s logging around that specific time. One log file ends at 16:08 on March 18th, and the very next log file doesn’t begin until 12:59 on March 19th.

Because of this gap, the server didn’t record the event, or the timestamp might have been slightly off, meaning we don’t have the data showing why TIDAL is hanging on that first track.

To help us get to the bottom of this, could you please reproduce the issue one more time?

  1. Start a fresh listening session.
  2. As soon as you experience that long delay on the first TIDAL track, please note the exact date and time, as well as the name of the track.

Reply here with those details, and we will pull a fresh set of logs to see exactly where the bottleneck is happening. Thank you for your patience while we troubleshoot this!

3

Today, 20/03/2026 at 19:27 CET, I tried to start the album Beethoven: Fidelio (DECCA release from TIDAL). Roon took 3 minutes and 32 seconds to begin playback, which is completely unacceptable.

It may also be relevant that yesterday I tried to open the Browse → TIDAL menu, and Roon took about one minute to display my TIDAL content, even though I had logged in to TIDAL only half an hour earlier.

4

Hi @Zsolt_Regaly,

Thanks for providing the timestamp. It seems that your Roon Server machine is currently offline, so we’re unable to access the logs remotely.

Please manually retrieve the logs from the RoonServer folder located in ~/Library and upload them to our Logs storage. Thank you for your assistance with this.

5

File is uploaded Nem: Zsolt Regaly, File Name: Logs copy.zip

6

Hi @Zsolt_Regaly,

Thanks for the follow-up! Based on a recent set of Roon Server logs, the issue appears to be network-related (specifically, communication between your Server and the TIDAL servers) rather than a software bug or a problem with your DAC.

Here are some next troubleshooting steps:

  1. DNS Settings: Timeouts to api.tidal.com are often solved by changing the DNS on your router or Roon Server to a faster, more reliable service like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1) or Google (8.8.8.8).
  2. If you’re running the mac via Wifi, test out using a hardwire ethernet connection.
  3. TIDAL Account Refresh: Go to Roon Settings > Services in Roon.
    • Find TIDAL and click Edit.
    • Choose Logout and then Login again. This forces a fresh security token and can resolve some sync timeouts.
  4. Lower Streaming Quality (Test): To determine if the issue is bandwidth-related, try lowering the TIDAL streaming quality in Roon settings to "High" (CD Quality) instead of "Max" (Hi-Res) to see if the errors persist.

Thank you! :raising_hands:

7

Thanks for your reply. Please find my responses to the troubleshooting steps below:

  1. I have already configured the DNS settings on my Roon server to use 8.8.8.8 and 1.1.1.1.

  2. Switching between Wi-Fi and UTP makes no difference.

  3. Yes, this does solve the problem, but it also takes several minutes to complete. More importantly, it is not a real solution, because logging out and back in manually after wake up is not comfortable. See my final notes.

  4. My issue is definitely not related to bandwidth.

In my view, the problem is connected to the fact that my Mac mini, which runs Roon Server, goes to sleep every night at 2:00 a.m. When I start a listening session, the Mac mini wakes up and Roon still shows that I am logged in to TIDAL. However, starting the first album still requires a re-login. The main issue, therefore, is that Roon is displaying the TIDAL connection status incorrectly and not re-connect automatically. It seems to me that this is a bug.

8

Hey @Zsolt_Regaly,

Thanks for the follow-up. It’s a frustrating experience to sit down for a listening session only to be met with a 60-second loading bar. While your logic about the TIDAL login status feels sound from a user-interface perspective, the issue stems from a fundamental misunderstanding of how Roon Server is architected to function.

In short: Roon Server is designed and built to be an “Always-On” appliance, not a standard desktop application.

The term “Server” in Roon Server is literal. Unlike the TIDAL desktop app, which is a lightweight client that fetches a stream when you click “Play,” Roon is a massive database manager.

When your Mac mini sleeps, your Roon Server effectively goes into a coma. When it wakes up, it isn’t just “showing a screen”; it has to re-initialize a complex chain of connections.

You mentioned that Roon displays you as logged in, but you suspect it’s “faking it” and requiring a re-login.

Actually, Roon is logged in via a stored token. However, when the system wakes up, that token often needs to be validated against TIDAL’s servers. If the Mac mini’s network interface (Wi-Fi or Ethernet) takes 5–10 seconds to fully “handshake” with your router after waking, Roon’s requests to TIDAL will hang or time out.

The issue isn’t necessarily a bug in Roon’s code, but a conflict between your Energy Saver settings and Roon’s requirements. To get the performance you’re paying for, you should treat the Mac mini as a headless appliance.

Disable Sleep: Go to System Settings > Energy Saver and enable “Prevent automatic sleeping when the display is off.”

Many macOS users found success in running a third-party app to keep the machine on, like amphetamine, for better performance.

9

Thank you for the detailed explanation of Roon’s philosophy. Still, I do not understand why Roon is unable to automatically reconnect to TIDAL after the Mac mini wakes from sleep. In my experience, once I manually click the TIDAL menu, Roon can re-establish the full connection after about a minute. This suggests that the connection recovery is possible, but currently requires unnecessary user interaction. It would be far more practical if Roon handled this automatically. In addition, a dedicated icon showing whether the TIDAL connection is actively live, rather than merely logged in, would make the status much clearer.

10

Excellent feedback @Zsolt_Regaly - I’d make sure you share it over in our Feedback category as well!

Were you able to give any of my above steps a try to see if it may help at all?

Thank you!

11

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