Running Roon ver 1.4 (64) bit on a dedicated mac mini (i5 processor, 8Gb RAM, 1TB SDD, OSX High Sierra 10.13.4) connected via ethernet to my Devialet amp. I also have 2 x Audio Pro speakers connected wirelessly to the network (using a BT Infinity hub)
Library of 2000 albums, 25k tracks … mainly ALAC, some mp3, some high res files
No other software is running on the mac mini, and I’ve turned off WiFi, backups etc.
I am getting occasional break up/distortion/pauses in the music (typically lasting about a second). This seems to happen irrespective of which device/speaker I am listening to and which music (file types or Tidal streaming). It seems to occur fairly regularly - every 10-15 minutes I would say.
The Devialet is connected via a 4 port ethernet connector, but I have tried connecting the mac directly to the Devialet and still have the problem.
If I stream music directly from the mac to my Squeezebox Transporter (not using Roon) I have no problems at all and can also use multiform streaming without problems … so it seems to be a Roon issue ??
I bought this mini as my old mac mini was on its last legs, and thought the spec (similar to the Roon Nucleus I think) should be fine for the size of library I have. It’s odd (and frustrating !) that I do not get this problem playing the same music through my Squeezebox Transporter
I do occasionally play to more than one zone, but the problem still happens when just listening through my main hifi
In my experience the i5 Mini, the 2014 edition has a crippled i5, does not have the cajones to do much of anything. I just run Roon core on my Mini. That should cut down on processing needs compared to the full Roon.
Before my CPU fan died and destroyed an i3 machine that’s where I ran Roon core, from an HDD, without a hiccup.
I’m in the process of building an 8th gen i7 to put in my server rack to take care of all my computing needs, including Roon core.
Although many people will passionately defend the Mini, I find it’s a weak sister to anything WIntel offers.
Hi @Jerry_Lord ---- Thank you for the report and sharing this observation you have made with us. The feedback and insight are both very appreciated!
Moving forwarding based on your description of the issue it feels like you may be experiencing audio dropouts. In order for me to properly advise on this behavior you are experiencing, may I very kindly ask you for the following:
Please confirm where you musical collection is being stored/accessed from.
Please confirm the exact Devialet model you are using.
It’s a touch unclear to me based on your feedback, but my assumption is that the experience is the same if you bypass the Devialet and play to one of your other endpoints. Is this indeed the case?
Please provide a screenshot of your signal path when you notice the issue occurring.
Please describe your network configuration/topology being sure to provide insight into any networking hardware you are currently implementing. I want to have a clear understanding as to how your devices are communicating and all the tools involved with making those connection possible.
While it may seem elementary, during your troubleshooting of this behavior have you tried replacing the ethernet cable between the Devialet amp and your core? Furthermore, have you tried rebooting the core machine and any relevant networking hardware?
. the Devialet is connected via the Ethernet cable and I can access and have basic control of the Devialet using the Devialet Air app from my other mac
Yes - I also have 2 Audio Pro speakers in my network as endpoints …and the same problems are happening with these
I have uploaded the screenshots from my iPad for a couple of occasions this afternoon when the problem occurred. In the first case (The Beatles track) the music stopped playing completely; the other track had a dropout but carried on playing
5,. In terms of my Network …The mac mini connects to a BT Infinity Hub, and I have just connected one of the ports (Port4) directly to the Devialet. You will see from the image below, there are a number of other devices connected to the Hub
I have replaced the ethernet cable from the Hub to the Devialet with a high quality Cat 6 cable, I have rebooted the mac mini and the BT Hub, but still having the same issues.
Thanks for touching base with me and providing the requested feedback @Jerry_Lord, very appreciated!
Can you please verify for what the experience is like when you change “always stream to it automatically” (under “when the device appears on the network”) in the DEVIALET AIR SETTINGS window to “never stream to it automatically” as mentioned in our knowledge base here.
So far so good … I have changed that setting …and have been listening now for nearly an hour without any issues. Sorry - I hadn’t looked in detail at the Devialet pages !
However, when I first changed the setting I also added some new tracks to iTunes, and the problem was still happening. Perhaps this was due to a clash between iTunes uploading to the iCloud and Roon updating the database … or poor performance of my broadband?
Also, a further question … do I need to have Devialet Air installed on the same machine as the Roon Core? - currently I have only installed it on my other mac which I am using as a Roon remote, and it is not installed on the mac mini which I am using as the music server.
Hi @Jerry_Lord ---- Thanks for the follow up, glad to hear things have been running as expected.
“However, when I first changed the setting I also added some new tracks to iTunes, and the problem was still happening. Perhaps this was due to a clash between iTunes uploading to the iCloud and Roon updating the database … or poor performance of my broadband?”
Does the issue occur every time this procedure is taking place? Have you verified if this is reproducible?
Have you tried bypassing iTunes (temporarily) and verifying if you notice the issue?
Have you tried letting the process finish first and then verifying if problem presents itself again?
"Also, a further question … do I need to have Devialet Air installed on the same machine as the Roon Core? - currently I have only installed it on my other mac which I am using as a Roon remote, and it is not installed on the mac mini which I am using as the music server.
“Roon now includes built-in support for the Devialet AIR protocol, used by Devialet’s Expert and Expert Pro devices. This is a new implementation of AIR, undertaken at Roon Labs. It does not require Devialet’s AIR driver, and works with Roon Cores running on any platform.”
