· Other
I am getting errors when playing my library tracks with Tidal. Mostly MQA. Suddenly started. No changes to my system.
“Unexpected error when connecting to audio device”
Too many failures. Stopping playback..
Seems to be a Tidal issue when working through ROON. The same tracks play directly on tidal.
Rebooted everything. No better. Please help.
Thanks
Howard
Windows 11. Moon streamer DAC. Ethernet connection to router.
Hey @Howard_Ipp,
Thanks for writing in, it’s good to see you on the community again!
If possible, can you take a closer look at your signal chain when your playback fails? Based on a diagnostic report from your Roon Server, you might be having issues attempting to play multichannel audio, when you’re system might only be capable of playing 2-channel content.
Let me know if this helps!
Hi Benjamin. Thanks for the prompt reply.
Alyhough I listen to multichannel a lot this issue is with Stereo tracks, MQA only.
I however believe I have tracked down the issue! - The Procedural filter when any channel except the 1 Left and 2 Right are ticked, causes the error immediately.
When the error occurs, “Unexpected error when connecting to audio device”
“Too many failures. Stopping playback…”, there is no signal chain as there is no playback.
However as you suggested, I looked at he signal chain when playing non MQA stereo tracks, and found the problem. I worked on the Procedural filter.
I sometimes use a Procedural Filter (High Channel Parametric) so that the filtering only affects the L R C channels.
When an MQA track is played and a Procedural Filter is enabled, the following occurs:
Apply to only 2 channels, channels 1 Left and 2 Right. It plays correctly.
Signal Chain is as follows
1 Source TIDAL 2 ch MQA
2 Authentication MQA studio 44.1 (Or other)
3 MQA core decoder to 88 with MQA signaling
4 Preserve MQA Signaling
5 Bit depth conversion 24 bit to 64 bit float
6 Parametric EQ 5 Bands
7 Procedural EQ 2 Operations (l and R channels only) - this is the culprit when it exceeds 2
operations I think. more than 2 channels.
8 Bit depth conversion with restore 54 bit float to 24 bit with MQA signaling
9 Simaudio MOON 681 Roon Advance Audio Transport
10 MQA renderer ORFS 44.1 khz
11 Output Analog/Digital ( use analogue outputs to my processor which can then apply any DSP I want.
End list
As soon as I add ANY another channel to the Procedural EQ , any channel 3 to 8, the error occurs.
“Unexpected error when connecting to audio device”. I just need to remove a channel and leave it at ONLY the L and R, and all plays fine as I have noted in the signal path above.
This MQA rendered playback for me is recent (2 months only) since my newly purchased MOON 681 is MQA capable, and I initially didn’t use the filters and then I tried to experiment with my filters. The Procedural filter, when appllied during the playback of an MQA track to any channels other than 1 Left and 2 Right, causes the problem.
I have for now set my Procedural filter to L and R channels only, and can play any stereo track, MQA or otherwise.
If you can suggest a way around this or get the issue fixed I will happily return to my L and R and C channel Procedural filter.
Thanks
Howard
Hey @Howard_Ipp,
Thanks for the in-depth follow-up!
Does the issue persist when using the Procedural EQ filter with non-MQA tracks across multiple channels? This could help identify whether the issue is tied specifically to MQA playback or a broader limitation.
Our team will take a closer look in the meantime, thank you! 
Hi Benjamin
The Procedural EQ Filter works perfectly with all Stereo tracks.
MQA tracks are the only ones that present the issue.
Note though I think one MQA file I tested earlier did not exhibit this, but who knows ? Cannot remember which one.
Nonetheless MQA playback only.
Please keep me informed.
I find this quite interesting.
Thanks
How
Hi @Howard_Ipp,
Thanks for your patience so far! After development has investigated this further, it’s likely expected behavior because of the unique way MQA encoding and decoding operate.
Any digital signal processing (like Procedural EQ) alters the audio data, which can interfere with the embedded MQA signaling. This disruption often results in the MQA renderer failing to recognize or process the track correctly. When the signal is modified—such as by adding Procedural EQ or applying changes to more than the left and right (stereo) channels—it breaks the chain of MQA decoding.
While what you’re experiencing is expected behavior, we’ve already created a ticket to improve how this is handled in the future. If you have any other questions or need further assistance, feel free to let me know!
Much appreciated.
I recognise that this is not a big issue but receiving feedback is why ROON is so successful.
Thank you
Howard
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