Using both USB and optical to DAC from PC?

[Spencer_Blaiklock]

Roon Core Machine

|Processor|Intel(R) Core™ i9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz|
|Installed RAM|64.0 GB (63.8 GB usable)|
|System type|64-bit operating system, x64-based processor|

Networking Gear & Setup Details

Shaw Fibre+ Gateway (XB6)

Connected Audio Devices

USB into JDS Labs Element III

Number of Tracks in Library

~24,000 tracks

Description of Issue

I’ve been using Roon in exclusive mode to play music from my desktop through my DAC and am very happy with it. The only problem is the delay to switch back to computer audio after stopping the music in Roon. Almost all of my listening in this setup is while I’m working and sometimes I need to hear my computer audio for a bit and then can go back to listening to music. Because of the delay, I end up not listening to music as much, unless I know I’m going to have a longer uninterrupted stretch where I don’t need to hear anything else. Worse is when I’m using TeamViewer to access my office computer from home, because it needs to be completely restarted to get the remote computer’s audio back.

The obvious solution is to not use exclusive mode, but after a year of using Roon, I’m not ready to give up the sound quality and pass music through the OS mixer.

My DAC has both a USB and an optical input. My computer has both USB and optical outputs. The DAC has a button to switch between the two inputs. Would I be able to use the optical connection as the playback device for Windows and set the USB output as a Roon output device? Or would there be an issue of the computer seeing both connections as the same device? I don’t have an optical cable at the moment, so I can’t easily try it myself. Another option would be to use my iPhone via Thunderbolt>USB as a Roon endpoint and optical from my computer for computer sound. A third option would be to buy some sort of all-in-one that could be it’s own Roon Ready streamer and also be used as an external DAC (I think Fiio makes some products like this), but that’s probably unnecessarily expensive and overkill.

It might sound like I’m complicating things, but being able to switch sources quickly without unplugging and reconnecting things each time would be very useful to me every day. I appreciate any thoughts and suggestions!

[connor]

Hi @Spencer_Blaiklock,

Our sincerest apologies for the delay. We’d be happy to assist with your routing issue here, and to provide a little explanatory context that should help you make the best decision given your use case and software/hardware capabilities.

What you’re experiencing is a consequence of the drivers preinstalled for USB on your PC, ASIO and Wasapi. Diagnostics show you use both for different outputs in Roon, but primarily use ASIO for the Element III.

ASIO functions as an exclusive driver by design, intended to retain a single USB output for a single software program amidst the slings and arrows of competing software programs and network interruptions on a PC. Building on that intended use case as an exclusive audio driver, our developers have assumed that Roon would want to retain control of an ASIO Zone via RAATServer despite interruptions, etc. So, there’s a delay before RAATServer releases the Zone to the computer. Thus, the delay before you hear system audio through the same Zone.

If you’re using Wasapi in Exclusive mode, you’ll see the same behavior. Roon will resist releasing the device to the computer - for users with large, multi-remote, multi-Zone setups, this tendency is actually hugely beneficial. It obviously stinks for your use case.

Fortunately, there’s a goldilocks middle here. I recommend installing XMOS instead, which is avialable on JDS Labs’ website here: Drivers & Firmware _ JDS Labs Customer Support

XMOS functions slightly differently than ASIO - you might have a better experience.

Another option is to use the CNTRL-T command to stop playback in Roon, which should release the driver immediately.

Or, you can open up your Windows process terminal and kill RAATServer if you want to switch back to system audio.

@Spencer_Blaiklock

Would I be able to use the optical connection as the playback device for Windows and set the USB output as a Roon output device?

Since the DAC’s own routing allows for source switching, the only question here is if the optical output is available to be selected independently as an output in the system audio settings. If so, then sure, select the driver Zone as the output in Roon, and the optical as the system output, and use your hardware to toggle input source.

Please reach out if you have any questions.

[Spencer_Blaiklock]

Hi Connor,

Thank you for your thorough response! It helps me understand a bit of what’s going on under the hood.

I ended up getting an optical cable and was successfully able to use exactly as I hoped. Optical for computer audio and USB for Roon, with a button push on the DAC to switch back and forth.

Fortunately and unfortunately, I’m not longer regularly working from home. It’s nice to be able to focus on one desktop system, rather than trying to manage two. Now at the office I have the Element connected to my computer via optical and am using a lightning to USB adapter to play music from Roon ARC from my iPhone. It’s working very well for me so far!

Thanks again for your suggestions. I’ll know what do next time I’m working from home.