All networks are different, all setups are different.
Moving the OP’s server, and endpoints to ethernet is the first correction Roon will request.
Some basic troubleshooting, and common sense is clearly needed.
1 Like
Thanks for all good advice. The Lyngdorf popped up again after the 3rd restart.
I will never complain again 
and go and buy an ethernet cable or two
1 Like
Greame, you seem to be cable management phobic too.
Lol, only teasing.
Great work
4 Likes
Whilst I agree that an Ethernet equipped home is the best solution for streaming music, unfortunately there are many of us who cannot implement this.
I live in an apartment in SE Asia whilst working internationally prior to my retirement. The apartment block is relatively low density but floor to ceiling glass on the majority of external walls, an open concept broken up with solid concrete walls with a building management that refuses to allow retrofitting cable in solid walls and a wife that will not tolerate cable runs across the floor. All of this conspires to produce an extremely wireless unfriendly environment with +- 40 wireless networks detectable by my MacBook Pro.
Despite this, and after several hardware network upgrades I have got to the position where I have not experienced dropouts or any wireless related issues for the last 2 years or so.
This requires investment in the best wireless system you can get. (I use a WiFi 7 mesh system where endpoints are connected via Ethernet to the routers, the MLO backhaul option is great and have tested wireless backhaul speeds between routers similar to a 10 gbps Ethernet connection.) This has to be backed with optimal settings giving priority to your streaming system and an appropriate maintenance regime to ensure continuous adequate performance.
So yes, for those who are forced into a wireless network there are solutions available to ensure wireless streaming Nirvana. Cable is best but solutions now exist that make the wireless route achievable, wireless has come a long way………
1 Like
I hope you would never marry a cablephobic. Already imagine comments like ´Help! The Borg have assimilated my living room´…
2 Likes
I’m with @Graeme_Finlayson - especially as he appears to have hidden the cable mess away nicely out of sight in a utility cupboard.
My phones and tablets and a single IoT device use WiFi - but nothing else. In the context of Roon, only very occaisionally do the said phones and tablets get used as anything other than a control surface. As such, WiFi performance does not matter to any significant extent as long as there is a stable link.
My Roon Server and all my everyday Roon endpoints are all using wired ethernet and the network is designed so that, within the home network, no combination of device network activity can saturate the shared links (between the switches and the router).
And therein lies another point. As soon as a network gets to a size such that not all devices can be directly wired to the router it should be ‘designed’ (taking into acccount link utilisations and capacity for all links) and not just ‘thrown together’. Thought must be given to each device to decide where (and how) it should be connected to the network and what it’s impact might be on other parts of the network. (e.g. Where possible, connect a high performance NAS and a Workstation that demands a high performance from the NAS - say for video editing over the network - to the same switch using wired ethernet so that the intense traffic between them does not interfere with and degrade the utility of the rest of the network).
This is true of wired networks but it is even more true of WiFi networks and networks involving other shared bandwidth, half-duplex links such as powerline adaptors (which, in the past, I have used with some success - even in the context of Roon).
2 Likes
My Kef LS50W2’S are hard wired to the router and between each speaker, they had issues with drop outs on WiFi before I started using Roon though, using the Kef connect app. That is with the main speaker 2 feet from the router with direct line of sight.
I have a chord poly/Mojo2, wiim pro plus and a rpi running dietpi in various locations of the house, all using WiFi which never drops out, ever, with Roon, bubbleupnp, LMS.
My main TV just runs off WiFi, maybe 10 feet from the router, I only use it for netflix and youtube and I never have an issue there either.
WiFi can be reliable in my experience, this is just using the box virgin media gave me many years ago, I’ve been with them since NTL.
Edit. I should say that my NUC running Roon and LMS is hardwired too
1 Like
Of course chances are much higher that a wired system with dedicated core, proper network layout, switches and alike will run rock-solid and you won’t have anything to worry about. And following advices of roon´s technical team are always a good idea.
The problem is in the real world not everyone can follow every single advice from the best of all possible network worlds. People are using laptops and WiFi out of convenience. And many are used to Airplay and Spotify Connect which are both pretty reliable.
Fully understood that roon has higher computing and networking requirements and faces more challenges with different third-party hardware. But maybe there is a chance to at least implement some internal testing routines which help the user finding the fault? The ´Audio files are loading slowly´ notification is addressing only a part of potential problems and does not really nail down the cause.
To be fair, other protocols like Google Cast, Sonos or Bluesound recently were also showing problems. See no reason to bash roon.
1 Like
In the list of priorities - having a wired Roon Server is at the top.
ROCK and the Roon made server boxes don’t even support WiFi.
Wired is definitely better for endpoints - but it isn’t as critical.
But if you can wire - do!
5 Likes
Apple cheat a bit with Airplay2 - and in some circumstances it uses lossy compression (without telling you). It’s suspected this was for reliability over WiFi.
One of the reasons I like Roon so much is that they are purists - and would never do anything like this!
Spotify is lossy anyway - so again it’s a less challenging problem.
Roon’s model where all the complex processing is done on the server makes a lot of sense in many ways - but it mean that larger, uncompressed lossless streams at the exact sample rate you asked for are being sent over the network. So better quality - but demands more from the network.
People often forget, or don’t realize, that Roon is not only streaming lossless content, sometimes at 24-bit 192 kHz, but that this traverses the home network twice, i.e., router to server, and server to streamer.
Moreover, timing is critical, and unlike streaming video or lossy music, Roon won’t compromise on quality to iron out any bandwidth glitches.
Roon will undoubtedly expose the slightest performance problem in a home network. So, as absolute minimum, always connect Roon Server using an Ethernet connection. This is achievable as the server can sit next to your router-a NUC or similar is often smaller than an ISP-provided router.
3 Likes
For sure, and that is why it was seen as superior to Google Cast in its Hires days which was much more prone to streams being interrupted due to WiFi instability.
I personally like the puristic idea as well but one has to be aware that this approach inevitably leads to a very very small market potential. Basically just the overlap of people being purists, willing to pay for software and tech-savvy enough to deal with problems or set up proper hardware.
Would very much like to see roon gaining ground among the vast majority of music lovers who mostly care for getting their music as fast, easy and reliably as possible. Maybe some ´Lean WiFi mode´ or proper self-diagnostic routines would do the job.
Let´s face it: Most people want software simply to always function without hassle. That is even true to those being interested in high-quality sound. The number of people among my friends and acquaintances moving away from NAS server or CD to Tidal or Spotify is frightening, and among them are real high end guys.
Fully understand roon needs more of investment and involvement upfront but maybe there are ways to make it more stable or to give users some kind of feedback which things need improvement. I guess for most who start a complaint thread here the main issue is that at a certain point if was working flawlessly even with substandard equipment and suddenly streams are stopping, apps are crashing and things getting slow without prior warning.
4 Likes
Most issues with Roon like you are having are due to network issues. The quality of a network is paramount to reliable streaming with any system.
My main Roon server is a Roon Nucleus. I have Roon sever on my Dell laptop for use away from home. In addition, I bought a used Mac Mini for $200 to use as a Roon client with Splashtop to keep my Roon Nucleus up and running and connected to Tidal and Qobuz when away from home. I later decided I might as well make the Mac Mini a Roon server also. Why not?
My Nucleus is my main Roon ARC server using port forwarding. I later decided to give TailScale a try on the Mac Mini and set up a second Roon ARC server. Again, why not?
1 Like
I own very little other than investments. I don’t like owning “things.”
2 Likes
I’d love to know what brought about your transformation.
With age, comes wisdom.
3 Likes
You need to understand @Jim_F .
Until recently he spent a lot of time away from his system looking after his 101 yr old mother in law. Explains all.
5 Likes
From technical point of view I fully agree. But somehow people who have an unstable network nevertheless manage to use Spotify Connect and Airplay without major issues while roon and Chromecast might be less stable.
We all know why, but we have to be aware of people who are not caring for network quality and laptop settings who just want ´things to always work´. Many of them are in fact music lovers and potential roon users and it would be sad to loose them to Spotify.
1 Like