Hi Roon Community,
I’m seeking clear confirmation on the standard and recommended method for setting Zone Grouping Delay compensation in Roon, specifically for a mixed LAN/WiFi system where one device has a large inherent processing delay.
My System Setup:
I’m grouping three zones:
- LAN Zone (Fastest): Cambridge Audio MXN10 / Marantz streamer.
- WiFi Zone (Slowest): FiiO SR11 with \approx 750ms of internal DSP latency.
- WiFi Zone (Third): Denon Home 250.
The Core Question:
What does Roon consider the “Standard Method” for manual delay compensation?
Option A (My Current Setup): Set delay on the FASTEST device.
- I currently set the 750ms delay on the LAN streamer (MXN10).
- Goal: To manually force the fastest device to wait and match the SR11’s inherent 750ms lag.
Option B (Roon Standard?): Declare delay on the SLOWEST device.
- I set the 750ms delay on the FiiO SR11.
- The LAN streamer remains at 0ms.
- Goal: To inform Roon of the actual inherent physical lag of the slowest device. Roon then automatically calculates the required buffering for the faster zones (MXN10, Denon) to match the SR11.
Why I Need Clarity:
I suspect that Option A (setting the delay on the fastest device) is causing occasional sync loss on the SR11 when the audio format changes (e.g., PCM to DSD), because Roon isn’t properly accounting for the SR11’s “lock-time” during resync.
Can anyone confirm that Option B is the standard, correct, method for Roon, as it allows Roon to accurately manage the group’s total buffer time based on the highest declared physical latency? Because in my case Option B does not work, I need to use Option A.
Thank you for your insights!