No sound at 24/192

Answered
Joel
I have three Node 2i streamers. When I try to play 24/192 tracks from Qobuz, one of my Node 2i devices will not output sound, even though the BluOS controller indicates that they're playing. When I group my Nodes in Roon, the other Nodes play 24/192 tracks just fine, but one does not. The problem is intermittent. At times, I'll hear audio, but it's infrequent.
 
I have tried ungrouping the devices, logging out of Qobuz in the BluOS app and logging back in, changing the streaming quality in the BluOS app from 24/192 to 24/96 and then back again, removing the device from Roon, factory resetting the Node etc.
 
Playing tracks at 24/96 or lower works just fine and so does changing the Roon sample rate conversion to something lower than 24/192. When I successfully get audio output at 24/192 with some of these methods, it's short-lived, and the problem keeps coming back. I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
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Comments

8 comments

Date Votes
  • Official comment
    Seppi Evans
    Hi-Res
    • Edited

    It’s the intermittent issue you have and the fact you swapped NODE’s makes it not very clear cut as it could be anything on the chain but dropping the rate helps…

    I would try fixed output as the miniDSP may not like a variable input and most devices such as a CD player etc would normally give a fixed output level.

    S/PDIF leads can cause intermittent issue, perhaps you have a spare phono to phono lead to try coaxial? It does not even have to be a digital cable to test and one side of a cheap stereo lead would suffice.

  • Seppi Evans
    Hi-Res

    As a first troubleshooting step I would swap the lead you are using from the NODE with one from the working NODE and see if this helps. Hires tracks not playing back correctly but low res do, this suggests either a Wi-Fi issue or more likely a cable / DAC issue. You made no mention about how you are connected but this is very common with Optical out and less so with Digital coaxial.

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  • Joel

    Thank you so much for your response, Seppi. I apologize for not including an important piece of information. The Node is connected with coax to a miniDSP SHD that I'm using to process Dirac Live. I tried swapping coax cables and I swapped Nodes from the "bad" and "good" rooms. The coax change seemed to fix things at first but the problem came back. The Node swaps had no effect--the problem in the "bad" room persists. I am using Ethernet (1GB) so that should rule out WiFi issues. Since this is an intermittent issue that seems to be influenced at least to some degree by the use of the SHD (but not always) or Node device grouping (but not always) and with some albums seemingly less likely to output sound than others (but not always), it's really hard to pinpoint the source of the problem. 

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  • Seppi Evans
    Hi-Res
    • Edited

    Hi Joel, Just a bunch of random thoughts…

    First thing that spring to mind is bit / sample rates. Keep an eye out on what’s playing and see if the bitrate of the track changes when the issue occurs. Not all albums are consistent and often have different rates on different tracks.

    Presume you are using fixed output on the NODE?

    By swapping NODE’s that rules out issues with Bluesound hardware (not necessarily software).

    Guessing even the Roon core is also Ethernet wired?

    What about the network switch, try swapping Ethernet ports and leads. A switch  and Router powercycle are also worth a try as that’s quick to do.

    If this only relates to Qobuz tracks, perhaps a trial with Tidal might be in order? The Qobuz settings in BluOS will of course be ignored if the stream is coming from Roon but I am unsure if your testing is with Roon, BluOS or both?

    Can you play and group successfully if you ignore Roon and use just the BluOS App?

    Your Roon core, perhaps with the higher resolution tracks it does not have enough processing power?

    I do however think you are going to have to work with Roon and Bluesound support.

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  • Joel

    Thank you, Seppi. I am using variable volume on the Node, and the Roon core is also Ethernet wired.

    I tried different Ethernet switch inputs and cables and I'm getting 800-900 MBps rates, so all seems good there.

    I also rebooted the modem and (multiple mesh) routers.

    I'll work on streaming through Tidal to see if the problem persists there, and also try grouping through BluOS. These are all really great suggestions, and I appreciate your taking the time to provide them.

    In the meantime, I've had success with just setting the Qobuz streaming settings in Roon to 24/96 and everything has been flawless since then. I'm sure I won't hear the difference between 96 and 192 but I like things to work correctly and it would be nice to pinpoint the problem.

    Perhaps it has something to do with the SPDIF interface between the Node and SHD, but if so, it does seem odd that the problem is intermittent not constant.

    I'll be curious to see if attempting to stream 192 through BluOS and not Roon will work. I've contacted Bluesound support and miniDSP support and I'll report back here if I get some useful info. Thanks again.  

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  • Andrew Dixon
    • Edited

    I gave up trying to play 24/192 files through my node a couple of years ago as the signal it was sending to my DAC was making the DAC think it was constantly receiving a different sample rate mid song, so was switching to the new one and sending my DAC crazy (If I sent the identical files to my DAC via a different source my DAC handled it just fine).

    Bluesound support were involved with this and even sent me a new player but was the same issue with the new one.

    I ended up using Foobar to convert all my 192 files to 24/96 so that they would play OK.

     

    In short, I have no confidence in Bluesound Node as a player of 24/192 files.

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  • Joel

    Thank you for sharing your experience. This is really helpful. Now that Roon supports Tidal Max, I’ve been playing 24/192 tracks from Tidal through my Node and so far they seem to play fine, which makes me wonder if the issue has something to do with how BluOS handles Qobuz tracks, specifically.

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  • Tony W.
    Product Support Manager

    ...which makes me wonder if the issue has something to do with how BluOS handles Qobuz tracks, specifically.

    It can. Unlike other services, Qobuz does have a Stream Quality Setting when you log in using the BluOS App; https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360000264028

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