New to Bluesound - Roon loses connection with Flex 2i
Answered
Hi,
I just bought a new "kitchen radio", i.e. a Bluesound Fklex 2i because it should fit nicely into my existing Roon infrastructure, but I'm experiencing LOTS of connection issues - exactly the same type of issues as in this thread:
https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/360037130954-Roon-bug-sss-with-Node-2i
for example:
- Random Playback Stops. Playback randomly stops mid track.
- No Audio from Bluesound. Roon shows the track is playing, no audio is produced. This can continue indefinitely with Roon progressing through a queue and indicating everything is playing normally with no audio from the Bluesound.
- Audio Delayed Start. A request to start a track results in Roon showing the track has started, running perhaps 15 seconds or more until the audio suddenly starts ~15+ seconds into the track.
- Audio Will Not Start. A request to start a track results in Roon showing the track has started and playing fine, but audio never starts from the Bluesound.
- Extremely slow to start or switch tracks (>15 seconds).
- Momentary Loss of Zone. The control unit flashes a message indicating the audio zone is gone and a minute or so later it reappears – typically requiring play to be restarted.
- Zombie State of Bluesound. The Bluesound enters a ‘zombie’ state that requires a power restart to regain control from Roon.
This is NOT network related - I do have an extremely robust network built on Ubiquiti hardware, I have excellent WiFi coverage and live on the countryside with no "disturbing" neighbours or conflicting networks, and it is only the Flex 2i that is experiencing any issues. My other Roon endpoints are performing 24/7 without any issues. This seems to be a very common problem when using Bluesound with Roon given the number of comments here and on the Roon forum (I know, I should have read it before I bought the 2i...), so my question is, what are you guys doing to adress the problem?
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Official comment
It IS network-related...
When using the BluOS App, audio data is transmitted to the BluOS Player and decoded at that point. When using ROON, all data files are decoded and transmitted as full PCM streams as if they were uncompressed WAV files.
Please see this help centre article as a reference; https://support1.bluesound.com/hc/en-us/articles/200347887 - A FLAC file requires a throughput of about 4-5 MBps while that same audio stream transmitted as a PCM WAV file will require 9-10 Mbps.
As a result, ROON requires significantly more network throughput than native BluOS.
If you are using ROON, please ensure you have no less than Excellent signal strength upwards of -40 Dbm as suggested here; https://support.bluos.net/hc/en-us/articles/360000220487 -
Hello Tony and thanks for your reply!
First, the 2i is located about 4 feet from my kitchen access point and when playing, it's the only device connected using WiFi as you can see in the picture below. To test the network throughput using this access point I took my laptop and did a broadband check and it ended up in network throughput of 92,88 Mbit/s (up), 68,91 Mbit/s down and a latency of 12 ms. My Roon Rock Core/Server is of course connected to the same subnet as the 2i through physical network cables Ubiquiti switches.
So, here is the strange thing. Even though the environment for WiFi is excellent, I only get a "Fair" connection.
After forcing a reconnect (from my router controller), I ended up with a new connection (NG this time), 100% network experience
And in the end, an improved strength reported in diagnostics.
Still not as good as I think it should be. Any thoughts?
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As mentioned, ROON does require Excellent signal strength. Consider an Ethernet Powerline Adapter if you are insistent on using ROON.
You will more than fine using the BluOS App and TIDAL natively in this configuration though...
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I tried one more thing. Moved the access point 3 feet closer to the 2i and now it's not obstructed by anything. Ended up with "Excellent" signal strength. Is this really what is required to get a robust connection?
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Sorry Tony, I don't buy that since all other wireless Roon endpoints I have tried work without a glitch. My initial question remains though, is this something you acknowledge as a problem in your end and are working on improving?
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Hi Christian, If your Bluesound player is working fine with other services or usage such as TIDAL using The BluOS App, please contact ROON as your concerns can best be handled with them. If not, then please select Help, Send Support Request and we can help you troubleshoot your network.
As mentioned earlier, ROON takes significant network overhead due to their system. I can not speak for other products or why they may or may not work other than the fact that those other products are not multiroom products running their own background processes.
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