Getting dropouts when upsampling with Roon to DSD512 and outputting to opticalRendu; thoughts?

[jiminlogansquare]

I use Roon DSP to upsample Qobuz streaming PCM files to DSD 512, on top of a 66K taps Audiolense convolution filter. My server is a SonicTransporter i9 and my Roon output (endpoint) is an opticalRendu Lite (for Roon only).

 

This configuration works great about 95% of the time, with processing speeds around 2.7X, but occasionally I get dropouts (gaps in playback).

 

The dropouts can be infrequent, with an hour or more between instances. Or they can come in bunches of two or more in a single track. The first couple of seconds of a track sometimes also gets clipped off.
 

What are folks' thoughts on this? 

[jiminlogansquare]

25 minutes ago, bobflood said:

Jim, If you can put a monitor on the ST i9 and look at the BIOS at boot up you may find that there is some unused processing power available. You may be able to use ASDM7EC/256 modulation with some BIOS adjustment. I can get ASDM7EC/256 and Closed Form Fast as the filter with my i5 8400 in a passively cooled case similar to what Andrew uses for the ST i9. I don't know what Mother Board Andrew uses so you would have to do some research to see if there is anything you can try. That said, be careful and do not be aggressive. It is possible to go too far and damage the CPU but with modern MBs it is not likely as they usually won't boot if the settings are pushed. I have an ASUS Z370i MB and ASUS BIOS is well documented and easy to work with. You could check with Andrew first to see if he can help but he will likely say no and tell you that your warranty is invalidated if you try.

 

Anyway, just a thought and BTW I love the Finisar SFPs I bought from you a while back.

 

Glad to hear that you got your setup working. I had followed this thread with interest.

 

Bob 

 

Thanks for the idea (and the warning). I actually am finding ASDM7 without EC, at DSD512, to sound better than ASDM7EC at DSD256. The dropouts with the latter are infrequent enough that I was able to give it a thorough listen, and I found that things like piano and violin just come through more true sounding, and the overall presentation has more air and energy around the instruments. But of course, YMMV. My ears, my system, and my unconscious bias after spending 100 hours trying to get DSD512 to work because I have read so frequently that my DAC plays its very best with that format and rate.

[topside3]

I'm so glad I came upon this thread. I'm currently running a 2014 mac mini as a roon core and experience audio dropouts when using HQPlayer. I use a fiber media converter (provided by Small Green Computer) connected to my opticalRendu. Are you all saying that this could be resolved by using a network switch that has flow control? If so, I may just cancel my order for the Sonic Transporter i9. My mac seems to upconvert via HQPlayer to 768K just fine. It's the dropouts that were driving me crazy!

[fmzip]

5 hours ago, topside3 said:

I'm so glad I came upon this thread. I'm currently running a 2014 mac mini as a roon core and experience audio dropouts when using HQPlayer. I use a fiber media converter (provided by Small Green Computer) connected to my opticalRendu. Are you all saying that this could be resolved by using a network switch that has flow control? If so, I may just cancel my order for the Sonic Transporter i9. My mac seems to upconvert via HQPlayer to 768K just fine. It's the dropouts that were driving me crazy!

 

It could very well be as simple as that. I am using a Sonore Optical Module Deluxe, UltraRendu and a Microtik Switch, zero drop outs. I used to get some dropouts with a Cisco 2960 on rare occasion. HQplayer NAA, upsampling everything in Roon to DSD512, ASDM7, Poly Sinc XTR- MP 2s. The Mac Mini M1 runs only HQplayer Desktop and Roon Core

 

Router> Copper> Microtik CSS610-8G-2S+IN Switch>Copper>Fiber patch Cable> Sonore Optical Module Deluxe>Copper> Sonore UltraRendu

Microtik CSS610-8G-2S+IN Switch>Copper>Mac Mini M1

 

More details can be found here:

 

 

Microtik Switch CSS610-8G-2S+IN

FLYPROFiber 1M OS2 LC to LC Fiber Patch Cable Single Mode Duplex LC-LC
Sonore Optical Module Deluxe

(2) Foundry/Brocade SFP Modules FTLF1421P1BCL-F1

[topside3]

Update... The new switch with flow control worked great for a week... Now dropouts are back. What to troubleshoot next?