Skip to main content
kzil
Contributor I
August 6, 2022
Answered

SONOS + TIDAL + Netgear ORBI AX6000: Tracks skip 10-20 seconds before end

  • August 6, 2022
  • 17 replies
  • 373 views

Hi,

This may or may not be because of new wi-fi setup, but I haven’t noticed it before: Tracks almost always skip from 10-20 seconds before end.

Setup:
SONOS Connect (wired, wi-fi off)
4 SONOS One (wi-fi)
1GB/1GB Fiber
Orbi AX6000 (RB850) Router + 1 sattelite

Everything works. Lots of bandwidth, fast response from app, but about 20 to 10 seconds before end of track, audio dies. SONOS keeps counting the final 10-20 seconds of the tracks and then starts next track.

I’ve tried:
Restart
Reset and setup of new system
UPNP on and off
Reserved IP for all units
SONOS Connect wifi on/wifi off

Only one layer of NAT: Fiber goes directly to Orbi router.

Does anyone have an idea on what could be wrong?
 

This topic has been closed for further comments. You can use the search bar to find a similar topic, or create a new one by clicking Create Topic at the top of the page.
Best answer by ratty

During the last few seconds of a track Sonos charges its playout buffers with data for the next track. Indeed on some services it will attempt to buffer the entire upcoming track. 

Your network connection -- or Connect -- is most probably choking for some reason or other. A system diagnostic would reveal whether there’s major packet loss. Only Sonos Support has access to the diagnostics.  

If the Connect is in a group but is not the Group Coordinator (the first room in the group) the stream from a wireless One that is the GC could be faltering as it loads its buffers. A group will always perform better if the GC is wired.

17 replies

Show previous replies
kzilAuthor
Contributor I
August 8, 2022

Thanks @ratty! Very appreciated. I’ll get support on the line.

    kzilAuthor
    Contributor I
    August 8, 2022

    Just to follow up:

    1) Talked to three very nice supporters with SONOS. Diagnostics show nothing out of the ordinary. We tried new DNS servers to no avail.
    2) I tested with a free Spotify account: No issues at all.
    3) I tested with TIDAL Connect (HiFi quality – can’t force it to Normal on TIDAL Connect for some reason): Same error: Sound stop exactly 10 seconds before end of track.
    4) Tested with streaming quality normal and HiFi: It seems that the issue does not arise with Normal quality. “Seems” because caching makes it difficult to know exactly when quality is normal or HiFi, and SONOS doesn’t show what quality stream you’re getting. 

    It definitely smells like a very niche TIDAL / SONOS issue on my Connect Gen 2.

    SONOS Support will get back with some thoughts on what might be the issue.

      ratty
      ratty
      August 8, 2022

      I wasn’t aware that a ‘Normal’ (presumably lossy 320k) Tidal subscription level was available on Sonos. Maybe it’s still there as a fallback if the FLAC stream is either unavailable or the connection struggles? If so a modest 320kbps bandwidth would obviously present less of a challenge.

      As far as I’m aware Sonos will still only request a 16/44.1 stream from Tidal. I’m happy to be corrected but I don’t think it gets 24-bit. It wouldn’t be attempting to fetch anything above 48kHz sampling rate, and definitely not MQA.

      kzilAuthor
      Contributor I
      August 8, 2022

      Maybe there is not - that explains my varying results in trying Normal vs HiFi, I guess any difference is confirmation bias :) 

      The HiFi stream is 16/44.1 - Master doesn’t work on SONOS, afaik.

      kzilAuthor
      Contributor I
      August 10, 2022

      Anyway, I installed Roon Core on my iMac and am now enjoying lossless 16/44.1 FLAC from TIDAL via Roon > SONOS Connect. So it seems that the issue is with the Connects interpretation of the TIDAL stream. When it passes through Roon first, it’s perfect. And the player is more responsive than SONOS’ own, btw. 

      ratty
      ratty
      August 10, 2022

      It sounds like a solution then, albeit via an intermediary.

      Is your system running S1 or S2? 

        kzilAuthor
        Contributor I
        August 10, 2022

        It sounds like a solution then, albeit via an intermediary.

        Is your system running S1 or S2? 

        S2 – it’s a Connect Gen 2. And yeah, I think I might like the Roon interface. The stream is the same, it’s just another, albeit pricey, UI. Nice, though. Signal path tracing, DSP controls and things like that are great.

        Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement