Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Sooloos v2.449 Experiences (Post Update)

Hi,

First my sympathies I know how frustrating this can be with a fault especial an intermittent one. When I first had my C15 it kept losing previously ripped albums after I ripping the next batch. I tried allsorts to "fix" it myself, however after reporting it to Meridian it was fixed quite quickly and I've (touch wood) not had a problem with it since.

Anyway back to your system; this may not be directly related to the new software itself, it could be it was the process of updating that has highlighted a hardware problem on your MD600. Thus, I would recommend contacting Meridian Sooloos support ASAP and getting them to perform a remote diagnostic check of your system.

Regards,
Carl

Has the new Sooloos software caused the limits of the on-board processor in the MD600 to be reached under certain circumstances? We have somehow (how?) learnt elsewhere that Roon cannot run on the MD600 unless there is a processor upgrade. Perhaps those limits are closer than we imagined?

An oddity I have been getting since the update is my Control:PC end-point sometimes refusing to accept the paste of applying cover art. I have to shut down, go away for a bit, then come back and it works. This has manifested itself more recently due to the down-time of the metadata service. Could this perhaps also be a manifestation of the processor power and the new version of Core?

Hi Gianni

Not sure where you are going with this, but this is my take on things... My response probably goes best in other topic but I post it here as it follows your post.

I believe that processor in MD600 and MCx00 (especially MC600) were relatively well specified but low power devices. I don't think that the Sooloos Core is particularly stressful wrt CPU, however, memory may well be below par and a few tricks needed to work within memory constraints were/are needed. As things balloon, this gets harder and harder to manage, but I don't think we are there yet as, correct me if I am wrong, S2.2 runs adequately on even older kit? Maybe a memory upgrade option needs to be supported for users with larger album counts?

As far as Roon is concerned, going full track level metadata instantly bloats memory/storage by a considerable amount, guess 5x-10x, probably somewhere in between. A big hit on resources of current kit designed for a previous product. Will increasing core RAM fix it? Depends on whether Roon is 32 or 64 bit. If Roon was 32 bit, then they would still be struggling against the same memory constraints if they were running on a Mac Pro or MD600 with extra RAM. If they were running 64 bit, theoretically no contest for modern kit.

CPU (and GPU) on the other hand is a different matter. A greenfield development such as Roon can then make full use of latest algorithms, fancy database queries, DSP processing and UI segues that make a modern user experience. Which bodes the question, why run 32 bit and limit album/track counts if you are no longer tied to legacy Meridian kit. Ans: Probably to support even relatively modern 32 bit phones and tablets.

So it boils down to, is Roon 32 bit/64 bit? Do you need fancy CPU support to support core functions or just for fancy UI and DSP which can either be handled on a local device i.e. tablet or not be absolutely necessary i.e. DSD.

My guess, things could be done to existing Sooloos hardware to make both S2.x and Roon experience better - RAM is a simple user upgradable option. But at end of the day, Roon is better off without existing Meridian hardware whilst S2.x still has mileage left in it, even if it requires a modest hardware update for users with larger libraries.

64bit seems to be the way phones and tablets are going.

Russ

I agree, they do, but it's very recent. For example, 1st gen back on iPhone, 5c is 32 bit, 5s was first iOS device to support 64 bit. Not sure on equivalent iPad devices, but if Roon was 64 bit only, you potentially have 6 month old devices it would fail to run on.

Please keep Roon discussion in the announcement thread.

I don't think so, S2.2 is not very heavy on resources, I was thinking more that performing the update means writing a lot data into the DOM (that store the OS and application) which does not occur under normal running. Superstition I know but I feel in Pioneers' case losing the core on daily basis is an intermittent hardware fault not a software one.

As for speculation of Roon on Meridian hardware can we keep that out of this topic, so it stays focused.

Regards
Carl

Tidal via our Meridian system is still not functioning. Sooloos source, ID41 or MC200 depending on which zone was picked to play, drops off line soon after a Tidal track starts playing (see my previous posts)

I've boiled possible reasons down to two -
1. our home network is not fast enough: solution - invest in a new faster router.
2. out internet speed is not fast enough: solution - upgrade service.

How do I tell which is our issue (before spending $)?


John

Have you done a speed check of your internet connection to get some numbers?

Chris

John

Lots of free internet speed checkers available, also iPad apps if required.

Russ

I have in the past, but can't now remember. I will check tonight. What is the minimum required internet speed for Tidal on Sooloos? Is the symptom of insufficient internet speed that your Sooloos source drops off line? (For insufficient streaming speed, I naively expected hickups in the sound, not the source dropping off line.)

Try ie: http://www.speedtest.net/

I've not seen bandwidth requirements for Tidal on Sooloos, but for Sonos it is: