2. digital
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What is the most common cause of dropouts when streaming Tidal?

Sometimes when streaming Tidal on my Bluesound Node 2 I will experience audible dropouts in the music...sometimes for a few seconds, sometimes longer. I can go for days and never experience a dropout and then for a period of 15 min or so they frequent. I contacted Bluesound support and they requested a log file, which I sent them. They saw no indication of a problem on their end and suggested I contact Tidal. Tidal support directed me to Bluesound. When I told them I had already discussed this with Bluesound they suggested it might be my ISP. Of course, everything from their end also looked good and I had not been having any other Internet connectivity issues. My high speed Internet speed is around 48mbps. My Bluesound is connected via Ethernet and I have no dropout issues when playing music from my NAS. Just wondering if anyone else has run into this issue and if so how/if you were able to resolve it.  BTW, I stream CD and MQA quality.
randyhat

Showing 2 responses by hgeifman

hgeifman
2,113 posts
 
I also experienced signal drop outs when streaming and it was driving crazy.  After checking everything, I determined my Linksys router could not handle the large number of packets required for high quality streaming.  I lowered the packet size but still experienced the same problem.  

I replaced my Linksys router with an Apple Airport Extreme router and the signal drop outs went away.   I am steaming at 100mbps using an Ethernet wired line and have no problems streaming.

I suspect the problem is not your Bluesound Node 2 or Tidal service.  I recommend you review your internal network including your router.  If you find nothing, I suggest you replace your existing router with a different router to see what happens.  Your router should be able to handle high speed traffic.   Other traffic on your network could cause signal drop outs but my guess is this is not the case.   I suggest a different brand router than what you already have.  Please keep us posted.  

  
hgeifman
2,113 posts
 

Another suggestion is it possible that your modem and/or router needs to be reset and/or updated. Try these simple fixes:

1)  Power cycle your modem. Unplug the power to your modem, wait one minute and then plug the power back in (AND also remove the battery if you have one).  You may need to wait up to several minutes for the Internet light to turn solid green and start working. 

2)  Reset your modem to its factory default settings.  Be sure you read your manual before resetting your modem. You do not want to accidentally erase network information you need, and doing a reset clears out any custom settings you have programmed into your device including: static IP entries, DNS, customized admin password, customized wireless settings, port forwarding, routing and DHCP settings.

3) Update your firmware. Firmware is the software that runs your modem, and it can become old, obsolete and/or corrupt. Check if there's an update for your device and then download any recommended software fixes. (If your device is not listed, go to the device manufacturer's website for more information.)

4)  Power down your router for 1 minute and re-boot.  Also power down your switch boxes for one minute if you have any.

5)  Review what else is going on on you network when you experience the signal dropouts.  Is your phone ringing?  Are there are other users on your network watching a video or downloading a large file? 





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