RS520 dropping airplay intermittently?

Hi,
I’ve been using the RS520 to output from my macbook for audio while the macbook is closed and using external monitors and keyboard.

At times airplay seems to drop connections intermittently.

Switching over to BT works without a problem.

Was wondering if anyone else has experienced this?

Thx

@Smegel

we’ve seen occasional reports of AirPlay dropping when streaming from a MacBook in clamshell mode. This can be related to macOS power-saving settings or Wi-Fi network stability.

Since Bluetooth works fine, the RS520 hardware is functioning correctly.
To improve AirPlay stability, we recommend:

  1. Disabling power-saving features like “Power Nap” on your Mac
  2. Using the 5GHz Wi-Fi band if possible
  3. Restarting your router if needed

Hi,
The error appears to be on the RS520 side of things.

My mac was connected via ethernet (even though wi-fi is on. ) [Note: Ethernet connection takes priority]
The Mac’s settings are for full performance and power when connected to a power supply. Not sure what is ‘clam shell mode’ although I do run it w a docking station , two monitors and an external keyboar / mouse.

While I couldn’t see the RS520, I could see other airplay enabled devices.

The RS520 had an ethernet connection so its wi-fi was off.

I checked the streaming settings… while normally all are turned on… they were all turned off.

Not sure how they were turned off.

Its not the router and the wi-fi router has both the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands and the Apple mac is always on the 5GHz.

Will continue to monitor the situation.

@Smegel

I have some additional questions.

  1. Is AirPlay enabled on your RS520?
    Click the three-dot menu button in the upper right corner of the RS520 to find the AirPlay icon.
    Please enable AirPlay.
  2. Are your RS520 and MAX connected to the same network?

That appears to be the issue.
I’ve always had all three streaming options turned on.

For some reason that got reset to off and I don’t know why.

And yes, both the Rose and the mac are on the same network.

New Release Announced.

Hi, I think this may fix it.
My guess is that when it went into standby or something it reset the streaming settings.
Hope this does the trick.

Thx

@Smegel

We apologize for any inconvenience.

The update will be released today at the link below.
If you encounter any issues after updating, please let me know.

Hi,
The issue is still happening.
It happens mid stream.

Still looking into it.

@ROSEHAN

Still having the issue of airplay connections being dropped.
Its intermittent so its hard to trace down when and why.
I tend to see this w my macbook M1Max.

Has anyone else complained about this still happening?

Hi Mikey,

I had/have the same problem with Bluetooth/AirPlay on my MacBook Pro M3 Pro. Since I don’t use it, it doesn’t really bother me.

I had many sessions with Apple Support, and they said they would look into it and fix it in the next update.

Unfortunately, no improvement was noticeable after a Mac OS update at that time.

Back then, I tried playing music via AirPlay from my MacBook to a cheap streamer. It was only an MP3 file, of course, but when I played it from my Macbook, no cover art was included.

When I did the same thing with my iPhones or tablets, everything was fine.

It was just a bit of fun back then, since I don’t use Bluetooth/AirPlay.

Long story short!

It could still be an issue on Apple’s end. At least, that’s what Apple Support confirmed to me back then.

I tried playing music from my MacBook to a cheap streamer. My AirPlay or Bluetooth connection kept dropping, usually after 10 minutes, and I had to reconnect the cheap streamer to my MacBook.

And as I mentioned, it worked perfectly when I used my 9th or 10th generation iPad.

Of course, the cheap streamer also has outdated technology, but it was sufficient for streaming MP3s, and I could see the album art and lyrics on its small display, which, as I said, wasn’t the case with my MacBook Pro M3 Pro. The music played, though.

This probably won’t help you much, but I wanted to let you know.

:v:t2:

@Smegel
We tested it based on what you mentioned, but I didn’t find anything unusual.

  1. Are you talking about disconnections, not audio cuts?
  2. If the connection is disconnected, can you search for Airplay and reconnect? Will it work?
  3. I checked today and it’s been connected for over 4 hours. How long does it take for it to disconnect?
    Please also provide information about the Airplay APP you mainly use.
    Thank you

Hi,
Its a disconnect, and I can reconnect,
Occasionally, I’ve had connections connect but no sound… if I switch back to the mac speakers and then try again it works.

But the main issue is that I’m listening… suddenly drops and sound coming out of my macbook which is sitting closed and connected to a docking station… so not ideal.

In terms of app, its happening both w Firefox and Spotify.
My backup is to switch to using my MB20 (McIntosh BT Transceiver) Toslink in to the RS520. (Use RoseConnect to switch input … ) And that works fine. Actually better than the BT dongle.

The disconnect is random. I haven’t timed it. I’ll have to check to see.
I’ll also test spotify from iPhone or iPad to see if that too is an issue.

So mine’s a fully loaded M1Max.
I use it because in my office, I’m running two monitors, external keyboard via a docking station. Sound thru the RS520 and I’m using Rode mics and an external camera for conference calls and what not.
(Also for recording presentations.)

I don’t care about the art or anything but the sound. I really hate this when I’m watching a tech talk and suddenly the sound is coming out muffled from the closed mac book.

Flipping to the MB20 the sound is actually better than from the BT dongle.
Airplay is going to be via the wired ethernet. (I’ve got a 25’ CAT 8 from my switch to the Rose)

@Smegel (Mikey)

Wow, you’ve got some tech at home…:+1:t2:

Yup.
Which is why I chose the RS520.
I wanted something that had enough horsepower to drive any speaker and an AIO to be minimal.
If you look at the AIOs in the same price point, the RS520 has the best amp. While some would say the AKM dac chip is better. (Even Rose uses it in its flagship) The ESS is no slouch. It does its job, and unless you’ve got two DACs side by side I doubt you could tell the difference. (Yes there are differences… but w normal listening… you’d be hard press to say which is which. )

Right now had some issues getting the airplay to connect. (Weird) Note that it wasn’t just the Rose but also the Arcam Solo Uno. Spotify connect worked. Airplay didn’t. But when I switched to the toslink in and using the MB20, then switched to airplay it worked. Also when I started this morning Airplay did wake the unit but no sound.

I agree it could be from a couple of different things… which is why I asked if others are having this issue. It could be that I need to periodically reboot my accesspoint/router, and the AIOs too.
I haven’t rebooted the RS520 in weeks, just let it go into standby mode.

1 Like

Dear HiFi Rose users

I have a few questions for HiFi Rose users:

  1. When AirPlay drops from a MacBook (M1/M3), does the disconnection occur only with the Rose device, or does it also happen with other AirPlay-compatible devices?

  2. Aside from the MacBook (M1/M3), has anyone experienced AirPlay dropouts with the Rose device when using an iPhone or iPad?

@Smegel
Yesterday, we played music for over 12 hours via Airplay on our Macbook (Apple Music) and iPhone (Spotify) without any issues.
You may need to look for other issues, such as your network environment or testing after turning off the Macbook.
Thank you.

That’s a possibility.
Once I could connect to the RS520 w airplay… it worked without issue.

I rebooted everything to make sure its a clean state.

If it happens again, I’ll let you know… just keep a heads up if others report this issue.

Thanks.

So far the issue was notices w my macbook. (M1Max chip)
I had an issue w my iPhone where it couldn’t connect and I hadn’t tried the ipad. (I’ll try that tomorrow)

The problem appears to be intermittent and that makes it harder to pin down.

Thanks,

-Mike

Just an update.

I think it may be an issue with the version of iOS.
My macbook is running Tahoe 26.1 which I believe my iPhone is also running.
I tried this morning to get the iPhone connected to any device running airplay. No luck.
I then tried my iPad running iOS 16.7.12
Which could connect to all devices.

I’m currently running both the Arcam and the RS520 from the iPad simultaneously without an issue.

If I don’t have any issues after this test… I’ll go back and try the Macbook .

This could be an issue w the OS.