Persistent problem with Spotify connect

Issues
1

Hi all,

Almost every time I will use Spotify connect will I experience a disconnection or a problem connecting in the first place. At some point or other (usually when I choose a different list/album or somehow disrupt playback), music will stop coming out of the SA30 or the phone/laptop, even though the icon will tell me the two devices are connected and the song is being played on the app (the SA30 display will also tell me that Spotify is being streamed normally).

Then I will have to manually disconnect and reconnect 3-4 times, before connection is truly reinstated. It’s not very serious, but it gets on my nerves. Any ideas?

2

I have the same issue, with Tidal too. Sometimes switching between the two abends the device which a power cycle resolves. Irritating to the point that I’m considering ditching this amp for something a little more reliable. The introduction of SW has plagued an otherwise reputable product, clearly the devs have some work to do.

3

Are you sure it’s the SA30? I never use Spotify. I use Qobuz with Roon and never experience any problems playing music on my SA30.

4

However that’s using standard UPnP right? The roon approach I mean. Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect are proprietary interfaces supplied by them and implemented by Arcam on the SA30……ok, underneath could be the same approach/technology/protocols but it’s a different implementation.

Try comparing with using Spotify over Airplay or chromecast and see how that compares.

5

Ι use Chromecast for Mixcloud, Soundloud and Bandcamp and I’ve never had any issues.

It was also trouble free when I used it for Tidal and Spotify before the update that introduced “connect”. I haven’t used Tidal since then so I don’t know if there’s an issue there as well as @Nostradamus claims.

6

I suspect it’s connect related, Spotify and Tidal present issues. It occurs either switching between the two or using one service by playing an album until the end and attempting to play something new shortly thereafter. It’s as though the service times out, or defaults back to another state. Starting a session from another device sometimes works, or playing locally and then reselecting the connect device. Playing either service via Chromecast doesn’t seem to present the same issue. I’ve reset the Arcam to the factory default and reapplied the latest firmware to no avail.

1 Like
7

What does the display of the SA30 say? I experience the problem sometimes as well, but with me it is caused by the dominancy of (e)ARC, when my TV is not completely shut off. Be sure your TV does not send any signals to your SA30 and perform a net reset, and let the system restart after cutting off electricity for a minute or so. It helped with me.

8

Thanks for the answer, but we don’t have the same problem. The display of the SA30 continues to show that it’s connected to Spotify playing the track it’s supposed to play (which is indeed being played on the app), but there’s no sound coming out of any device.

9

Have similar problem. On previous version everything worked just fine. Now it’s quite inconvenient to use spotify.

  1. Spotify connects to arcam maybe from third time. Somehow it finds it difficult.
  2. I cannot connect to arcam when song is not playing. To be clear connection is made but none playing when starting the song.
  3. After song finishes (if I choose particular song) and I want play another, song is not played although Arcam and Spotify show it’s playing. So I have to reconnect a few times to establish new connection. It’s quite exhausting.

Have some thoughts to bring some previous version of amp. Maybe it will solve the problem?

Is it Arcam problem, or Google Cast, or Spotify, or all of them? Have reinstalled everything a few times…

10

The symptoms are exactly as you describe them, but in my case it’s not a Cast problem but exclusively a Connect problem. Actually I’ve reverted to streaming Spotify via Chromecast in order to stop being annoyed.

In that sense, since Connect was introduced with the latest update, I don’t know how an older firmware would work.

Anyhow, let’s hope a future update will fix it.

11

Roon has nothing to do with UPnP, and they say they will never have. Roon is using proprietary protocol.

12

To be honest when I’ve read that I’ve never quite believed it

I mean ok, maybe it’s not UPnP so roon isn’t just going to work with anything, they live off having roon certified devices. But I kind of figured it would be not dissimilar to Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect……so it’s a probably proprietary API rather than “protocol” (which will be common at some point) but it’s not UPnP….I’m probably splitting hairs and roon wouldn’t divulge anyhow :slightly_smiling_face:

13

I would call RAAT a protocol, but it’s probably just semantics :slight_smile:
Mor info here:

14

RAAT is a protocol, but tied up with running a local Roon server It doesn’t run remotely and requires significant network resources to run reliably.

I don’t use Spotify connect, but do sometimes use Tidal connect without issue, but I can run Roon all day without a single drop out.
If you follow the Roon forums you will see lots of complaints about dropouts from user’s there as well

15

Hi all,

Just wanted to say that i have noticed these problems with spotify connect and spotify cast since the first day the new firmware was released. Previous version had other problems, so going back did not make much sense.

After some attempts i was able to reach a support person in Arcam, i have walked through the steps and we managed to reproduce quite a few issues.

Here is the example email from that exchange:

Thank you for getting back to me. I am happy to learn that at least one Spotify Connect issue was reproduced. It hints that the other similar issue with sound or connection disappearing after one track could be also reproduced. I think it makes sense to focus on this connection mode first. I will put the steps here, as well as a new video. By the way, I got a new device, Samsung A7 tablet, and the same issues occur there.

Losing sound after the track ends:

  1. Connect to SA30 using “Spotify Connect”, make sure the playback starts ok
  2. Make sure “Autoplay” is off. Meaning Spotify will not automatically continue playing similar tracks when music ends. (I am not sure if changing this setting changes it on SA30 while connected, or the device at hand, but change it just in case )
  3. Go to search and type “sting”
  4. Click on some track from the results, make sure it starts playing and plays for a few seconds
  5. Scroll the track closer to the end but leave a few seconds of playback
  6. Wait for the track to finish, make sure no new track is started automatically, this is key.
  7. Go back to the search results and click on another Stings’s track
  8. Observe that the playback visually starts, but no sound is coming from the speakers
  9. Now we are in a strange state where depending on your next actions like clicking on yet another track, changing volume, pausing and playing, the sound might come on at some point and connection gets restored, or connection fully drops, or tracks start kind of jumping back and forth on the screen.

Here is the video - https://photos.app.goo.gl/S6qWxtRaEdQP9QKJ7

While recording the previous video I actually bumped into a new issue that seems to be similar to the one above.

New track does not play if the previous track is paused first:

  1. Connect to SA30 using “Spotify Connect”, click play on the currently active track, make sure it starts playing
  2. Pause the current track
  3. Go to Search, for example look for “sting”
  4. Click on any track
  5. The playback visually starts but no sound is coming
  6. We are again in this strange state with seemingly broken connection

Video - https://photos.app.goo.gl/R8KEvj2QpN85TfZh9

Another observation - when the so-called “strange state” is reached i cannot immediately reconnect to the device. To resolve the situation when no sound is coming i disconnect and continue playback on the handheld device, wait for a few secs, then attempt to connect to SA30, it usually fails the first time, then i try again and on the second attempt i can re-establish the connection and continue enjoying the music.

When the playlist like Discover Weekly is playing, song after song - these issues do not happen.

Regarding the Google Cast and glitch in the start of the songs - i tried to quickly reproduce this, and seems like result is fluctuating all the time, sometimes no glitch at all, sometimes barely audible, sometimes it is very obvious that almost a second from the start was skipped, but catching that moment on camera means a lot of takes :slight_smile: Here are my results - i think in one or two cases you can hear smth. I am not using dirac on any of the inputs.

Videos - https://photos.app.goo.gl/jfYCW6BNnReMsoHR7, https://photos.app.goo.gl/tQxc9BuPRncraMXy8

I hope this helps. And I appreciate all the support, once I was able to reach the right email it has been a very pleasant experience so far! Really looking forward to enjoying my Arcam to the fullest and with no interruptions!

The last response that i got was:

Good afternoon

Thank you for the further information. I have recreated these issues and logged them, so am now awaiting feedback from the software team.

This was on June 13th.

I encourage everyone to not just write here, but actually contact the support. This will increase the awareness and the priority of these issues.

Email i used - csupport@harman.com

If and only if we are active enough as a community we can get these things addressed.

2 Likes
16

any update on this? I’ve got the same problem. spotify keeps displaying connecting without finishing.
i’ve reset my network, factory reset the SA30, disabled all firewalls in my router, all to no avail

**update
Logitech Music Server with upnpbridge plugin does work

17

Any update on this? New amp with latest firmware still has an issue if you pause a song then chose another - no sound but amp displays song title.

Also noticed that through dirac only if you swipe to a new song there is a short burst of noise after the song stops and before the next plays.

Might have to go back to my Wiim Pro for Spotify.

18

I think nothing has changed, I have tried Spotify Connect two or three times but it still drops out, so I only use Chromecast for Spotify.

Curiously enough, Tidal Connect is perfectly stable.

I also haven’t experienced the sound burst you mention, and I have Dirac permanently on.

Let’s hope the announced firmware update will solve the Spotify Connect issue besides adding hires flac to Tidal.