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BS Node 2i: WiFi or Ethernet..?

Greetings from snowy Chicago.

My rig:

Bluesound Node 2i
Chord Qutest (with Teddy Pardo LPS)
Belles Soloist 1 int am
Dynaudio Special 40s

I stream Tidal mostly and my router is in the same room as my Node in the basement and I have very strong wifi signal.
But, cant direct connect the Node to network w/o running a 15’ cable.

My question:

- Has anyone heard better SQ results by using ethernet connectivity with Node 2i compared to just using WiFi?
- Am curious if using a wireless "access point" then connecting it to Node 2i via ethernet would sound "better".

Any thoughts or experiences out there?
Thanks.

ianrmack
cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 
feldmen4,

I did not quite understand your issue but if it is a distance problem, you can always use a learning bridge to extend your range and connectivity.

This device will do it for you perfectly.  I have 3 of these at home and ALL my connections are wired to the back of my home router and I have absolutely no connectivity or interference issues.

https://www.amazon.com/NETGEAR-Ethernet-Unmanaged-Internet-Splitter/dp/B00QR6XFHQ/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia...

cakyol's avatar
cakyol
940 posts
 
alephresearch

Ethernet wire does not introduce or capture any noise to its destination.  All is taken care of by the checksumming and error correction codes.

There should be absolutely no problems.  I use more than 100 ft of ethernet cabling almost everywhere in my house coz they all first go up into the attic and then down, and I experience absolutely no issues.

As long as you do not exceed the maximum length requirements of a category 6/7/8 cable, there should be NO problem.

Ag insider logo xs@2x
feldmen4
116 posts
 
@cakyol - the OP had asked if hardwiring from a wireless access point would be better than just using WiFi straight to the Node 2i. My point was that in both of these set-ups the signal travelled through WiFi so expecting one to be better than the other was not logical. 
Like you, all of my connections are hardwired and one of my runs is fairly long - not as long as yours but about 30 ft all done with high quality Cat7 cable. I don’t experience any audible issues with this set up.

Matt 
henry53's avatar
henry53
280 posts
 

FWIW in my situation my small music room has a very great bass problem at around 61Hz. I have built massive bass traps and lots of other treatment to tame it. However the most successful measure to treat it  was? To use WiFi instead of ethernet. Now it could well be the ethernet introduces some additional 60Hz artefact, it could be that WiFi delivers a signal with a deficiency of signal at 60Hz, I'm not really bothered what it is but the 60Hz booming has gone. So each of our systems react differently in different circumstances and of course what some people consider bass booming some people like. So my observation is that some things just need to be a matter of trial and error. Try it both ways you never know.

hifijunky
126 posts
 

I had very occasional dropouts with WIFI on my Node 2i (Amazon HD).
I switched to a Cat 8 cable and have not the problem again. 
I am using a Cullen C7 power cable and DH Labs D750 Coax to CDP Dac.
 

 

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