How do I switch from Wi-Fi to Ethernet cables?


My Bluesound Node currently receives Wi-Fi, but I'd like to switch to a direct link. I assume that would be with an ethernet cable from the modem to the Bluesound - with possibly a better switch between the two.

The problem is that my modem is in the basement and the Bluesound is on a different floor. There is not a clear path for running cable. 

Is there a piece of equipment or technology that I could help in this situation?

imaninatural

@mahler123 

Banking does absolutely require reliable data transmission. As an example, do a search on 'swift financial messaging services'. You'll see just how much reliable data transmission factors into banking.

 

Even visiting your own bank's website requires reliable networking. Otherwise, you wouldn't see a little locked padlock next to the URL in your browser window. Cryptography would be useless if bits were being changed. Nothing would ever be validated.

 

You can test this out yourself on Windows using the 'certutil' program on the command line to generate hashes of your audio files. Make a copy of an audio file. Use certutil to generate a SHA256 hash on the original (e.g. 'certutil -hashfile <your_file> sha256'). Then right click on the copy and select Properties. Modify one character of the metadata, e.g. increment the year - if it says 2008 change it to 2009. Apply your changes and run certutil on the copy. The hashes won't match. Another scenario would be to upload a file to Google Drive and download the copy. The hashes wouldn't match if bits were being changed in the process.

 

Timing issues are minimized because there are multiple buffers for data - from the physical network interface card, to the operating system, and finally at the application level (i.e. the music player software). For example, I use moOde and the playback buffer is 4 MB. For 192 kHz / 24 bit PCM audio, that's almost 4 seconds worth of music.

 

Besides, I think many audiophiles would be surprised at what jitter actually sounds like. Here's a link to a website that gives you several examples with a pure 1 kHz tone and then with music - http://www.sereneaudio.com/blog/what-does-jitter-sound-like. There's also this - http://archimago.blogspot.com/2018/08/demo-musings-lets-listen-to-some-jitter.html.

Plus 1 for the Powerline adapter.

Had mine a couple years now and it’s solid as a rock.

NETGEAR Powerline adapter Kit, 2000 Mbps Wall-plug, 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports with Passthrough + Extra Outlet (PLP2000-100PAS) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0778Y6K6N?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_3PP9TGBV3EGDQQ9STFCK

Please don't take what I say as gospel, it is merely my experience.

Several have extolled the Asus Ai Mesh system and for what I have found is good reason: It works. It is easy to set up and tune and provides excellent coverage. We have one base router and two extenders. The router is upstairs in my office as I spend a lot of time there and it's easy to cycle the power on the network should I need to reset anything. It's also easy to log into the nodes via my PC or the app on my phone for firmware upgrades.

One extender is in my wife's office. It supports her work PC, her VOIP phone and coverage out to our gazebo. Makes it easy to stream music out there or control my BBQ smoker via wifi. 😉

The other extender is in our living room. It supports my Bluesound Node2 and sits across the room from the hifi. Note: Any wifi appliance will be "noisy" and can upset sensitive stereo gear. My CJ phono preamp was unusable! So the extender was moved and lives in a bookcase about 15' away then I ran Cat8 to the Node. I also shut off the LEDs on that node. No need to have them on. Voila! Clean, dependable streaming. No drilling. No one drilling holes, etc.

Some may denigrate using ANY wifi at all however consider this: Think about where the signal is coming from. Where on the planet is the music server originating and how many hundreds (thousands?) of hops between switches, etc. has it had to make before it reaches you?? 

Happy listening.