I can’t tell you why an extender and Ethernet cable can help sonically yet as I’ve still got to get mine hooked up, but many experienced people here with very good setups say they sound better than Wi-Fi so I’m all in and it’s not all that expensive to do so why not? But I’ve also had hookup issues with my streamer with Wi-Fi that apparently an extender/wired or direct-to-router connection solves, and if it sounds superior so much the better.
Router for Audio Streaming
I have been streaming Pandora, Spotify and Qobuz through a wifi network streamer from a Netgear AC1750 R6400v2 router with no sound quality complaints.
Recently a router firmware update failed (a known issue with these) and as a result it is no longer accessible for administration. It still seems to perform ok and accepts new devices however the network settings are "frozen" and I am unable to view device IP addresses or traffic, neither via desktop browser nor via the Nighthawk app.
I will try a factory reset but have read that quite often this does not work in these situations, so I started investigating getting a new router to be able to pull the trigger quickly if needed.
I heard/read that routers can make a difference in sound quality, beyond just being able to keep up with streaming with no buffering. I'm wondering what router experience and recommendations folks have here for reliable audio streaming with superior sound quality at a reasonable price.
Thanks!
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By going with a combo of high quality and a 3.1 it’s much faster , and 1 less Ethernet cables instead of 3 only 2 ,since my cables are not cheap $2k for 2 land yes sonicly a high quality Ethernet cable youcan hear the difference for sure , land a good quality Ethernet hum like the uptone audio Ether regen. question did you check you modem ? Most likely it isa older Obsolete 3.0 model the 3.1 type is up to 10 x faster potentially. |
@soix , thanks. I guess in that case using a mesh network like a TP-Link Decco, as several folks are recommending, and connecting the streamer via cable to one of the nodes would be even better, no? |
I think so. Look, if it doesn’t work just get another streamer and you’re done. I don’t like to fuss with this stuff and just wanna get to the simplest/best option, and this is what I’d do. I don’t think I’m using a mesh network cause I’ll just be using one tp-link AC2600 and don’t need any more nodes. Sad to say I don’t even know if it’s mesh, but it had good specs/ratings so that’s what I’m using but others might have better recommendations. BTW, the Ethernet cable makes a difference and I got a 1m Wireworld Starlight 8 for about $200 that seemed like a good compromise for performance/value. Don’t cheap out on the Ethernet cable would ne my recommendation. Sounds silly, but in streaming it’s clear that every piece matters a lot. FWIW. |
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