Router for Audio Streaming

Fiber is good, best use for me post server.

@sns :

1. As reported, we cannot detect any difference in sound between our wifi and our 50’ ethernet cable. We invite you to stop by and subject yourself to the same blind tests we ran and see if you can hear any difference. I will bet that you won’t hear any.

2. Latency in copper is about 5 nano sec/m, so with our cable it would be about 75 nano sec. If you treat that latency as 1/2 period, you get a frequency of about 6.7 MHz. Good luck hearing 75 nano secs or 6.7 MHz.

3. How does latency affect sound? So what if the sound is delayed 75 nano secs? What about the latency between the Qobuz or Spotify server and your router? What about the latencies (phase shifts) in the DAC, preamp and amp?

4. How does jitter sound like? What aspect of the sound does it affect and how?

I can only relate my own experience using wifi, various length and quality ethernet cables, fiber cable, coax cable. Best for me, longer coax vs long ethernet from cable box, quality short runs of ethernet cable, fiber post server. LPS on router also important, quality of ac feeding router also important. My system resolving enough to hear all these changes.

I cannot tell you at what minimal level of latency sound quality impacted. I can tell you my new custom streamer with enterprise level components hand picked for lowest latency sounds far more natural, analog like than previous streamers with higher level of latency. Latency affects timing, timing affects sound staging, imaging, flow. I can only state my streaming setup is really special in  regards these  aspects of sound. Now the equal of my vinyl setup in sense of ease, refinement, revelatory is the adjective I've been using since installation of new streamer. I'm sure JCAT Optimo ATX LPS, first and only full LPS for Windows motherboard also has role in providing this level of sound.

I'd suggest reading Ed Meitner' of EMM Labs take on jitter and it's affects on sound quality.

I don't expect to ever hear any of the things you mention as a function of digital bits being somehow altered in such subtle ways.

I'll add for those with cable ISP (internet service provider), have ISP move modem to listening room, best solution for long ethernet cable runs. If can't move modem, do fiber media conversion close to modem, fiber better than ethernet for long runs.

Another liability of wifi is wifi capable devices actually running wifi are likely the greatest emitter in home of emi in form of rfi. I have Trifield meter and wifi along with transformers is huge emitter. These devices are being bathed/contaminated in huge amounts of rfi, very bad for noise, and noise is enemy of sound quality in high end streaming.

Even the modem itself may be a liability. The best modems are those with external power supplies, which should then be powered via LPS vs supplied SMPS wall wart power supply. Get rid of telephony, also contaminates  internet feed, no telephone connection on modem, get separate telephone modem from ISP. Finally, get Broadcomm chip modem, lower jitter vs Intel chip modems. https://approvedmodems.org/bad-modems/ This individual actually has measured jitter  in modems, https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/cable-modems.30094/

Finally, network devices like the Network Acoustics Muon reportedly greatly effective, my new streamer uses JCAT NET XE card, this powered with it's own dedicated LPS,  which performs same or similar function, well worth it!