Hi @soix thanks and +1. I was thinking vodka, but yes!
Wifi vs ethernet revisited
For this discussion I want us to forget the usual problems of wifi: stuttering, buffering, loss of signal strength. Let’s assume we have a strong, reliable wireless connection. Questions: how would you rank the following:
1. [No wireless, my current config] Ethernet from router -> Switch (or OM) -> fiber -> Etherregen -> ethernet -> streamer.
2. Eero wireless mesh -> receiver -> ethernet -> streamer.
3. Eero Wireless mesh -> receiver -> ethernet -> Etherregen -> ethernet -> streamer.
Or, to really go hybrid and (probably nuts):
4. Eero wireless mesh -> receiver -> ethernet -> Switch (or OM) -> fiber -> Etherregen -> ethernet -> streamer.
I haven’t done [4] yet. But to my ears, [1] definitely beats {2] and (less emphatically maybe) beats [3] even though I have a very strong Eero wireless mesh system. Maybe my assumptions to begin with are still wrong? I can’t seem to read a good forum thread where the usual stuttering’/buffering problems (that we all know about) are removed. Thanks in advance everyone!
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As the OP, thanks to all for teaching me so much. Here is a summary of where I am now. I have two systems: (1) Moon 791/Moon 761/Wilson Watt Puppies (50th anniversary), and an older (2) Auralic Vega G2.1/Moon761/B&W Nautilus 804. (The B&Ws might seem like a weak link but I’ve had them since 2002 and love them.) My goal: separate the Wifi and audio LANS to the extent possible. I concede that this may not be the optimal strategy, but that’s what I tried out (cf @soix @sns). I used a TP-Link ER707-M2 as the baseline router. Rationale: I have a 2 gig connection and wanted to exploit their 2.5gb port for the Eero mesh. The TP-Link has no wifi though I would have disabled it anyway. I turned off all the Omada stuff. It is serving up IP addresses and that’s that. (WiFi) Eero running in bridge mode from the 2.5 gb LAN port. (Audio 1) I am using the SFP port on the router to feed a fiber optic cable using Finisar transceivers. This runs to an Etherregen (with a Farad LPS) and then into the Auralic. (Audio 2) LAN ethernet out -> long run to another room ->Trendnet unmanaged switch -> fiber via Finisar again -> second Etherregen -> Moon 791. (Roon core) LAN ethernet to Roon core (MacMini). These LANs are all flat with the same subnet and I have zero problem with Roon discovery -- my phone is on the Eero mesh and has no problem reaching out to the audio LANs. The sound is amazing. (Of course, the WWPs are better than the B&Ws.) I am sure that this setup can be improved but unless I swap out some serious core equipment (e.g., the B&Ws which I am kind of attached to), I do not believe it can be significantly improved. For instance, the Farad clearly and quite emphatically improved the SQ for my system ending at the B&Ws, but it seemed to have a negligible effect on the other system ending with the WWPs. I mention this only to say that while I surely suffer from some degree of confirmation bias, it is unlikely that all the perceived improvement can be laid at that particular door. There is so much more that can be done. Some of it I will do, like a better power supply for the router. But I am pretty sure that (barring better core equipment) I am most of the way there. As always guys, your suggestions are most welcome and will be implemented when I next find the time... |
@fastfreight Thanks for that video, don't poo poo the network!
Now I'm intrigued by the Dejitterit equipment, have to do my research on these products, will search the Audiophilestyle forum for threads on this. I'm really surprised the guys on youtube video are making claims these network products are affecting timbre, tonality, I've never heard any network device affect this, presentation, yes, presentation meaning timing, flow, this a clock thing.
@debrajray I wouldn't worry so much about confirmation bias, this a short term possibility, the long run proves out changes and their real value. |
@sns I’m not worried at all. Some awareness of it is good actually. Anyway I have my core topology now and can now take partial derivatives instead of total. The latter involves too much setup cost. |
Hey @debrajray , no need to explain your keeping the Nautilus 804's. I still have a pair of N802's and a pair of N803's in my vacation home. In my opinion, the Nautilus line were the smoothest B/W ever made. And, at 30 years, with the exception of one midrange driver, they are still going strong. |
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