2. digital
  3. 1340282042

Wireless router "contamination" of sound?

I'm thinking about getting a laptop. If I do, I will be going wireless at home. I'm wondering if people have found that using a wireless router has affected the sound of their systems negatively. On the one hand, I think "there's already so much potentially negative stuff in the air; what's a little more?". On the other hand, as audiophiles, I know you understand the concern.

Thanks for your thoughts and experiences.
jfz
jfrech's avatar
jfrech
1,816 posts
 
Hi I think onhwy61 nails it. If you're in a neighborhood, vs out in the country, you likely already have several wireless routers penetrating your room, wires, and snooping on you...

Good quality interconnects and power cables/conditioning always seem to help...maybe it's this reason.

PS...have a cell tower close?
slothman
311 posts
 
Your should name your network something like "DEA", "ATF" or "FBI".
onemug
784 posts
 
It didn't in my experience. In my home office the router sits 3 to 6 feet from my stereo and haven't noticed anything amiss.
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
My understanding is that a strong wifi signal, as received by an antenna that is designed to receive wifi frequencies, will be received with a power level in the rough vicinity of -50 dbm. That corresponds to 0.00000001 watts, at frequencies that are vastly higher than anything in the audio system is capable of responding to. And it would seem safe to assume that there is nothing in the audio system that is optimized for receiving those frequencies as well as a wifi antenna is.

So I wouldn't worry about it. And after purchasing the router you could of course perform a conclusive test by pulling the plug on it and seeing if you can perceive any differences.

Regards,
-- Al
knghifi
1,668 posts
 
I found my old cordless home phone systems (I think 900 mhz and 1.2Ghz) were interfering with my wireless router. Every time a phone is in used, wireless connection would drop. I bought a DECT 6.0 phone system and it resolved the problem.

Last month I'm hard wired the DAC and music server to my router and surprisingly the sound improved dramatically over wireless.
More to discover