Ethernet cable vs WiFi for streamer

Running ???? I would amble if I were you

Mind you, as one of those 'at severe risk' (dodgy heart and dodgy lungs) , I am now, by order, imprisoned in my home for a minimum of 12 weeks. I will have plenty of time to take everything very slowly. It is day 3 and I am bored already. Thank heavens for Netflix and all of the BBC box sets.

 

I'll be losing my music room because that's on of the places I'll be moving the kids to but such is life.

 

I don't think Auralic is as dogmatic as the OP suggests about using wi-fi over ethernet cable. My Auralic Vega G1 (streamer/DAC) was not designed with wi-fi capability. It sounds fantastic btw.

 

Great piece of kit
I maintain that the only things to affect digital audio are the quality of the DAC and the quality of the original maastering and digitizing/encoding.
Nothing else can possibly affect the audio

 

Sorry Chilli

I did miss that bit. You are right. What total nonsense

There are some really strange concepts of how digital audio and Ethernet work

 

WiFi 6 devices are pretty new. You may even have trouble finding online reviews. What's the brand?

You're certainly going to have a better router than AT&T provided, but what was lacking in your old setup? Poor coverage in other rooms? Too many devices online at once? Lack of 5 Ghz bands? Write them down so the salesman can help you.

The other question concerns your other devices. What's the highest level of WiFi they can handle (especially your wife's computer)? Probably the max for your devices is 802.11n (now called WiFi 4), which allows you to use dual bands. 802.11ac (WiFi 5) will probably be used in any devices you've bought in the last two years or so. If you buy a WiFi 6 router, the main benefit you'll get is future-proofing for any WiFi 6 devices you buy in the coming years. IMO not worth the money today compared to a high quality WiFi 5 router.

 

Those of us who have used any of the Merging Technologies DACs have become familiar with the similar Ravenna protocols. I do also note that JBL is putting Dante on their latest preamp/processors (but only for output).

 

I can understand using ‘special’ protocols when dealing with thousands of concurrent streams but why, on a home network, would a digital audio file need special protocols and/or hardware when an H265 2160p video with Dolby TrueHD 7.1 ATMOS sound does not. I regularly stream these over my WiFi and the video and audio never pause, buffer or drop out

 

Imagine a hypothetical silly world in which HiFi marketing departments successfully convince a large portion of their customers that literally every distinction contains a difference, and every difference is beneficial, and people who don't discern the benefits must not hear well.

Thank goodness that's not real and I just made it up, right?

 

Thanks for the info.
We have had AT&T for isp since around 2011 and they basically have a track record of charging more each year then we have to renegotiate a new contract and it's just us two minus any gaming which leaves the demand being this desktop on ethernet, her Macbook, her phone and a Samsung smart tv.
Once in awhile Netflix and no cable, I've wanted to set up audio streaming and I know it's not so taxing over wire and I'm a ways from realizing a nas or a streamer (or a hd of anything to play) but I'm ready to jump in.
Last year if Roon had already had internet radio (earlier in the year or maybe the end of 2018) I was real close to just grabbing a Bluesound, a nas and a Roon lifetime. I was busy then and I have to take it when I get it as I am a contract pictorial painter, up until last Nov. I was real busy and wore out, I do like the idea of Qobuz from what I've read but economic insecurity makes me pause on anything paid monthly, so last year Roon got better but more expensive.
I suppose I'm digressing bigtime but basically because we are not such techno geeks we have nursed our old computers and habits into the now and now can be confusing when you are playing catch up. So anyway she has to start teaching yoga classes on Zoom, so finally I spring into action and I offer to go get a new router if she calls the Everyday Wireleess people to set it up, as I said (I think) I had done the speed test on the internet here a few times recently and it was at 7 or 8 mbs down and 2 or 3 up everytime, and I think the last time we dealt with AT&T we are supposed to be getting 20 or 25 mbs and it's 50 a month -so it's time. Everyday Wireless offers a hundred mbs without the need for a modem for 50 or if paid yearly then one month cheaper.
The salesman at the computer store was pretty smart and we had talked for quite awhile before but that's how I learned of the wifi 6 thing (AX as opposed to AC).
She needs strong wifi to have a smooth multi thread class experience so today I got a 180$ Asus AX wifi 6 which I think is the right fit for us now, it has enough flexibility (for us) and if not I spent 20$ on a 2 year protection deal that allows a trade up if needed at the full paid price. That sales dude no longer works there and I just did a bit of research in the morning before going over to buy -had to wait as they were metering traffic in the store, the original sales guy was referring me to a good unit but it was 300$, the one I got had very recently arrived in the store and made more sense per our needs, I had considered a tri band.
My needs are basic internet access on a wired desktop and I will get an Allo USBridge sig player to hook up to the dac hooked up to the stereo, I have maybe 600 cds to rip and tag and I will be dealing with a bit more than that with a bunch of vinyl ripping lately. So I think I will just try Volumio as I hear it's easy to setup on the Rpi and focus on local streaming (nows a good time to setup a hd with music anyway...) and maybe stretch out to a Qobus thing later and maybe Roon -but those are totally maybes.
So anyway (again), she will have the wifi to herself when she is teaching so this should work fine for her needs and I will figure out the nas and streaming thing shortly.
More on topic I think wifi or ethernet cable will work fine but I like the idea of the streaming and surfing I do being on a wire and she can have the wifi and hopefully all will be good.
More to what you were bringing up is I just realized that she always has her phone on the wifi and she has a vpn on the phone, I have a vpn on mine too but I always just stay on the provider network and keep the vpn off most of the time as I noticed it shortens the battery life by a lot, she keeps it on as she got hacked via phone -twice!
I don't even look at newsfeed on the phone let alone any social media, it's a phone to me until I need to drive somewhere then it's a gps.
Regardless of how her first teaching session goes on the new wifi I imagine that her turning the phone off or at least off the wifi will probably help some.

 

Potentially, yes. There are LOTS of variables, but for example if the cable is shielded and the equipment on either end is not handling the shield terminations properly then it is entirely possible for the cable to become an antenna for EMI OR possibly even a ground noise path. These would affect the analog signal (noise floor, ground noise, etc.) A cable is only as good as the equipment it’s connecting provided that the cable is terminated properly and meets the proper data specification. (CAT5e, etc.) And even though ethernet connections are magnetically isolated - just tossing the proper Ethernet magnetic package on the PCB is only a small portion of the equation...equal trace length and controlled impedance are a really big deal. Is the shield tied to AGND, DGND or Chassis? All three? How are the planes flooded and connected? A lot of pro audio applications and gear actually specify UTP vs STP cable for this very reason unless you are dealing with a known high EMI environment.

If you dig into my post history you’ll find that my particular pet peeve is audiophile Ethernet cables / switches / what have you. As you so aptly said - . Big heaping smelly piles of it.

Maybe with the COVID-19 “shelter at home” restrictions I’ll get around to finishing up my thoughts on what I really think is going on when people claim to hear the difference in Ethernet cables...it AIN”T the digital packets, folks.

 

@ubiknik I did not want to cut / edit your post but I recently read this article on the rationale for upgrading to WiFi 6 even if your current devices don’t necessarily support it.

Why I spent a bundle on a Wi-Fi 6 router for my work-from-home setup: Speed, speed, speed

 

True story, ALC ( Another Lawo Company) named their AoIP “Ravenna” because that is the city where Dante is buried. Ravenna is closest to AES67 and is pretty much the defacto standard AoIP for broadcast.

I don’t think Dante will catch on in consumer because of A) the license fees and 2) the lack of need for networking high channel count audio streams. Large scale commercial immersive systems ((Meyer, Adamson, d&b, L’Acoustics) are all using AVB / TSN.

 

1. Ethernet is non-deterministic and asynchronous by nature. The so-called special / proprietary protocols like Dante do become necessary when trying to move 64 channels of audio to multiple places on a network and have them get there in sync...but eventually they will hit the limits imposed by the original 802.1 standards.

2. You can BET that your 7.1 ATMOS is buffering but you’d never know since you are streaming from point to point. All you really care about is the pause / drop out part. You are completely unaware of the latency and it does not matter. Now take those 8 channels of audio and send them to multiple places and expect them to play in perfect time alignment in realtime. In perfect sync with video...different story.

The need for Deterministic, real-time, synchronous communication on ethernet networks drove a complete rewrite of the 802.1 specs - originally called AVB (Audio Video Bridging) but more commonly known now as TSN (Time Sensitive Networking). To my knowledge Savant is the only consumer company that supports AVB - and largely due to the issues of time alignment (Presentation Time) of multi-channel audio signals in immersive or distributed systems.

 

Sorry, but why on earth would I want to do that on my home network?

Yup,
Any USB, HDMI or Ethernet cables or switch that can successfully deliver a digital bitstream from point A to point B is, by definition, “audiophile grade”
and any player that can deliver bit for bit digital audio must by definition be an “audiophile quality player”. It is difficult to find one that is not.

 

Everything, including my audio files are streaming from point to point

 

Not to be a Debbie Downer but did you consider that the Powerline Ethernet devices make your power "dirty"?

 

I've always thought this too. Cable is path of least resistance (speaking generally, not mechanically) and WiFi could be better only if it's fast and dependable. I have issues with my WiFi and opt to use the cable, but personally never experience any noise/issues coming from the cable. One could always buy a better ethernet cable. Most of mine get pretty beat up quick and need replacing.

 

It definitely does. The adapters have filters for their outlets, and I have a power conditioner plugged into each outlet. My audio equipment is plugged into outlets on a different circuit.

I keep the volume low to accommodate my downstairs neighbors, and my hearing isn't what it used to be, so for me there's no audible effect.