I’ve never heard anyone suggest that WIFI might be superior to ethernet for any reason. WIFI is subject to interference from other devices. I find it hard to believe you will find any advantage to WIFI over ethernet as long as you have ethernet available where you need it. I paid someone to run an ethernet cable to my Oppo 203 Roon end-point device.
I use wired. I don’t use Wifi at all unless I have to.
My dilemma is optical is recommended for all chord audio gear including my mscaler. With my imac i have been advised that using its optical out whilst at the same time having the imac wired in with ethernet will be to my disadvantage due to capacitive coupling. If i run the imac core on wifi with optical out this goes against everything that roon recommends. So from chord’s perspective i should go with wifi/optical. From roon’s perspective all roon core’s and bridges should be wired in. So it’s a catch 22? A roon endpoint with optical would not offer anything different in terms of options compared to my imac optical out apart from maybe being able to run on battery power such as a laptop. Even if it could run on battery power then i still face the dilemma of going against roon’s advice concerning wired connections vs wifi. If anyone can unravel this puzzle i would be very grateful. Finally with optical being galvanically isolated the mains power / battery operation of the source is not critical here.
No subtle changes. The only issue is reliable speed. If it’s not fast enough, you’ll hear pops and clicks and sometimes skips.
I think the Roon recommendation of all Ethernet is advice, not a requirement.
Thanks it’s good to know that with my very basic usage unless i hear pops or clicks wifi is good to go. The advice regarding the problem of capacitive coupling is from the very top. If the optical source is wired into the ethernet this is a disadvantage for sure.
I don’t know anything about capacitive coupling. I suggest you simply give it a try both ways and see if you can detect any difference in performance and/or sound quality.
That’s ridiculous. Someone’s pulling your leg.
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A laptop used as a roon bridge as an example with optical out to dac will suffer from capcative coupling compared to a laptop used in the same way on wifi. Capacitive coupling is the transfer of energy within an electrical network. This advice is from chords designer. I just came across the cubox. What is the general consensus here regarding a roon bridge on wifi and is the cubox i4 up to the task? many thanks
Quoting andybob (hope that’s ok)
In fact Auralic reccomends their WiFi connection above Ethernet; I understand because it ensures no electric noise can propagate to the endpoint via earths.
There must be some misunderstanding here. Yes, capacitative coupling is a real thing, but I’ve never heard of it affecting Ethernet data transfer.
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it’s not the ethernet data transfer but more the final sound quality from what i understand. This is confirmed by chord and auralic’s quote above when they mention electric noise propagating to the endpoints via earths. Putting that aside is roon bridge on wifi acceptable? If so the cubox i4 with its optical out might solve my problem ie an optical source on wifi and not my core which needs a wired connection.
That’s how I run mine – a Raspberry Pi 3B+ running RoPieee which feeds a Mytek Liberty via USB. Just make sure your WiFi is fast and good. Ethernet works, too, though not well with a 3B+.
I doubt it.
thanks Bill. I understand a digi + with optical out can be attached to a Pi. If i could figure that bit then what about the os etc? In theory a Pi with digi optical out would be great for me with wireless.
is there a roon end point as roon bridge with optical out plug and play? the ropiee project is beyond me.
Is dictated by the DAC. There is not interference in the digital realm. There can’t be. That can only happen at the ADC point, where the1’s and 0’s become an actual electrical signal, and later.
I could even buy an argument if you were connecting via USB. But with optical? Nope. Wireless or Wired it will sound the same. Once again, it costs nothing, try it both ways and let us know what you think.
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will do Daniel cheers.
Wifi vs ethernet sound identical. My router is giving speeds of over 200 Mps though. No dropouts. I think in this case i will ditch the wired connection to my imac core to eliminate any potential electrical noise that may occur. The advice i have is that an optical source without an ethernet connection is better than one with. You can’t have it both ways it seems. I use mscaler/TT2 combo.
Just ordered a chromecast audio. If the sound quality is good it would potentially meet my requirements i.e. an optical source on wifi with the main imac core remaining on wired ethernet. We’ll see. Fingers crossed. 
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