I have posted before that I used Roon using wifi via a mini PC and was happy with the sound. There were some practical reasons for using wifi, mainly placement of router in home., Three floors, placed in middle floor, my main system is on bottom floor.
Just tried Roon with ethernet with noticeably better SQ. I didn’t notice previously I had a problem. The difference is significant. Why?
Using mini-PC with USB external DAC always set on WASAPI Exclusive mode.
Music is much cleaner sounding. Stark difference. Soundstage is wider and deeper. Sounds more musical. I am writing this as I was skeptical that there would be a difference.
Just interested in thoughts. Wifi in my house is typically 250 to 500 Mbs btw measured on the same floor as my system, meaning that is what my computer was seeing.
I do hear a difference. I will need to switch back and compare again. Unfortunately, due to time it is a very delayed A:B comparison.
Unrelated, I have my entire audio library on NAS that allows me to do real time comparison of Qobuz, NAS, and CD where I can do real time A:B:C comparison and they all sound different. Not to say one sounds best, but all with a different sound.
I know a lot of difference has to do with loudness and it is hard to say if the Qobuz was a remaster, but it is rare I make a change and there be no difference even if all 44/16.
You only need to Google “what interferes with WiFi” to answer your own question . There are so many things that do, not to mention the actual construction of your house. Brick and Concrete stops WiFi quite well. I have a parrot cage in the house I am thinking of renaming the parrot Faraday - Google Faraday Cage !!
There is so much traffic on the 2.4 Ghz band on a limited number of channels that interference is almost guaranteed. For example can you see you next door neighbours router on your iPad , I can
There are more channels on the 5 GHz band but absorption by infrastructure is higher , the higher the frequency.
A bit of wire is simply that , I had to run a very torturous route to gt a wire but I would never go back.
All that said it depends so much on the Wi Fi implementation. I have a Naim Uniti Atom HE , which while we decorating the lounge had to run on Wi Fi , it performed perfectly. My Cambridge Audio CXN struggled on anything but 16/44.1
Each individual installation site is different, direct Ethernet connection eliminates many variables that WiFi can introduce. That being said both of my homes are in non densely populated areas and WiFi works very well. Densely populated areas like apartments are likely to be more of a challenge, much RF emissions, congestion of channels etc.
Some examples please? My newest Apple TV 4K box actually has no Ethernet port, WiFi only darned thing works just brilliant, had me concerned initially though.
Well. Just think about this: have you ever experienced any difference in high resolution pictures received via Ethernet or WiFi? Or differences in HiRes films? Any wrong characters in a PDF coming via WiFi (or broadband/mobile)?
If your WiFi is strong enough to transmit without any dropouts, it will be the same as if you use Ethernet. Either the transmission works without errors or it does not, it’s 0 or 1 and has absolutely nothing to do with “sound stage” or “more musical” sound (whatever this may be).
That’s - to my opionion - the technical point of view. I think Peter_Bruderer made the most important reply, saying “Make it simple. When it is better for you, do it the way it is better.”
You can try a different forum where more knowledgeable people pop up to comment, like the guy from Etherregen (forgot his name). But every home is different and some people don’t hear any difference and are glad with just a simple radio and say bits are bits and others have high-end stuff and hear everything.
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James_I
(The truth is out there but not necessarily here)
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Network engineers will tell you there can’t be a difference unless you hear dropouts. Audiophiles used to vinyl or other analog logic will say the difference is night and day and even better with a $2500+ audiophile switch.
Occam’s Razor could certainly be applied or K.I.S.S. But of course these don’t work for audiophiles. I’ll bet that the fellow that sells the etherregen thing can explain it better.
Besides every audiophile knows that Ethernet sucks and that you really need fiber all the way through
Every data under the sun can survive in the WiFi environment sans the wiley audiophile music files, they are sneaky and ultimately destined for failure
My core is connected via ethernet. My main endpoints are all on WiFi.
Do I hear a difference when on ethernet? No
For me WiFi is better due to flexibility in setup locations.
If those who hear a difference, cool .
Without stealing an Alan Parson’s quote (but I will).
I use my equipment to hear the music, not the music to hear my equipment.
I take this to mean we should enjoy music more and appreciate the artists work more than squeezing out every last bit of betterness in a hifi system. For me that takes the enjoyment out of listening. I am looking for new headphones though
I am 62 years old, so I am very old school. I will always try to use Ethernet when possible, because I feel nothing beats the hard wired connection. I guess I really don’t look at it from an SQ point of view as I do reliability. Reliability is my main concern.
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