I was quickly told to leave a switch thread because I noted I was no longer experiencing any gains from audiophile switches or stacking switches after I was forced to change my internet from a Ethernet cable to a Eero Mesh router. I had the whole expensive chain like everyone else some time back. LPS to separate Modem and Router. A custom Linear Solution switch feeding my stereo.
Recently I was forced to change. I had no ethernet cable in the new house. I was told by a audiophile to get Eero 6+ mesh routers. They are a wifi device that create a mesh of locations receiving and broadcasting wifi. Each device has 2 ethernt ports on the back. I used one behind my audio server with a short 18 inch Cat 6 jumper to my server.
Thinking about making things better I brought my Linear Solution switch out and plugged it into the Eero, then my server into it. No audible change. I then plugged a Belkin switch into the Eero and the linear solution switch into it and the server into that chain. No change.
The Eero 6+ is a gigabyte device. Maybe being completely isolated from the data utility provides a level of clean that is negating the need for specialty switches.
People with a hard wire available should look into this. I have no way to compare.
FWIW, the setup is to install a modem as usual. Turn off the router function in the modem so it is only a modem. Plug the Eero into it and use an app to configure it. Then drop additional Eero into the house and use the app to connect it to the primary one attached to the modem that is acting as the Router. It tool all of 10 minutes. And I see no issues with sonics.
I used mesh routers for awhile. It was not an Eero 6 but was recommended to me by my dealer, so it was a high gig model. It cleaned up some of the reliability issues I was having with my modem wifi as the mesh router was dedicated to audio. It sounded fine and was I felt an improvement sonically.
Still I was not totally satisfied with the sound and so I hired someone to install an internet cable from my modem to my system downstairs in my walkout. It took a little doing but it got done. The hard wire solution sounds quite a bit better and I haven't had any reliability issues since. Basically I feel it's one of those keep it simple solutions that works.
I don't know anything about switches or the like so I can't comment on that. I suspect that the weak link in my internet is my provider supplied modem. It's worthwhile making sure you have your service provider replace your modem to their latest every so often. My experience is that they won't tell you they have something better but if you ask they will swap it out.
Rex, i think with your new place and all the stages of system and room development you will go thru all sorts of revelations of peeling layers of the onion of discovery. are you now at an (thee) end point? very unlikely. you are at a spot on the path. sounds like a good spot.
any network tweak conclusions are not universal. they are very very anecdotal. just way too many variables. and then we have degrees of system performance effecting how significant the differences really are. and even matters of preference.
i have a Mesh wifi designed by my network engineer son but don't use it for my audio network chain, just wifi in my home/barn. works great for that. not tried it in place of my 'copper' with various LPS powered router, LPS powered Nordost Q-NET switch and LPS powered Rieki Network switch. if i did it would only tell me what my personal result might be. i do know what i heard with every step forward i have made.
is it worth even considering? maybe if i have some spare mental energy at some point might try it. but i'm very skeptical. although i don't know what i don't know. but i'm very happy with my digital music performance as it is. i don't even think about this unless i read a thread about it.
I don't know anything about switches or the like so I can't comment on that. I suspect that the weak link in my internet is my provider supplied modem. It's worthwhile making sure you have your service provider replace your modem to their latest every so often. My experience is that they won't tell you they have something better but if you ask they will swap it out.
I check the ISP website from time to time to check for the latest. Seems the latest adds ports and wifi connections. But, as you say, they also upgrade on occasion.
It is also good to re-boot the modem/router from time to time. Not sure why, but if the sound varies from the usual standard a re-boot works in my setup. The streamer also benefits from a re-boot after a Roon update. This may be less mysterious since a re-boot reloads the streamer's OS.
Only my streamer uses a wired connection (in-wall copper). Everything else uses wifi. Not sure how that affects the overall sound, if it does.
I thought about putting a LPS to the Eero. It has a mini sd or some sort of port. I could buy a spare PS and cut the cord. Then hardwire to my LPS. I would probably have such great results it would flame the crowd reading the thread.
Up until 2 months ago didn’t have an Ethernet connection available in my basement, where my AV system resides. Since then I had solar panels installed which although have nothing to do with the system, required that a Ethernet cable be brought into the basement and to its new associated panel, giving me the option to try.
I had been using the Eero mesh for the past two years in the same manner that you have described albeit with a SOtM switch and fmc converter cited between my DIY Euphony/nuc server (with jcat nic) and Nvidia Shield (movie stream).
I strongly recommend that anyone thinking about moving in this direction to try and compare having the added optic isolation in between the Eero (or any other manufacturer’s mesh device for that matter), and your server as I my system benefited greatly.
Now that I have the Ethernet connection as an option what has made the most sense to me is….
Ethernet to Mikrotik converter to SoTM.
Rather than using the Eero as the bridge to the SOtM switch I am using it strictly as an access point plugged into one of the mikrotik’s Ethernet ports which not only electrically isolates but also limits congestion on my streaming due to the way my internet/router, etc., is configured.
All of these devices are in a separate room from all my audio electronics, which is in a separate room from my listening room/theater.
Hopes this all makes sense!
I thought about putting a LPS to the Eero. It has a mini sd or some sort of port. I could buy a spare PS and cut the cord. Then hardwire to my LPS. I would probably have such great results it would flame the crowd reading the thread.
FWIW I tried a couple different LPSU’s to power the Eero but couldn’t get to work. I tried 19v Farad and Uptone set at 12v and 9v.
I intended to do comparison last night per previous post but got halted after I disconnected the SOtM switch and my server had hard time with new ip address.
I will retry after the Steelers wipe the floor with Browns.
FWIW I tried a couple different LPSU’s to power the Eero but couldn’t get to work. I tried 19v Farad and Uptone set at 12v and 9v.
I intended to do comparison last night per previous post but got halted after I disconnected the SOtM switch and my server had hard time with new ip address.
I will retry after the Steelers wipe the floor with Browns.
FWIW I tried a couple different LPSU’s to power the Eero but couldn’t get to work. I tried 19v Farad and Uptone set at 12v and 9v.
I intended to do comparison last night per previous post but got halted after I disconnected the SOtM switch and my server had hard time with new ip address.
I will retry after the Steelers wipe the floor with Browns.
I was quickly told to leave a switch thread because I noted I was no longer experiencing any gains from audiophile switches or stacking switches after I was forced to change my internet from a Ethernet cable to a Eero Mesh router. I had the whole expensive chain like everyone else some time back. LPS to separate Modem and Router. A custom Linear Solution switch feeding my stereo.
Recently I was forced to change. I had no ethernet cable in the new house. I was told by a audiophile to get Eero 6+ mesh routers. They are a wifi device that create a mesh of locations receiving and broadcasting wifi. Each device has 2 ethernt ports on the back. I used one behind my audio server with a short 18 inch Cat 6 jumper to my server.
Thinking about making things better I brought my Linear Solution switch out and plugged it into the Eero, then my server into it. No audible change. I then plugged a Belkin switch into the Eero and the linear solution switch into it and the server into that chain. No change.
The Eero 6+ is a gigabyte device. Maybe being completely isolated from the data utility provides a level of clean that is negating the need for specialty switches.
People with a hard wire available should look into this. I have no way to compare.
FWIW, the setup is to install a modem as usual. Turn off the router function in the modem so it is only a modem. Plug the Eero into it and use a app to configure it. Then drop additional Eero into the house and use the app to connect it to the primary one attached to the modem that is acting as the Router. It tool all of 10 minutes. And I see no issues with sonics.
The title of the thread is a little provocative. Still you are raising a good point which is that with digital sometimes Less is better. It all boils down to the fact that there are simply too many variables with digital. So many times I've built complicated stacks of network and power equipment with the aim of reducing noise and so-called jitter, only to discover that it's better when I remove a few boxes. It's all part of the game with digital. Thank goodness we have analog turntables to give us some rest
The title of the thread is a little provocative. Still you are raising a good point which is that with digital sometimes Less is better. It all boils down to the fact that there are simply too many variables with digital. So many times I've built complicated stacks of network and power equipment with the aim of reducing noise and so-called jitter, only to discover that it's better when I remove a few boxes. It's all part of the game with digital. Thank goodness we have analog turntables to give us some rest
The title of the thread is a little provocative. Still you are raising a good point which is that with digital sometimes Less is better. It all boils down to the fact that there are simply too many variables with digital. So many times I've built complicated stacks of network and power equipment with the aim of reducing noise and so-called jitter, only to discover that it's better when I remove a few boxes. It's all part of the game with digital. Thank goodness we have analog turntables to give us some rest
