On a completely different topic --
Last night I tried an experiment with my local network to see if it had any audible sonic impact when playing music from the Extreme.
I purchased an inexpensive three-pack of Feit WiFi power switches and used one of them to switch power on and off to the LPS supplying the OpticalModule sending data via fiber from the rest of my network to the Extreme. I listened to tracks resident on the Extreme as well as streamed from Qobuz and Tidal, several times for each track with either the OM powered up, or, as soon as the first notes played, switched off. Finally, I did a "blind" series where I queued up some very familiar tracks and without looking at my iPhone tapped the Feit on/off switch icon quickly a bunch of times so that I would not know if the switch was on or off until the end of the track.
Results?
Although I "thought" there might have been a slight -- and I mean very, very slight -- improvement in sound quality with the LAN disconnected from the Extreme, the "random" trials quickly disabused me of that notion. I was not able to predict with any accuracy whether the OM was on or off.
This result flies in the face of reports from folks including some I know very well and whose judgement and ability to hear subtle nuances is beyond reproach. I don't know why my experience would differ, other than perhaps having a relatively simple LAN and having taken pains to make sure both my modem/router and OpticalModule are powered by quality linear power supplies.
So in my case, I'm lucky -- one less thing to worry about.
Submitted as an anecdote trying to become data.
Steve Z