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Does connecting a streamer to Ethernet make much difference compared to wifi?

I'm really worried about the effect that the switch might have on my audio components. I have read on the internet that a switch, err switches at very high frequencies and hence injects high frequency interference through the cable/air /mains which cannot be proven to be exactly equal to zero. I have also read that any form of interference cannot be shown to have an effect which is exactly equal to zero on any connected device. Plus it has a switch-mode power supply, which is obviously forged in hell to destroy mankind. Also I have about £500 left.

Would I better putting this towards a new linear psu for my fishtank, a cranium-based faraday cage, a grounding box, or a second switch for my switch?
 
adamdea said:
I'm really worried about the effect that the switch might have on my audio components. I have read on the internet that a switch, err swtiches at very high frequencies and hence injects high frequency interference through the cable/air /mains which cannot be proven to be exactly equal to zero. I have also read that any form of interference cannot be shown to have an effect which is exactly equal to zero on any connected device. Plus it has a switch-mode power supply, which is obviously forged in hell to destroy mankind. Also I have about £500 left.

Would I better putting this towards a new linear psu for my fishtank, a cranium-based faraday cage, a grounding box, or a second switch for my switch?
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Spend it on records and beer.
 
JezmondTutu said:
17 pages - I have unwittingly created a monster! 😂
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To answer your original question (yes I know, I'm going off-off-topic!), the reason a respected streamer manufacturer does not include a wifi transceiver in theie Zen range/Pulse range/Statement range is the noise such units can produce. These are hard-wired ethernet only and it's what I have always done myself since before Innuos was a thing.

I confess that when I had a wifi-capable Node 2i, I never did sit down and in a methodical way compare the sound quality of wired vs wireless.
 
adamdea said:
I'm really worried about the effect that the switch might have on my audio components. I have read on the internet that a switch, err switches at very high frequencies and hence injects high frequency interference through the cable/air /mains which cannot be proven to be exactly equal to zero. I have also read that any form of interference cannot be shown to have an effect which is exactly equal to zero on any connected device. Plus it has a switch-mode power supply, which is obviously forged in hell to destroy mankind. Also I have about £500 left.

Would I better putting this towards a new linear psu for my fishtank, a cranium-based faraday cage, a grounding box, or a second switch for my switch?
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You're not worried though, are you, you're just being a very silly naughty boy making mischief!

I wondered how you managed to have so much time on your hands to stay engaged with such a thread, and then I started asking myself whether drugs were involved.
adamdea said:
In the absence of cocaine and hookers?
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And there are clues.
 
TheFlash said:
To answer your original question (yes I know, I'm going off-off-topic!), the reason a respected streamer manufacturer does not include a wifi transceiver in theie Zen range/Pulse range/Statement range is the noise such units can produce. These are hard-wired ethernet only and it's what I have always done myself since before Innuos was a thing.

I confess that when I had a wifi-capable Node 2i, I never did sit down and in a methodical way compare the sound quality of wired vs wireless.
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I should probably just have asked you in the first place Nigel! It got me wondering for exactly that reason i.e. Innuous don’t offer wifi with many of their units.
 
TheFlash said:
To answer your original question (yes I know, I'm going off-off-topic!), the reason a respected streamer manufacturer does not include a wifi transceiver in theie Zen range/Pulse range/Statement range is the noise such units can produce. These are hard-wired ethernet only and it's what I have always done myself since before Innuos was a thing.

I confess that when I had a wifi-capable Node 2i, I never did sit down and in a methodical way compare the sound quality of wired vs wireless.
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I think you’re exactly on topic. But I’m slightly raised eyebrows that such an exponent of wired infra hasn’t done a serious back to back test at any point? Assuming that’s a correct interpretation of your post?
 
Jubal said:
I think you’re exactly on topic. But I’m slightly raised eyebrows that such an exponent of wired infra hasn’t done a serious back to back test at any point? Assuming that’s a correct interpretation of your post?
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On-topic is what I meant by off-off-topic. "He's trying to be clever again, that Flash guy..."

Fair challenge but I have to choose where to spend my time and expend my energy. I’m not an exponent of going wired actually, I’m an exponent of making wired the best it can be for the already wired.
Trying to convince those using wifi that they should go wired and buy a switch doesn’t make it to my priority list.
 
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TheFlash said:
Absolutely. The clue is in my club badge...

I like to think I'm rather good at not pushing my own products, I just feel I have to fight the corner for any decent switch when those with no experience of the difference and/or no understanding of how they make that difference dismiss the very possibility.
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Ok would you be prepared to send me an audiophile unit to replace my tp link desktop switch so I can do a comparison?
 
JezmondTutu said:
I should probably just have asked you in the first place Nigel! It got me wondering for exactly that reason i.e. Innuous don’t offer wifi with many of their units.
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And nor does Antipodes, the maker of my prime system streamer, have wifi in their streamers.

However it is my recollection from one manufacturer that it is possible to do a WiFi implementation to overcome the inherent problems but this is not easy and costs significant money to do it properly.
 
Has anyone actually blind tested this stuff? Yeah, I know blind tests are not without issues but still.

I'd like to blind test stuff more, on account that I too have one of the stupid human brains full of biases and beliefs.
 
Columbo said:
Has anyone actually blind tested this stuff? Yeah, I know blind tests are not without issues but still.

I'd like to blind test stuff more, on account that I too have one of the stupid human brains full of biases and beliefs.
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This hobby is an fascinating mix of technology and illusion.

I am often curious about the relative contribution of the two but not really curious enough to set up the tests properly. I still prefer to prioritise music listening time. For people who don't share this curiosity I think blind tests are probably not of great value. For them I suspect it's the final illusion that matters most.

But as you write the illusion element is a lot to do with biases, beliefs and previous experience. Those are not generally transferrable to other people. However I do observe discussions that give me the impression that some think it's all about technology and that a given personal illusion is what others will experience too.
 
John Phillips said:
However I do observe discussions that give me the impression that some think it's all about technology and that a given personal illusion is what others will experience too.
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This is why (when those words were more in vogue) I used to bang my head on the table in frustration at the inaptness of the expressions "subjectivist" and "objectivist". "subjectivist" = fantasy "objectivist".
 
Columbo said:
Has anyone actually blind tested this stuff? Yeah, I know blind tests are not without issues but still.

I'd like to blind test stuff more, on account that I too have one of the stupid human brains full of biases and beliefs.
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I realise you are being self-deprecating but it is not so much about biases and beliefs, more that what we think of as "hearing" is not just about sound waves but rather how our brain interprets them. Thus it is quite possible for fancy cables to sound better, or for thick cables to deliver more bass, but not because the sound waves are different, more that our brain might customise what we hear according to what our eyes see. Sometimes even what we know does not make a difference, does make a difference, that disappears in a blind test.
 
onlyconnect said:
I realise you are being self-deprecating but it is not so much about biases and beliefs, more that what we think of as "hearing" is not just about sound waves but rather how our brain interprets them. Thus it is quite possible for fancy cables to sound better, or for thick cables to deliver more bass, but not because the sound waves are different, more that our brain might customise what we hear according to what our eyes see. Sometimes even what we know does not make a difference, does make a difference, that disappears in a blind test.
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You might be tight 👍
 
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