Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Streaming Hardware with Roon Application Cable vs FTTP Audio Quality

I only tried it streaming from my MD600. The album was one to which I listen regularly.

There were no changes to volume or any physical connections or cables except the modem/router change. Obviously the modem/router must have (re)built its internal DNS and checked the logical connections. The MD600 IP address did not change.

T'was an unexpected bonus.

My network is pretty busy, quite complex and has many devices connected via wi-fi, ethernet-over-power and direct ethernet, all through cheap, dumb TP-link switches and devices, using whatever cable is handy. There was and is no attempt to audiophile the setup.

Hope that helps?

For audio connections, it’s advisable not to skimp on utilising appropriate bandwidth Ethernet cables: the higher the frequency (MHz) the transmission speed is more efficient and effective…

Car 5/e: 100Mhz,
Cat 6: 250Mhz,
Cat 6e: 500Mhz,
Cat 7: 600Mhz, and,
Cat 8: 2000Mhz.

Hi Gianni

That's interesting. I would expect the router functionality to not effect the audio properties of your network. There is the possibility that it allowed cleaner power over the ethernet-over-power devices which are quite unreliable. With such a variety of equipment it would be quite interesting to see what would happen if you ran a cable directly from the router to the MD600 and remove all other connections other than the internet input. You could then repeat the experiment with the old router to see if the router made the difference.

Cheers
Tom

Oddly, my expectations would be that the router would be the network component that would have the most effect on SQ because (in my mind) it is the place where packets got lost, held up or mis-ordered. The router change was because my new Sky Steam system would just not work with the old router which seems to support my assumption/expectation to some extent.

You will, I hope, understand my reluctance to start messing with something that is now working!

I can see why you might be reluctant to make the changes, although my suggestion is really about powering most things off and running a new temporary cable that can be removed and reverted.

You had mentioned that you use dumb (unmanaged) switches to send data around your system. If the data isn't coming from the internet e.g. your local collection, then the router shouldn't get involved. This is why I don't think the router functionality is necessarily the thing that has caused the improvement.

cheers
tom

Are you saying that Sooloos has its own ethernet protocol that somehow rides alongside TCP/IP (if I remember the technical term correctly) and is not routed by the errr... router?

So (for example) the MD600 gets a request from Control:PC (e.g. "Play Barry Manilow's Greatest Hits) and responds by sending a stream of digital samples of Copacabana to the ID41 card which assembles them into a form which the DAC can handle?

Hi Gianni

No - but Sooloos does run TCP/IP.

A network switch learns where a device is using Mac addresses - the unique identifier found on network cards. It keeps this information in a table: (From Gemini) :

A network switch's ARP table is a dynamic cache that stores a mapping between IP addresses and corresponding MAC addresses of devices on the network, allowing the switch to efficiently forward data packets by quickly identifying the physical location of a device based on its IP address; essentially acting as a translator between Layer 3 (IP) addresses and Layer 2 (MAC) addresses

It would be inefficient in a network if all local data was pushed through the router (default gateway) - When a request for data is made to an external source, the device forwards the request to the default gateway. If your network didn't have separate network switches as stated then the switch section of the router would be used for local data. i.e. a router routes data from one network to another - there is no routing on an internal network.


A little bit from Gemini about Powerline adapters:

power devices, also called powerline adapters, can be considered "noisy" because they transmit data signals over existing electrical wiring, which can potentially interfere with other devices on the same circuit, causing noise issues like audio static or disruptions in signal quality, especially if the electrical wiring is old or poorly maintained.

Cheers
Tom

I have been pondering this whole question for months now, and wondered about buying an audiophile switch - or indeed any switch before my 218. In fact I don’t have an extra switch as I just go from one of the four ports on my BT Home Hub 2. It basically has a switch and router in the same box.
But I got fascinated by wondering if I could do better.

I found this very helpful in thinking it all through. Not a short video but worth watching all the way through

I am using two stacked Cisco Catalyst 2960 8P 100mb switches.

- The first connects to the network and music server etc.
- The second is connected with fiber to the first and is only connected to the 218 end point.

The last switch is also modified to receive a linear PSU. These switches are dirt cheap.

I am not going to put my hand in fire to pass a blind test, but I have perceived an improvement. The sound is more spacious and less rough. Certainly for the price, I think it is worth it.
I am not planning to test one of these very high end switches.

Welcome to my slippery slope, which started with that Cisco model ($50 on fleaBay plus an outboard iFi 12v ps) and led to UpTone and Network Acoustics. Unlike the music bitstream -where fewer devices with less processing can sound better- I’ve found network filters to be cumulative: they tend to reward another worthy addition. For example, when I added a Finisar singlemode fiber segment a few years ago, my big 3D soundstage really clicked in.

Someone suggested that each component (or interconnect) be thought of as another stacked pane of glass between you and the music. Is each one perfectly clean with high definition, or do some of them distort or obscure the image? Networks aren’t like that. Music might come from a server far away, through all kinds of complications, but if the packets arrive at your listening room you can apply successive, relatively inexpensive techniques to deliver just the music to your streamer.

Like you, I’ve resisted high end $$witches in reaching my version of audio nirvana. Don’t give up now that you glimpse the goal.