2. misc-audio
  3. 148315-129682

Better sound with ethernet cable?

I'm presently streaming music WIRELESS from my WiFi router to my Yamaha receiver.  I was told I would get better sound if I ran an ethernet cable. It's a fairly long run, maybe 50 feet total by the time I fish down through the basement and back up.  Before I drill holes and fish through the basement, I may just run it across my living room and see if it improves the sound.  Also, in my manual there are two different instruction for hooking up to wired or wireless. Can I just plug in the cable now or will I have to re-connect through the wired instructions?  Thanks for any input.  Doug
128x128dwhess

Showing 3 responses by david_ten

david_ten
5,480 posts
 
Doug, purchase a Mesh Router and position it close to your system. Run WiFi to it. Then run a short, good quality LAN cable from the Mesh Router to your Yamaha receiver. The Supra CAT 8 will do fine and doesn't cost much.

No point going to the effort of fishing the cable and a long run. It will not be better and likely worse as you will be using a more basic LAN cable to save on the cost of the 50ft run.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@almarg Al, I’m really surprised and frankly taken aback by your post.

I cannot think of a single high end server manufacturer that allows for a built in WiFi adaptor / card. If any are offered, it is purely for convenience and as a secondary ’input.’ They do have wired LAN cards / modules as their preferred and primary and in most cases ONLY data input.
david_ten
5,480 posts
 

OP / @dwhess  Fundamental to our hobby is trying things / approaches/ gear, etc., listening, and making judgements and informed choices based on what we hear and do not hear, what is pleasing or not pleasing to us, what is acceptable and what is not.

None of us can inform you of what you will or will not hear or experience or not experience.

Having said the above, in my experience, the probabilities are in your favor and you are likely to hear a difference between your current WiFi setup into your current Yamaha component WiFi adaptor/card vs. running a LAN cable (even a basic one run across your living room to test it out) should you spend enough time listening and learning how your system sounds with each approach. If you have the opportunity to borrow a higher level LAN cable from an audio buddy or obtain one on loan from a dealer, etc. I believe you will be surprised by the differences you hear.

Keep us posted on how it goes and what your results are.

I've been fairly busy and will do my best to post why I believe it is far better to run wired with a LAN cable vs. going WiFi... at this point in time.

All the best in whichever direction / approach you choose.
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