"the diff in sound quality may well be more about wireless vs wireline as opposed to PC based vs music server based etc. "
I'm not sure that a finding regarding the implementation of wireless in the MSB iPod product should be generalized to, say, laptop or desktop based systems.
"yes wireless can potentially always be an issue - very prone to interference and not much can be done about it. A wired approach will always be more robust."
My own wireless front end doesn't suffer from any robustness or interference issues, or sound quality issues, for that matter. It's Apple based: iMac G4 with external drives in the study functioning as the server, a wireless iBook in the living (music) room providing iTunes control, and an Airport Express providing AirTunes to S/PDIF conversion. Sounds as good as wired configurations (leaving out the AX) I am able to set up with my system.
I used to have an issue with occasional dropouts in the signal. But when I finally replaced my 801.11b router/wireless-access-point with an 801.11g unit (due to a free upgrade in my DSL service), that issue disappeared. I should have made that change earlier, but I really didn't think that bandwidth would be the limiting factor.
So, no doubt wireless is not going to be successful in all environments, but I don't think audiophiles who might be interested in the great convenience of wireless should automatically write it off.
I'm not sure that a finding regarding the implementation of wireless in the MSB iPod product should be generalized to, say, laptop or desktop based systems.
"yes wireless can potentially always be an issue - very prone to interference and not much can be done about it. A wired approach will always be more robust."
My own wireless front end doesn't suffer from any robustness or interference issues, or sound quality issues, for that matter. It's Apple based: iMac G4 with external drives in the study functioning as the server, a wireless iBook in the living (music) room providing iTunes control, and an Airport Express providing AirTunes to S/PDIF conversion. Sounds as good as wired configurations (leaving out the AX) I am able to set up with my system.
I used to have an issue with occasional dropouts in the signal. But when I finally replaced my 801.11b router/wireless-access-point with an 801.11g unit (due to a free upgrade in my DSL service), that issue disappeared. I should have made that change earlier, but I really didn't think that bandwidth would be the limiting factor.
So, no doubt wireless is not going to be successful in all environments, but I don't think audiophiles who might be interested in the great convenience of wireless should automatically write it off.