To extend Ethernet to remote location, are Powerline extenders or Mesh systems better?

My issue was related to the extra bandwidth requirements of hi-res. I had no issue in the past with non-highres. However, now I have solved the issue for highres.

Oh, yeah, Roon core really consumes the Wifi bits.  The issue is that it has to read and write at the same time, which bogs it down.  I keep my core on wired Ethernet and the devices vary from wired to Wifi.  All is good this way.

I am not sure about the implementation details of ROON Core but if I were to write the streaming engine for it, I would not be writing anything to disk. I would be writing to super-fast RAM for TIDAL or Qobuz and for streaming from disk-based FLAC files, I would write nothing to disk. So mostly fast reads in both cases.

WIFI should not have any issue with the CORE other than the quality of WIFI could degraded the transmission of the TCP Broadcast of the bits. Here again I am assuming the Broadcast protocol is used for ROON Rock.

WIFI is OK until the inventible when it totally fails on music streaming. This was a regular occurrence when I tested out ROON WIFI streaming with a Matrix Mini I-3 Pro DAC. It was my WIFI and not ROON that was the weak link.

Flat roof from modem to stereo means I cannot install ethernet cable. I do however have cable that used to run Sky Cable to a T-Box for my TV.

Also have a coax cable installed, that I never used. Are either of these cables able to run internet to my streamer, so I eliminate streaming via wifi?

I was never Robert.

Also have a coax cable installed, that I never used. Are either of these cables able to run internet to my streamer, so I eliminate streaming via wifi?

https://us.hitrontech.com/learn/how-fast-is-ethernet-over-coaxial/

Those network adaptors look promising.

Will look at installing one next year.

No Robert here

@ericsch Hi, sorry for the delayed response. We were off visiting her family for the holiday.

Yes, I use a Conrad Johnson Premier 6 pre-preamplifier. If you Google for it the pdf is available on their website. It's quite sensitive to RF and when I switched it on, it would send a fairly horrible noise downstream! Remember the coded transmissions Jeff Goldblum discovered in "Independence Day"? :) I tried moving the node as far as I could within the cabinet but it didn't matter. Still noisy. So I installed the node in a book case that doubles as LP storage that is about 15' away and ran a good quality Cat8 cable from it to the Node2i.

The base/Main node is upstairs next to the cable modem so the mesh network is providing excellent throughput all the way downstairs to the node in the living room. And as the remote node is hardwired to the Node2i, I get excellent performance.

A happy side benefit is that my Green Mountain Grill smoker with wifi now gets better signal outside too. LOL

Feel free to message me directly if you have any questions.

Happy listening!

Assuming your have Coax wired through your house you could also consider using a MoCA network.   I switched from Powerline to a MoCA 2.0 network and the frequent Roon hangs and random streaming skips went away.

I have Verizon Fios and TiVo and they both rely on MoCA and I noticed my TiVo streaming worked much better when I had it MoCA enabled vs its Ethernet setting (using Powerline).   So I purchased a couple of MoCA 2.0 adapters (e.g. https://www.actiontec.com//products/ecb6200/) and have been very happy with their performance for music streaming including many hi-rez files stored on my NAS two stories away from my dedicated listening room.

Cheers

Almost 30 years experience as a network architect for Very Large Network company.

Avoid network extenders - they do extend range but at a cost of 50% of your throughput. As you add devices, this catches up with you and performance and reliability degrades rapidly.

Mesh routers are vastly preferable as they seek the hub with the strongest signal and lightest load.

As Wifi 6 is adopted, its improved parallelism will support more devices and higher throughputs

The best mesh implementations use a wired backhaul to the main hub and 3 wireless channels (not 3 ip subnets).  

In the context of a domestic LAN, issues of jitter and latency are not meaningful, although packet drops are sumptomatic of range and load limits, as well as defective infrastructure, bad cables or connectors.

In short, nothing an extender does ultimately helps SQ. Everything a mesh router and Wi-Fi 6 do can help it. 

To panzrwagon

Your input and expertise is helpful. Do you have a point of view on Ethernet Over Powerline systems, and whether that technology, even if it passes the network signal well, will add noise onto the AC line that hifi gear and related power conditioners will fail to properly filter out? 

Also is it fair to assume EoP will have superior speed over mesh and wifi extenders as the signal never goes through the air?

Over the years I’ve had two sets of Powerlines, and they’ve worked, but are limited.  I never used powerline while I had a high-end hifi.  Therefore, I would question how a high frequency powerline signal on your mains might affect your hifi components.

I now have a Netgear Orbi mesh system, and can get ~700Mpbs over the 5G backhaul. There’s no competition here.

The Orbi is a technically very good option. I just don’t like the company. Their support, in my experience, seems to prioritise upselling you. They also dabble in sharp practice. For example, they’ll email you to inform you of an impending re-subscription to their Armor protection. No mention, though, will be made of the price. Want to raise a complaint? Then you’ll have to subscribe to their support option. Want to use the "family protection" service? That’s another charge. I should add that my Mesh system (1 router, 3 satellites) was ~£1k

All ethernet extenders, wired or wireless will reduce your available bandwidth by half. Not a point of discussion, it's just inherent in how they work - there's no free lunch. Mesh Networks do not exhibit that characteristic, and those with a dedicated backhaul channel work best of all. Use WiFi 6, if possible, which supports parallel network streams, as opposed to time-slicing a single stream like all previous ethernet, wired and Wi-Fi. Luckily, digital audio is very undemanding network load, with CD quality requiring less than 1Mbit/sec, and 24-bit 192K needing under 5 mBits/sec. 

The bandwidth required by streamed music is tiny. Good quality streamers cashe the files, basically isolating you from all but the most unreliable data streams.

My streamers perform completely reliably through wall wart extenders while I cannot get my iPad to refresh the page. Providing top vinyl level sound quality with a minimum of throughput.

You can see my systems under my UserID.