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

I suppose that to get a suitable music stream fed into my new Ethernet only network bridge device, a simple extender will do the trick. I think that device just sucks in the existing wifi signal broadcast by the main wifi router, and feeds it into an Ethernet plug. So basically, this is fundamentally using wifi to transfer the signal.

The mesh systems seem to set up an alternate, more powerful broadcast-and-receive setup using wifi also. Not sure if that’s on different frequencies than the basic repeater gadget above which simply sucks in the existing wifi signal. Yes I see that some of these mesh units give you an Ethernet jack at location B and some don’t.

As I understand it, the Ethernet over Powerline arrangement is totally different. It is a wired connection only (never goes through the air) but these EOP devices specially encode and then decode the signal so it rides on top of the 110 AC lines in the walls. So fuse boxes and other barriers can present obstacles for this ride-on-top signal to get from the transmitter to the receiver unit. I wonder whether this encoding/decoding process degrades the music being sent, AND whether running those signals on top of the AC power also dirties that power feeding the hifi gear which may be sensitive to it. So this introduces that new problem.

Seems like all CAN work but not sure which would deliver the best sound quality and least errors and most bandwidth.  And if the EOP dirties up the power to make the rest of the system sound bad.

The Decos have integrated power warts. They don’t work without ’em.

I used a Netgear (WNCE3001) to convert a wireless signal to ethernet for my Bluesound Node.

Worked like a charm.

Bob

Another vote on a quality mesh wifi network. One key is to be sure the mesh device in the listening room has Ethernet out. Some do and some don’t. For example older google wifi pucks do but the new Nest ones do not. Avoid extenders (they just generally stink) and certainly any power line method. 

+2 on TP-Link (Deco).

Mine are something like this: NETGEAR Wi-Fi Range Extender AC1200.

Mesh is superior, extenders pick up all sorts of ground level and RMI/EFI noise that you subsequently have a hard time getting rid off.

Thanks for the quick responses, I appreciate it.

to ghdprentice - I looked at your system to see the specific extender model as you said but I could not find it, sorry if I somehow missed it.

TP Link makes so many types of extenders, so when I googled TP Link extenders many different ones pop up, some with antennas some without. All seem to plug into the AC socket to work, so it is kind of unclear to me which works in what way. I apologize for my ignorance and confusion.

I do have good strong wifi in my house and in the listening room in question. Just can’t run the hardwire ethernet into it due to the brick walls.

Correction...

...pick a channel that has the least congestion...

+1 on TP-Link

Assuming your current Wifi doesn't reach then TP Link Mesh is the way to go. :)

There are free wifi analyzers for PC/Mac/Android and iPhone devices.  Get whichever one you are happy with and it will let you check the strength of your Wifi signal as well as pick a signal that has the least congestion from neighbors.

Best,

Erik

Dr. Google

As noted power line is dependent on your wiring quality, a variable.

I got my mesh 5 years ago from Costco, 90 days trial period.

But extenders usually work. Out back in my shed an extender was weak so I replaced it with a node from my mesh system. Perfect.

Easy. Get an extender. The cost around $60, the wall wart kind that has a single Ethernet port. They work amazingly well. Easy to set up. If you don’t have mesh, I wouldn’t recommend adding. It works fine for some people and is a nightmare for some. Don’t use anything that passes the signal through the power lines.

If you want to go the next step you can put an Ethernet regenerator after the extender. But start with just the extender. Both my systems run off these… click on my ID to see them.

I use the Xfinity POD and it works flawlessly. Use it into a Bricasti M12 and sounds sublime.