Streaming with no internet?

[Deimos]

Hi there,

 

I'm having major issues with my internet connection which is sporadic at best. I'm trying to sort things out with my ISP but there is a chance I won't have a reliable internet connection for the foreseeable future.

 

In general I can live with this except that I don't have an option to stream music. I'm wondering if it's possible to buy a router and set up my own LAN for playing music.

 

I have a Synology 216+ NAS and an Auralic Altair. I'm happy to just use the Altair as a DAC and pickup another streamer if it's easier to connect. Willing to take a small hit in audio quality to have this sorted.

 

I should be able to log into the internet for updates etc required but the signal isn't good enough for streaming FLAC from the NAS

 

Any suggestions would be immensely appreciated

[mjb]

Without access to "the internet" your streaming sources are limited to things within your own network, e.g. a NAS or computer.

 

AURALiC ALTAIR - AURALIC SUPPORT

[CatManDo]

That's what most people on this forum do, streaming their collection of files within their network.

 

Here a Computer Audiophile guide from 2013:

 

Computer Audiophile - The Complete Guide To HiFi UPnP / DLNA Network Audio

[ecwl]

For OP, as a total aside, is the sporadic internet off wifi or does it happen with wired connections too. Because if it's only with wifi, you've probably got neighbors with strong wifi routers on the same bands as yours that's making the connection sporadic. There are ways to troubleshoot that.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[Deimos]

Thanks all. Have purchased a router and will set it up tonight.

 

The internet is sporadic because I live in a serviced apartment and the connection is just awful (it's tested at one percent of the normal speed for my area).

 

Hopefully I can get everything running smoothly soon.

[ecwl]

Thanks all. Have purchased a router and will set it up tonight.

 

The internet is sporadic because I live in a serviced apartment and the connection is just awful (it's tested at one percent of the normal speed for my area).

 

Hopefully I can get everything running smoothly soon.

 

So I'm actually guessing that you're using WiFi and not wired. This is a super common problem in apartment buildings that most people are not aware of. There are technically only 3 useable bands in the 2.4GHz WiFi range (even though the router says there are 11 channels). So in an apartment, all your neighbors are fighting over these 3 bands which means lots and lots of interference. The solution is either to use a wired Ethernet connection or to go to the 5GHz WiFi range. The problem with using a 5GHz WiFi band is that not all devices support it. I believe the Auralic Altair does.

 

Also, some routers like the Airport Extreme/Express would combine the 2.4Ghz and 5GHz WiFi into the same network name. This really doesn't work well in apartments because devices would flip back to 2.4GHz and get lots of interference. If you have legacy devices that requires 2.4GHz, the 2.4GHz WiFi network should be a different name than the 5GHz WiFi. I and most of my friends who live in apartments simply turn off our 2.4GHz and exclusively use the 5GHz band.

 

Recently, I visited my friend in an apartment building in Toronto and even the 5GHz band is filling up. So he had to switch the channel for the 5GHz band for his router. Keep in mind that you actually want your WiFi bandwidth to be 20MHz not wider because wider means occupying more channels which means more likelihood of interfering with your neighbors. Also, what I usually do is to walk around the apartment with a laptop (running the free version of InSSIDer on PCs and using the Mac WiFi Diagnostics on OS X) so that I can see at various corners of the apartment where the neighbors' WiFi interference is coming from and then manually set the 5GHz (or 2.4GHz) band. The reason is that the WiFi router selecting the 5GHz channel automatically can only see the neighbors' channels where the router is sitting. So it's possible that the neighbors' WiFi is interfering with the bedroom signals but if your router is in the kitchen, it wouldn't know there is interference.

 

In fact this WiFi interference problem is so bad even in many large houses, they are getting 2.4GHz WiFi interference from their neighbors, lowering their speeds and causing frequent connection drops. I had to switch my parents' house network to 5GHz.

 

Hopefully, you got the correct router and can set up a good 5GHz WiFi network that'll work with all your devices and it'll be smooth sailing from here.

[Deimos]

Thanks all. Everything is working now.

 

Amazing forum.

 

Happy New Year