Opinions about my network project

[Abolive]

Hello,

I plan to remove the ISP box and its Wifi from my listening space and put it away in the garage. I need to give instructions to the ISP technician and to purchase the needed equipment beforehand. I could really use your opinion!

Here is the situation:

 

I want to separate the audio network from the rest; can I use the routeur in my ISP box or should I go for a separate one?

 

I have a Nuc (Roon Rock; I don’t want to use a Nas): is it better to connect it to the switch after the box/routeur or directly to the eR?

 

I need to connect my TV (also in the listening space): is it better to introduce a switch for it before the eR, and having only the streamer connected to it or is the moat sufficient not to bother with an additional switch?

 

The easiest for me would be to use fiber from the garage to the listening space : some have experienced hard sound with fiber. Would going from fiber to copper through the eR or a switch with sfp before the eR reinstore some balance?

 

And eventually 😃 , do I need to bother with LPS for the equipment placed before the run of fiber, if I were to go that route?

 

Many questions I know, but every system is different and I haven’t found opinions on the forum regarding the specifics of my configuration. Thank you

[ericuco]

My suggestion is to start simple as first cut to establish a baseline. Then if you decide to add more items (eg., switches) then you have something to judge the change. Otherwise, how do you know what changes are making a positive or negative effect?

 

With that in mind, run fiber from router to listening area using the eR fiber port. Then connect streamer to the “b” and see how you like or dislike the resulting SQ. Once you get used to how that sounds, add the other items (e.g., TV) to the “a” ports to see if you can detect any differences. You could also do the inverse where you connect everything to the eR, listen for some time then remove the other items to see if there is a change.

 

I think the general consensus here on AS is that fiber generally improves things but then again you can always opposing opinions.

 

Also, I think the general consensus is that LPS are the better route for all equipment but I would start with items nearest your streamer first then work back upstream over time.

[Abolive]

@ericuco Thank you for your advice, I'm gonna follow it. ISP box>SFP switch>eR>Streamer

👌

[davide256]

It is best for wired performance to have your audio devices that are in the streaming path all on the same switch. You only need 1 wired connection from the switch to enable internet connectivity for all switch attached devices and to allow you wireless remote control. Attaching streaming devices directly to the router causes me mysterious pauses and slow downs vs all being connected on Etherregen. For multimedia devices I’ve been satisfied with toslink between TV output and DAC, which greatly simplifies connectivity

[Abolive]

Thank you for the advice @davide256, I' lol plug only the switch on the routeur then

[ecwl]

I think others have already provided excellent suggestions on the wired Ethernet setup. But I thought I’d comment on the wifi, non-audio aspect. 
 

unless you live in a mansion or castle with no neighbours, it is likely that you’re getting some wifi interference. You can check just by looking at how many wifi networks from your neighbours you can see on your phone. 
 

so the issue of moving the ISP box/wifi router to the garage is that your signal strength would be weaker which means that you may end up having more interference drops. As a result, you might need to replace the ISP box with a more powerful router or you might need to setup a wifi mesh network to ensure your home wifi coverage is adequate because you may not want to be watching a video and notice drops or blurry pixels or just general degradation