# Is there a networking IT specialist in the house?



## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

I am into my music and have been fiddling with hi-res audio files for some time now. I have a Denon disc player that can play pretty much anything I throw at it but I''ve just bought a Pioneer N-70A network player.

I use a Mac and all my hi-res music is in ALAC (lossless) format. Sadly the Pioneer only has limited support at high resolution for these files so I am converting everything to FLAC and putting it on a Synology NAS. This is a very time-consuming process but I figure it's worth it because I have a good hifi and want to use it to play the hi-res files.

The problem is my router is in a room located upstairs diagonally opposite the lounge downstairs. The house is solid brick throughout and the wireless struggles to reach my listening point. To combat this I have used 500mbps Powerline adaptors to transfer the music through gigabit ethernet via the router and via the earthing circuit in my house. It works fine for BBC iPlayer on the TV but I get breakup on the music files.

So my question is, which of the following options would give me greater bandwidth...

Move the NAS downstairs and connect it to the Powerline there (makes uploading to the NAS slow) but enabling a direct USB connection to the network player.

Or get a hardwired ethernet connection from the router down to a switch in the lounge via Cat 6? This would mean a run of approximately 70-100 feet in cable to go round the outside of the house.

Thanks for any advice guys.

Rich


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Firstly bin the apple stuff... couldn't resist. :lol:

I had the same problem. 
TM in the lounge, Airport Extreme upstairs with a synology NAS device for storage but wireless doesn't get to all the rooms and you simple cant do HD music or video without constant buffering which just sent me crazy. Also online gaming i would get slaughtered before i even saw the other guys due to lag.

I took the big step and ran CAT 6 (1GBe) from the lounge outside, up into the loft and down into a cupboard upstairs with my AE HTPC and other stuff. I already had the whole upstairs fully wired with 1GBe, so that wasn't a problem (kids rooms all have computers, ATVs, XBOXs and networked TVs). I had tried power line adapters and at times they did work, but it was very hit and miss - depends on the wiring, if you are across circuits which most houses will be (upstairs/downstairs) you wont get close to the claimed throughput. With the 1GBe link everything works absolutely fine even with all 5ATVs streaming HD videos, HD Audio going and the XBOXs all on as well oh - and i had W10 download too.

You can, find shortcuts and ways around the issues, but i say just fix it once and for all. It doesn't take long to put the trunking up (you don't have to trunk it, i just like neat) and the cables run. One word of warning however, the CAT6e (external) is very stiff and i couldn't crimp ends to the cables easy.. Plus I have a 1GBe Hub in the central cupboard upstairs mainly because the AE didn't have enough ports, but i wanted to also split down the network at a granular level to prevent broadcast of data wherever possible.

The other thing I'd say is run any other cables you may want at the same time too. - I ran an additional CAT6e and 2 spare Sky cables at the same time.


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Toshiba said:


> Firstly bin the apple stuff... couldn't resist. :lol:
> 
> I had the same problem.
> TM in the lounge, Airport Extreme upstairs with a synology NAS device for storage but wireless doesn't get to all the rooms and you simple cant do HD music or video without constant buffering which just sent me crazy. Also online gaming i would get slaughtered before i even saw the other guys due to lag.
> ...


Thank you Tosh.

Never done ethernet crimping before so do you have a recommended tool? I'm sure it's easy with the right stuff.

Ta.

Rich


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

get something cheap, you're not doing it for a living.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Network-Tester- ... mping+tool

Best advice i have is remove the sleeving back further and don't try to crimp it into the connector end...


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Ordered...

Thanks,

Rich


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## IC_HOTT (May 29, 2010)

rustyintegrale said:


> Ordered...Thanks, Rich


quick tip - get some extra connectors and practise the crimping with a short bit of cable and use the tester to confirm, well worth it before you fiddle with the actual cable, upside down in the dark 

good luck 

PS you just described my own setup in your first post, Ill use a hard ethernet router to living room when I get the time :wink:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

+1 Cat-6 for speed and screened if running close to mains or other cables. That may have been your problem with power line as it's unscreened and will suffer from packet loss when things are switched on and off etc. Stranded Cat for flex and solid for permanent. If outside it should best be waterproof or tucked away dry at least otherwise it can degrade. It's only as fast as the slowest item it's connected to. In the mean time try moving your antenna about :wink:


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

If you get the correct cable its not an issue. 
If you are running it outside you need cat 6 external, not the standard internal cable - so it will be water proof and its also got a UV coating to prevent breakdown over time.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

Get a coat hanger (opened up) wrap it into Ethernet port & other end in left ear (left not right VERY IMPORTANT) then load music full blast & have fun!!!!! Errrr jacket with no coat hanger now has to share with a lonely shirt :roll:


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Actually you may find that a coat hanger wrapped around a Wi-Fi dongle increases the signal range. It works with a mobile phone in a weak signal area :wink:


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Yep,makes for a classy car aerial as well


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## barry_m2 (Jun 29, 2015)

What router are you using?

I wouldn't use powerlines, they are rubbish. If anything buy a wifi range extender, or best of all, cable it up! 

Personally I cable everything for audio and video streaming where possible.


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

Yeah, powerlines suck, there is too much overhead in them too - but the alternative is messy.

How high-res is your music? CD is less than 2mbps uncompressed, so that should easily be piped through any current networking and that's before lossless compression.

What I did in my last house, where I had to channel stuff was just to run a single 1gbps CAT5e cable and put a switch on either end. Which is plenty for media etc. In my current house I've got multiple runs of CAT6a to each room, which can handle 10gbps (not that my switches can yet).

The important thing is getting the termination right, get proper wall sockets, a decent punch down tool and a cable-checker to check everything has a solid connection.


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Toshiba said:


> If you get the correct cable its not an issue.
> If you are running it outside you need cat 6 external, not the standard internal cable - so it will be water proof and its also got a UV coating to prevent breakdown over time.


Thanks again Tosh. Any recommendations for supplier?


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Dash said:


> Yeah, powerlines suck, there is too much overhead in them too - but the alternative is messy.
> 
> How high-res is your music? CD is less than 2mbps uncompressed, so that should easily be piped through any current networking and that's before lossless compression.
> 
> ...


Mostly 176/16/24 ripped from SACD but some 192/16/24 as well from HD Tracks. All my old 320kbps stuff I'm re-ripping in FLAC and ALAC at standard CD quality.

Thanks for all the advice guys.

Rich


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

Apparently uncompressed stereo SACD is 5.6mbps, so even then it should be easy on all current network equipment.

Might be worth plugging in your receiver directly into your source - just to make sure it's not a compatibility issue but is actually a network issue. I wouldn't want to get to the end of re-ripping everything to find playback support was iffy.

I really have to try this HD audio stuff, just not sure my equipment, and more importantly my room acoustics would be up to showing the difference.


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## leopard (May 1, 2015)

Dash said:


> I really have to try this HD audio stuff, just not sure my equipment, and more importantly my room acoustics would be up to showing the difference.


I wouldn't worry too much about room acoustics.These days acoustic control via DSP hardware usually sorts it out


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

rustyintegrale said:


> Toshiba said:
> 
> 
> > If you get the correct cable its not an issue.
> ...


I got the face plates from euronetwork.co.uk - i use module ones to get better usage of the plates.
The cable, i ordered this one http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00O ... ge_o08_s00


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

leopard said:


> Dash said:
> 
> 
> > I really have to try this HD audio stuff, just not sure my equipment, and more importantly my room acoustics would be up to showing the difference.
> ...


I know many people claim not to know the difference with high resolution audio. And admittedly compression techniques have got better over the years. But take some music you're familiar with in a range of resolutions to a proper hifi shop and get them to play them for you. If you can find a Linn dealer then you'll really notice a difference in quality as their stuff really does show off the sound - warts and all.

I tried a Linn Exakt system with some active speakers and the sound was very good. But £17k good?

I went home and played the very same files on my existing system and although not as great as the Exakt the difference in quality between a 320kbps file and the same music at high resolution was immediately noticeable.

Any sound system will amplify poor quality. Never has the expression 'you can't polish a turd' had such relevant meaning.


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## Dash (Oct 5, 2008)

I discovered MP3 before it was popular just MPEG1 Layer-3, I even recorded an entire song onto a computer (why would anybody do that?) and you could not tell the difference in quality between the CD and the 56kbps encoded file.

But what this tells us is not that 56kbps MP3 sounds the same as a CD, but the crappy speakers on the PC all those years ago could not resolve the detail of a CD. My audio-equipment is better now, and the difference is like night and day - but it's still not high-end or even really very expensive. I don't think I could tell the difference between 192kbps vbr and CD - even A/B testing.


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## Gazzer (Jun 12, 2010)

John-H said:


> Actually you may find that a coat hanger wrapped around a Wi-Fi dongle increases the signal range. It works with a mobile phone in a weak signal area :wink:


Never thought of that Mr john, does it work with a bacon sarnie while standing on one leg? If so I might try it 8)


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## John-H (Jul 13, 2005)

Gazzer said:


> John-H said:
> 
> 
> > Actually you may find that a coat hanger wrapped around a Wi-Fi dongle increases the signal range. It works with a mobile phone in a weak signal area :wink:
> ...


From experimentation the rewards will come. Think flamingo.


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## ZephyR2 (Feb 20, 2013)

rustyintegrale said:


> Any sound system will amplify poor quality. Never has the expression 'you can't polish a turd' had such relevant meaning.


Although we are talking about a different league here I can't thinking that some peoples complaints about the TT's Bose system has something to do with that.


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## bobclive22 (Apr 5, 2010)

A bit off topic.

I have router in office extension, wi fi wont reach main bedroom, I ran bog standard cat6 cable outside, been there 4 years with no issues. bought a 5 port splitter from amazon £6, connected to that is the main cat6 cable, a second router for wi-fi for wifes tablet, a smart tele, a rasp-pi and a laptop. all work together with no issues.


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## Toshiba (Jul 8, 2004)

Why would you buy a seconded router for what should be a single lan segment/network? Makes no sense - what are you routing?
You would just use a hub (repeater) or switch (to allow flow control) on the single private network.


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## rustyintegrale (Oct 1, 2006)

Finally have ethernet running outside of the house and down to my lounge. Now feeding an 8-port switch with a solid 72mbps.

Now have glitch free hires audio and can watch iPlayer in HD with no buffering. This is the way the internet is meant to be.


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