I really wouldn’t - LPS are inefficient for small low current devices - APs are best served if you have to have a discrete power supply by a small efficient (and obviously it has to be low noise to work) SMPS. A more efficient method would typically be PoE indeed as you suggest - which really is the preferred method and what I use. Increasingly in the home the only real use for ethernet on the LAN for many is for wireless access points in my opinion.
These days of being conscious of the resources we consume - I would be mindful to keep the number of linear power supplies to a minimum and avoid them on small devices altogether
I am actually with you on this…I have 3 access points…2 on poe the other has logistic issues so I use an injector in that one…I am a Ubitquity man and use their ap points which appear very good…
Entirely Poe for all my access points and switches off the main distribution switch all of which are Unifi. Works a treat less power supplies everywhere and just neater.
By the way, how do I know if I have a single or non-overlapping access point?
I have fiber coming in in my basement and a router connected to it via Ethernet. The router then is connected to the NDS via Ethernet and so is my MacBook acting as Roon core and bridge. All other device are Wi-Fi.
Indeed - multiple access points in your house as opposed to a single access point bundled into your broadband router attempting to broadcast and receive around your house.
Multiple Wifi access points (APs) are usually better - it allows lower transmit power to be used for send and receive and also is less likely to be affected by external interference - as well as performance being more optimised over a wider area
The ideal way is to connect APs to a switch or multiple connected switches for optimum performance - this method is great for home servers, streamers, and even home NAS for example - especially if using wifi 5 (802.11ac) or better and it gets rid of pesky physical ethernet related issues like grounding and common mode noise … though I don’t believe Naim streamers support ac at present.
I see. I only have one router and no switches connected. Are you saying a switch with several connected routers each doing its own duty would be better? Ie one router for computers and one for the NDS and Roon since they have to be on the same network?
Playing through Wi-Fi as I write but can’t say anything about sound quality yet. All I can say is that so far it works
no
Don’t confuse a router with wifi access point - its just most home / small office broadband routers bundle a wifi access point into it - a bit like they bundle an inbuilt switch.
So you have one router - typically your broadband router - connect to one or more switches - in turn can connect to as many wifi access points as you need. The APs should interwork with each other - including your wifi ap bundled in your broadband router if its a quality product.
But it is important you have only one router…
BTW the underlying protocols are designed to work under non optimised and often poor conditions like the typical home - so unless critically badly setup things will tend to work albeit with lesser performance - it is just they might not work as best or as effectively as they could - and these considerations can become important for home audio etc especially if using wifi instead of ethernet - which is where much of the world is going for end user devices.
For example, I have the router in the hallway, which is hardwired into Switch One near this, which in turn is hardwired to Switch Two, which is hardwired to Switch Three, which is hardwired to Switch Four.
There is also Switch Five by the HI-Fi in the lounge which is hardwired from Switch One.
yes the first gen Naim streamers werent particularly strong on wifi, using relatively old protocols - but their data algorithms are optimised for wifi or Ethernet - depending on which is active.
The current products don’t currently support ax which is quite an advancement.
