Finally, after several months of struggling and faffing around with a temperamental wifi bridge, I finally installed a direct ethernet cable between my Uniti 1 and the router, just like I did in my old house. Now? No problems. I select “radio” on the remote, and it just buffers and plays. Similarly with Tidal. Perfect, just perfect 
My Uniti has the 24-bit HLS upgrade, and HD radio sounds just sublime.
Congrats… if only all would follow your example. Use the right tools for the job, and avoid consumer kludges.
This post should be pinned at the top of the Streaming Audio forum as a warning to all those who have entered into the world of digital audio, only to be plagued by connection issues, innocently believing that if a product claims to work over WiFi, it will do so.
To be fair, wireless networking equipment has improved considerably in the last couple of years, and it can sometimes be possible to use audio gear reliably over WiFi. Still, an Ethernet cable is so cheap and easy to instal that it really is the way to go.
Well, to be honest, it only took me a few minutes with a 15m cable and a packet of cable clips from the local DIY shop. I routed it over the door architrave and it is virtually invisible as it was done correctly. I’m really pleased with the result
Nice! and this is the recommended way to stream hires music.
The issue is practicality and looks. It may be cheap install a run your self but t’s not always simple to route the cables from entry point to user point. Having cables exposed is unsightly and can destroy the character of the property and having to drill holes in walls is not always easy without a very long industrial drill bit. Ripping up floors or chasing in walls is only viable if your already having major works done. So most of us have to make do with horrible cables, that always
Wireless if done properly by analysing your local area for other peoples WiFi and adapting your system to work around this, can be perfectly fine. Trouble is people don’t and just throw it in expecting it to work. It takes a few minutes to get the lay of the land with free wi-fi analysis apps. The new mesh systems are getting better at doing this for you to.
I have a mixture of wired and wireless music endpoints that all can play hires without any issues even up to DSD :).
My Roon music server connects to my NDX2 with ethernet via a Cisco switch (i.e. Intel NUC running ROCK and NDX2 both on the switch), but Roon and Qobuz services reach that switch via a Linksys Velop Mesh 802.11ac node, which extends another one connected via ethernet to my provider’s fiber router. So I really have mixture of wireless and wired. It all works great. No dropouts ever. No issues with quality.
Not sure what you mean by a wireless bridge but, if the option is there, I’d always run a lan cable over wifi. Just about to move into a new house and running lan cable where ever possible is right on the list of to do jobs. With the skirtings off it’s very easy to run a lan cable behind and then fit proper network sockets onto the skirting. Also easy to get from one room to the next… just drill a hole through where the skirting will cover; btdt!
This is so true… Wifi can be perfect for streaming, but so many, perhaps because they know no better, or they believe literally the over simplified consumer hype, just lash Wifi, and sometimes Ethernet solutions together and wonder why the performance is mediocre, or even come to the false conclusion that XYZ just does not work or is not suitable based on their poor implementation.
It’s like pouring chip oil into your New Mercedes C class 220D… it will work just… but are going to get the best from your new expensive car…
I trust you was not necessarily referring to myself here. To clarify -
I have always had the Uniti hard-wired to the router, with excellent results. The reason I used a bridge is because we moved house and our listening room/sitting room is such that the router and the system are on opposite sides, meaning that running a cable would be really awkward and the use of a bridge seemed, at the time, to offer a solution;
Why should consumers not expect things to just work? We are now using the bridge with the set top box with excellent results and no drop outs at all. There is a shred of criticism of Naim here, for they are manufacturers of premium audio equipment and it is not unreasonable, in fact it is legitimate, to expect their products to work as expected - even on wi-fi and neither the bridge or the built in wi-fi antenna worked properly.
You would not buy a fridge and expect it to do anything other than work properly would you?
Dave
No was just referring to wifi in general that it can be great if configured from your router or access point to get the best performance taking in what your neighbours systems are doing. I don’t knock anybody for using wifi, when I did I never noticed it sounded any different and you use what you can to make things work… The issues with wifi are down to poor implementation of it, in the home. It’s not helped with domestic wifi gear having everything set to auto and everything at high power. Both these settings are the biggest cause of poor performance. When installing wifi you need to look at the lay of the land every other houses wifi effects your own performance. There is only limited bandwidth after all and every router in your area is fighting for it. You can just leave all the settings as it comes from the box, but don’t expect to get the best performance.
Yes but a fridge may work, but frostup, be inefficient, have uneven cooling, have limited space, etc etc… the same with network equipment. You pay for what you get, and just as importantly many people don’t realise exactly what it is doing for them and how, other than providing basic connectivity which I am sure it does… just like all fridges provide basic cooling.
I am lucky in that we live in a stone cottage, in a rural area. We can only see our neighbour’s router. Previously, we could see over ten or fifteen all fighting for airspace. We’re fortunate we don’t have that issue here
Mesh Wi fi doing very nicely for me and out of the box. Rural area so not too much ‘competition’ I guess.
Having said that I could never get the Muso 1 to work adequately. Nova absolutely fine.
with the auralic G1 ARIES streamer they advice using it wireless but I have a quality wired cable network so I use it. in truth the they do sound the same with no drop outs THE MUSO qb is wireless and never really fails
But isn’t this just typical though? Wi-fi is just so inconsistent. On a similar vein, I notice that my car charge point (I’ve got an EV) was always connected to the wi-fi, but recently dropped out. It came on again briefly, only to go off again. It’s just so frustrating. I might buy a wifi extender for that.
I’m inclined to agree, I understand Simon’s response w.r.t. wireless connectivity, but not with the example of “basic” domestic fridges & freezers, they do work. The real problem is these consumer wireless devises supposed to be “basic” & are not.
They are “consumer” grade & sold by all & sundry, Joe Public pick them up on false promises & then the trouble starts because its not so simple & they often turn out to not be as “basic” as it says on the box.
I question if they really need them in the first place. My one wireless hub goes all over the house & halfway down the garden & I get wireless TV (not 4K) in the bedroom & printing in the backroom study.
BT keep sending me adverting letters telling me it could be so-o much better with the new Smart Hub 2 & some extra Wi-Fi Disc’s, its a good job I’ve got half a modicum of sense.
Sorry I had both Musos and neither really worked. Of course when I took the back to the dealer they worked fine.
Spent a fair amount of time talking to Naim support too. Could not resolve and still do not understand the whys and wherefores but had to admit defeat.
may be its quality control with units from china , can keep blameing customers networks . my unit works in garden 5metre from back door
Mine works OK using an iPad over 20m line of sight through a closed patio door. 20m is as far as I can go in the ‘recreational’ area of the garden, it will go more than another 10m into the vegi & fruit tree area, but iPads are not so useful for digging.