I have a powerline connection between the switch to which my ND555 and my Melco N10 are connected, and my router. Despite the comments here about the undesirability of this arrangement, it sounds fantastic.
What do I do eliminate the powerline, and make things even better?
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Best would be a direct ethernet cable connection. Otherwise, you could try one of the other options discussed on this thread such as Apple AE as a bridge or perhaps a Mesh system.
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My homeās construction allows me to run a very long run of cat 5 cable within the walls down to the room with my ND555. Itās a long run, but the data seems to get there and I donāt hear any aberrant artifacts. If you canāt do that, the wireless bridge method would be perfectly good. A wifi node (āreceiverā) connected via a short ethernet patch cable to your ND555.
But given that you own a Melco - where is the Melco sited now? Is it adjacent the ND555 and connected directly to it via its āPlayerā port? If so, you would connect the patch cable and wifi node to the LAN port on the Melco.
Thanks Richard and Bart. Direct connection to the router is not an option for me, hence the powerline solution, which was the only practical one when I started on this path back in 2013.
I will go back and read this topic from the beginning, to see what I may now be able to try, and no doubt some more questions will arise.
Bart, my ND555 is indeed connected via the Melco, so I will take your suggestion into account.
Iāve read this topic from the beginning now, but forgive my ignorance if I ask a few question or two. My HiFi components are connected to a netgear switch, which in turn connects to the router via a Tplink Ethernet over mains adapter.
Am I right that I would replace the Tplink with a wifi node, and replace the Tplink at the router end with another WiFi node?
Also, from what I read, 3 of these mesh devices should be able to cover a 2 storey 180 Sq. m house?
Any particular brands being recommended by those who have tried them?
With your streamer, NAS, and a wireless access point all connected to a switch, your system should be fine, and you will not be dependent on the quality of the connection back to the router (unless you use Tidal/Qobuz/iRadio). The WAP there will also ensure that your Naim app device has a good connection.
How well a Mesh type wireless network will work will depend on the distances involved, and other environmental factors, and you might want to consider 3 or more of them rather than just one at each end in a large house.
The BT Whole Home discs work well so I hear, and work with most wifi routers and are pretty much plug and play.
Try and put the discs around your house, perhaps concentrating them more where people will more typically use it.
Thanks Simon. Iāve ordered a 3 pack of these BT devices from Amazon. Will let you all know in due course if I notice any improvement.
David
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Good luckā¦yes do let us know
Appreciate that WiFi in home environment is improving in terms of performance and reliability. I used to use power line adaptors a few years ago but replaced them with a cat 6 ethernet cable round the outside of my house. Cost was around Ā£150. Now have wired connection between all hifi and media (tv etc) devices in house. Could hang additional APs off it if required. Doesnāt work in all house scenarios just another option.
Orac, indeed the best most performant wifi will usually be provided by Ethernet connected overlapping managed wireless access points providing a common WLAN (that is a key part)ā¦ it will allow the WLAN to carry the most traffic with the traffic having least impact with each otherā¦ it is what I useā¦ and literally the whole family can be on it, streaming, and casting hidef video to the TV all at the same timeā¦ and it just worksā¦ no jitters or slow downs ā¦ however that is probably quite extreme for a home environment, and a home EasyMesh system is the next best thing, and I think for most typical home setups it will be ideal with minimal impact to wiring etc in the house.
Hopefully RipVanRadioās home connectivity days are coming to an end.
I bought a 3-pack (base and 2 remote nodes) of the Google Nest home mesh system; arrived today and Iāll set it up when my wife is done with her work for the day.
@Simon-in-Suffolk or others ā any easy wifi diagnostic I can use on my phone in her office to see if the new system is actually faster/more robust than the old? Iām thinking that a speedtest app isnāt the right tool.
You could try speed test, depending on your broadband speed, but I guess good connectivity around the home with no slow downs or judders, and strong wifi strength will be the key test.
My broadband is rated at 100/100 but these days isnāt quite up to that.
So check your speed test, if itās consistent around your house, you know your wifi is working well.
For your broadband speed, you need to see the sync speed or the shaping speeds to see what the actual connectivity is.
Depending on your isp there are different ways to confirm this,
With BT for example, you can enquire on the downlink shaper assigned for your connection by the bRAS, and that will be tour definitive speedā¦ with all other variables from speed checkers etc removed.
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Well, the box has arrived and I have downloaded the app, and connected the first disc to my router. I have connected to it on my phone (incidentally telling the phone to forget other networks it may have used in the past), but when I return to the app and press ānextā, I get a message āUnable to detect discā.
Iāve tried everything I can think of, but Iām getting nowhere. Complete frustration!!!
If the light is blue on the first disc, itās working correctly yes? And the first disc is plugged into your home router switch port yes?
Then with the first disc still connected to your router switchport, you add the second disc to another free switch port for it to set it self up?
They may flash for a while as they update firmware etc.
You have ideally disabled your old wifiā¦ have you QR scanned the disc or manually entered the details in the app?
If still in trouble there is apparently a freefone support number 0808 100 6116 according to the web.
Simon,
I have not been able to get as far as adding a second disc. The light is blue on the first disc and it is plugged in to what was the only spare port on my router. I manually entered the details for this and connected my phone to it via wifi settings. I set the phone to forget all other networks, so I am quite clear that the disc is working and providing Internet access.
When I return to the app and press āNextā, to continue the process, I get the āunable to detect discā message. Are you suggesting that the message in fact relates to a second disc?
I saw that support number on the BT site but it doesnāt work on Sunday. Not sure anyway if I can access it from Ireland.
Noā¦ the app should see the first disc according to the instructions. I would be tempted to the QR code option to read the setting, I downloaded the app out of curiosity, and seemed straightforwardā¦ the app takes control of your iPad/iPhone cameraā¦ that way you know you have the correct settings.
Thanks Simon,
I went the QR code route as you suggested and it recognised it successfully, but moving to the next step still gave the same result. I suspect this may be one of those ādeepā network problems. I sent an email to the BT Helpdesk and Iāll see if anything comes back. Googling hasnāt disclosed anyone else having this problem, and until you get the first disc up and running, you donāt have access to the full app, so there are no options.