Not sure if this belongs here or in the lounge actually but I’m sure Richard will decide.
Well about 8 or 9 months ago now I disabled the wi-fi on our BT router and dispensed with our cordless BT 'phones in favour of old fashioned corded ones. This was done purely in the pursuit of trying to maximise the performance of our system. I won’t go into details or the whys and wherefores of it because that’s not what this thread is about. However I’ve now reverted back to normality. Wi-fi turned on again and our cordless 'phones in use again, with the corded one now packed away. I did this because frankly I got fed up with the inconvenience of it all. I’d had enough. It was making life awkward in all sorts of ways, some which had not been immediately apparent.
Much as I love our system and want to get the most from it, making everyday life more difficult seems a step too far, at least for us. I’m guessing that most people wouldn’t even consider doing without wi-fi or cordless 'phones. But perhaps I’m wrong. It got me thinking about how far other people are prepared to take things in the name of best performance. How far are you prepared to go? How much inconvenience, disruption or aesthetic disturbance are you pepared to put up with in order to get the most from your music?
Some time ago, someone here pointed out potential sources of disturbance. I started eliminating stuff that was in use: WiFi repeaters, additional WiFi access points, power-line network adapters, DECT phones, Bluetooth transmitters etc.
I now use WiFi straight from the provider modem/router and only my mobile phone (no more land line). A person can collect a lot of clutter over the years and it is a good idea to clean all that stuff up, once in a while. It eventually had no effect in terms of convenience and actually improved a lot of things. Sound quality was one of those improvements.
But I would certainly not want to live without WiFi. I also have Bluetooth enabled on my tablet, because I use a pen with it. So, ease of use is still important.
My first answer is that I will go as far as extending the room if the currently submitted planning application is approved, as well as substantially beefing up the existing internal walls which will happen regardless - the house to which we recently moved fitted very well in most respects except the music room definitely needs improving, with obvious scope to do that.
Acoustic treatment as appropriate will take precedence over tweaks like cables, and I have never been a fad follower. As my streaming from my own store doesn’t send music over a network, except if sampling something from online to see if I might want to buy (when quality isn’t critical), network questions don’t feature. My satisfaction with the sound of all types of music through my system is such that nothing drives me to want better, though I know better in possible - but removing the room completely to achieve that is not a reality, while next best thing as per @Thomas in The listening room reality thread is going further than I think I will, though I admire the achievement.
Regarding wifi specifically, I seem to recall that any adverse effect has been shown to be kit dependant, with wifi less of a potential issue than ethernet at least with some more recent things.
(As for phones, nothing to do with hifi but we dropped having a landline phone when we first had fibre installed, 2 years ago now. At that point we used VOIP with cordless phones, but since moving home earlier this year have only had cellphone phone access. It still feels wrong in some way, and a limitation is we are limited in telephone calling capability without buying a top-up to countries included in our provider’s package scope, though whatsapp is a way around that in many, but not all cases.)
You seem to be assuming that wifi and cordless is noisy and degrading to audio, I believe that’s not correct and it more likely the reverse is true.
Whatever, no way am I going backwards …
All house wifi and cell phones is the only way in Chez-B.
I’ve been fibre FTTP for months, and we got rid of the ‘phone line’ a long while ago.
Add to that, in UK, BT and Openreach are removing all copper wire services by 31-Jan-27. All phone lines must transition to internet-based Digital Voice/VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol).
None of that ever bothered me. I am largely agnostic to most audiophile musings involving things which (maybe) make minute (imho) differences when I have a room that influences most of what I hear. Fair play to those that do. The rest of the time I am too busy enjoying music.
It isn’t an assumption. It was a conclusion I reached after comparing the sound after switching off the wi-fi and dispensing with the cordless 'phones. To be clear, there is no ethernet or wi-fi connection to our hi-fi. We are now CD only. We are full fibre and our land line is internet based ('phone connected to BT Smart Hub 2).
I would love, in a way, to be able to say it all fell apart when I switched the wi-fi back on. But I have to be completely honest here and say that I didn’t notice any degradation at all. In fact, I thought in some ways it sounded subtly better. This makes no sense to me at all. Unless having an ethernet connection to our laptop from the router somehow causes more noise than wi-fi.
I think that’s true. Not only kit dependant, but also dependant on location and environmental factors, such as proximity of other EMR sources, of which there are many in the modern world (cell 'phone masts, high tension overhead lines etc.).
It would definitely feel wrong to me not to have a landline. I know this is now becoming more popular though.
People often say things like this and it’s often perceived as a bit of a flippant comment. Actually though I think it’s very easy indeed to allow your focus to drift away from the pure enjoyment of music and to become more focused on the mechanics of replay. I’ve certainly been guilty of it from time to time.
High tension, tension is voltage, so I assume you mean National Grid distribution (?)
National Grid 400kV overhead power lines typically radiate RFI that decays to ambient background levels within 50 to 150m.
More practical, thinking about a typical local neighbourhood, local distribution overhead cables are normally radiating a few centimetres, at best no more than a metre.
Music and the system that plays it is part of our shared life; it has to fit into the room we use together and the functionality has to be accesible to both of us. My wife enjoys music with me, and (less often) by herself. She lives with largish speakers in a smallish room, but that is because they are very close to the wall. As an indication of ‘how far’ I have no doubt she would object to alternatives positioned out in the room, and I’d agree. The system boxes are neatly stowed in a rack that has doors-and is discreetly tucked away in a corner. We wouldn’t contemplate acoustic panels or other ugly room/rack changes because ultimate performance isn’t the whole priority.
There is great merit in having “cloth ears”, or, if it is the case, not having equipment that is excessively sensitive to minuscule influences. Also, whether the tiniest changes are actually even beneficial, or beneficial to all music is another question (a friend has invited me to join in his comparing of two speaker cables: and initial impressions suggest one cable better for some music, the other for other music). All that said, I do believe that some people are a lot more sensitive to suggestion than others, finding things improve with something because they have been led to expect it - the proof of the pudding being later finding the original better, or no difference. It is surprising how often that seems to happen.
I have a system that some here would not even consider as HiFi. My Pauper Fi system comprising of a Naim XS3 amp and PMC bookshelf speakers has to fit in with the room and its furnishings. I did manage to position the speakers in the way PMC recommended.
The thing is that when I play music, it is enjoyable and sounds better than much of the amplified music I hear at concerts. I was playing a classical guitar record yesterday, and yes it gave an excellent illusion of an actual guitarist playing, I believe because the clear, clean digital recording had been well mastered.
I do wonder if these big expensive systems are too sensitive to mismatching and room acoustics. How about the quality of the recordings we play?
I find much of the endless quest for sound “perfection” perplexing at times.
I find how far I’m prepared to go limited extremely well by the cost of all the tweakable bits. I find the price of some cables etc. completely eye watering. I also have a very low threshold for shampoo marketing speak, so this too helps me further.
Instead I prefer to read about what other people are up to, to try and understand if there’s a more reasonable idea behind it that makes sense to try a different way. However, once any new addition to the system has settled, then I’m quite happy to leave it alone if I’m satisfied with it. I also really don’t like the faff of changing cables and other bits in and out, it’s a process I don’t enjoy in any way.
In terms of WiFi… I guess I’m all in with all manner of ‘smart’ devices around the house. I do prefer to cable anything that streams, esp. video, if I can, but I do like all the convenience.
If I won the lottery and could have a dedicated listening room then I can think of a few things I’d do, but that remains a pleasant dream.
Local 415V 3 phase lines are much less of a concern. Even 11kV. But 400kV or 275kV lines do pass close to some domestic properties. Yes field strength is proportional to the inverse square of distance from the line so falls off rapidly. But even so… I’m not suggesting that it’s a major factor, just that it could be one in some situations.
As far as the cats will allow me to. Fortunately, they are fairly relaxed about most things, but they demand having Wi-Fi access so they can get onto Whiskerbook. Being extremely wise cats, they did point out to me that turning my wi-fi off would be a futile exercise, as when I set up any Wi-Fi-enabled devices, I get a signal from neighbours’ Wi-Fi, even though I live in a detached house.
. Naimophile wouldn’t even consider a plug for that sort of money 
. No offense.