[Mr Brett]

Yes, my extender is a wifi extender (with 4 ethernet ports). It's the unfortunate reality and I'm hoping I can maximize SQ as much as possible despite that being my case. I do have LPSUs on both the main modem/router and the extender and I've turned off wifi broadcasting from the extender. I've got the extender accepting both 2.4g and 5g wireless bands from the main router.

I just purchased an Ether Regen and will connect as recommended to start:

• Wifi extender > ~3m ethernet cable > ER > 0.5m ethernet cable > server/streamer

Depending on how that goes, I can experiment with inserting the SOtM isolator somewhere within that chain

Will connect everything this weekend.

First iteration is:
Wifi extender > Meicord Opal > DXE Iso Plus > Meicord Opal > Pink Faun LAN Isolator > EtherRegen > TWL Freedom > Stack Audio SmoothLan > TWL Freedom > Streamer

 

[Mr Brett]

An RE650 will automatically choose the cleanest broadcast frequency. You should configure it for both 2.4 and 5Ghz and allow it to choose. Disabling the broadcast radio as you've done provides a noticeably cleaner signal.

Finally dug into the settings of the TP Link RE650 wifi extender.

It's now only receiving the 2.4 GHz signal from the router.
And no wifi signal broadcasting from it.
Will only have ethernet signal coming from it to my system.

Looking forward to hearing how this affects playback.

 

[pataburd]

Definitely let us know how things work out. For me, going from Wi-Fi only to Ethernet only brought about noteworthy improvements.

 

[audiobomber]

Will connect everything this weekend.

First iteration is:
Wifi extender > Meicord Opal > DXE Iso Plus > Meicord Opal > Pink Faun LAN Isolator > EtherRegen > TWL Freedom > Stack Audio SmoothLan > TWL Freedom > Streamer

IME, LAN Isolators can have positive and negative effects, depending on quality and placement. I have heard mixed opinions on the DXE isolators for audio. Also, Uptone recommend only the cable in between the ER and streamer. That is what I found when I tried a Network Audio Muon. It was great ahead of the ER, but compromised the sound when used in between the ER and my streamer. Therefore, I would recommend to try this as a second iteration:

• DXE Iso between your general network and router LAN connection. My thinking here is that ethernet is bi-directional, and the Isolator will prevent noise from downstream devices entering the router
• Pink Faun between the modem and router (WAN port), to prevent ISP system noise from entering the router
• SmoothLAN between extender and ER

Is the ER new? If so it will need 100 hours break-in to deliver its potential. What power supply will you use? Looking forward to your findings.

 

[OCC7N]

https://en.avm.de/products/fritzbox/fritzbox-5530-fiber/technical-specifications/

This thing is very interesting as it replaces 2 boxes. GPON and Router.

So this means the fiber cable from the wall goes straight into this as it works as modem/GPON/Router.

Anybody here who has experience with it ?

 

[Mr Brett]

IME, LAN Isolators can have positive and negative effects, depending on quality and placement. I have heard mixed opinions on the DXE isolators for audio. Also, Uptone recommend only the cable in between the ER and streamer. That is what I found when I tried a Network Audio Muon. It was great ahead of the ER, but compromised the sound when used in between the ER and my streamer. Therefore, I would recommend to try this as a second iteration:

• DXE Iso between your general network and router LAN connection. My thinking here is that ethernet is bi-directional, and the Isolator will prevent noise from downstream devices entering the router
• Pink Faun between the modem and router (WAN port), to prevent ISP system noise from entering the router
• SmoothLAN between extender and ER

Is the ER new? If so it will need 100 hours break-in to deliver its potential. What power supply will you use? Looking forward to your findings.

Thanks Audio Bomber

The EtherRegen is used, so no problems there. Will use a Plixir Elite LPS with it.

I have a Cisco SG110D switch with a Fidelity Audio C4Mk2 clock installed.
Thinking of putting that between my modem and router (Asus RT AX86U Pro).
Was then planning to place an Acoustic Revive RLI 1GB Triple C between modem and router, along with the first DXE Iso Plus.

 

[audiobomber]

Thanks Audio Bomber

The EtherRegen is used, so no problems there. Will use a Plixir Elite LPS with it.

I have a Cisco SG110D switch with a Fidelity Audio C4Mk2 clock installed.
Thinking of putting that between my modem and router (Asus RT AX86U Pro).
Was then planning to place an Acoustic Revive RLI 1GB Triple C between modem and router, along with the first DXE Iso Plus.

Lots of gear! You're in for a boatload of experimentation to find the best configuration. I suggest starting with simple and adding/changing as needed.

Caution, as discussed previously, the router contains a firewall. Any gear connected upstream of the router is an open door to hackers.

 

[kingoftown1]

Fun little Saturday morning project -- made up a 3mm carbon fiber bottom plate for the SW-8. Took inspiration from SR's switch chassis (though the compartmentalized SW8 chassis is nicer)

 

[Jake2]

Fun little Saturday morning project -- made up a 3mm carbon fiber bottom plate for the SW-8. Took inspiration from SR's switch chassis (though the compartmentalized SW8 chassis is nicer)

Super cool, looks great. Love the corners.

 

[FiGuY1017]

Just curious is there any advantage to using a wired lan to dac from a wifi extender opposed to just a wireless wifi connection? As my router isn't near my system, but I can move the 5g extender if it'll help. Thanks!

 

[kingoftown1]

On to the next SW-8 tweak. Pull up your pants, it's QSA Gemstones!

Besides adding the QSA gemstones, so far on the SW-8 I've:

• Bypassed the power switch & fuse holder
• Replaced some of the stock wiring with Mundorf Angelique
• Made a couple cap changes on the main board
• Replaced the bottom panel with carbon fiber
• Added 3m AB5100HF over unused ports, and some places inside the switch
• Attached it to a Synergistic Research Active Ground Block SE

Most of the other mods (besides the ground block) either adjust tonality or remove high frequency hash, and give normal em/rfi-removal related results in sound quality. The QSA stones really make things more tangible and identifiable in the soundstage. They kick up the realism, separation, and image placement up a couple notches. They also help with leading edges of notes, which I'm guessing is a big part of what helps with the sense of realism.

The different colors are also supposedly tied to different frequencies and I can hear that in effect a bit. I got red (bass-lower mids), blue (mids), and black (soundstage) to start out with. There's also a clear, which is supposed to work on high frequencies -- I'm not sure how much this overlaps with black, but I may pick some up in the future.

For placement, I mimicked what QSA did on one of their switches (though only 2 ports are treated on mine)

In practice, they work a lot like the SR Carbon Tuning Discs although way smaller, and with a better impact in this application (I use CTDs elsewhere, but didn't end up liking them on my ethernet cables). I still have 3 stones left of each color -- I'm debating whether to treat the router, other switches, ac or dc cables. I'll probably leave things as they for a while to keep asessing.... 20 minutes at least.

 

[bluenight]

On to the next SW-8 tweak. Pull up your pants, it's QSA Gemstones!


Besides adding the QSA gemstones, so far on the SW-8 I've:

• Bypassed the power switch & fuse holder
• Replaced some of the stock wiring with Mundorf Angelique
• Made a couple cap changes on the main board
• Replaced the bottom panel with carbon fiber
• Added 3m AB5100HF over unused ports, and some places inside the switch
• Attached it to a Synergistic Research Active Ground Block SE

Most of the other mods (besides the ground block) either adjust tonality or remove high frequency hash, and give normal em/rfi-removal related results in sound quality. The QSA stones really make things more tangible and identifiable in the soundstage. They kick up the realism, separation, and image placement up a couple notches. They also help with leading edges of notes, which I'm guessing is a big part of what helps with the sense of realism.

The different colors are also supposedly tied to different frequencies and I can hear that in effect a bit. I got red (bass-lower mids), blue (mids), and black (soundstage) to start out with. There's also a clear, which is supposed to work on high frequencies -- I'm not sure how much this overlaps with black, but I may pick some up in the future.

For placement, I mimicked what QSA did on one of their switches (though only 2 ports are treated on mine)



In practice, they work a lot like the SR Carbon Tuning Discs although way smaller, and with a better impact in this application (I use CTDs elsewhere, but didn't end up liking them on my ethernet cables). I still have 3 stones left of each color -- I'm debating whether to treat the router, other switches, ac or dc cables. I'll probably leave things as they for a while to keep asessing.... 20 minutes at least.

Also Bling Bling.

 

[OCC7N]

Also Bling Bling.

People send their belden cables for qsa treatment and they come back 5000$ worth of sound.

 

[tholt]

So I've now added the EtherRegen and I'd say it made a small but noticeable improvement. Before adding it I was previously just using a SotM ISO-Cat 6 device between my wifi extender and server. Can't say that made much of a difference. The ER seemed to increase the 'liveness' of the sound by a small degree. Background is a little blacker from what I can tell. I'd say the change was subtle but noticeable. Will continue to listen to it and then do the real test – remove it and connect ethernet cable directly to the server.

For those not following my situation, the internet chain from router to server, with the newly installed ER is:
Modem/router (w/ LPSU) > Wifi > Wifi extender (w/LPSU) with wifi turned off; I'm just using one of its ethernet ports to connect to the server > ethernet cable > ER > short cable > server

I briefly inserted the SotM ISO device between ER and server, but it had a negligible effect if any so I removed it.

Outside of just updating this thread now that I finally put the ER in place, I wanted to mention a unique product I found during my searching that might interest anyone who HAS to use wifi to connect internet to their music system, like I do. It's called the Nexus Link Wireless Gaming Bridge -- here's the link. You can buy it on Amazon, Walmart or other places online. It's $99 on Amazon. It comes with 2 identical units: one connects to your router, the other is in your music room and connects to your server/streamer etc. The two units then create their own dedicated, private, password-protected 5 ghz wireless connection. Setup is very easy with WPS. It also has a web interface where you can adjust the band, channel and other things. I did a few A/B tests and noticed a subtle but noticeable improvement. Mostly in a bit more fleshed out and dimensional stage. Just a touch more realism. It was subtle, but for $100, a relatively cheap tweak lol. I decided to leave them in permanently and added LPSUs on each unit. I didn't A/B after that, deciding I was done at that point.

Anyway, I feel like I'm nearing the threshold of optimizing what I can do connecting to the internet, at least for now. It does feel good to address though. There's not much point upgrading anything downstream if things are seriously compromised upstream. Since I have to use wifi, I've at least tried to optimize what I can from router on down to my server.

 

[audiobomber]

I'm just using one of its ethernet ports to connect to the server > ethernet cable > ER > short cable > server

There are three ethernet ports and one fiber port on the A side of the ER. Thd B side has a single isolated port. The proper way to connect would be to have the extender connected to the A side, with the B side feeding your server. Is that what you are doing?