Wireless bridge to NAS and then wired to NDX/UnitiQute
Posted by: meaculpa on 29 December 2010
Having now played with Ethernet Audio in the shape of a Sonos ZP90 through my N-vi/NAP200/MA RS8's, I am looking to take it a step further with a Naim source.
Before I get to the conundrum of what next in the audio hardware (Expensive - NDX/nDAc/202 or less expensive N-vi/UnitiQute/NAP 200 - Thanks to Allen B et al for the reply to an earlier post), I am thinking about the much discussed issue of wired v wireless.
Now, my scientific brain tells me that as long as the bits and bytes are there, then audio performance should be OK, however my experience with my ears over the past 20 years with "real hi-fi" tell me that components and electronics can make a huge difference.
I currently use dbPoweramp (in my view absolutely great) to rip CD's on my Mac running Parralel, and then transfer this (and downloads) to my NAS through a wired Netgear switch which in turn uses my Apple Time Capsule to wirelessly stream to the Sonos/N-vi in the sitting room.
In wanting to keep the dbPoweramp/Mac/Time Capsule in the study, I was wondering if it would be OK to take the NAS into the sitting room and hard wire it to a wireless bridge and my new Naim streamer so that it was "hard wired" and then transfer the additional files as I get them wirelessly to NAS.
I think from a computing point of view this would work, (as I already have about of TB of WAV's on the NAS and any additions now should be relatively small, however would passing the wired connection from the NAS to the Naim streamer through the internals of the wireless bridge be just as bad sonically as my current wireless set up straight to the streamer?
My normal route would be to demo this with my ears, but before I go and buy the bridge, I just wanted to know if I was getting too hung up on wireless v hard wired?
Andrew
Before I get to the conundrum of what next in the audio hardware (Expensive - NDX/nDAc/202 or less expensive N-vi/UnitiQute/NAP 200 - Thanks to Allen B et al for the reply to an earlier post), I am thinking about the much discussed issue of wired v wireless.
Now, my scientific brain tells me that as long as the bits and bytes are there, then audio performance should be OK, however my experience with my ears over the past 20 years with "real hi-fi" tell me that components and electronics can make a huge difference.
I currently use dbPoweramp (in my view absolutely great) to rip CD's on my Mac running Parralel, and then transfer this (and downloads) to my NAS through a wired Netgear switch which in turn uses my Apple Time Capsule to wirelessly stream to the Sonos/N-vi in the sitting room.
In wanting to keep the dbPoweramp/Mac/Time Capsule in the study, I was wondering if it would be OK to take the NAS into the sitting room and hard wire it to a wireless bridge and my new Naim streamer so that it was "hard wired" and then transfer the additional files as I get them wirelessly to NAS.
I think from a computing point of view this would work, (as I already have about of TB of WAV's on the NAS and any additions now should be relatively small, however would passing the wired connection from the NAS to the Naim streamer through the internals of the wireless bridge be just as bad sonically as my current wireless set up straight to the streamer?
My normal route would be to demo this with my ears, but before I go and buy the bridge, I just wanted to know if I was getting too hung up on wireless v hard wired?
Andrew