Cable Modems

[Xymox]

Why the Aruba ? Many reasons, but the shielding is a big one.

 

[vert]

I was stuck using the xfinity cable modem with the internal radios on.

Switching back to an external TP link access point (with only 2.4Ghz on) made me realize just how much better it is for streaming music.

 

[vert]

It seems to be a balance.

The xfinity internal radios degrade the sound.

But turning the radios off, and adding an external access point with a LPS adds noise on its own.

 

[Xymox]

It seems to be a balance.

The xfinity internal radios degrade the sound.

But turning the radios off, and adding an external access point with a LPS adds noise on its own.

Yeppers... Makes sense.. Also move the Xfinity device away from all audio gear.

 

[Xymox]

Well Bill at GTT made a video talking about my switch and the Aruba.

He has a LOT of systems in his place and he has a lot of clients with high end systems. The Switch X has been replacing some high end switches and producing really great results. So I was happy to hear all that. Bill also does a good job talking about the switch. He also mentions access points towards the end.

Yea I know have enough systems installed with the Switch X that i feel pretty confident about it now.

 

[msimanyi]

Chris,

Does the switch purchase include the SFP modules, or do we need to source those ourselves?

And if the latter, have you tested for "best / preferred" modules for standard Gigbit / 100Mbit connections?

I just ordered a wall mount rack and plan to move most of my network / broadband hardware out of my main rack to make some room for audio stuff, so this may be a good time to add your SwitchX to my system...

 

[jhulton]

Well Bill at GTT made a video talking about my switch and the Aruba.

He has a LOT of systems in his place and he has a lot of clients with high end systems. The Switch X has been replacing some high end switches and producing really great results. So I was happy to hear all that. Bill also does a good job talking about the switch. He also mentions access points towards the end.

Yea I know have enough systems installed with the Switch X that i feel pretty confident about it now.

Amen I'm all in and a believer!

 

[msimanyi]

Chris, if my WAP is located 30+ feet away from my audio gear and the rest of my networking equipment, does that adequately mitigate the RF effects from using a non-Aruba, well shielded WAP?

Put another way: are the primary WAP noise issues airborne or over the wire?

 

[MarcelNL]

Chris, if my WAP is located 30+ feet away from my audio gear and the rest of my networking equipment, does that adequately mitigate the RF effects from using a non-Aruba, well shielded WAP?

Put another way: are the primary WAP noise issues airborne or over the wire?

easy enough to try....buy a stretch of pre confectioned UTP and listen ( I haven't gotten that far yet, too busy buiding a dual Xeon machine) My current thoughts go into the direction of using a directional antenna for point to point contact between the audio AP and the control device or a good old fashioned wire link.

 

[msimanyi]

Does the switch purchase include the SFP modules, or do we need to source those ourselves?

For anyone contemplating the SwitchX, the answer is it doesn't include the modules. Bill at GTT told me he prefers the Microtik modules, which should be under $30 per module. It's not a significant expense.

 

[Xymox]

Chris, if my WAP is located 30+ feet away from my audio gear and the rest of my networking equipment, does that adequately mitigate the RF effects from using a non-Aruba, well shielded WAP?

Put another way: are the primary WAP noise issues airborne or over the wire?

Both possibly. In your case the access point should be far enough away it should be OK from any affects induced thru the air. Really sensitive high gain preamps + poorly shielded interconnects + wide band inputs with high impeadance like single ended could be a issue. BUT the wifi would most likely be the least of the issues as it would also pick up TONS of other stuff in the enviroment like light dimmers, AZ radio stations, etc,. Tube based phono stages, MM Carts might be issue for example.

But most likely not a issue with that kind of distance.

BUT.. The wire that comes from it can act like a transmission line for the RF Wifi signal and, more so, the RF noise from the Switch Mode regulators in every wifi access point I opened except for the specific model # Arubas. The wire itself can become a transmission line on its outside shield and transmis the noise down it and into your audio switch and into your system. This will end up in the grounding system if your lucky. Even then tho it just gets on metal stuff and is hard to ground out fully once present.

RF is nasty and annoying.. Ask anyone who has played with grounding digital gear.

I look at it as best pratice. I sell the Switch X and a optional tweaked Aruba. These are setup to not have these issues. The wifi is low power, narrow channel and has other settings that make it FAR more friendly. The Aruba is mil-spec hardened with intense engineering for shielding and little if any RF leakage so it meets the mil-specs to handle classified material and has lots of FIPS qualifications. I think of it all as a best overall method to do networking and wifi with high end audio gear.

 

[Xymox]

easy enough to try....buy a stretch of pre confectioned UTP and listen ( I haven't gotten that far yet, too busy buiding a dual Xeon machine) My current thoughts go into the direction of using a directional antenna for point to point contact between the audio AP and the control device or a good old fashioned wire link.

Hmmm... A directional antenna like a Yagi would focus the wifi RF to a cone aera, but, it also adds a lot of gain directing a lot more power in just one tight beam. This would be fine, but, access point power would need to be reduced by at least the gain of the antenna. Like 6db. ALso keep in mind you will need 3 of these antennas. Its 3x3 MIMO so 3 antennas. the 3x3 is important too as it changes the RF stream and a 2 or 1 antenna system is much worse for a clean connection. The 3x3 requires much less retransmissions..

I guess ideally... Placing the access point as close as possible to the ipad and then vastly reducing the power on the access point would produce the best solution. Tricky to do tho. But if there was a ethernet cable by the couch/chair/table right at the listening spot, that would do it.. Hmmm.. I need to make sure in the future people prewire to that location.

 

[Xymox]

Another good way to keep RF from going down a wire into your gear is to use a snap on choke. Put these close to the offending device.

These are just a example. There are different types.. CAREFUL these can also do wierd things to the signals in the wires. Like they might affect ethernet signals. So use with caution..

Amazon.com

 

[MarcelNL]

Hmmm... A directional antenna like a Yagi would focus the wifi RF to a cone aera, but, it also adds a lot of gain directing a lot more power in just one tight beam. This would be fine, but, access point power would need to be reduced by at least the gain of the antenna. Like 6db. ALso keep in mind you will need 3 of these antennas. Its 3x3 MIMO so 3 antennas. the 3x3 is important too as it changes the RF stream and a 2 or 1 antenna system is much worse for a clean connection. The 3x3 requires much less retransmissions..

I guess ideally... Placing the access point as close as possible to the ipad and then vastly reducing the power on the access point would produce the best solution. Tricky to do tho. But if there was a ethernet cable by the couch/chair/table right at the listening spot, that would do it.. Hmmm.. I need to make sure in the future people prewire to that location.

yeah, wired is probably preferrable...somehow I managed to end up with three dedicated ducts for power to my system yet not a single one for a control wire in our new home....I'll suck it up and make do with a loose wire.....

 

[Xymox]

yeah, wired is probably preferrable...somehow I managed to end up with three dedicated ducts for power to my system yet not a single one for a control wire in our new home....I'll suck it up and make do with a loose wire.....

WIRED is ALWAYS the best way to hook things up. Avoiding wifi is always best. But..

Doing roon or a PnP control wired then you end up on a ipad. Doing a iPad wired has its own potential issues. Ultimately the iPad will need a power injector if hooking up to wired ethernet and these power injectors are horrendous RF noise injectors and they use a wall wart SMPS which is also bad. . The noise then travels down the wire and gets back into gear again. At first I thought, wow, you can hook up a ipad wired to ethernet ? Oh cool.. But then the rality sank and and using a spectrum analyzer proved out that injectors are all made in china and the ones I measured did not even conform to US FCC rules. Nasty devices.

 

[MarcelNL]

Thanks for sharing your experience! Once my new gear has been dialed in I'll try compare my laptop via UTP/STP vs WIFI and the old IPad (never got used to it) also. For now there are other things to cover first.

 

[Bso]

WIRED is ALWAYS the best way to hook things up. Avoiding wifi is always best. But..

No buts...

 

[matthias]

No buts...

In some cases wifi is better

Matt

 

[audiobomber]

In some cases wifi is better

Matt

Sure, for convenience, but not sonically.

 

[matthias]

Sure, for convenience, but not sonically.

When you follow the development of the upcoming Taiko router also sonically.

Matt