Wired or Wireless (with RAAT) ?

[sjors.ehv]

Hello dear Devialet user,

One simple question maybe I would like to know more about.
In terms of functionality, will I be better off using my beloved Devialet 250 Pro unwired with RAAT, or does an Ethernet wiring make a difference, for the better?

Looking forward to hear from you when you might know a little more about it. 

With kind regards,

Sjors

[David A]

Is your router in a different room to your 250 Pro? If it is, do you already have ethernet cabling between the 2 rooms? If you don't have cabling between the 2 rooms, can you install ethernet cabling between the 2 rooms. That may not be possible if you're in rented accommodation and you may not want to do that in order to try an ethernet connection if you own your own home.

Given the location of your router and your 250 Pro, what's the easiest way you can set up a network connection right now? My advice is to start with that, get a good reliable network connection using that method, and then live with it for a while before starting to think about trying anything else. You can spend a lot of time and money playing around with network connections, whether they're wired or wifi.

In theory ethernet is probably better but there's a lot you can do to tweak wired or wifi connections. Since you're using Roon, Roon have a support article on their site about getting a good network connection and troubleshooting both wired and wifi connections.

In practice both can work very well and whether one is better than the other is probably going to depend more on just how you implement whichever connection you choose rather than on which one you choose. I use ethernet but I set up my system back in 2017 before the CI board was released and I had wifi problems in my home so I chose ethernet because I couldn't get a reliable wifi connection back then. Wifi networking has improved a lot since then and I had to get an installer in to run an ethernet connection from the room where my router is to the room where my 140 Pro is. Having set up a good ethernet connection I haven't tried wifi since then.

So my advice is to start by using whichever connection is simplest and easiest for you to implement at the moment, set it up so you've got a reliable connection, and see if you're happy with that first before wondering whether doing things differently will deliver an improvement. There's things you can do to improve both sorts of connections and get better sound quality but they all take time and money and you'll find a lot of different opinions on the cost-benefit relationship of anything you want to try when it comes to making improvements.

[daniel.avasilichioaei]

In theory, Ethernet connection is better and less risky than Wi-Fi. This refers to the stability of the connection; from the point of view of sound quality, there are no differences between the two connections.

However, in the case of Devialet Expert PRO there is a risk of being one of the victims of the RAAT protocol bug used with Gigabit Ethernet. Even in this situation, you can use the Devialet AIR protocol, instead of RAAT.

If using the Wi-Fi connection is more convenient for you, then try it for a few days and see if any problems occur.

[mdconnelly]

If you don’t get any stuttering or dropouts with wifi, then use it. But if running ethernet is not a problem, that might give you a bit more piece of mind. For me, even though I had excellent wifi at my 440 Pro, I would still get the occasional dropout. Switching to ethernet completely solved that.

[Vivialet]

if you want the best SQ from your Devialet don't use the CI board at all. Use an external solution like the ifi Zen Stream or better.

[mdconnelly]

if you want the best SQ from your Devialet don't use the CI board at all. Use an external solution like the ifi Zen Stream or better.

Now that’s something I haven’t heard before….  Early on, I did try a MicroRendu to USB input but didn’t think it sounded as good.   Might give it another try.   What do you hear?

[jbp]

I agree with Vivialet. If you want a good improvement use AES or RCA SPDIF from a good streamer.
From my experience, and I have tried some options, I believe a very good solution is:
linear psu --> low power fanless computer (usb) --> reclocker aes --> devialet.
Many options at many price points to choose from.

[sjors.ehv]

Thanks a lot 🏼

[sjors.ehv]

Think I’ll stick with the Wireless 🛜 I believe now the connection I’m having is a good one. Changing between different tracks in my ROON Queue - or a Playlist - takes some time (or: computer effort) however, maybe more than I would wish for. But maybe that is another (Playback) issue.

[sjors.ehv]

Furthermore I wonder if anybody can tell me this is only normal? 

Kind regards,

Sjors