AIR1 v AIR2 v Spark

[PhilP]

I don't think there is too much wrong with Devialet's networking approach 

That seems like quite a strong statement given the number of people that have reported dropouts and stuttering on here. In fact one person (Womaz?) was able to reduce the incidence of white noise by simply changing the location of their computer strongly suggesting a network-related issue.

My feeling is that the problem is highly complex and multifactorial, otherwise it would have been solved by now. For instance I have heard reports of the frequency of white noise being reduced through the use of mains conditioners which didn't really make much sense at all.

On a number of occasions Devialet have claimed to have fixed the problem only to have the proverbial Jack-in-the-box pop out with mallet in hand.

Guillaume

I appreciate that it must be very frustrating for the people who do experience white noise or stuttering/drop-outs and as I've mentioned previously I've remained on 10.6.8 on my iMac for music in order to avoid any potential problems.  

White noise was first reported with AIR (2.1.2 rather than 2.1.3 as I said before and FW 7.1) on OS X when Mavericks was released and systems which had previously run fault-free suddenly developed problems. This is unlikely to be a coincidence...

I think it quite possible that white noise and stuttering/drop-outs are separate issues though as you say they may well both be multi-faceted problems.  It is apparent from posts on here that stuttering/drop-outs have in many (but not all) cases gone away when the network has been changed/improved.

I find it difficult to believe that my 200 or those Devialets owned by others who have no issues with AIR are somehow 'better' than those who do experience those issues.  I don't have a super-expensive, powerful network and have literally done nothing to optimise it. My wi-fi signal strength as measured by the Devialet is 43/+8 DBM and works with no problems...  Further I can use my iMac to perform other tasks at the same time as I listen to music as I am now ; 

Thierry, I guess you may well have a good point about EMI interference being a cause of some issues (stuttering, drop-outs) especially as you have shown that the Devialet may not have adequate protection against EMI but my gut feel is that white noise may have a different software-related cause. If you do find the cause of the problems then chocolates is the smallest prize that you should expect