04-Apr-2022, 09:59
My understanding is that Airplay is limited to CD resolution streaming, ie 16 bit 44.1 kHz., as a maximum If the source music is at that resolution lower you will get bit perfect streaming but if it's higher resolution then it will be reduced to CD resolution. Airplay is an Apple proprietary protocol, designed to integrate Apple devices years ago when people were first starting to stream music and it was intended as a way for Mac users to connect Apple devices via wifi'
Re your second post:
For some reason Devialet has the Expert Pros default to ethernet if both ethernet and wifi inputs are active which is why your Devialet Remote app shows wifi as inactive if you connect to the ethernet input as well.
So what happens when you stream a piece of music from the Qobuz app on your iPad to the Expert Pro. Well, it gets to the Expert Pro via your network and if there's an ethernet connection to the network the Expert Pro uses it rather than wifi. That's the path the signal follows to get to the Expert Pro.
When it comes to what limitations are imposed on the signal, that depends on the streaming protocol used. If the streaming protocol is Airplay then higher resolution signals will be reduced to a 16 bit, 44.1 kHz signal because that's the best that Airplay offers, even though both wifi and ethernet can handle higher resolution streams.
As to the use of both wifi and ethernet inputs, I think you could specify different network details for wifi in your configuration data if you have access to 2 different networks so wifi would work for one and ethernet for the other. If, like most of us, you only have access to one network then decide which connection you are going to use and turn the other connection off in your configuration file because it's an unused connection you don't have to cycle through every time you change inputs.
So, are you better off connecting via wifi or ethernet. Ethernet has more bandwidth but I think wifi has sufficient bandwidth for high res music up to 24/192 (some one will correct me if I'm wrong). If you get good wifi reception with the Expert Pro then using wifi has 2 benefits, you don't need to buy cables and the signal path does not involve an electrical connection to the Devialet which means it's galvanically isolated from your network. People may argue over whether or not galvanic isolation makes a differen
What I think is not arguable is that not all inputs on the Expert Pro sound the same and there are all sorts of things you can do which change and perhaps improve the sound quality you get from a given input. You're using a USB device with your USB connection and I'm using an ETHERegen with my ethernet connection. Is USB with an added device doing something better than wifi or ethernet without any added devices, or better than ethernet with one or more added devices? You obviously think there are add on devices which can make a difference or you wouldn't be using one with your USB connection but that doesn't mean that any given device for improving ethernet connections will do what the manufacturer claims. Either they're all snake oil or some will be better than others and the differences made may be large enough to justify the price of the device for you or not large enough to justify the price. Only you can decide that. Wifi avoids added devices, all you can do is change your wifi router, perhaps to get better signal strength or for some other reason. Wifi offers a connection that you can't complicate, wired connections like USB and ethernet offer lots of options for complication and a lot of us like to play with those options.
Re your second post:
For some reason Devialet has the Expert Pros default to ethernet if both ethernet and wifi inputs are active which is why your Devialet Remote app shows wifi as inactive if you connect to the ethernet input as well.
So what happens when you stream a piece of music from the Qobuz app on your iPad to the Expert Pro. Well, it gets to the Expert Pro via your network and if there's an ethernet connection to the network the Expert Pro uses it rather than wifi. That's the path the signal follows to get to the Expert Pro.
When it comes to what limitations are imposed on the signal, that depends on the streaming protocol used. If the streaming protocol is Airplay then higher resolution signals will be reduced to a 16 bit, 44.1 kHz signal because that's the best that Airplay offers, even though both wifi and ethernet can handle higher resolution streams.
As to the use of both wifi and ethernet inputs, I think you could specify different network details for wifi in your configuration data if you have access to 2 different networks so wifi would work for one and ethernet for the other. If, like most of us, you only have access to one network then decide which connection you are going to use and turn the other connection off in your configuration file because it's an unused connection you don't have to cycle through every time you change inputs.
So, are you better off connecting via wifi or ethernet. Ethernet has more bandwidth but I think wifi has sufficient bandwidth for high res music up to 24/192 (some one will correct me if I'm wrong). If you get good wifi reception with the Expert Pro then using wifi has 2 benefits, you don't need to buy cables and the signal path does not involve an electrical connection to the Devialet which means it's galvanically isolated from your network. People may argue over whether or not galvanic isolation makes a differen
What I think is not arguable is that not all inputs on the Expert Pro sound the same and there are all sorts of things you can do which change and perhaps improve the sound quality you get from a given input. You're using a USB device with your USB connection and I'm using an ETHERegen with my ethernet connection. Is USB with an added device doing something better than wifi or ethernet without any added devices, or better than ethernet with one or more added devices? You obviously think there are add on devices which can make a difference or you wouldn't be using one with your USB connection but that doesn't mean that any given device for improving ethernet connections will do what the manufacturer claims. Either they're all snake oil or some will be better than others and the differences made may be large enough to justify the price of the device for you or not large enough to justify the price. Only you can decide that. Wifi avoids added devices, all you can do is change your wifi router, perhaps to get better signal strength or for some other reason. Wifi offers a connection that you can't complicate, wired connections like USB and ethernet offer lots of options for complication and a lot of us like to play with those options.
Roon Nucleus+, Devilalet Expert 140 Pro CI, Focal Sopra 2, PS Audio P12, Keces P8 LPS, Uptone Audio EtherREGEN with optical fibre link to my router, Shunyata Alpha NR and Sigma NR power cables, Shunyata Sigma ethernet cables, Shunyata Alpha V2 speaker cables, Grand Prix Audio Monaco rack, RealTRAPS acoustic treatment.
Brisbane, Qld, Australia
