Wi-Fi Fidelity?


Any degradation of signal (i.e.: loss of fidelity) when sending that signal via wireless? My only physical connectivity option from laptop to DAC is via USB – unfortunately, the DAC is not HDMI capable. Which would provide the best signal transfer, the laptop + DAC (via USB), or the laptop + Wi-Fi router + Wi-Fi server +DAC (via coax)?
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Showing 3 responses by mapman

Wi-Fi connections are not directly involved in the Digital to analog conversion process and therefore do not affect the sound.

A Wifi connection is just a means of feeding the bits to another device or devices that provide the clock and DAC needed to perform the actual conversion to analog sound.

You can get dropouts though if the Wifi signal is too weak or obstructed because this will prevent the bits from being fed into the conversion process fast enough to keep the sound going.
"..and trust your own ears. If it sounds good, it sounds good."

Amen.

There is no loss of fidelity sending signal over wireless. The only potential issue is whether the connection operates fast enough to get the bits to the destination fast enough to be available when needed. If it doesn't, you will get dropouts.
"According to Ayre's Charles Hansen (nice link Ablang) Wi-Fi sure as @#$! does degrade the signal and your entire audio system via the RFI it generates in ALL lines. I wish I hadn't read that...wow, the whole low-level microwave constantly left on in your home scenario is depressing."

Wow, that sure just opened up a huge can of worms!