Servers: Are we there yet?

My experience over the last 8 years or so is for CD resolution streaming,  wifi need not be a problem as long as functioning properly and connections are strong(say >80%).   That is with good quality gear designed to stream CD res audio or higher over wifi.

It is best if disk storage is physically connected to server  (not remote on the network) and streaming occurs from wifi connected player to server only (again with a strong wifi connection).

Results will vary server by server still.    Two software  server programs I can recommend that do things well are Logitech MEdia Server ( though this is no longer undergoing active development and not a good choice for new users) and Plex Server, which I have started to phase in as a replacement for LMS.

I do not have any experience with current one box audio music server products  ( I prefer running good software on commercial computers to buying proprietary hardware from specialized vendors) but I have read mixed results over the years with many and would be cautious and only consider newer products/technology that have received large scale acceptance and positive reviews.     Sonos, Bluesound, Sony are three product lines I have seen that seem to be getting decent traction in B&M shops lately, with Sonos probably having the most users currently.

Fellow Sony HAP server owners sit back and chuckle at these frustration threads whilst our state of the art player and app sing and dance for us in rock steady glee.

For many years I'm using Itunes on MacMini (that I use anyway) to play music over WiFi (5GHz) using Airport Express and DAC.  It is simple and I never had any problems.  Sure if router fails music stops, but the same can happen when CDP fails (it happened to me), when preamp fails, when amp fails etc.  Routers are cheap these days and you have to replace them anyway to get access to internet.

FWIW, my preference with respect to wireless routers is to not use one. Instead I prefer to utilize a wireless access point that is separate from the router, and connects to the router via an ethernet cable. In my case that facilitates being able to locate each device in the location I prefer for each, and I suspect in many cases is likely to make it possible to select a more powerful and better performing access point than the ones that tend to be built into routers.

In my case, for the last several years I’ve been using an EnGenius EAP350 802.11n access point (it predates the latest 802.11ac standard), with the router function being performed by a SonicWall TZ205 hardware firewall that I have protecting my entire LAN from outside intrusion. (The hardware firewall in turn connects to the cable modem supplied by my ISP).  While at this point I don’t utilize a music server, or stream music from a computer, for the past couple of years I have been wirelessly streaming Internet radio to a Squeezebox which connects into my audio system. Although the Squeezebox is located on a different floor than the wireless access point, and there are several walls in between, I have never had a single glitch, drop-out, or other performance anomaly of any kind or duration during all that time.

I also make a point, btw, of operating the WiFi network on a channel that is as far as possible from the channels I’ve determined (via software) that are used by my neighbors.

The bottom line: I see no reason that WiFi can’t be utilized in a reliable manner for audio.

Regards,
-- Al

"Yes. It's like if your CD player broke, your entire CD collection is rendered useless."

Not quite. If your CD player breaks, you can use another one. Or you can use your laptop, if it has a CD drive. On the other hand, if your wireless network is out of action, it doesn't matter how many backup servers you have- none of them will work.

I think servers should function regardless of the availability of Wifi. As it now stands, I don't consider it an unqualified advance over a good CD player.