Pimping your router

Actually that button is on the very bottom of the thread that I just minutes ago. All good stuff folks!

Weird, it shows up on a different part of your screen. Glad you found it.

Reading some of these posts..  you would think the Ethernet data makes it to its destination only by luck…
Yet we know that the data all makes it intact and bit perfect thanks to various levels of hardware and software self checking and CRC. Yet somehow the 1’s and 0’s are going to sound better via some magic cables or whatnot. Yet critical data using “non-audiophile” methods launching missies, banking, etc… all continue working just fine..  
Makes you wonder why those same  1’s and 0’s all intact and verified will sound better via extraneous methods and mediums.. 
What a fun hobby..

@mikem,

the issue isn‘t the integrity of data packets nor their sequencing: it is the extraneous RFI/EMI and ground level grunge travelling alongside the data and having a nefarious impact on the re-conversion in the analogue domain. And: no, the noise rejection built into digital interfaces does not manage to reject that noise incursion fully. Hence all the rigmarole.
Enjoy the music

“Makes you wonder why those same 1’s and 0’s all intact and verified will sound better via extraneous methods and mediums..”

@mikem

It’s not so much about those 1’s and 0’s. In simple terms, it’s the reduction or elimination of ‘noise’ before the signal arrives in your DAC for analog conversion. As you know by lowering noise we get better resolution and dynamics. Your system is too good to be using a MacBook as a source to stream music. Try a decent dedicated streamer or server along with some of the suggestions outlined here and you are very likely to appreciate the bump in SQ.

Here is my digital streaming setup,
Apple router ➡️ Network Acoustics LAN Ag ➡️ ENO Ag Filter ➡️ Streamer ➡️ Network Acoustics USB III ➡️ DAC.

Everything matters and you already know that :-)

Good luck and enjoy music!