My experience is the opposite, although my situation may be a little different.
My issues were moving my music room, it meant I had the use a WIFI connection via an extender and Cat Cable which wasn’t stable and when it was ok even running a high quality Cat 7 cable from a WIFI extender, using software on my laptop to test the connection and signal quality it had measurable noise and latency deficiencies. Even direct to the router via a long Cat 7 and the ability of the Lumin X1, there was noise.
I had a decent sound but I just knew my Lumin X1 could be better, much better, so I experimented. The chosen method is somewhat truncated but I am glad I tried it.
I used an SFP optical Fiber connection into my Lumin X1, it was designed to optimize this connection method. My router doesn’t offer an optical out and rejects WIFI as a credible connection in favour of either ethernet or optical fiber. So clearly my WIFI was not 100% stable via an extender with Cat 7 out, I went for a mildly contentious connection.
I started with a TP Link AV1300 powerline yes a potentially very noisy method of obtaining an internet connection but hear me out. I placed one next to the router with receiver into the wall a short distance away from the Lumin but 20 metres physical distance and maybe twice that electrically.
I had already tested the quality of the Powerline ethernet out on the receiving end and was getting much better speeds than WIFI Extender and more than enough for the streamer with decent latency numbers too. (In the UK we don’t use radial circuits, we use a 240V/ 32A ring main system. It’s completely independent of the lighting circuits in the home. So I have 4 ring mains as I extended my home two additional ones in the new extension for upstairs and downstairs) I then tried this into the Lumin using a 2 metre CAT 7 cable and got significantly improved results but my goals were to provide the Lumin with a stable fast connection that offered low latency in relative terms but also eliminated as much noise and possible.
Understanding that using powerline risks bringing noise into the system, my next step was to introduce a very effective way to reduce noise by totally eliminating the most common causes, these being EMI & RF electrical interferences so I wasn’t concerned about the powerline in as much as the Lumin was doing a great job with it just using ethernet but connected via the now ubiquitous TP Link optical converter and SFP to the Lumin X1, on my system, the results were nothing short of staggering. It is rock solid stable but it’s the inky black back-ground that was the most noticeable result! Music just seems to appear in the soundstage like a hologram of the performers.
So accomplished were the outcomes for me, that I have not even considered the more esoteric solutions available around this method. Whilst I cannot imagine it getting better than this, I will remain open-minded. Although it will need to be clear and obvious, or I will stay with this current set up.
I never considered a non-electrical connection until forced to by circumstances, always assuming ethernet was superior but I now am less and less convinced that that position can be defended. I wondered why Lumin were unambiguous about the merits of Optical Fiber and now I understand why “Silence is Golden”
