Ethernet

@foggyus91 

telling us what the components are in your digital chain would really qualify your statements

Until recently, I used a Naim NDX2/XPS-DR streamer/DAC, with HiLine cable and a PowerLine on the XPS. I have AT&T gigabit fiber to the wall, two Cisco 2960G switches, and Belden Cat 6a and Cat6 from Blue Jeans cable throughout the LAN.

I have since sold my Naim NDX2 and have a new Weiss DAC501 on order. I don’t plan to get a streamer on the front of it. I’ll just make use of the Roon endpoint on the Weiss DAC. That’s all I need.

I am also using a Naim Atom in my home office. connected to one of the Cisco switches with a short Blue Jeans cable Cat 6 patch cable.

I hope that's a suitable answer to your question. I can provide further details if needed.

@audphile1 This is music to my ears. I have no stutters, no pauses, no connections issues to speak of. So why am I spending money on this? Audiophilus nervous I suppose!!! I appreciate you talking me down my friend! I think I will just hook up this ethernet cable I ordered and have a listen! I still have yet to receive the Iris, which arrives on Friday. Then I will be testing all the cables I have for the USB to the Iris and the HDMI to the Pontus 2.

You’re good to go. Hook up cable to eero and test it. See if you can tell the difference between it and wifi. 
Both a better streamer and better dac will make a difference. Node is entry level. Don’t expect miracles. 

@maprik 

That Ethernet patch cable looks good. Fully shielded as well. We used shielded exclusively in the data centres, POP and TX's at Motorola, Orange etc. Less chance of dropped packets. Compared to Wi-Fi it's a fit and forget type setup. No need to worry about who's hogging all the bandwidth on the Wi-Fi. Hope this helps.

@audphile1 I guess I still don't understand the concept behind how data is sent to the DDC and why a budget streamer like the node would "sound" worse than an expensive streamer that is sending the same data. I get that DDCs can be important in their quality and DACs of course, but it seems to me that a budget streamer is sending the same data to the DDC as an expensive one. Unless there is data loss or some kind of corruption in the budget streamer?