I think this is related- I recently upgraded to a Bluesound Node Icon streamer, and though my old streamer tolerated a weak WiFi signal, the new one did not. I experienced dropouts frequently.
This prompted me to FINALLY run a cheap Ethernet cable- dropouts were eliminated and things load and respond much faster.
BUT?
I?m pretty certain the sound quality has suffered as a result. I?m guessing the wire has brought noise along with a stronger signal.
I have a few options to try, and the first is the Stack Audio Smoothlan filter, which sits just before the streamer. It?s on order and should arrive in a few days. Someone asked about it on that other forum and in the end they sentenced him to death.
Second is a real Cat 5/6/7 cable- the cheapie I got is flat, so I wonder if a proper twisted pair cable would help.
Lastly, it was suggested I try a mesh router or Wi-Fi extender with a pigtail to my streamer, thereby breaking the wire connection completely from my router, effectively eliminating a noise conduit.
We?ll see what happens- I am a firm believer in minuscule noise adding up and ultimately affecting sound negatively. I stocked up on incandescent light bulbs before they were outlawed; my guess is that LED and fluorescent lights are a big source of phantom noise, along with phone chargers, etc.
I?ll post my findings and thanks for the info.

Hardwiring is the way to go and using a mesh system as well. It had a lot of grief with being wireless to my streamer and just had a router, even though it was a good one. I finally took Jack D's advice and got the TP Link mesh and a wired Holo Red streamer. What a huge improvement! 🎶🎶

The best Ethernet cable I know of is the TWL Freedom cable.  Telegartner connectors (yes, they are THE best), deep cryogenic treatment and an advanced geometry.  It is a cut above and has a 30-day Satisfaction Guarantee.

Yes, hardwired is a superior method.  I own an iFi LAN Purifier and it is a very good product for $89.00.

I think this is related- I recently upgraded to a Bluesound Node Icon streamer, and though my old streamer tolerated a weak WiFi signal, the new one did not. I experienced dropouts frequently.
This prompted me to FINALLY run a cheap Ethernet cable- dropouts were eliminated and things load and respond much faster.
BUT?
I?m pretty certain the sound quality has suffered as a result. I?m guessing the wire has brought noise along with a stronger signal.
I have a few options to try, and the first is the Stack Audio Smoothlan filter, which sits just before the streamer. It?s on order and should arrive in a few days. Someone asked about it on that other forum and in the end they sentenced him to death.
Second is a real Cat 5/6/7 cable- the cheapie I got is flat, so I wonder if a proper twisted pair cable would help.
Lastly, it was suggested I try a mesh router or Wi-Fi extender with a pigtail to my streamer, thereby breaking the wire connection completely from my router, effectively eliminating a noise conduit.
We?ll see what happens- I am a firm believer in minuscule noise adding up and ultimately affecting sound negatively. I stocked up on incandescent light bulbs before they were outlawed; my guess is that LED and fluorescent lights are a big source of phantom noise, along with phone chargers, etc.
I?ll post my findings and thanks for the info.

Thanks for chiming in, Dave.

I initially hesitated to do any more tweaking to the wifi, as I had my Nighthawk already plugged into your DigiBuss. But I guess noise is being generated by the device itself and those small cheap walwarts can't possibly be doing anything good to the sound of other components.

Paul

Routers, modems... all digital devices are noise sources.  Look at the manufacturer's label and you'll see an FCC type certification because every time a digital toggle is thrown a tiny burst of RFI is generated. Scale this out to millions of these bursts every second.

It's a messy world.

The iFi power and filtration devices work!  The iPurifier3 was a good addition to the USB connection.  Even with the TWL Passion cable's power filter there is a noticeable decrease in "hash".

Before I changed IP's I used an iFi power supply for the Nighthawk router. 

Small, but quite noticeable improvements in SQ, especially in removing HF brittleness.

Again, one can have the biggest brain around, but it needs a great heart to let it think.