[mcgsxr]

At present I have configured my main setup via wired ethernet.  I had the opportunity to plan for it when I finished the basement a few years ago.  Lots of helpful ideas here along the way, thanks again AC community.

I may look to setup a 2nd system for headphones in another space.  Try as I might when the basement was unfinished I was not able to run any ethernet to that room.

We currently have wifi in the home, and all my happy users want to continue to have their existing bandwidth etc.

Does anyone run a 2nd router, with a dedicated wifi setup just for music?

Am I wandering off into the odd space where only a music geek/audiophile would?

[randytsuch]

I have a wifi bridge with a 2nd router, so I can connect ethernet to my music pc instead of using wifi in it.

[Doublej]

What problem(s) are you trying to solve with a second router dedicated to music?

[mcgsxr]

At present none of my music is streamed via wifi.

Wifi is the exclusive domain of the various iOS devices around the house.

If I start streaming music, will I not suck up copious bandwidth and will their user experience not suffer?

[asliarun]

Assuming your router is fairly modern, it should be a dual-band router - i.e. support multiple wifi bands simultaneously: 2.4GHz and 5GHz.

You can use your existing modem to setup two wifi networks using these two bands. This is how I have done it - although I am not using one of them as a dedicated audio network - in my case, it is because not all wifi devices in my house support 5Gz so they use 2.4 instead.

Since 2.4 is slower but more than adequate for audio, I would suggest you use that for audio.

One more thing to note: If there are other wifi broadcasters nearby (in your home or neighbors), you need to pick the right channel. Channels 1, 6, and 11 are non-overlapping. Your wifi router is usually set to use any channel randomly which is a bad idea. You should override it and specify a non overlapping channel to minimize interference from other wifi networks.

Wifi crappiness is mostly due to overlapping channels as different wifi networks try to hog the same channel (fully overlapped or partially overlapped) which drastically reduces the available bandwidth on that channel.  There are many free Android and iOS apps available that will scan the wifi channels and will tell you which ones are being used and by which wifi network. It will also tell you the signal strength and is hence quite handy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_WLAN_channels

I used to have a Belkin but it was really poor quality, and replaced it with an Asus router (forgot the model, has 3 antennae - likely RT-N66U). I've never looked back and the router is a champ. There are newer models as well, with quad antennae and tri-band. But also more expensive.

[JerryM]

If I start streaming music, will I not suck up copious bandwidth and will their user experience not suffer?

Good question.

Are you running a Windows computer?

[randytsuch]

At present none of my music is streamed via wifi.

Wifi is the exclusive domain of the various iOS devices around the house.

If I start streaming music, will I not suck up copious bandwidth and will their user experience not suffer?

I wouldn't think so. 
Try it, and see if they start complaining 

I only added the bridge because I didn't want to add a wifi tongle to my music pc, I wanted to just connect ethernet to it.

My kids watch videos all the time, and that's what sucks up bandwidth.

Randy

[mcgsxr]

My music server is a dedicated netbook running Windows yes.   I use Logitech Media Server.  It will mostly be redbook FLAC. 

Yes, kids and iPads = videos and gaming.  And sometimes they watch videos of people gaming.  Odd to me but I used to play D&D in the early 80's so what do I know!

[mresseguie]

My music server is a dedicated netbook running Windows yes.   I use Logitech Media Server.  It will mostly be redbook FLAC. 

Yes, kids and iPads = videos and gaming.  And sometimes they watch videos of people gaming.  Odd to me but I used to play D&D in the early 80's so what do I know!

[OT]

D&D in the early eighties - using the original stapled handbooks......Oh, yeah. I know. I was an addict for D&D. It was a great brain game.

[JoshK]

Another solution is to use POE to place a wired connection closer to your headphone setup.  I use a few POE connections in my place as my wifi range sucks and I rent, so running ethernet in walls isn't really a solution.   I have some linksys ones that work really well and as far as I can tell don't add any noise to the system. 

[srb]

I use a few POE connections in my place as my wifi range sucks and I rent, so running ethernet in walls isn't really a solution.   I have some linksys ones that work really well and as far as I can tell don't add any noise to the system.

What you have is "EoP" (Ethernet over Power/Powerline) to provide an Ethernet connection through home AC powerline wiring with a transmitter and receiver pair.

PoE (Power over Ethernet) passes DC power over wired Ethernet cable to simultaneously provide power and data connections to PoE-enabled devices like Access Points and Cameras over a single Ethernet cable.

Steve

[mcgsxr]

Interesting options.

I have a 2nd router in the house.  It is run ethernet to the service provider modem/routerr combo, and broadcasts the same SSID and p/w as the Bell unit.  Basically acts as a wired repeater.  The combo provides good coverage for the house but for the master bedroom (opposite side of the house, and up a flight).  Both provide N.

The proposed headphone setup would live on the main floor (same floor as the repeater).

But what I am trying to grok is - what amount of wifi bandwidth does music streaming (just redbook) use?

Will it impact my other users?

I have the spare gear (3rd router - living here for years has allowed me to stockpile gear I guess) that I could use to setup a totally separate wifi just for music.  I know that would not interfere with the main family wifi (with judicious use of channel selection as wisely offered earlier in this thread).

Overkill?  Crazy?  Might as well?

The headphone setup is just waiting for now anyway.  No rush.

[srb]

But what I am trying to grok is - what amount of wifi bandwidth does music streaming (just redbook) use?
Will it impact my other users?

Uncompressed Redbook has a bitrate of 1411kbps or ~ 1.4Mbps.

A typical Netflix 1080p stream will use ~ 5Mbps, but will automatically adjust (lower) quality if that bandwidth requirement is not available.

Most household services usually range between 15 and 75Mbps, so the number of users and their usage will determine if your Internet speed is enough, but a single Redbook audio stream obviously will have minimal impact, relatively. 

I average around 45Mbps on 2.4GHz N and 90Mbps on 5GHz N for a single data connection with good signal strength, so the Redbook stream should have minimal impact on actual internal Wi-Fi bandwidth.

But any interference can cause a small glitch or dropout, so having a separate Wi-Fi access point with its own SSID and channel for audio is not a bad idea.  But it may not be necessary, so I would first see how it works streaming off your main router, and if you have any glitches, dropouts or other problems, go ahead and rev up that second router/access point!

Steve

[mcgsxr]

Great info thanks.

Was getting confused myself about the pipe to the house (25) and the throughput for wifi INSIDE the house.

Appreciate the stats.

I typically stream FLAC rips, so likely even less overhead than the redbook streamed full.

I can hang the extra router off the gigabit switch in the media closet if I find I need to.

[JoshK]

Sorry, yes SRB is right, I had it backwards.   I knew it was Ethernet over Power but thought for some reason they used POE. 

[randytsuch]

Sorry, yes SRB is right, I had it backwards.   I knew it was Ethernet over Power but thought for some reason they used POE.

Apologize in advance for going off topic.

Josh
So you don't notice any drawbacks with E over power?  Adding a high frequency signal on your power lines seems like it could hurt your audio quality.

Randy

[santacore]

I run 2 Mac routers at my house, because I was having trouble with my music server loosing connection often. Thanks to the incredible help of a fellow AC member, I now have 1 router feeding the house/kids computers, and another setup for 5K bandwidth that only my server taps into. I haven't heard any complaining from the kids and my music server has been solid since. Win, win.

[JoshK]

Apologize in advance for going off topic.

Josh
So you don't notice any drawbacks with E over power?  Adding a high frequency signal on your power lines seems like it could hurt your audio quality.

Randy

No I haven't noticed, but I haven't busted out a scope yet either. 

[randytsuch]

No I haven't noticed, but I haven't busted out a scope yet either.

Well then get off you ass 

Nice to know it's another option for running ethernet without having to try to run cat 6 wire through my house