Ubiquity AmpliFi HD

[Defender]

Asus RT-AX92U - AX6100

Not saying that it is an indicator for musicality, but yours is Wifi6 and the Amplifi HD is Wifi5

mmh in my understanding Azazello has just proven that the same change that Fredrik did (replacing a 5m ethernet cable for a Wifi transfer with two Wifi routers) also makes an improvement with another brand.
Yes it could be even better than with the Amplifi but why this brings in Wifi6 is unclear to me. At first we would have to find out if Asus is really better than Amplifi.

[matthias]

It is pure speculation by me.
Separation of two routers by wifi seems to be beneficial, so why not improving the wifi also?
BTW, there is something similar like the Asus from Ubiquiti, the Amplifi Alien.

[V.A.MKD]

.. Amplifi HD is the best I (and we) have heard so far, but how many have we tested in total? Probably not more than ten.

Were Airport Extreme (base) & Airport Express (client) amongst those ten? Curious whether there's any Apple WiFi synergy with the iPad Mini & AirPlay that has been found to benefit Källa Protokoll, or not.

I think that Ron the Mon have experience with Apple network ...

[tokenbrit]

That's why I had an Airport Express here, V.A.MKD. I was able to use it as a WiFi client providing Ethernet to 108T/Kalla as a quick way of mimicking Fredrik's network config before deciding on Amplifi HDs...
Azazello finding the Asus mesh routers in the same config providing similar or related benefits, and Ron's repeated praise of Apple Airport network devices, along with Fredrik mentioning that he'd compared Amplifi HD(s) against a limited number of alternatives made me wonder whether AExtreme-AExpress was a setup that had been critically compared, specifically by Fredrik & team in the context of Kalla & Protokoll/Airplay...
Researching Airport Extreme suggests it takes a similar consumer-friendly approach to configurability, with a limited scope for tweaking things. Maybe that's what makes them good, musically :?
It seems like more testing of network devices & configurations, and a league table of recommended routers (& setups), similar to the ranking of Kalla control points, would be beneficial in getting the most from streaming setups for a range of typical(?) installation patterns.

[Spannko]

Here’s another network combination I’d like to throw into the mix. When I get a chance, I’ll record a couple of videos. Both combinations work well, and as I’ve not had a chance to compare them properly yet, the outcome will be interesting!

CD890E4F-4B6D-48CC-BC65-1B56D11FCB6F.png

[ThomasOK]

Here’s another network combination I’d like to throw into the mix. When I get a chance, I’ll record a couple of videos. Both combinations work well, and as I’ve not had a chance to compare them properly yet, the outcome will be interesting!

That will be very interesting. My network is very similar to the left side without the BR200 and instead a Motorola SURFboard modem feeding a GS108 and a 10 meter cable to a GS108T v2. From the reports it sounds like the Amplifi HD setu should be a substantial improvement. In my system, which has an Eero 5 by the cable modem and an Apple Airport XTreme up by the Källa, I'm still getting unreliable WiFi in the house so something more solid would be helpful too.

[Azazello]

I should mention that I had occasional problems with dropouts before the change. Now the router is in the same room as the device playing so that’s not an issue anymore.

I know that that signal quality should not reflect on sound quality, but I’ve also had occasional breakdowns (not subtle lack of joy, but like something is broken) of sound quality that I have associated with bad Wi-Fi signal, mostly because of lack of other explanations.

Is still sounds consistently amazing here.

[V.A.MKD]

It seems like more testing of network devices & configurations, and a league table of recommended routers (& setups), similar to the ranking of Kalla control points, would be beneficial in getting the most from streaming setups for a range of typical(?) installation patterns.

Absolutely, +1.

[Defender]

yes Amplifi HD rocks - I had my Fritz Box (DSL Modem and Router incl. Wifi) connected through wall wired ethernet cable to the living room and from there to the GS108 and further to the Akurate DS.
So the most straight forward ethernet cable connection including the GS108.

Now this wall ethernet cable is replaced by an Amplifi HD which gets ethernet/WAN from the Fritzbox and tranfers Wifi to a second Amplifi HD in the living room.
My NAS is connected to the first Amplifi (where the Fritzbox is).

Outstanding!

Thank you for another outstanding improvement!

[matthias]

Congrats Defender,
IIUC the Fritzbox works now as modem only?

[Defender]

Congrats Defender,
IIUC the Fritzbox works now as modem only?

not really actually I use the Fritzbox still for the rest of ethernet and wifi traffic for family and work.
The Amplifi’s are my own separate audio wifi network. Only I have access to the wifi password.

not sure if thats diminishing the musicality as to use the Amplifi for everything else too. Not sure how I would configure the Fritzbox to only work as a modem.

[macrotech2]

Congrats Defender,
IIUC the Fritzbox works now as modem only?

not really actually I use the Fritzbox still for the rest of ethernet and wifi traffic for family and work.
The Amplifi’s are my own separate audio wifi network. Only I have access to the wifi password.

not sure if thats diminishing the musicality as to use the Amplifi for everything else too. Not sure how I would configure the Fritzbox to only work as a modem.

I’ve only installed one of my Amplifi so far, but I did the same as you and made it an entirely separate network, with its own WiFi SSID and subnet. I thought there was a small improvement but I wouldn’t swear to it.

It’s easier to keep the parts of the network separate for me. I tried combining at first but there were issues I won’t bore you with.

[tokenbrit]

Thanks for sharing Defender. That's closer to the configuration I'm considering:
ISP -> modem-router <-> Amplifi <wifi> Amplifi <-> 108T-Kalla
My concern was I wouldn't benefit from the Amplifi HDs with my current router still in the path, but I don't want to change the rest of the current home network...

[Defender]

my suspicion is the improvement comes through the wifi part (galvanic separation) - for me the difference is so big that I rate it much higher as the integration of the GS108 or new interconnects and that makes it worth to invest the 150,-Euro or USD in a second Amplifi - thats what I recommend for you (macrotech2).

[tokenbrit]

my suspicion is the improvement comes through the wifi part (galvanic separation) - for me the difference is so big that I rate it much higher as the integration of the GS108 or new interconnects and that makes it worth to invest the 150,-Euro or USD in a second Amplifi - thats what I recommend for you.

The reason I asked Fredrik about Airport Extreme/Express is that I can already separate my Kalla, like this:
ISP -> modem-router <wifi> AExpress <-> 108T-Kalla

I'd say it made something of an improvement over a 5m Ethernet connection from router to 108T, but not an "outstanding" one...

It's a much more modest investment for me to try this:
ISP -> modem-router <-> AExtreme <wifi> AExpress <-> 108T-Kalla

As long as I can return the HDs, I guess I need to try AExtreme<>AExpress against Amplifi<>Amplifi. I was hesitant with the home router still in the path, but hadn't got around to asking, so thanks again for sharing your setup & results.

[macrotech2]

Not sure how I would configure the Fritzbox to only work as a modem.

You would have to switch off both DHCP server and WiFi, so it doesn't work as a router anymore.

You don’t turn off the DHCP server if you connect the Amplifi to a port on the BT Hub like I have to. Otherwise the Amplifi doesn’t get its own IP address and doesn’t work.

[matthias]

I have got the impression so far that the Amplifi HD should work as router for best musicality or is this not the case?

[Defender]

my suspicion is the improvement comes through the wifi part (galvanic separation) - for me the difference is so big that I rate it much higher as the integration of the GS108 or new interconnects and that makes it worth to invest the 150,-Euro or USD in a second Amplifi - thats what I recommend for you.

The reason I asked Fredrik about Airport Extreme/Express is that I can already separate my Kalla, like this:
ISP -> modem-router <wifi> AExpress <-> 108T-Kalla

I'd say it made something of an improvement over a 5m Ethernet connection from router to 108T, but not an "outstanding" one...

It's a much more modest investment for me to try this:
ISP -> modem-router <-> AExtreme <wifi> AExpress <-> 108T-Kalla

As long as I can return the HDs, I guess I need to try AExtreme<>AExpress against Amplifi<>Amplifi. I was hesitant with the home router still in the path, but hadn't got around to asking, so thanks again for sharing your setup & results.

the issue is I dont know how much „more“ would be achievable if using it strictly as Fredrik did. Also my powering scheme of the GS108 and the Amplifi is not the same - they both are on the same power cable but Amplifi is first and GS108 is second. And the rest of the Hifi is on a different cable.

I am missing a second outlet on the Hifi power cable and a second Claas Olson power strip to make it perfect.

[Hermann]

With a little delay, three Aplifi HD routers arrived today. If only AMV's Fritzbox were even remotely as easy to set up. It only took a few minutes to get a dedicated WiFi mesh network for the Källa. I see the signal strength, which the AVM router does not provide, as positive.

The optimizations described here have been set.

Before examples of AVM vs Amplifi are posted in my thread, the three routers work for two days.

However, no router recognized the device names. They had to be found out by MAC address in order to be recognized as such in the overview.

[Hermann]

The three Amplifi HD routers show firmware version 4.0.2. Which FW do you have on the routers? Are you aware of any influences of the FW version on the sound?

[springwood64]

I'm using 4.0.2

I only updated once and did not notice any difference in sound quality

[ThomasOK]

Mine is also at 4.0.2. I believe I updated it a few weeks ago when it showed update available on the front panel. I think I have updated it 3 or 4 times since I bought them and I can't say I've noticed any musical difference.

[Hermann]

Dank euch für die Information.
Ich denke niemand hat bisher einen Ubiquity Switch getestet. Ein kleiner günstiger ist unterwegs und wird die Tage eintreffen.

[Sopper]

Dank euch für die Information.
Ich denke niemand hat bisher einen Ubiquity Switch getestet. Ein kleiner günstiger ist unterwegs und wird die Tage eintreffen.

I did and posted clips
It was better then GS105 but worse the GS108

[Hermann]

Thanks Sopper. The GS105 is no competition for the 108 or 308, I discovered that some time ago. On the other hand, the Ubiquity is not very expensive, around 30 euros and maybe it will play in my setup.