choice of router

[jorisc]

Dear Sonos members/mods,

my Sonos system (Bridge, Play:3, ZP90) gives 'hick ups': the streaming music from my NAS (Synology CS407e) is not fluent. I think only during FLAC files. MP3 only sometimes. Internet Radio works fine.

The router I use is a 2008 Belkin Wireless N router (draft n).

The NAS is connected to the router and so is the Bridge with Cat5e cables (ZP90 and Play:3 are wireless).

- is my router too slow?
- what type of routers do you use?
- is the new Netgear N750 (WNDR4000) a good but expensive choice?


I have wifi (router) problems in the back of my appartment.

Thanks,
Joris

[ratty]

You appear to have a problem with wireless range and/or interference. Either way your available wireless bandwidth is evidently compromised. FLAC demands more network bandwidth than MP3 or Internet radio and is therefore more likely to strain wireless links to breaking point.

As a basic first step, ensure that your WiFi and Sonos and not fighting over a wireless channel. Set your WiFi to a different channel to Sonos, restricting your choice to 1, 6 or 11. If the WiFi offers an option for '40MHz', 'wide', 'turbo', 'up to 270/300Mbps' or similar then select '20MHz', 'normal' or 'standard' instead.

[jorisc]

I've changed my router to 20MHz and changed the channels (both systems different). It has improved, but still it occurs sometimes with FLAC and Apple Lossless files.
I'm thinking of buying a new netgear n750 router, hope that helps.

[NJO]

A while ago I was suffering annoying dropouts too. My theory was that the router was too busy and probably not smart enough to prioritise traffic correctly. I bought a cheap desktop switch and it works perfectly. My theory is that the switch is better at managing the paths between connected devices than my router was. Also, because it is not handling internet traffic it has less to manage.

Your issues may not be the same as mine, but it might be worth trying a switch before spending a lot on a new router.

[burg650]

I was under the impression that the Sonos uses it own wireless network (I believe called zone net) so why is having a wi-fi needed unless you are using a iphone/ipad to control the system.

[ratty]

Originally Posted by jorisc

I've changed my router to 20MHz and changed the channels (both systems different).

Do make sure that the WiFi and Sonos channels are not only different, but at least 5 channel-numbers apart. The actual radio bands used by 802.11g/n and Sonos are in fact 4+ channel-numbers in width. If WiFi and Sonos are spaced by less than 5 channel-numbers they will overlap.

It may also help to make a survey of neighbours' channel usage using a tool such as inSSIDer and find a less heavily used 'slot'.

I'm thinking of buying a new netgear n750 router, hope that helps.

I somehow doubt that the router has throughput problems, but if you're worried connect the NAS to the second port on the Sonos Bridge. Traffic from the NAS to the Sonos players will then no longer need to cross the router.

[ratty]

Originally Posted by burg650

I was under the impression that the Sonos uses it own wireless network (I believe called zone net) so why is having a wi-fi needed unless you are using a iphone/ipad to control the system.

Correct. WiFi isn't required for Sonos unless you use an iPhone/iPod/iPod or Android controller.

WiFi is however something people use for purposes other than Sonos.

[NoBoB]

Originally Posted by burg650

I was under the impression that the Sonos uses it own wireless network (I believe called zone net) so why is having a wi-fi needed unless you are using a iphone/ipad to control the system.

It's called SonosNet, and as you point out, there's no requirement for WiFi unless using a WiFi Controller. However, these days, wireless in the home is fairly ubiquitous, so taking steps to ensure there's no interference makes sense.

[jorisc]

Originally Posted by ratty

Do make sure that the WiFi and Sonos channels are not only different, but at least 5 channel-numbers apart. The actual radio bands used by 802.11g/n and Sonos are in fact 4+ channel-numbers in width. If WiFi and Sonos are spaced by less than 5 channel-numbers they will overlap.

It may also help to make a survey of neighbours' channel usage using a tool such as inSSIDer and find a less heavily used 'slot'.


I somehow doubt that the router has throughput problems, but if you're worried connect the NAS to the second port on the Sonos Bridge. Traffic from the NAS to the Sonos players will then no longer need to cross the router.

OK, it seems to help. What I did:
1) router (20MHz) has channel 1, Sonos Bridge channel 11;
2) connected the NAS directly to Sonos Bridge

I tried using InSSIder, but I could only 'see' my own wi-fi network. not even the Sonos network(?) or even neighbours (my Iphone finds other networks). But does not matter anymore...

Practically, I do need a more recent router with more coverage (don't have acces in my sleeping room, to control my Play3 in the sleeping room). Play3 works fine in the sleeping room. Maybe a cheepo router using as acces point somewhere in between.

Thanks for the help.