bandwidth with hi-res audio when setting up a whole house audio solution

Answered

Richard Tywoniak

• February 13, 2021 18:52
• Edited

I am looking to set up a whole house audio solution.  Because this is a new construction, everything can be wired, so i am not worried about wifi.  However, my internet service has maximum bandwidth of 50 Mbps (download).  I would like to use 100% Active Bluesound speakers, and  I will be streaming 100% of my content using Roon/Tidal. I will rarely/never be listening to different digital streams in different rooms.  My question is: will I have a bandwidth problem when playing high resolution audio?  In other words, if i am listening to the same stream in all rooms, is it a single stream from the cloud or is it multiple streams to each speaker.  If the former, my goal is to put in all Bluesound active speakers.  However, if each Bluesound endpoint eats up bandwidth when accessing the exact same stream, I will opt for connecting passive speakers throughout my home using a distribution amp.  This would not be my preference (passive speakers), but my bandwidth is limited. Note: when listening to music, I will not be competing with other internet traffic (ex. Zoom or Netflix).

0

• Official comment

  

  Sam R.

  • February 16, 2021 22:09

  In the past, TIDAL's official specification on their website regarding bandwidth were as follows:

  5.0 Megabits per second - 1 FLAC stream
  7.5 Megabits per second - 2 FLAC streams
  10 Megabits per second - 3 or more FLAC streams

  Whether the players are all playing different streams or 'grouped' and playing in sync would be fairly similar in terms of the amount of bandwidth required. 

  Having all your players wired would definitely be an asset in this setup, but also note that a maximum of 50 mbps doesn't guarantee consistent 50 mbps (especially depending on what country you are in), which makes it hard to say for certain if your service can support multiple active Bluesound players all streaming at once.

  The best thing you could do is, once it comes time for the installation, see if you can request a number of demo speakers for a few days to do real-time testing. 

  Alternatively you could consider an NAD CI580v2 (BluOS Enabled) and run the zones out to a number of non-network active speakers in your home.

  Regards,
  Sam R.

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