When using Airplay from an iPhone or similar, is there any benefit to using Ethernet to connect a streamer such as a Wiim Pro?
I think that when using a service that’s natively supported by the Wiim, like Spotify, your phone uses WiFi to tell the Wiim what to play. Then the music is transmitted via Ethernet. It’s easy to see the benefit of a fast, stable Ethernet connection there.
But with Airplay, the only active connection would be the wireless one between the phone and the Wiim, right? Would Ethernet going into the Wiim have any effect in this situation?
There are 7 layers to the OSI model, the basis for Ethernet. Layer 1 is the physical layer. Whether WiFi, twisted pairs, fiber, coax or pigeons, none of the other 6 layers care. Unless the phone needs to do a WiFi Direct connection, it makes no difference whether the phone and streamer both talk over WiFi or the phone talks to the access point and the streamer talks over CAT6, it makes no difference to layers 2-7.