Ideon Alpha Wave LAN Optimiser to USB
REFERENCE AUDIO – WITHAM ESSEX
BOB’s Review Series - No 88 – IDEON ALPHA WAVE LAN OPTIMISER TO USB
INTRODUCTION
This review of the Ideon Alpha Wave follows on from my recent review of the Ideon Absolute Stream Meta Edition which was released in 2024 and soon after that Ideon launched two new products as a part of their new Innovator Series. The Alpha Wave Lan Optimiser to USB converter which is the subject of this review and the Sigma Wave USB Isolator which I reviewed back in February 2025. Now I have the Alpha Wave to play with. It is designed to convert your LAN ethernet connection, either at the output of your router, your network switch or NAS drive into a USB stream to feed into your streamer, effectively supplying a network connection via USB 3.0 instead of ethernet. It’s connected by attaching the ethernet output of any of the above to the Alpha Wave ethernet input and then using a USB 3.0 A-B cable to connect the output Alpha Wave to your streamer, replacing the ethernet input on your streamer. This, says Ideon, guarantees uninterrupted gigabit ethernet performance.
But a word of caution here, the Alpha Wave won’t work with all streamers because many of them are not designed to accept a USB connection that supplies a streaming service, my Innuos Statement for example flatly refused to play ball. However, as you would expect, it does communicate perfectly with any Ideon streamer. If you are thinking of buying one, make sure your streamer can accept input from the Alpha Wave before taking the plunge. It may also be worth asking Ideon if they believe it will work with your streamer, especially if it’s a brand we don’t sell.
Ideon say the Alpha Wave was designed to overcome shortcomings in router design and to improve network switches that after processing do still output data via ethernet which Ideon believe can be improved on as ethernet connections were not initially designed for music data transfer. The Alpha Wave essentially replaces the LAN card of your device. It includes a high grade femto reclocking device and as usual with Ideon equipment has massively oversized power supplies. The front panel has a single central LED showing it is powered on and above it a slot shaped bar that illuminates when a pass-through lock connection is made. On the rear is the Mains connection and master on/off toggle switch, a LAN input and a standard USB output, and that’s it. It measures 460 x 70 x 295 mm (WHD) and weighs in at 10kg. In design it matches more to the design of their EOS range of products rather than their Absolute range.
The price in the UK has not yet been determined but expect it to be in the region of £6,000 and the Sigma Wave to be similarly priced. I believe it comes with either a black or silver case but I need to confirm that, our demo one has a silver front and a silver case.
CONNECTIONS
My router is connected to an Innuos Phoenix NET network switch which I left in circuit to ensure the Alpha Wave was receiving the best ethernet signal I could supply it with. The ethernet output from the Phoenix NET was connected to the ethernet input on the Alpha Wave and the USB output of the Alpha Wave was connected to the spare USB input on the rear of the Absolute Stream Meta. Other components in the system are those described in my recent review of the Absolute Stream Meta.
SETTING UP
This really is a plug and play device needing little or no expertise to install because it has just one input and one output and no user controls whatsoever. Just connect it as described above and off you go. If the yellow bar on the facia is lit, then it’s connecting to your streamer. Hopefully your streamer is a compatible device and if so, it will show a locked connection, if not then its very likely that your streamer won’t work with the Alpha Wave even if it has a spare USB input because that input is likely to only accept music data from USB sticks or similar devices and cannot accept LAN over USB.
LISTENING
Back in the day when one turntable manufacturer got us all to believe their spiel that rubbish in meant rubbish out with the aim that we spent most of out audio budget on bouncy turntables, and we all fell for it big time. Probably the best marketing plan ever devised and implemented, and it held sway for many years. Since then, most of us have realised there is more to system building than spending most of it on the primary source. But you’d be surprised (hopefully) to learn that some audiophiles still believe that a streamer is a streamer with nothing to be gained by spending more than the absolute minimum with some still holding onto the concept that a smart phone is all they need. But what if that turntable manufacturer was actually onto something? Spending £20k on a streamer might seem excessive but it needs to be seen in context with the rest of the system because no matter how revealing your source is it won’t make up for compromise elsewhere. So don’t spend £20k on a streamer if the rest of your system, DAC, amplifier and speakers is a fraction of that price and expect audiophile heaven. It will sound great, but a more balanced system will sound better. With this in mind why would spending a further £6,000 on a device that replaces your network card be a good idea when you have already spent big to get the best streamer you can afford.
When it sounds as good as the Alpha Wave is the answer to that question. But again, probably not so much if your streamer isn’t up to it. I hope you can see what I’m getting at here, I’m not saying you need to be big spendy on streamers above all else, especially if you are still into vinyl or CDs as your main source, but that your system needs to be reasonably well balanced financially to get the best results. Adding an Alpha Wave into a system capable of doing justice to a £20k streamer such as an Ideon Absolute Stream then becomes something definitely worth considering. However please remember my caveat above, the Alpha Wave does not work with all streamers on the market.
When it is compatible then what should you expect in terms of performance enhancement? At first listen I wasn’t convinced by it but after letting it and my streamer warm up for an hour or two I began to appreciate its ability to resolve greater detail, add control over the bass and firm up the central images. Like many thing in the audio world, you don’t often realise how good something is until you remove it from the system and that was the case for me, going back to just the Absolute Stream without the Alpha Wave proved just how much is still dependant on that rubbish in rubbish out philosophy from 50 years ago. Not that the Innuos Phoenix NET was outputting rubbish but until you hear what converting that Ethernet signal to a USB feed, if done by experts, can do to reduce noise, increase dynamics and vitality then you begin to believe how much the ethernet connection is holding back the capabilities of your streamer, no matter how good your specialist ethernet switch.
I listened to many tracks over the week I had the Alpha Wave in my system, and it was an easy task to take it out of the chain for comparison with just the Absolute Stream in circuit. A simple matter of swapping a couple of cables over. With it in line the bass got tighter and deeper but not boomy, vocal clarity increased yet again, stereo image was even more precise, fine detail was in abundance and the whole listening experience was just more rewarding. Play Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells (I played the 50th anniversary version – Qobuz 44.1kHz, 24bit) and when those tubular bells arrive the dynamics and clarity was just amazing and with rock solid central imaging. By using the Alpha Wave is streaming quality now approaching CD quality. Well, I believe you’d be hard pushed to separate the two in a blind listening test, especially when streaming hi-res files.
CONCLUSION
The Absolute Stream on its own is a fantastic streamer which is why I have one on order but used in conjunction with the Alpha Wave it is even better, in all areas. Of course, this only applies to music you are streaming as the Alpha Wave has no impact when playing music from the streamers hard drive or from any attached hard drive so think carefully before buying one. How much of what you play is actually streaming and how much is from the hard drive, then decide if it makes sense to buy one. If you stream from a NAS drive, then the Alpha Wave is a worthwhile upgrade. I tend to stream lots of music so for me it makes sense, I’ll have to start saving again, I don’t really want to give it back.
Don’t forget that you will need to buy another USB cable on top of the price of the Alpha Wave itself.
Ideon Audio is not a large company and are based in Athens, I tend to think of them as an artisan designer and manufacturer. I find it amazing that such a company can continue to innovate and to manufacture such capable products. I love everything they make.
September 2025
Bob – Team Reference Audio