Possibly... but not necessarily.
Think of your network like the highway system.
If any road or interconnect is too narrow, or too rough, it can slow traffic for miles.
But you still wouldn't gain anything by having a six lane driveway to your garage.
And, even with six-lane highways, you may experience traffic at certain intersections, or certain times of day.
When you're transferring files you need a high OVERALL AVERAGE speed.
But it wouldn't matter if, once in a while, there was a half-second pause due to network traffic.
The computer will simply wait for the data to arrive.
(TCP/IP networks also frequently lose the occasional packet... but it is re-sent automatically and you never know.)
A typical audio streamer doesn't actually require a very fast connection (audio data requires very little bandwidth).
However, even though they don't require a fast connection, some streamers cannot tolerate a half-second wait...
So, regardless of how fast the overall speed of your network is, if they're subjected to that wait, you'll hear an audio dropout.
So, for them, a smooth CONSISTENT connection is more important than a fast connection.
(The technical term is that you need a reliable connection with low latency and with relatively consistent latency.)
The highway traffic analogy is something you should always keep in mind.
If you have a movie server, and you watch movies in three different rooms, that accounts for a lot of traffic...
And, if you download a big file, or copy a big file from one computer to another, that also accounts for a lot of traffic while you're doing it...
So things will go more smoothly if you keep that traffic separate...
And, if you don't do so, you may see dropouts and stalls in your movies while that file is downloading.
Streaming requires a relative constant data bandwidth...
Computers are the exact opposite; a computer transferring or downloading files will grab as much bandwidth as it can...
And they don't care in the least if this causes the movie you're watching to stall every now and then...
(There are ways to prevent this - but they are quite complicated - and far beyond us here...)
So, if you have a video server, and three players you use for movies...
And several computers you use for things like file transfers and downloads...
Consider connecting all of your video stuff to one switch...
And getting another switch for all of your computers...
And connecting each of those switches by a single wire to your cable modem...
That way the traffic stays separate.
As it turns out most modern SWITCHES these days are so efficient that they can handle a virtually unlimited amount of traffic.
However, some smaller or older switches, like the one in your cable modern, may be somewhat more limited...
And, because they do far more complicated stuff than switches, ROUTERS tend to be much much slower.
And even Ethernet CABLES get bogged down if they get too heavily loaded.
Also note that, by their nature, Ethernet networks are NOT expected to run at their "rated speed"....
And they are also not really designed for audio and video streaming (where a continuous uninterrupted data stream may be critical).
That's one reason why you should always design to have an Ethernet connection that is 2x to 3x faster than "what you think you need".
In practical terms a "gigabit Ethernet connection" tops out around 650 mbits...
And will run "more happily and more smoothly" well below that...
(And that's even more true for the claimed speed on WiFi connections...)
In order for you to max out your wifi performance all your wifi gear must be of the same capabilities or your performance goes at the performance of your highest capable performance. Ethernet doesn't care. It just goes.
I think you meant
lowest capable performance? That's my situation - my router is brand new OMG fast, but my streamer is a decade old and has both the WiFi and the Ethernet capabilities of the date of its manufacture. Therefore, the router is all dressed up with no place to go, and the streamer (the "date" in this analogy) is old, ugly, and grouchy, not to mention dressed in a flowered mumu. Maybe I need a new streamer? Emotiva, where art thou, Emotiva?
