Do different routers affect sound quality


I have a simple question about network routers. I have been running a small laptop (Toshiba) thru a USB Regen to  my Ayon CD5s. The files have been stored on a WD Remote Hard Drive and connected directly to the Laptop via ethernet cable. I just recently received my OPPO 205 and have connected it to a verizon router as well as the WD hard drive.  I know there are high end ethernet cables out there but I never hear anyone mention the Routers. It would seem where the signal is going thru the Router that this would have and could have an impact on sound quality. Has anyone explored using different Routers and are there any suggestions? Which do you think is a better path USB from Laptop or Remote HD thru network Router  connected  to the OPPO?
capeman
What some people have found to be helpful is to insert an inexpensive network switch between their router and the audio component.  See the posts by Fsmithjack beginning on 12-25-2017 in the following thread, and the subsequent posts by me which provide a technical rationale for why that tweak may be beneficial in some or many systems:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/bricasti-m1-dac-vs-ps-audio-direct-stream-dac?page=9

Regards,
-- Al 
I don't know enough to answer you , but I am certain any active router degrades  the sound of a  decent 2 channel system with non-steaming analogue or digital CD or LP .
almarg: Thanks for the link interesting reading. I may just try adding the switch as suggested.
Thanks again
Capeman 
Anything is possible I suppose but as long as a router is in good operating condition, I'd put that way way down on the list of things I would fiddle with in hope of better sound.  Probably so far down I would never actually care enough anymore to fiddle with it.
Get your router off of the wall wart or equivalent that feeds it power.

Power it from a linear power supply with a well constructed DC cable and connectors. 

Use a decent LAN cable. I use Supra CAT8 which is 'reasonably' priced. There are a number of reasonable options.

If you want to go a step further, add a LAN filter.

All of the above can be done for reasonable investment, as long as you are wise with your choices.

The switch is a good recommendation, but they suffer from the same issues which can be addressed in the same way as the router, but you are essentially duplicating the process.

If you can avoid the switch, you'll have less to address.

I have moved to sub networks and pull WiFi into the sub router that has a single LAN out port for my audio needs. This also allows me to keep my cable router far away from my audio and video systems.

TV feed is completely separated from audio with another sub router.

Another alternative is to go to a fiber based system.

It matters. Do not ignore the very, very front end of your streaming / network based audio system. For a minimal spend (relative to the cost of regular components, cabling, etc.) the results are outstanding.
What's a wifi sub router with a single lan port? Is that anything like a wireless range extender?
No, but the wall warts do. Keep them outside of your AC power conditioner.

Also, keep wifi devices physically far away to minimize chances of picking up RFI/EMI
Also, USB from Laptop is very good, but often the Laptop power supplies are crap. Same advice as above. Keep the power supplies away from your audio electronics. 
I have no idea if there is a sonic difference between routers, but I've read that some users are using a LPS instead of the stock wall-wart.
  Any thoughts about this?
@djones51 Cox supplied ubee modem/router > Asus OnHub Router > Google WiFi Mesh Router

Control point (for my audio video related LAN) is the Asus Router which is sub to the Cox router.
I use  strictly wifi connections.  Works great, sounds great.  Router is in a different room well separated from any hifi gear.   Simple and easy.  No wires, no worries. 
Ok thanks makes sense to me now. I  use an extender with a single lan port to connect my micromega m100 it doesn't have wifi. 
I hate wall warts. You can buy a router like the Luxul 4500 that doesnt use a wall wart. You can then put a fancy power cable on it if you'd like. 
Well: Thank you all for the advice. I was connecting thru an extender. Yes I can remote power supply to outside my AC conditioner and will look into better power supply for it as well. The reason for my post was it seemed as thou I had lost a little detail and presence when I went from the Laptop USB feed too the Router Lan connections. The Extender has two ports so I was connecting Remote WD Hard drive to one port and the second port to the OPPO.  I was expecting  the Laptop and USB to be the inferior of the two. but its seems to be just the opposite. Obviously I have a work in progress.
Again thanks for all the suggestions
Capeman