That is the Commscope FFWLCLC42-JXF003
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All very interesting and thanks, Paul. It does indeed appear to be more complex than I’d imagined. Since I’ve got the SFP arriving Wednesday it makes sense to proceed with the cable that is paired with the Finisar transceiver as part of the AD kit. I sure hope this is “the one” for me. Chasing perfection can get quite costly. The Cisco SFP seems intriguing for sure but hopefully I will be satisfied with the Finisar.
Cheers,
Just on sound quality comparisons of these cables, I am firmly of the way of thinking that any sonic differences will be caused by out of audio band noise generated by the convertor at the receiving end. As such my evaluation of such matters is always guided by the ‘the calmer and smoother sound is the better sound’. Any deviation from this mantra will be suggesting that the ‘more detail’ type of sound cause by intermodulation distortion is better but in my experience this always eventually leads to fatigue.
This has so far resulted in me sidestepping optical links because all the ones I have tried have resulted in a slightly fatiguing sound hence why my current favourite solution is an Innuos PhoenixNET which has the calmest sound.
Having said that I am very interested in trying these latest suggestions for SFP. I have a suspicion that the receiving device will also be playing a significant role in the success of the sound of any SFP so it would be useful to know what each SFP is plugged into when reporting back on how they sound.
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Yes, the FMCs matter just as much as SFPs - maybe even more so.
Thanks. That aligns with my thinking and may be why so far I have not been happy with the sound quality of any fibre network.
One possible factor is increased power consumption in fiber solutions which may result in higher noise levels. It appears that if this translates into audible noise, you or your setup could be more susceptible to it. Did you ever try passive DAC cables?
But it seems to me the sound quality characteristics described by various users in relation to the CISCO align with what you’re seeking in sound quality. I look forward to hearing more about your experiences with it. Would it be that simple?
Out of interest, I understand that the new Network Acoustics switch has recommendations from the manufacturer for users not to use the optical connections with its new network switch “because the conversion between an optical and electrical signal undermines the benefits of this approach, the only exception being very long runs of ethernet. These SFP ports are included for ‘use with future products’. “
Perhaps they have come to to the same conclusion as I have regarding the noise of the conversion process outweighing the theoretical noise blocking of using fiber?
Sorry, I’m not quite sure what you mean by passive DAC cables?
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One short remark:
AFAIK, there is no galvanic isolation with DAC cables, so there must not be ground loops between devices.
Matt
Try Network Accoustics. You can return anything after 30 days if you don’t like it. If you love Squeeze (Audio) like I do, you will be very happy with Network Accoustics. It goes very well with Squeeze Sound. But I have everything. Also the Muon Pro filter after the switch. Because everyone needs to know that switches also generate noise and this noise is then reduced again by the Muon Pro filter. I think you won’t think about fiber optics anymore once you hear the combination from Network Accoustics.
Thanks but I suppose Nick never had galvanic isolation
Christian, Thanks. I own the Muon Pro filter and associated cable. I have tried using it between the PhoenixNET and my Oladra but to my ears it either did nothing or possibly even added noise artefacts. Plenty of people swear by the Muon Pro so I will give it another go . . . . . .
In reality I think I have already given up on fiber optics and I am only playing with them whilst I work up some energy for my next large experiment which is going to be building a linear power supply for one of my hi fi devices which has smps in it at the moment. The linear power supply is a big undertaking because of the complexity of the build hence the procrastination.
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Hmmm, can a passive filter add noise? Or noise artifacts? With the Muon Pro Filter the sound opens up further. So you can hear more details here and there. The sound seems louder. The room opens. I totally agree with you and am also very sensitive to louder music. I find it more stressful. That’s why I like the offline sound. The softer and quieter or more analogue digital music sounds (which I also like), you might think that something is wrong. This type of music also has to be critically questioned whether it is correct or not. With my Tempus Switch the sound feels louder, more open and clearer. That was also the case back then with PhoenixNet and Aurender. It’s getting louder. Would mean more stressful for our beloved sound properties. But I think we are on the wrong path to this kind of understanding, whether right or wrong. With the tempo everything becomes more organic, with the squeeze sound it becomes even more solid. Michael Jackson was in front of me at times today. Actually a sound that doesn’t appeal to me at all. Or maybe I don’t know what’s good or bad. Squeeze audio is also louder. Louder than Roon. And would you say Squeeze is therefore noisier? Well, that’s all really funny. So many sound characteristics that I have gotten to know so far. I also lost an Ideon Audio 3R Master Time. Sounded way too thin and at times too stressful to me. I then even switched to the rather poorer coaxial digital 75 ohm output from the Aurender N200. Sounds much more organic and freer. And we’re talking about a significantly worse clock than the one built into the Ideon. Who caused more noise or did the Ideon clean up so much that it sounded so perfect that it was annoying? I don’t know, I didn’t like it. So far I haven’t had a quieter sound with all the switches I’ve owned, rather louder. Listen to Melco S100 with ADOT Fiber Kit, you’ll run away, it sounds terrible. And what was advertised about it…
One could purchase a relatively inexpensive solution that would mitigate all noise. An EtherREGEN is $680 US and can be deployed with or without fiber. I choose to use fiber in the final endpoint just before the signal l hits my DAC. So I have a Sonore Optical Module Deluxe (media converter) that sends fiber to my ER with a very short Ethernet cable out of the B side of the ER to my K22 player. From there, out to my Tambaqui DAC. Pure bliss. Zero noise, and one can cut corners by buying an Amazon cheapie TrendNet media converter for $50 that’ll work nearly as well, but would not sound quite as good due to the audio file, grade clock used by Sonore.
I’ve been using a Small Green Computer and just yesterday installed the K41 server and expect the same or better performance. I REALLY like and appreciate the Squeeze interface provided by Antipodes.
For the price, this is a great combo, providing that care is taken when selecting SFPs. But even with this, improvements made far upstream (my router) could still be heard. Crazy hobby.
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Yes, it sure is a crazy hobby and an expensive one at the high end of the spectrum.
Thanks to Alex Crespi at Uptone and one of his distributors in Hong Kong (AfterDark) who learned of a specific Finisar SFP transceiver, I went down the rabbit hole and night and installed this transceiver with compatible fiber cable (pic attached) it delivered a REMARKABLE bump in SQ. Stunning in fact. Transceivers about $100 each.
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@DesertRat66 I have tried nearly all options including the ones you mention and unfortunately I do not share the ‘no noise’ that you report with those devices. On the other hand what I mean by ‘no noise’ is perhaps better called ‘no noise artefacts’. This sort of noise in itself is not audible but its affect on the sound quality certainly is audible.
The Amazon cheapie media convertors in my experience are not worth buying and have a very negative effect on sound quality.
For me and having tried many many options I am sticking with a good quality switch for sound quality and I have banished all fibre and media convertors from my system.
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Fair enough; I suppose no one could blame a guy if he has tried everything but to no avail. Sorry you’ve gone through that. When I purchased my second EtherREGEN for use with my previous server and now the K41, I actually tried it both ways - meaning I tried with only Ethernet and then tried with fiber and all of my friends ( had several over at the time) and I hands down heard a significant improvement as we moved to fiber only.
And BTW, I agree that the cheapie units from Amazon, while doing the job of converting, pale in comparison to a proper audiophile converter like the Sonore boys have developed in the Optical Module Deluxe, I went the “cheap” route for a few years be fore I was convinced to invest in a proper module, and it was a “wow” moment for me. It dramatically improved the SQ I had been getting from my Rendu, and it went from very good to “considerably better.” I will be purchasing another for the K41 along with those FInisar transceivers .
All that said, I totally get that there is more than one way to skin a cat! Good luck, Nick!
@DesertRat66 Bob, it is great to get others experience and feed back. It is how we collectively move forward and improve our systems.
Out of interest when you say that you and your friends heard a significant improvement as you moved to fiber only, can I ask what specifically was the sound characteristic of that improvement?
I ask because I have previously mentioned that I had a manufacturer bring his (expensive) prototype optical bridge for me to try and he was basking in what he thought was an improvement to the sound but to my ears it certainly changed the sound but always for the worse no matter how or where we put his prototype. Unfortunately I am pretty sure he will still go into production with his unit in a cynical venture that relies on the buyers hearing a difference which will be mistaken for improvement.
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