If you stream music from the internet, I can't recommend this more highly


I had been using a Roon Nucleus to stream Qobuz, with my Chord Qutest directly connected to the Nucleus. I thought I was getting pretty decent sound quality. And then I got a marketing email from Small Green Computer touting some of their optical gear. The basic idea is that normal cables and connections used to stream from the internet pick up noise of one kind or another (radio frequencies and electromagnetic something or other). But fiber optic cables and their connections/interfaces do not. I don’t know anything about anything, but it made theoretical sense to me, it wasn’t a huge amount of money ($1,400), and with a 30 day return policy I figured I could always return it if I didn’t hear any improvement. Well, I didn’t just hear a slight improvement; it was like turning on the lights in a dark room. Much greater clarity and detail, much better micro and macro dynamics, better timbre to acoustic instruments -- overall just more lifelike. Two quick examples: I’ve listened to some of Steely Dan’s top songs 100s of times over the course of my life, and this is the first time I’d ever noticed a particular and very subtle sound characteristic of Fagen’s keyboard in Babylon Sister. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like there’s a slight sound of air being exhaled by it. The other example: the specific timbre of whatever percussive instrument is used at the beginning of Copeland’s "Fanfare for the Common Man" (a recording by the Minnesota Orchestra). There’s more of a metallic sound than a drum skin sound to it that I didn’t know was there before. The metallic sound starts in the center and then projects out and to the sides, like a wave washing over you. Anyway, I’m just thrilled about having stumbled upon the whole "optical" thing and felt obligated to let others know about it. If you stream music over the internet, I highly recommend giving it a try. (The product I got was the opticalRendu, with the linear power supply option, and the Fiber Ethernet Converter Bundle option.)
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I too have been interested in implementing fiber into my system. Asynchronous, complete galvanic isolation, and resistance to EMI & RFI is the holy trinity. Ethernet over RJ45 UTP offers isolation as well because of transformer coupling, but can introduce noise from EMI. WiFi also has complete galvanic isolation, but RFI can become an issue if not implemented well.

My prediction for the future is fiber optic will become more common. Streaming DAC's with RJ45 ports have emerged in the last five years. SFP ports should be fairly easy to implement. A pure fiber connection from ethernet switch/media converter to DAC would be fantastic.
My only complaint with products like opticalRendu and sonicTransporter i9 Optical is lack of digital volume control.
I found the SOtM to be in another league than the rendu setup. I do use a small green computer and run optical from my router to the SOtM sNH-10G switch. SOtM trifecta and master clock run to an m-scaler and DAVE DAC. The optical made a big difference but for me the there was no competition between Rendu and SOtM.
I feel streaming Tiday using my BlueSound Node 2i to be incredible, especially their h res master recordings.  I would never go back to playing CD’s.  I don’t even have to get up to change albums or songs.