Ethernet to SPF converters. What's your experience?

I think some perspective is needed here. Ethernet carries digital data — TCP or UDP packets that either arrive intact or are resent. There’s no analog “noise” riding along that could somehow smear or smooth the music once it’s inside the DAC buffer. The bits either make it or they don’t.

Now, it’s true that fiber can eliminate ground loops or electrical noise between devices, which can help if your network gear is introducing interference into analog stages. But that’s a system grounding issue, not an improvement in the “quality” of the data.

To me, this sounds like a case of confirmation bias — when we expect to hear an improvement, our brains are remarkably good at convincing us we do. I’m all for experimentation, but it’s worth remembering that digital transmission doesn’t behave like analog audio.

sorry I can't find the receipt for what I got but it's Amphenol.  If you search "Amphenol Direct Attach Cable" on Audiophilestyle you will get some good info.  I did not buy it from Amazon, maybe Cables On Demand....

@boulder_bob thanks a bunch. I’ll take another look at that thread. 

@adsell good post and can’t argue with anything you posted. Confirmation bias is real and it’s hard to argue since we’re all susceptible. You mentioned perspective which was refreshing, but context is also needed. When users mention confirmation bias I often wonder whether they’ve had any subjective experience - and if so, what products did they use within the multitude of variables in their audio system?

More directly, let’s say one is blinded by confirmation bias. In the end, and for that specific user, would it matter if this bias is providing higher levels of satisfaction during their personal time? Ultimately, isn’t this what we’re all chasing regardless of whether it’s objectively artificial but subjectively real to us? I don’t know, sometimes I wouldn’t mind being “blind” or plagued by confirmation bias since I’m sure it would have saved me money in the long run. 

By no means am I disagreeing or attempting to be argumentative. It’s just something I often ponder when reading certain forums. And for context, I also took your position that running fiber optic cable was a little crazy when first exploring streaming. But I tried it out and was objectively perplexed and subjectively, pleasantly surprised - it sounds better than running Ethernet within my system.

Here’s the rub: I didn’t want it to which wasn’t confirmation bias, but instead disconfirmation bias, which we’re also susceptible to in this dying hobby of ours.

@toro3 ,

I really appreciate your open-minded tone. You’re absolutely right that bias works both ways, and that satisfaction is what matters at the end of the day.

My only aim in mentioning this was to distinguish between mechanism and experience. The improvement you’re hearing may well be real in your system — just likely not due to the bits being “cleaner.” Fiber can absolutely help by breaking ground paths and eliminating common-mode noise between devices. Considering that most gear shares multiple grounds — power, chassis, RCA, XLR, USB, Ethernet — any reduction in those loops can make a system quieter at the analog level, even though the data itself was never compromised.

So while I’m skeptical that converting copper to fiber “improves” TCP or UDP delivery, I completely understand how it could change the noise environment and subjectively sound better. I think that distinction is what keeps the conversation grounded (pun intended). :)