Ethernet to SPF converters. What's your experience?

@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). :)

@adsell 100% agree with everything you just said even if beyond my scope - excellent explanation and very educational. 

 I think that distinction is what keeps the conversation grounded (pun intended). :)

+1 on distinction keeping this conversation “grounded.”

I've had a rocky hate love relationship with fiber.  I've tried numerous SPF's and fiber's and DAC's with very mixed results.  

I will vouch for the Sonore SystemOptique's ability to lower noise floor.  I have 4 optical converters between my EERO 7Max router and Lampizator DAC with 3 switches in-between.  I have 2 Sonore OpticalModule Deluxe's, a Sonore Signature Rendu and an Uptone EtherRegen which is both a switch and converter.  

I just recently added the second OpticalModule upstream of the streamer and immediately noticed the lower noise floor.

I have an OpticalModule after the streamer as I use the Ethernet output which I find superior to USB.  The OpticalModule feeds the SignatureRendu and the USB output is then converted to S/PDIF with an Antipodes DDC as S/PDIF input sounds better in my DAC than USB.

I had an email discussion with Jesse at Sonore about adding the OM vs their less expensive FMC before the streamer and he gave a somewhat cryptic answer that the didn't think the OM would be superior but that some clients reported to him that adding an OM before the streamer was an improvement over the FMC.  I think he knew it was system dependent and he was being conservative regarding the cost/benefit.

My simple understanding of noise on ethernet cable is that it acts as an antennae for EMI and RFI and also carries groundplane noise so adding a fiber break removes those gremlins.

I also use filters on all my ethernet cables which are SOtM except for a Network Acoustics ENO Ag which I have between my router and first switch.  Filters remove EMI and RFI and can be a place to start if hesitant to muck with fiber, FMC's OpticalConverters, SFP's and DAC's and LPS's for all.

If you have any SMPS's, even non audio SMPS's on the same electrical line as your gear.  I would get rid of those before doing anything else.  

Digital data arrives intact, period. It also arrives with a whoe bunch of electrical junk. In my experience, with a highly resolving system, SFP removes on type of junk and replaces it with a different variety of junk.

In my system, I get better results with high quality cables and sophisticated swtches, I find wired connections to be superior to optical conversion setups...

I can't say that I noticed much difference to sound quality using SFT over regular ethernet cable to connect my streamer and switch. That may down to the streamer already being isolated by the Melco S100 switch, which did give a marked improvement.