Fiber Optic isolation causing listening fatigue

What fiber setup did you deploy for Meitner MA3i. Curious because I own this DAC. 

I used 2 streams into the Meitner. From my Unifi network switch, I used Ethernet into the RJ45 input of the Meitner. I also had a fibre optic cable connected to the Unifi switch that went into a Sonore OpticalRendu and from that into the Meitner USB. 

I really wanted my friend to hear the difference since he sells the Meitner DACs, but we got distracted with other fun conversations and gear that others brought to the meet.

I am supposed to get the Meitner MA3i for a second longer home demo session. I am going to skip that to go for a demo of the upcoming Allnic ASRA OTL/OCL DAC. I am betting that one will be a superstar. Going to stream fibre to USB, though I think this one has support for i2s.

I tried an inexpensive fiber-optic rig for my streamer and I didn’t care for it at all.  It kind of scrunched the music.  Maybe if you spend more...?  I don’t know.  Maybe it was all the added wall warts and cheap circuitry.  

I’ll also add that a friend just send me his LHY 6-port network switch to try out.  For the past three hours I’ve been comparing it to my $30 TP-Link 8-port switch.  I’m sorry (or glad, I guess) to report that I can’t hear a lick of difference between the two.  And don’t tell my my system isn’t "resolving" enough. ;-)  I’ve easily got $12-15K invested here--ProAcs, Don Sachs-style preamp, high-quality tube monoblocks, IanCanada reclocking streamer, Chord Qutest, Harmonic Tech and Snake River cables, and a well-tuned room.  It’s very easy to hear any significant gear changes.  But I’ll be damned if I can hear any difference.  If you’ve got a similar system--maybe some excellent large bookshelf speaks and decent quality amplification and cabling, I’d say save your money.  

Next up is an Uptone EtherRegen he also sent.  I’m interested to hear if that makes any difference.

@dogearedaudio 
A switch that costs as much as the DAC makes zero sense. 
But please report back when you get a chance. 

surlydale  You described your experience very clearly

"I heard a great deal more detail in my music. I could hear the singer take a breath where I typically couldn’t. I heard nuances of music that typically escaped me. In fact the effect wasn’t really subtle. There was much more clear instrumentation separation, etc. However, after about an hour of listening, I started noticing a feel of irrititability, just a general annoyance. I told myself "you’re just over-caffinated." But I think the added level of clarity was simply causing listener fatigue".

Some users who have switched from a generic media converter (even with an LPS) to a Sonore Optical Module report a further improvement in sound quality. These improvements are generally described as: 

• Blacker Background: The reduction in the noise floor makes the silence between notes more pronounced, contributing to a sense of a "even blacker" background.
• Increased Clarity and Transparency: The sound becomes clearer and more transparent, allowing you to hear further into the soundstage and discern more microdetails.
• Improved Soundstage: Users mention a more cohesive and three-dimensional soundstage, with better image stability.
• More Natural Tonal Density: The overall presentation can sound more natural, with improved tonal richness and less high-frequency "grunge". 

So as far as I can understand, the only difference between the TP Link and say the Sonore Optical Module costing hundreds of dollars more, is squeezing the noise floor reduction just a little further. Maybe via optimized "Audiophile" PCB layout and lower noise regulators etc.  

The way I use my single coverter is CAT 7 from my router to the TP Link. (I power the TP Link via an IFI clean power wall wart) I take a Corning Single Mode Duplex Optical Fiber cable via a quality SFP module into the Lumin X1 via the matching SFP connector.

I wonder how many of the Sonore users are keeping the signal path in fiber all the way to the streamer?

So where my approach differs from yours is once the converter has done its job the signal stays in the fiber domain all the way to the Lumin X1. 

So for me, I considered the benefits of installing something like the Sonore Optical Module as marginal/incremental at best. I have already heard a very noticeable reduction in the noise floor, which actually shocked me, as the noise floor was already what I considered to be low. However, whilst my music listening experience chimes closely with yours, the exception is that I have not once experienced any of the fatigue you describe.

I can only offer my own observation and conclusion and a couple of suggestions:

Maybe the double conversion you need to make for the Aurender i.e. copper to fiber and back again is the root cause of introducing the fatiguing element into the sound. Yes  Fiber breaks the electrical noise path from router, but if you convert back to copper Ethernet before the streamer as there is no SFP in on your N150, you possibly reintroduce the possibility of noise & Jitter from that last segment of the signal path, from the second converter itself as it returns to copper via the last length of ethernet cable into you N150.

Alternatively, It would be a disappointing result, if what your are experiencing is extreme detail fatigue and the Sonore just adds a little more seasoning to the issue.

I would be interested to know how this will pan out with you but I would borrow a Sonore to try before shelling out more money as I suspect it may not provide the answer you deserve.

@surlydale - I agree that the quality of ethernet cable matters but for your direct question regarding fiber, SFP+ is hotter than SFP from my listening experiments.

I would try swapping to a 1310 SFP on both ends for a calmer but still transparent sound.  

Also fiber cables matter.