Ethernet to Fiber media converters

Some interesting fiber optic news from Sonore:

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More dark matter, brother?

Actually, something like this was a long time coming. Problem is Sonore makes it, probably at 3 times what one should cost. One could accomplish the same thing by using off the shelf converters and upgrading the power supply, no?

In the case of fiber optic, bits truly are bits.

For data in, then yes, but you need to make the converter itself electronically quiet as well, and from what I read optical converters are tricky to get quiet.

But you get part of the way with a pair of cheap media converter and a battery power on last one, I am using that myself.

Hey Slim, there is some discussion above about the conversion from optical to copper ethernet possibly (I don’t know) being a noisy process. I won’t go into it again but might be a factor? And maybe something Sonore is tackling? Who knows - limited info so far.

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16 posts were merged into an existing topic: Sonore opticalRendu

Todays little tweak, I think there is an improvement to clarity but can’t be 100% sure (placebo and lack of proper A/B). Anyway, it works and it should have gotten rid of some switching electronic noise.

Before:

After:

The extra board is a very low-noise 3.3V voltage regulator from http://www.ldovr.com/ for around $20, I also went Rambo on some old stuff that should not be needed (and wasn’t or it would hardly work) :slight_smile:

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FYI. A dealer and a user has nice things to say about it:
https://www.audioshark.org/showthread.php?t=15781&p=260181&viewfull=1#post260181

In my case a tried a pair of TPLink converters and the results were not satisfactory, losing articulation in the bass and resulting in a music scene devoid of air, so I decided not to use them, in my setup “less is more”.

Which model did you use? Did you use a LPS (instead of the stock power supply) for the receiving side TP-Link FMC?

Ive used the rather mainstream TP-Link MC200CM’s and can’t honestly say there was any difference with the standard wall warts. I use FS.com single and double FMC’s too and while some are longish runs I cant honestly say that they made any difference either. But I take some comfort that if I cant hear its any worse or better that as long as I am happy with the cost and extra ports used up on my switch that would otherwise not be used then why not - At least I have tried it.

I used TP LINK MC200CM and LPS in receiving side as I read in this forum, the results weren’t as I expected, no sonic improvements in my case.

One option would be a Sonore opticalModule. I’ve used one with a linear power supply with good results. I’ve since replaced it with an UpTone EtherRegen for even better results.

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Five times the price with, for all practicable intents and in spite of the ad copy, the same thing a non-audio media converter with an upgraded power supply.

You wouldn’t say that if you listened to it.

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I did an installation similar to this at a friends with Bonn N8 Silent Angel, EtherREGEN B side, A side to Optical Rendu via optical SFP and to a Denafrips Terminator. All network gear is on LMPS (OR is on Sonore’s 2nd top tier LMPS. All LAN is Supra Cat 7 I think. The core machine is via FMC’s to another room. NAS in on the Bonn too.

He says its made improvements so that is good enough for him and I can’t argue with that.

Hi, is there anybody using the “new” Sonore opticalModule Deluxe to connect to their streamer/DAC? I just got one to replace my previous setup which used TP-Links MC100MC.
However, I run into the following issue and need help: in my previous setup, I was using a very short ethernet cable (10cm / 3 inches), to connect the module to my streamer/DAC. When I replaced it with the OM deluxe, there was no signal flowing through - my streamer would not even get an IP from network! I thought it was my cable, so replaced it with a longer one and although now the streamer got an IP, music would stutter and kept buffering when listening from Tidal.
Again I replaced the cable with an even longer one
 and to cut a long story short, I found out that the OM Deluxe at hand, was very sensitive to the cable length used. The minimum it would accept and work was 78cm / 31 inches!!!
This I think goes against the whole idea of using the “isolator”, since using a “long” cable it would “collect” various RFI etc

I try to understand whether this is a design issue of the OM Deluxe, or my unit is faulty and should be returned! I contacted Sonore but did not yet got a definitive answer
 Does anybody tried using the OM Deluxe with a very short cable? Can anybody who have it, try and let me know? Thanks in advance

This is indeed strange to hear - hopefully someone has insights on it.

I believe Ethernet receivers are normally ‘tuned’ to accept a minimum and maximum cable length by virtue of the impedance they are presented with. Under normal circumstances this would be 1 metre minimum at the rated cable type the receiver was designed for. That would actually suggest that the Sonore device was the better designed of the two modules, or perhaps they are rated for different cable types. Either way, apart from the fact that the new setup may not be as tidy as the old one, it is probably working as designed. The question is, how does it sound? I’m certainly interested in a possible move to one from my 10GTEK unit (with 30cm CAT6a).

I understand what you say about minimum and maximum cable length
 However, in my case the humble TP-Link MC100MC “plays” with a 10cm cable and the 20+ more expensive OM Deluxe
 does not.
Re sound quality, I am afraid I was (am) so preoccupied with the issue at hand and the tests I have done, that I did not really evaluated it. My initial impressions are positive
 That’s all I can say for now.