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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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Showing 1 response by bks717

bks717
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For my first ever post here -- saw this thread last week and thought might be interesting to try the SoTM solution. After 3 days across many music types, I can hear discernable improvement in my set-up (maybe 5-10% clarity, smoothness). No measurable data just perception.

My set-up: about 40ft ethernet to PS Audio DAC from computer using JRiver as my "server". Lot of electrical noise in my environment that I have spent these Covid days at home cleaning-up (separating power on front end with Adept Response & amps with isolation transformer, etc..). Went ahead and got the SGC "kit" with optical module, linear power supply and fiber ethernet converter. Not cheap (about $500) but also not the $1200+ set of boxes Since my version of PS DAC already has ethernet input, I did not any other product for USB. Kit came with no instructions so just followed the YouTube video from SGC. About 10min of connecting and the PSAudio was recognized on JRiver without any config updates. Thought I would share given some of the confusion on these responses. Not affiliated with any vendor. Just someone working from home.
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