The indisputable benefit of fiber for music


I've read a lot about fiber's audible superiority to Ethernet, and most of it I have taken with a grain of salt.  1GigE is plenty fast for just about anything, and it is balanced and galvanically isolated. The one area where fiber is clearly a better choice for music systems is lightning protection.

It is not uncommon for lightning to enter a home via the cable TV's coaxial cable. This can easily jump the millimeters from coax to Ethernet to Ethernet. So if you are like me, and rely on Ethernet cabling to stream to avoid any Wifi issues you are also creating a possible lightning path from the external Internet provider's connection all the way to your fancy audio gear.

In this one situation I have to say, the use of a 1m or longer fiber cable is the superior solution. I'm considering using this at the junction between the cable TV modem and my router, therefore isolating all of my streaming devices at once.

Best,

Erik
erik_squires

Showing 3 responses by mitch2

@anzaanimalclinic 
Found that choice of SFP's will make or break the deal.
What specifically did you find out about choosing the best SFP converter?  Which do you recommend for best sound?

Another question to all you ENO owners who also use fiber is whether the ENO, which costs over $800, has been worth it just to clean up the last very short Ethernet cable running from an SFP box to the streamer, assuming the majority of the run from router to the system area is all fiber?

The manufacturer, @richtruss believes so;
All active devices emit noise, including optical to RJ45 converters. We have users with these media converters that get a big improvement, as eloquently described by Bill, by adding an ENO filter between the media converter and the streamer.

You are apparently using plug-in SFP devices.  I am using the linked stand-alone converters and powering the one located in the vicinity of my gear with an HD Plex LPS instead of the wall-wort that it came with.
Hi Rich,
The info for the MC200CM says "10/100/1000Mbps."  So does that mean it "always" operates at the max 1Gb/S?   I did order two of the MC100CM converters so if I want to try the ENO I will have the appropriate Ethernet out speed.
I am strongly considering giving the ENO a try but I am a little trigger shy having had too many small boxes here that did next to nothing for the sound.