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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 1 response by tk21

tk21
238 posts
 
Another option:
Between modem and router (Orbi satellite), I have a 5 Ghz WiFi backhaul. Seems to me, I get the same protection as fiber against lightning (along with absolute protection from mice). Galvanic isolation, too, and less cable clutter.  Haven't noticed issues with drop-outs.  No new converters and PSUs at either end as needed with fiber.  Complete flexibility if I want to move the router.  No drilling, no stapling.  As I recall, at least one HiFi company (Auralic?) recommends WiFi over ethernet for best sound quality (though I'm skeptical it makes much difference if we're comparing equally strong signals). 
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