Electro-magnetic noise entering your streamer undermines SQ.
Naim streamers are designed to minimise this noise.
But there is always more that can be done.
Has anyone tried an optical bridge (e.g. Sonore) - and what were the results?
Or does anyone have better way to minimize noise in your streamer and amps?
Doesnāt the Melco (store/renderer/server) have an optical isolators on its ethernet network connection? Iām not certain, but it is something I seem to recall from a couple of years ago.
Hey Jim,
Meant to get back to you on this in the other thread. I think thereās plenty of ways to get from A to B - at the moment the two most popular competing ones seem to be the etherRegen from Uptone and the optical system from Sonore, which are both from the same designer.
For me, Iāve used consumer FMCās for awhile, though the impact was always subtle, to the point I took them out for a few months, then put them back in and was like, ok, better, but one really had to listen for it. The opticalModules on the other hand were like āWhoah!ā on the same level Iām reading about the etherRegen. Like a clarity or sharpness slider in a photo processing program, itās amazing how much crisp detail there was lurking underneath plain olā 44/16 flacs. Bass became bigger but more controlled esp. and more space between instruments, decay, etc etc. And who know how much of that is the isolation, and how much is the reclocking via Crystek clocks the opticalModules do (combo of both I imagine).
The ultimate would be going totally optical from server to renderer via the new Sonictransporter i9 optical out server from Small Green Computer direct to the opticalRendu (or Signature opticalRendu) but thatās for bigger wallets than mine. Keep in mind all the changes Iāve heard are on a V1, so no idea with better gear one would hear less changes or more.
Nope.
I like the idea of an optical input, but as you always have to convert back to copper Ethernet to connect to a Naim streamer, there is still a route back in for any EMI that can find its way in via the converter and cable. Iāve been using fibre to network my house for a couple of years now, via the SFP ports on 3 Cisco switches, which works well and costs very little.
Naim do use opto-isolators in their streamers, which makes me a little dubious about the value of adding another one on the network.
Does that fibre network supply your NDX2, or everything in your house?
What are the benefits?
Fiber cables can be used for much longer distances.
If you are worried about noise and you are not terminating on a switch or router then you need to think about the power supply for the converter.
To answer your earlier question on alternatives, try an internet search for āethernet isolator mi1005ā, there are many others too. Iāve never used one for music streaming, so canāt comment on effectiveness.
thanks - Iāve not seen those medical network isolators before
fyi my system goes - router > 2 Cisco 2960s > 272 with 555DR
so I am terminating before the dac on switches and do use an external psu - and as you might expect it does not sound noisy or unclear right now - - but Iām still interested in what further noise reduction measures might bring
Is it really worth doing Jim. Iād have thought that the setup you have at the moment is more than good enough from a āquietā network perspective - What you are proposing seems to be a lot more effort for maybe little, if any, return ?
Fair point, James.
It sounds amazing right now.
So I wonāt be unhappy if I donāt do much on it for a while.
Am at the end of a very productive little upgrade cycle, so have a few unturned stones to examine.
Partly I enjoy the technical and intellectual and practical challenges of understanding and learning and sharing how systems work and how they can be improved.
But, yes - the next move might be to chill out and enjoy all the new music Iām discovering for a year or three as it is.
One other thing I should have suggested Jim, if you are still looking for info then checking what home radio enthusiasts have done may be interesting. Again, I canāt make any comments on whether the ethernet noise they deal with has any impact on music streaming but you can search for āham radio ethernet noiseā for articles and videos. Ferrites seem popular.
I use ferries on the end of my Ethernet cables.
Thanks Jim
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