Listening
Contents
Muno pro filter with Muon pro streaming cable. When we put the Muon pro between the standard cable and the streamer, the improvement is huge. The stereo image becomes seriously larger, Jaap makes the comparison as if someone has come along with a straw and blown up the image. The mush of instruments in Present tense of Radiohead disappears, the background becomes quieter and there is more space around the instruments. Details are more audible without sounding too analytical, it’s a smooth and pleasant sound.
Melco S100 with Muon pro streaming cable. If we replace the Muon pro with the Melco S100 and we continue to use the Muon RJ45 streaming cable the difference is not very big. But if we have to name differences it becomes busier/prominier in the mid, an (even) bigger stereo image, the slight veil disappears, it becomes a bit brighter, faster or punchier and more natural. Don’t get us wrong, the differences are subtle and the systems perform almost at a similar level. Considering the price difference, the Muon pro scores points here. We can imagine that a preference for one or the other will matter depending on the rest of your setup and tastes.
Melco S100 with Uptimed multi mode fiber. Then the move to fiber, and you hear it right away. The theory is that the background noise disappears, and in practice this is confirmed by the ears. There comes even more quietness, less background combined with a wide stereo image. In the second half of Present tense, the snare remains better detailed. It seems to play more quietly but the volume knob has not been touched, so this is purely because the image is less cluttered, the brain clearly likes this more. The instruments are nicely loose in space and at the same time the sound becomes richer and fuller.
Melco S100 with Adott single mode fiber. And then the question, is single mode fiber really better? The short answer is yes, it’s not a huge difference but you hear it immediately. Everything comes off a little better and the instruments sound more real, the sound becomes a little more natural. One notable observation though, which you might consider a minus, the stereo image gets smaller. You can hear the instruments just fine separately from each other, but the image now more or less takes place between the speakers and no longer outside of them. Whether you find that distracting probably depends on your taste; for both reviewers on duty, it was more of an observation than a problem. In fact, this connection is the only one that fully holds up to Radiohead’s more complex portion of present tense.
Melco S100 with Melco C1 D20 DAC cable. Back from glass to copper. Again a subtle difference at this step, the stereo image opens up again and it seems to play a bit faster and with more detail. But strangely, or at least to us counterintuitively, fiberglass seems to sound a bit more natural or analog.
Prices
– Melco S100 switch, € 2500
– Adot single mode glass fiber upgrade kit € 259,-
– Uptimed multimode glass fiber with associated SFP transceivers € 35,-
– Melco C1 D20 direct attach SFP cable € 899,-
– Network acoustics Muon pro streaming system € 1630,-
From what I’ve tested, the best results were obtained with single mode fiber OM2 (yellow jacket), grade B LC connectors (aka “low insertion loss”) with UPC polish style (there’s PC, UPC, and APC Polish Styles that are not working best if combined). The actual fiber material sounds different from brand to brand, the fiber length determines the attenuation of the signal so shortest is best.
On the transciever side for best results you need 1310nm wavelength, industrial temperature (85 degrees Celsius … vs 70 degrees on commercial ones … I suspect the lens does not deform so much from the heat) and <=10km reach distance. Of course the transmission power and receiver sensitivity add more complexity here, but generally 1310nm + industrial temperature is the final goal, the differences are pretty negligible between brands.
I’ve used fiber in my local network for the audio path for about 3 years, experimenting with media converters, SM and MM fiber and transcievers. It sounded clean, detailed, with extended bass. One day I tried again copper and realized that the fiber sounded thin and it was missing some “air” (the brilliance range of frequencies).
I then discovered DAC cables and I was a bit skeptical because of the “lack of galvanic isolation” propaganda. You can look at DAC cables as being a kind of i2s (no signal conversion, minimum possible latency). The downside is the signal attenuation and the shortest cable is the best one. At the moment I use a 0.15m SFP28 DAC cable between my 2 SOtM switches before the streamer, and sound is snappier, more fluid and has more air and stage extension than the SM fiber I used to have to “clean up” the signal. Regarding DAC cables, I couldn’t find so far a way to DIY some cables using better (pure silver) wire, you have to rely on the manufacturer and the same silver plated OFC for drying your washed clothes.
For RJ45 Ethernet and fiber, read about serialization and transmission latency, the preparation phase (serialization) takes 2400x more time than the actual signal transmission (for each packet), then you add more latency at the receiving end and you’ll get bigger chances of things to go wrong. Oh, did I mention that within the fiber the signal transmission speed is lower by ~10% than in the copper medium? You add reflections and diffraction and you end up again with some imperfect medium (remember TOSLINK? it’s also fiber and offers galvanic isolation).
Hi Arno, this is a very interesting test and I think there’s certainly not enough on the internet for one to anticipate the influence this stuff has. I for one am still blown away by what a simple switch does and you guys at Alpha are at fault here. Your previous test is responsible for my house having 20 switches stored in a drawer. Network cables also play a very real and immediately discernible influence. Unfortunately I never experienced a system where fibre trumps good cooper but, then again, I don’t think I ever heard one with good fibre.
If you search the internet, you do get huge forum threads about types of fibre (Corning glass usually mentioned as giving the best results) and certain transceivers (Finisar is usually mentioned). It’s such a rabbit hole and not clear enough (for me at least) what form factors there are and go with what that I just stopped my hifi network thing here.
But I did invest in a good network infrastructure (two routers, one dirty side switch and a Matrix SS1 with Shunyata cables at the end) because to me it does a very significant difference. Doesn’t make much sense but it is very real. Cheers!