Optical Network Configurations

[MarkusBarkus]

@jabbr: can you confirm or deny that you have ever called Ghost Busters to manage "metaphysical jitter" in a system? A simple yes or no, please. 😉

[MarkusBarkus]

That's what some of us are trying to find out, by listening.
 

What sounds better--to that listener, in that system, etc. At some point, you have to cross the rubicon from theory to practice.
 

At least in my case, I always fall asleep during theoretical listening sessions. 

 

I don't "know" that SFP+ devices will sound better in SFP cages (to me), but I speculate they might, based on some specifications required for 10GB transmission. IIRC some of the network honchos speculated  about that possibility to you/us...that their speed might not be the only benefit, the precision that allowed that speed might have an unintended audio benefit. Might.
 

So, we will try and we will learn.
 

Personally, I had ordered the SFP+ devices from Adrian, confident through reading the specs, Adrian's info/trust, and my acquired knowledge, and you kind of derailed the entire thread with questions, without even digesting the answers. A barrage of questions.
 

Before too long, some readers (me) didn't even know what the hell we were talking about any more. I'm texting Adrian, rechecking stuff I already knew. People from three or four manufacturers are posting. Crazy. And on multiple threads. Helpful eventually gave birth to chaos. 

 

I'll post what I hear, including no difference, when the SFP+ stuff lands. Good luck with your investigations into optical audio. I recommend some reading on the photonics side of things too, if you like deep holes...  
 

 

[MarkusBarkus]

Nice/helpful post @ericucoThank you!

[MarkusBarkus]

48 minutes ago, Duke40 said:

Truth be told, I struggle a bit conceptually with the whole SM being preferable to MM posts

I am one of those posters, and I think it is A-OK with Multi-Mode fiber. I began with a basic 10Gtek MM set-up. I changed some things, and as posted previously, I am on Single Mode because it was the last I tested. Cable is cheap, so I pulled MM and SM cable for 35' run. 
 

IMO a lot of what we dabble with very likely has theoretical differences, but practically, it might be hard to hear. 
 

That said, I have done things based on theoretical positions that I have not always been consistently able to discern as being different. And my system is revealing, IMO. 

 

I am 100% comfortable saying: in my system, in this neighborhood in the city, fiber is an improvement over ethernet on that 35' run. Good Luck!

[MarkusBarkus]

25 minutes ago, Jud said:

Will an SFP module fit and work correctly in an SFP+ slot?

Fit = Yes. Work correctly = probably. Some combinations don't work, but it will depend on your use-case/components. And it would be at the lower data-rate, of course. 

[MarkusBarkus]

@barrowsyou are my idol and primo tech dude, but...I use Finisar SFP+ transceiver in my Sonore OM (powered by your very groovy power supply). Other end of the fiber is into a modded PFBuffalo switch. SFP out of PFBuff SFP into Extreme. Have been meaning to swap the two SFPs for SFP+ but have not gotten around to it. Don't recall any issues with SFP+ and eRG either. Maybe a cable/SFP+ compatibility issue...or not fully plugged in? 

[MarkusBarkus]

[MarkusBarkus]

...it's a switch, technically, but not designed to support multiple devices in the network. It is meant to integrate directly with the Extreme.
 

Some of the functionality inside the Extreme will be off-loaded to the switch. The statement is this, and other electronic design elements, will further reduce noise when used with the new network card. It was ~7K for switch and card, with DAC cable and SFPs (copper-coax, not optical). 

 

The real excitement is with the pending battery solution. Here is some info, if interested:

https://taikoaudio.com/taiko-2020/product/extreme-switch-network-card-bundle/

 

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/taiko-audio-sgm-extreme-the-crème-de-la-crème.27433/page-739