Optical Network Configurations

[jabbr]

Hi Jabbr, can you elaborate on that? I'm setting up an optical network which requires inevitably a lot of power supplies. I thought taking care of the PS of the optical converter close to the NAA (and maybe that of the optical switch) would have been enough, especially if the whole stereo gear has its own dedicated electrical line and is filtered through a power conditioner. Now, you seem to imply that even in this conditions SPS before the optical switch may affect sound through ground. Is that correct?

But then what is the difference between the noise introduced by a router or an optical converter optically uncoupled and that introduced by another SPS that may appear to be in the same apartment?

 

I guess it depends on the capabilities of the power conditioner then. Theres a lot written about this but the idea is that SMPS can send noise back into the electrical line. The JS-2 in particular is a choke filtered unit which prevents noise from traveling backwards. What I am saying exactly is that if two pieces of equipment share the same power connection, ground etc, then it is *possible* that noise can travel between them along the power/ground lines. FWIW I have a few of these: Finished 65VA Ultra Low Noise Linear Power Supply 5V 9V 12V 15V 18V etc L158 22 | eBay

[lmitche]

I've been eyeing these ultra low noise lpses. How do they sound?

[Xrobbo]

if two pieces of equipment share the same power connection,

Let me then ask the question in the reverse direction: what conditions grant that the same power connection is NOT shared?

Does an auto-transformer or isolator transformed before the audio gear solve the problem? Or maybe an isolator transformer (not sure this is the right english word though) between the noisy gear and the main power line? Because AFIK a modern apt may be full of these SMPS, and isolating each one may be just impossible. On the other hand, if we are simply talking of RF noise, then I guess that a good quality power conditioner or hifi filter should do the job. For example, if SMPS related to pc, switch, router, nas, etc could be plugged into a surge protector like this Belkin Pure AV Home Cinema di protezione contro le sovratensioni 6: Amazon.it: Elettronica

then all the noise produced by the SMPS should be stopped before entering the main electrical line. Are there theoretical and/or empirical objection to this hypothesis?

[dtb300]

FWIW I have a few of these: Finished 65VA Ultra Low Noise Linear Power Supply 5V 9V 12V 15V 18V etc L158 22 | eBay

 

jabbr.... What type of voltage and amperage are you running off these?

 

I was considering purchasing one of these models too, but just did not remember to do it LOL

[jabbr]

12v 3-4a for NAA (powering picoPSU)

5v 3a (rated but draws less) for sfp switches

[jabbr]

I've been eyeing these ultra low noise lpses. How do they sound?

 

Clearly an excellent value -- I haven't compared head to head against JS-2. I'm toying adding an input choke but since I'm powering this off an equi-tech Q not entirely sure how much that will help.

[jabbr]

 

Just installed PPA TCXO clock modified Q1900M along with PPA RAM into my NAA

 

1. PPA v2 USB card in leftmost PCI-e

2. Intel x520 NIC with Intel Singlemode SFP module configured to iSCSI boot

3. PPA TCXO clock is mounted on lower right and connected via white cable

4. No SATA or any hard drive/flash drive of any type

5. PicoPSU powered via 12v LPS

[jabbr]

If anyone is deploying a 10 fiber network, you may need to incorporate legacy 10m/100m/1g copper ethernet. This switch will aggreggate the copper network and uplink via a 10g fiber connection. Also allows connecting your NAS via 10g while the rest of the network is 1g etc:

Mikrotik CRS226-24G-2S+IN Review - You want one (or more)

 

My own network is Brocade/Foundry but if I didn't already have my equipment, I'd strongly consider this, hence the post.

[John769]

Thanks for the heads up and pictures, Jabbr!

 

Is there actually any SQ advantage in using 10gb SFP's over regular 1g per se?

 

Which Pico model is most suitable for the Q1900M?

[sm31]

Is there actually any SQ advantage in using 10gb SFP's over regular 1g per se?

 

I somehow doubt it. But if you're moving big files around a network, nice to be able to take advantage of the added bandwidth of these 10gb NICs.

 

At least, that's what I've been thinking about.

[jabbr]

Thanks for the heads up and pictures, Jabbr!

 

Is there actually any SQ advantage in using 10gb SFP's over regular 1g per se?

 

Which Pico model is most suitable for the Q1900M?

 

My NAS has a 10g connection, NAA 1g. I haven't compared SFPs because the Intel is dual 10g/1g. I use the 150-XT picoPSU.

 

I somehow doubt it. But if you're moving big files around a network, nice to be able to take advantage of the added bandwidth of these 10gb NICs.

 

At least, that's what I've been thinking about.

 

Right. For an audio network 1g should be fine. The expense is the 10g switch.

[John769]

Okay, understand why you went for a 10g nic now. Didn't realise the X520 also does 1g. That's good.

[jabbr]

Yes. In fact it's getting hard to find 1g cards these days. One of the reasons to start this thread was to document what works with what because, for example, although 10g nics & switches are not required to work with 1g they often do ... there are SFPs which do 1g only, 10g only and dual 1/10g.

 

I've tried a Mellanox Connectx-2 card but it worked intermittently for me ... and got very hot so perhaps the heat sink needed to be remounted? That said trying to get iSCSI boot to work on it required another layer of software (iPXE -> DHCP -> iSCSI) and so the Intel x520 worked for me better all around.

[thisisvv]

Can anyone tell me what USB to DC wire they use for Diabolo switch. I am trying one of these and it cant connect to the socket.

 

Amazon.com: DMtse Generic USB to 5.5 mm/2.1 mm 5 Volt DC Barrel Jack Power Cable: Computers & Accessories

 

tried another one with lower opening, can anyone pass me the link of wire that would be helpful.

 

V

[sig8]

Can anyone tell me what USB to DC wire they use for Diabolo switch. I am trying one of these and it cant connect to the socket.

 

Amazon.com: DMtse Generic USB to 5.5 mm/2.1 mm 5 Volt DC Barrel Jack Power Cable: Computers & Accessories

 

tried another one with lower opening, can anyone pass me the link of wire that would be helpful.

 

V

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MQO96U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

I have few versions, this is one of them. Your link should also work.

[thisisvv]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003MQO96U?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00

 

I have few versions, this is one of them. Your link should also work.

 

 

somehow unable to work. The power adapter it comes with works perfect.

 

V

[mumstead]

My fiber is very simple. Currently my NAS --> 2 ft Monoprice Cat7 --> HP 1410-8G switch --> 1 ft Monoprice Cat7 -- TP Link M C200CM --> 25 meter Multimode 62.5/125 Fiber patch --> TP Link M C200CM --> 2.5 ft Audioquest Cinnamon --> NUC. This was a nice upgrade for less than $150. I would highly recommend a fiber run for those that have a file server that is far away from your NAS. I currently have a TP-Link TL-SG3210 and SFP on order sot this will eliminate one short run of Cat7 and I want to learn about managed switches.

[firedog]

Sorry for the "FOR DUMMIES" question, but I find the thread very confusing:

 

My present setup is Router with one ethernet connection to server and one ethernet connection to a renderer (an ethernet to USB mini-server). I'm using CAT6 ethernet cable.

My understanding is that to setup a simple fiber connection for the router, server, and renderer I need the following:

 

2X TP-LINK MC200CM Gigabit Media Converter

 

and one duplex multimode patch cable (SC-ST) to connect the 2 media converter boxes.

 

One media converter connects by standard CAT6 ethernet to the router, the other media converter box connects to my renderer over CAT6.

 

Is this correct?

[mumstead]

Sorry for the "FOR DUMMIES" question, but I find the thread very confusing:

 

My present setup is Router with one ethernet connection to server and one ethernet connection to a renderer (an ethernet to USB mini-server). I'm using CAT6 ethernet cable.

My understanding is that to setup a simple fiber connection for the router, server, and renderer I need the following:

 

2X TP-LINK MC200CM Gigabit Media Converter

 

and one duplex multimode patch cable (SC-ST) to connect the 2 media converter boxes.

 

One media converter connects by standard CAT6 ethernet to the router, the other media converter box connects to my renderer over CAT6.

 

Is this correct?

 

That is currently pretty much my exact configuration except I use Cat7. I doubt that makes any difference though. That configuration should work perfectly for you.

[jabbr]

If I didn't already have a Brocade 1g switch with 10g uplink, I would get this:

 

Amazon.com: Mikrotik CRS212-1G-10S-1S+IN Layer 3 Cloud Router Gigabit Switch OSL5: Computers & Accessories

 

Not only is the price very reasonable, it has a 10G SPF+ port, and so the 1G local network can have a shared connection to a 10G network for say, NAS access.

[sm31]

If I didn't already have a Brocade 1g switch with 10g uplink, I would get this:

 

Amazon.com: Mikrotik CRS212-1G-10S-1S+IN Layer 3 Cloud Router Gigabit Switch OSL5: Computers & Accessories

 

Not only is the price very reasonable, it has a 10G SPF+ port, and so the 1G local network can have a shared connection to a 10G network for say, NAS access.

Wouldn't this be better, given extra SFP+ port, and basically same price?

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RSNN17G

[jabbr]

Wouldn't this be better, given extra SFP+ port, and basically same price?

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00RSNN17G

 

Both are useful for slightly different purposes: the above has copper ethernet ports and so can be used to connect 1g copper network to 10g fiber. The one I referenced has SFP (1g) ports and a single SFP+ (10G) port, being able to provide a 1g fiber network with the ability to uplink to a 10g network ... hence an advantage over the Diablo at a better price.

[davide256]

I'm struggling with this whole thread for ideological integrity. How is it worthwhile to use optical Ethernet for short distances if your terminated devices

step back into copper Ethernet connection?

[gldgate]

I'm struggling with this whole thread for ideological integrity. How is it worthwhile to use optical Ethernet for short distances if your terminated devices

step back into copper Ethernet connection?

 

With FMC's, optical switch and SFP PCIe card you can set up an Audio PC without any direct copper connection and be ideologically pure.

 

However, as someone who set up my optical network in stages I will say that the most important part in my system was making sure all signals into Audio PC ( from Control PC and NAS drives) were converted. The SFP PCIe card was the cherry on top of the Sundae.

 

I will also say (again but it bears repeating) that anyone who decides to implement an optical bridge or network needs to pay attention to power supplies. I am using battery or LPS on every switch/ FMC. Stock SMP's were pretty awful in my setup.

[jabbr]

No ideological integrity -- it's all about getting the best sound:)

 

My network is end to end fiber from workstation running HQPlayer to NAS to NAA. I have cable modem internet which connects to the network via FMC as well as a legacy copper Ethernet network that connects to the fiber network by a dedicated copper switch with a 10gbe fiber uplink.

 

If you aren't prepared to go full fiber then you can get a benefit via FMC and hybrid copper fiber ... why this helps can be explained technically but regardless many people hear a result.