kennyb123

https://www.audiostream.com/content/sonore-opticalmodule-review “If you’ve got the time, energy, and finances necessary to enable experimentation with noise-reduction strategies, using Sonore opticalModules and linear power supplies to transmit data in an ethernet > optical > ethernet configuration will enable you to hear significantly more of what recording engineers and artists hoped you would hear.”

I understand your position. Just keep in mind that those who participate in that thread aren’t all of a single mind. Compare the systems listed in their signature and you will see quite a variation in how many are actually doing all those things. I think it’s best to “criticize ideas, not people”. I think your contention with that thread is with the ideas expressed by some. That shouldn’t prevent you from giving thanks to those who say good things about your products over there as those individuals might not even share those same ideas. Myself and one other who praised the OM over there have been happy customers of yours.

A few of us on the “long stupid thread” are now strongly recommending the opticalModule. You’re welcome. 😀 I was among the first to start experimenting with attenuators. They were necessary with the Startech SFPs but I think the better answer is to pick a different SFP instead. I don’t use attenuators now with the Planet Tech SFPs. I’ve never tried the SFPs you recommend. I thank you again for bringing the OM to market. I’m very happy with it.

Yes you should use a single mode cable with those SFPs. I use this: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0099S4UTQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_uxMDEb7PQ4Q0J No attenuators are required with the Planet Tech SFPs. There have been reports from trusted ears favoring these Planet Tech SFPs over others. Single mode requires higher precision so that could be why.

FYI @zettelsm

https://planetechusa.com/product/mgb-tlx-mini-gbic-lx-module-20km/

In case you missed it, here’s an excellent write-up that speaks very positively of the OM:

+1 Not atypical as far as products with better clocks needing some time to fully settle in.

I'm far from a networking expert, but I think Wikipedia gives us some clues: "Because of the large core and also the possibility of large numerical aperture, multi-mode fiber has higher "light-gathering" capacity than single-mode fiber. In practical terms, the larger core size simplifies connections and also allows the use of lower-cost electronics such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSELs)..." "Single-mode fibers are often used in high-precision scientific research because restricting the light to only one propagation mode allows it to be focused to an intense, diffraction-limited spot." Lower cost electronics that are capable of lower precision could be a possible explanation for why multi-mode may not be as good of a fit for high end audio as single-mode.

The fiber that Sonore sells uses InfiniCor from Corning. This was optimized for multimode, thus ideal for the SFPs that Sonore sells.

Maybe noise generated by Startech’s circuitry is causing “threshold jitter” as per John’s paper. I’m sure Startech wouldn’t be able to say the following about their FMC: https://audiophilestyle.com/forums/topic/55217-sonore-opticalrendu/?do=findComment&comment=910791 Quote: "The optical module is very simple, the incoming light from the fiber goes to a high speed photo diode, then to a simple amplifier. The output from the amplifier goes to my circuit. All the signal conditioning and clocking, protocol conversion etc is done in my circuit which uses very low phase noise clocks, extremely clean power etc."

I agree with the brain relaxing a bit more but sometimes it takes a bit of effort to allow ourselves to relax when doing A/B comparisons. Here are some thoughts I shared with friends about the FMC comparisons: “Switching to the Startech I found myself taken aback as there was more detail present. The OM was darker in comparison, but also fuller and more focused. What came to mind was Rob Watts saying “darker is better” and his caution about noise contributing to more perceived detail. The OM was darker for sure and much of that was because the background was blacker.” “When I first started reporting the differences with fiber attenuators I mentioned how using too little seemed to tip the frequency balance toward the treble. This was the same thing that was happening with the Startech FMC. And I think my initial reaction to this is a lot like the initial reaction we might have to the brightest TV on a showroom floor. Our eyes are drawn to it, thinking we see better. It takes some active thinking though to compensate for the brightness difference and look past it to properly judge picture quality. This was my experience with this particular comparison.“ The net of it is there may be some who favor the Startech because of the apparent extra detail. Many years ago a friend let me borrow his Benchark DAC 1. I was blown away by the amount of detail but ultimately reached the conclusion that the apparent detail was because it was adding some etching. It was fatiguing to me so it didn’t last long in my system. A lot of people liked that DAC though, which was very surprising to me.

For those of you who had been following my fiber adventures, I just posted thoughts on using the Sonore opticalModule upstream of the ER. I believe I may have previously commented positively on this here but thought it might be helpful to close the loop. I think many of likely wondered early on how much the upstream will matter once the ER is in place. Unfortunately the answer is that it still matters. I wish it wouldn’t have been true that noise from an FMC could have be passed down a run of fiber - but I that’s exactly what I heard with the Startech FMC. Crazy hobby, isn’t it?

My opticalModule has been here for a little over a week. I’m very pleased with how it benefitted my system. It replaced a Startech FMC on the upstream side with an EtherRegen downstream. When comparing the two I found that the Startech actually made it seem as though the OM wasn’t revealing as much detail. But after many swaps I concluded that noise was adding a harder edge to images. Rob Watts the Chord designer often cautions about this kind of noise as it can cause some to favor that noise because they think it’s revealing more detail. Rob’s answer to that is “darker is better” and in the case of the OM he’s exactly right. What really showed me how much I appreciated the OM was hearing that a friend purchased one for himself. You see, I promised to send him mine to play with. A feeling of relief came to me when I learned that I wouldn’t have to temporarily go back to the Startech FMC. That edge becomes fatiguing - so much so that I needed to use attenuators when using Planet Tech SFPs with that FMC. No need for those with the OM. So big thanks to the good folks at Sonore for bringing us the OM. At some point I’ll give it an even better power supply. At present I’m using an “el cheapo” supply from China.

I posted quite a bit about attenuators in the thread that follows. Search this for my posts and you can see my progression. I don’t presently use attenuators with the Planet Tech LX SFPs. With an opticalModule upstream and an ER downstream the sound is fantastic without them. It can depend on the FMC though. The Startech FMC has a rough edge to it compared with the opticalModule. A 3dB attenuator helped there.