Poll and chat: Fibre Media Converters (FMCs)

Discussion in 'Digital: DACs, USB converters, decrapifiers' started by rlow, Mar 20, 2024.

?

Do you use FMCs in your audio rig?

  1. Yep, use ‘em and like sound improvement they made

    14 vote(s)
    29.8%
  2. Yeah I use them but not sure they improved anything (or didn’t)

    5 vote(s)
    10.6%
  3. Not yet, but I plan to look into or try out

    5 vote(s)
    10.6%
  4. No, but I’m curious and open though

    11 vote(s)
    23.4%
  5. F**k no. Those things are snake oil nervosa shit that can’t possibly make a difference

    4 vote(s)
    8.5%
  6. I have no idea what you’re talking about

    6 vote(s)
    12.8%
  7. Not interested/on’t care about them

    2 vote(s)
    4.3%
  1. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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  2. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I use fiber only for my Linn Klimax DSMs, which have SFP ports, and are connected to Cisco switches with the same. The Cisco switches made an audible difference over Netgear GS105s with Cat 6; moving to optical was just "why not" but I didn't hear a sound change.
     
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    Last edited: Mar 20, 2024
  3. JK47

    JK47 Friend

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    Yeah
     
  4. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    I was skeptical when @ColtMrFire mentioned them in a previous thread, but for less than $100 I figured I'd give them a try (I believe the same links @yotacowboy posted). I found a very, very noticeable positive improvement in my Pi2AES based system at work. I strongly suspect that its the power isolation that is improving things, since our office using POE to power security cameras, VOIP phones, etc... so I assume there is alot of extra "stuff" that can leak into devices.

    I bought another setup for home (which is also POE to power ruckus wireless stuff), the difference at home was still positive, but not as noticeable. The system at home is a zen stream to a Walnut x.3 dac... so maybe the zen stream already filters the ethernet coming into it.

    FWIW, I also put ifi power adapters on the clean side FMC boxes... All in all, I consider the FMC $$ well spent and probably the least cost tangible improvement I've made in my systems.
     
  5. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    I have some extra SFPs kicking around, I'm going to replace the Cat6 running from my upstairs switch to my Pi2AES with fiber. Just grabbed a media converter and patch cable to try it out. From previous experience I know Rpis are quite sensitive to EMI/RFI, so I would not be surprised to hear an improvement. Will report back with my impressions.
     
  6. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    Was wondering if @Michael Kelly ever considered including an SFP cage in a version of Mercury? Could be a competitive differentiator/advantage. Might be a too small market however to justify it. I assume it couldn’t be done with Pi2AES since it’s just a HAT.

    Edit: Model name idea - “Hg - Fe” (aka Mercury - Fibre edition)
     
    Last edited: Mar 21, 2024
  7. Michael Kelly

    Michael Kelly MOT: Pi 2 Design

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    The pi handles Ethernet not the hat.
     
  8. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    I got the fiber optic cable and converters setup. I can't comment on sound quality changes because I just switched to using my MIB Yggdrasil and am not used to the RED and I didn't listen to my system carefully right before switching over. But it sounds good right now. and looks very fancy!


    Does anyone know a female to male DC barrel converter that would go from male Pi2AES Meanwell size to the barrel size that comes with the 10Gtek ethernet to fiber converters? I have 2 NoiseNukes laying around I might as well attach to them for full overdrive.

    I'd need 2 that go in opposite directions

    female Pi2AES mean well -> 10gteck
    female 10gtek -> Pi2AES mean well

    Might be fun :)

    I have no other use for them right now
     
  9. artur9

    artur9 Almost "Made"

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    Would/could you speculate as to why the switch made more difference than the fiber? I suppose maybe your cabling was already good enough.

    My Klimax DS/1 is a few feet from my Orbi - any upgrades I should contemplate there?

    I'm a networking guy (software) so I can manage some level of details there. A.L.O.H.A., ftw :)
     
  10. dasman66

    dasman66 Self proclaimed lazy ass - friend

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    I can't speak for @earnmyturns, but because I'm not buying that there is any improvement to 1's & 0's based on cable, I'm going to hypothesize that the high quality cisco switch already solved the noise/isolation problem that some cheaper switches might have... so he saw little/no improvement from the fmc.
     
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  11. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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    I'm using refurbished Cisco Catalyst 2960C-8TC-S (you can find them online at different prices from reasonable to extortionate). It was a recommendation from my Linn dealer who used to be a network engineer. The theory is that it has a less noisy power supply than the switcher that comes with the Netgear GS105. But since it has SFP as well, and my Linn units have it already, why not use that as well?
     
  12. rhythmdevils

    rhythmdevils MOT: rhythmdevils audio

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    Is this the one?

    https://www.ebay.com/itm/3048420428...L8aAJKlNuKt75NBLORVzCelq9tMa|tkp:BFBMzLChzc1j
     
  13. earnmyturns

    earnmyturns Smartest friend

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  14. internethandle

    internethandle Almost "Made"

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    FWIW these videos measuring network “noise” has been making the rounds on other forums. tl;dr was both Ethernet isolator modules and many switches seemed to reduce “jitter and noise” in their measurements but OCXO/clock modded “audiophile” switches actually were worse, and fiber was a mixed bag:




    Hard to know how much this makes sense/how stoopid it is to measure and draw conclusions from. These guys just seem to be dudes at a European audio magazine. Cool that they’re trying to investigate, though, versus most other coverage of “audiophile” network nervosa.
     
    Last edited: Mar 23, 2024
  15. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    When we retire equipment we always erase them as a security precaution, but If for some reason you get a switch where the startup-config has not been erased and is password protected it is possible to do a recovery using this procedure;

    https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/suppo...950-series-switches/12040-pswdrec-2900xl.html

    A switch with no configuration will function just like a basic non-managed device. If you want to use options like vlans, trunking, SNMP, etc. or the web interface it is necessary to do some initial configuration through the CLI.
     
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  16. Gazny

    Gazny MOT: ETA Audio

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  17. Thad E Ginathom

    Thad E Ginathom Friend

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    It's very easy to be tempted by smart gadgets and fancy connectors, but I'm happy that the "F---k no" option was included.

    And that I'm not the only one

    :bird:

    If anyone wants to play Pro Net Engineer when setting up their home systems, I can understand that. I can even go for it in a small way. But not for any audio reasons. Basic ethernet is wonderful!
     
  18. Kernel Kurtz

    Kernel Kurtz Friend

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    Yes, you will need to add "service unsupported-transceiver" to the config file to use non-Cisco branded SFPs on a Cisco switch.
     
  19. Northwest

    Northwest Friend

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    This is something I really want to try out once I get my system issues sorted out. Not sure if I would go with a Pi2 or a Dante processor. Things would be super simple with a Pi2, but a lot of Dante processors are PoE powered and wouldn't work well with this tweak.
     
  20. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    I put that one in just for you and @Pancakes ;)
     
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