Oh, and thank you for the link to the Cisco optical networking article. Very interesting reading and I appreciate you taking the time.
Best regards,
Steve
Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
- Thread starter CKKeung
- Start date
Oh, and thank you for the link to the Cisco optical networking article. Very interesting reading and I appreciate you taking the time.
Best regards,
Steve
It doesn't make sense to put the 5db attenuators on both ends of a fiber run....or does it ??
If you are going to protect the receivers you want to protect them at both SFPs, right? Bi-directional communications.
We're audiophiles, so the main purpose of the attenuators is sound quality. The protection of the receivers is just an unintended consequence (but a good one)!
We're audiophiles, so the main purpose of the attenuators is sound quality. The protection of the receivers is just an unintended consequence (but a good one)!
That's a good question. A few interesting finds in the manual for the Startech SFPs:
SFP modules are designed to transmit signals over large distances. If the physical wiring distance is too short, the transmitting optical signal (laser) may be too strong and damage the receiving SFP module. An in-line optical attenuator may be required to protect them from damage.
And
The SFP transceiver module supports a maximum distance of up to 80 km (49.7 mi)
Attenuators might be a must with these particular SFPs for the shorter lengths we might use in our homes.
I sounds like, from the quote below, that they may only be used at one end? So a 5 db at one end would attenuate at total of 5 db. And I assume using a 5 db attenuator at both ends would give a total of 10 db.
I'm wondering on a 15 meter run, what the recommended attenuation would be?
From the web:
"The most common version of attenuators are male to female units, often called plug-style or buildout style. These plug-style attenuators simply mount on one end of a fiber optic cable, allowing that cable to be plugged into the receiving equipment or panel."
I'm wondering on a 15 meter run, what the recommended attenuation would be?
From the web:
"The most common version of attenuators are male to female units, often called plug-style or buildout style. These plug-style attenuators simply mount on one end of a fiber optic cable, allowing that cable to be plugged into the receiving equipment or panel."
Wow
Alsyvox at Taiko Audio:
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2020/01/alsyvox-visits-taiko-audio.html#more
Matt
Alsyvox at Taiko Audio:
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2020/01/alsyvox-visits-taiko-audio.html#more
Matt
Wow
Alsyvox at Taiko Audio:
https://www.monoandstereo.com/2020/01/alsyvox-visits-taiko-audio.html#more
Matt
Hi Matt
I am going to be there again tomorrow and this time I will take notes so I can give a full report on what I hear
tsaett is going to be there too, so we can expect to read his observations as well
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I'm wondering as well if there's a way to calculate this.
I just installed a pair of 10 db attenuators on the server side and a pair of 5 db attenuators on the other side. Treble is much improved though still a little hot on recordings that have that tendency anyway.
What I didn't expect was an improvement to bass with the attenuators. It's better balanced now where it seemed a little bloated at times initially.
I just ordered four 20 db attenuators just to satisfy my curiosity. I'm generally really liking what I'm hearing but I just want to hear if more attenuation impacts sound quality.
Killers they are!
The monoandstereo.com news contains some photos.
But Emile please give some good ones to WBF for posting.
Hello WBF brothers,
Please read my update of #383 on the following thread :
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...ing-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-20
Steve and all Extreme owner brothers please note :
For even a server as good as the Extreme, the home network pathway must be tweaked carefully.
Otherwise the full performance/potential of the Extreme cannot be realized.
Last night we tried plugging the Extreme directly into the home internet router, followed by adding SOtM+ER, then SOtMx2.
Each steps gave very audible and significant sonic improvement.
To be frank, every steps/components in the CAS system matter.
The better the system/components are, the more obvious will be any changes/tweaks to affect the final sonic result.
Please read my update of #383 on the following thread :
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...ing-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-20
Steve and all Extreme owner brothers please note :
For even a server as good as the Extreme, the home network pathway must be tweaked carefully.
Otherwise the full performance/potential of the Extreme cannot be realized.
Last night we tried plugging the Extreme directly into the home internet router, followed by adding SOtM+ER, then SOtMx2.
Each steps gave very audible and significant sonic improvement.
To be frank, every steps/components in the CAS system matter.
The better the system/components are, the more obvious will be any changes/tweaks to affect the final sonic result.
Last edited:
steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
I’ll sit this dance out CK.Hello WBF brothers,
Please read my update of #383 on the following thread :
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...ing-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-20
View attachment 60704
Steve and all Extreme owner brothers please note :
For even a server as good as the Extreme, the home network pathway must be tweaked carefully.
Otherwise the full performance/potential of the Extreme cannot be realized.
Last night we tried plugging the Extreme directly into the home internet router, followed by adding SOtM+ER, then SOtMx2.
Each steps gave very audible and significant sonic improvement.
To be frank, every steps/components in the CAS system matter.
The better the system/components are, the more obvious will be any changes/tweaks to affect the final sonic result.
Hello WBF brothers,
Please read my update of #383 on the following thread :
https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...ing-of-usb-network-gadget-setup.27758/page-20
View attachment 60704
Steve and all Extreme owner brothers please note :
For even a server as good as the Extreme, the home network pathway must be tweaked carefully.
Otherwise the full performance/potential of the Extreme cannot be realized.
Last night we tried plugging the Extreme directly into the home internet router, followed by adding SOtM+ER, then SOtMx2.
Each steps gave very audible and significant sonic improvement.
To be frank, every steps/components in the CAS system matter.
The better the system/components are, the more obvious will be any changes/tweaks to affect the final sonic result.
I confirm .
Tested extreme with many different components and CKK is 100% right.
it could sond really bad if you have very poor network like I do.
Adding quality switches and supplys on the network side changes very significant SQ.
It also improves SQ very significant if you play from optane storage !
Usung recommended by Emile Startech MC with optical SFP is a must.
Galvanic isolation is mandatory in poor network places.
But using attenuators was a very BAD idea in my system.
I used 4 x 5db attenuators,
it creates a fake space and for unexperience listener it sounds attractive
but details are lost and sound is not crisp anymore. focus is not there anymore.
Test it and you will see what happens.
You better invest in top power supply abd DC cables on the network side !
this brings all the best things with true 3D and hammer sound control so your extreme will shine As never before.
also I am testing the set of SR 45 blue fuses withSR 45 blac fuses
against Emile recommended Schurter 45 fuses
as a reference point there are OM fuses.
Very interesting results !
will post it once I finish the last few tests.
As I pointed out before somewhere in this thread, the network supply stream responds very positively indeed to 6 tuning strategies;
- High quality switches and routers.
- Ultra-low noise, low ripple linear power supplies on ALL network components
- High quality, exceptionally well screened ethernet cables
- Ultra-high quality, well screened DC cables
- Vibration control of all network devices including modems, routers, switches etc.
- Electrical Isolation
Oh dear, of your 6 crucial elements, I am missing.........6
i have
Switching power supplies on all modems, routers and switches. Some are on cupboards, some on lamp tables, some on the floor. My best switch costs a hefty $15 or so. Cabling is all lowest quality Cat 5E. They are plugged into an assortment of plugs, most of which have at least 10-20 buzzing LEDs on the same circuit and none are on any kind of vibration control (what kind of vibration control are we talking about? surely not hi Fi racks for our routers and switches?).
Blackmorec, your understanding is absolutely correct!
A high quality network setup can become so revealing and affect ALL downstream equipment that even more care and attention is often required over and above how one would normally treat the main system via tweaks and upgrades.
In that, meaning objectively almost all upgrades in a network results in improvements, but it does possibly also come with cons in regards to overall musicality.
Every item added must be carefully auditioned with care!
I have no further requirements with some aspects such as details, clarity and attack with the music.
It may sound ridiculous, but i have actually tuned my network to have less details and intensity to present a slightly warmer, fuller holistic sound.
Although there are so many equipment and cables in my network, just 1 change of just 1 a footer used which does not synergise sonically would be quite detrimental to the sonic presentation.
Eveything matters!
A high quality network setup can become so revealing and affect ALL downstream equipment that even more care and attention is often required over and above how one would normally treat the main system via tweaks and upgrades.
In that, meaning objectively almost all upgrades in a network results in improvements, but it does possibly also come with cons in regards to overall musicality.
Every item added must be carefully auditioned with care!
I have no further requirements with some aspects such as details, clarity and attack with the music.
It may sound ridiculous, but i have actually tuned my network to have less details and intensity to present a slightly warmer, fuller holistic sound.
Although there are so many equipment and cables in my network, just 1 change of just 1 a footer used which does not synergise sonically would be quite detrimental to the sonic presentation.
Eveything matters!
Indeed when going there, in a high level system, it should be considered as finetuning to extract the maximum performance. An issue is that results are not always repeatable across different systems, like Kris just mentioning he does not like the optical attenuators, where others do. I completely believe both sides as I have personally observed, and received a lot of feedback, with conflicting results.
One of the reasons I pulled the trigger on the Alsyvox loudspeakers is that they allow me to discern certain things the in house Focals do not render well enough. As an example, it is important to me to have the proper balance between initial incident, like in a piano the hammer hitting the snare, or the string being plucked on a guitar, accurate timbral textures of the instrument individual parts resonance, and proper decay. Personal taste or system could make one desire to tweak to highlight the snare resonance, or the instrument body resonance, or the decay audibility. But from a designer perspective, they should be in balance to sound as authentic as possible. Altering the frequency balance, and adjusting EMI/RFI spectrum patterns can influence equipment behaviour and/or our perception of these events.
The Sotm switches are in the process of clearing customs right now, the Ether Regen and Telegartner M12 switches are already here. My intention is to make my own assessment of how all of these perform, though not on an absolute level perhaps, but more on my perspective on how to use them. For example I'm pretty sure the way I am using the Telegartner M12 now is not the way it would typically be used.
Not ridiculous at all, well done Sir!
I have to agree to this being a primary consideration.
