Tales and observations of LAN filter burn-in

[SoundMann]

Apologies if covered elsewhere but what does your post-computer playback chain look like, from computer up to the Philips Little Giant DAC?

I am using the internet service providers modem and router. It is connected thru a long flat ethernet cable to the filter which is connected directly to an older Lenovo i5 business computer with 8-gigs of ram.

I then have a SilkLine Hifi USB to SPDIF converter that filters and re-times the signal before converting it, and sending it to the DAC.

I am currently using Foobar running on PCLinuxOS thru ALSA.

 

[NigelB]

Thanks @SoundMann. So your streamer is your Lenovo+Silkline.

I worry that these might be reintroducing noise of their own after the iSilencer has done its job but am no expert in either Lenovos or the SilkLine so can't advise further.

 

[Synaxis]

Thanks @SoundMann. So your streamer is your Lenovo+Silkline.

I worry that these might be reintroducing noise of their own after the iSilencer has done its job but am no expert in either Lenovos or the SilkLine so can't advise further.

Agreed. He is directly limited by the quality of his front end being a laptop. Downstream gear can't work miracles.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

Agreed. He is directly limited by the quality of his front end being a laptop. Downstream gear can't work miracles.

Suspected this was the issue from the get go. Blue OS would be better by a long shot.

 

[NigelB]

Suspected this was the issue from the get go. Blue OS would be better by a long shot.

Presuming you mean BluOS and therefore the Bluesound Node, agreed. One was at the heart of my networked audio for years!

 

[Republicoftexas69]

Presuming you mean BluOS and therefore the Bluesound Node, agreed. One was at the heart of my networked audio for years!

Yes I was typing without my readers lol. Bluesound OS is inexpensive and has decent sound. Much better than a laptop.

 

[SoundMann]

Agreed. He is directly limited by the quality of his front end being a laptop. Downstream gear can't work miracles.

A vertical desktop business computer, not a laptop.

 

[Synaxis]

A vertical desktop business computer, not a laptop.

Not any better.

 

[SoundMann]

Not any better.

It's better soundwise than any laptop I have ever used.

 

[NigelB]

It's better soundwise than any laptop I have ever used.

Have you tried and rejected a streamer specifically designed/optimised for audio playback? We all have different hearing, tastes and budgets but a good friend of mine stuck with a general purpose computer for years, convinced (without trying alternatives) that it was all he needed. I offered him on demo the Bluesound Node 2i I was selling and it took him all of 30 mins to say he wanted to buy it and he hadn’t realised what the rest of his system was truly capable of.

 

[SoundMann]

Well, I just listened to the filter again, and it had the same old rough texture, and has apparently settled in otherwise.

When I take the filter out, the rough texture disappears, but the highs sound more digital.

This experiment has been a failure just as all of the rest of my attempts at digital.

 

[NigelB]

“The rest of my attempts at digital”: how many of these have included a proper audio-optimised streamer?

I’m afraid this is going to be something of a self-fulfilling prophecy if you try filters and stuff when your basic streaming setup needs work first.

If someone enquired about one of my switches to install before a computer, I’m afraid I’d tell them they’d be wasting their money and should instead/first invest in a proper streamer. It’s your money of course but I would suggest you might want to consider holding off on further tweaks and refocusing on the fundamentals.

Whatever, good luck.

 

[Republicoftexas69]

A vertical desktop business computer, not a laptop.

Way better off getting a streamer and removing these computers from your digital front end. Noise!!!

 

[SoundMann]

“The rest of my attempts at digital”: how many of these have included a proper audio-optimised streamer?

Just a decent ASUS soundcard with a custom opamp.

 

[Ron Resnick]

This experiment has been a failure just as all of the rest of my attempts at digital.

What is your definition of "digital success"?

 

[SoundMann]

Way better off getting a streamer and removing these computers from your digital front end. Noise!!!

I don't require a computer for sound reproduction, so I am not wasting anymore money on it.

 

[SoundMann]

What is your definition of "digital success"?

When fairies sprinkle magic dust on it to make it comparable to analog.

 

[Synaxis]

When fairies sprinkle magic dust on it to make it comparable to analog.

And you wanted that for $99? ( I think that's what you spend on the iFI)

This isn't a digital failure - this is a reality failure.

 

[SoundMann]

And you wanted that for $99? ( I think that's what you spend on the iFI)

This isn't a digital failure - this is a reality failure.

My comment wasn't specifically about the filter, but when a product aimed at audio enthusiasts employs capacitors unsuitable for audio, its a failure of a design!

 

[Republicoftexas69]

My comment wasn't specifically about the filter, but when a product aimed at audio enthusiasts employs capacitors unsuitable for audio, its a failure of a design!

Yet you purchased it.....