The indisputable benefit of fiber for music


I've read a lot about fiber's audible superiority to Ethernet, and most of it I have taken with a grain of salt.  1GigE is plenty fast for just about anything, and it is balanced and galvanically isolated. The one area where fiber is clearly a better choice for music systems is lightning protection.

It is not uncommon for lightning to enter a home via the cable TV's coaxial cable. This can easily jump the millimeters from coax to Ethernet to Ethernet. So if you are like me, and rely on Ethernet cabling to stream to avoid any Wifi issues you are also creating a possible lightning path from the external Internet provider's connection all the way to your fancy audio gear.

In this one situation I have to say, the use of a 1m or longer fiber cable is the superior solution. I'm considering using this at the junction between the cable TV modem and my router, therefore isolating all of my streaming devices at once.

Best,

Erik
erik_squires
I'm not talking about S/PDIF or Toslink, just Ethernet.

I've not heard fiber to a streamer. 
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Only two ways to get fiber I know of is Fios and expensive conversion. If you think it's worth it, good for you. Not for purposes of electrical isolation. The OP states that he's never heard it. 
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Tis true, you can do this all for about $85.

No, I have not tried it as the connection to my streamer.  I'm just thinking about lightning protection where I am.  Not just for my audio gear, but also for all the other gear I have hard wired to the house Ethernet.