If you stream music from the internet, I can't recommend this more highly


I had been using a Roon Nucleus to stream Qobuz, with my Chord Qutest directly connected to the Nucleus. I thought I was getting pretty decent sound quality. And then I got a marketing email from Small Green Computer touting some of their optical gear. The basic idea is that normal cables and connections used to stream from the internet pick up noise of one kind or another (radio frequencies and electromagnetic something or other). But fiber optic cables and their connections/interfaces do not. I don’t know anything about anything, but it made theoretical sense to me, it wasn’t a huge amount of money ($1,400), and with a 30 day return policy I figured I could always return it if I didn’t hear any improvement. Well, I didn’t just hear a slight improvement; it was like turning on the lights in a dark room. Much greater clarity and detail, much better micro and macro dynamics, better timbre to acoustic instruments -- overall just more lifelike. Two quick examples: I’ve listened to some of Steely Dan’s top songs 100s of times over the course of my life, and this is the first time I’d ever noticed a particular and very subtle sound characteristic of Fagen’s keyboard in Babylon Sister. It’s hard to describe, but it’s like there’s a slight sound of air being exhaled by it. The other example: the specific timbre of whatever percussive instrument is used at the beginning of Copeland’s "Fanfare for the Common Man" (a recording by the Minnesota Orchestra). There’s more of a metallic sound than a drum skin sound to it that I didn’t know was there before. The metallic sound starts in the center and then projects out and to the sides, like a wave washing over you. Anyway, I’m just thrilled about having stumbled upon the whole "optical" thing and felt obligated to let others know about it. If you stream music over the internet, I highly recommend giving it a try. (The product I got was the opticalRendu, with the linear power supply option, and the Fiber Ethernet Converter Bundle option.)
128x128hiphiphan
Treat the power.
Agree.  Ditch the wall warts and use LPS on anything sharing the circuit with your audio system.
@atmfrank01
well respected is a bit of a stretch...  Amir has shown his bias MANY times to where ASR is a joke and a argue fest. those who dare disagree or challenge are quickly banned or muted.. 
one way science... No thanks..

atmfrank0110 posts
02-15-2021 3:02pm
FYI, a well-respected member of the audiophile community...
More like a "well-known hater of the audiophile community"
I don't disagree with that, but that's another blanket statement. There is no one else who does what he does: independent testing and objective conclusions (mixed with bias). I use the information for what it is, one of many criteria when selecting new gear. 
Amir may have bias, but the data does not lie. People like to convince themselves of their personal hearing superiority, so they will ignore the data, but that does not make it untrue. This isn't the 70's where all we look at it is a single frequency THD value.