Is optical mostly a waste of time versus Ethernet?

@jumia happy to try to help with that....

Sonore opticalRendu project is an extension of the microRendu and ultraRendu projects that came before it. 

micro & ultra were earlier model streamers that take ethernet as input and output USB to your DAC. opticalRendu came later and added conversion of ethernet-to-optical, followed by conversion from optical-to-USB output to your DAC.

The design is inspired by audiophile gear and meant to bring grace and simplicity to a microcomputer. 

Rendus all follow the high end principle of simpler circuits and better ,quieter parts. Many, including me, find that regular computers with big operating systems(e.g. Windows, Mac) run many tasks unrelated to audio and those add noise. By using a simple Linux OS focused only on doing audio, these(and many other good streamers) eliminate lots of this noise.

The opticalRendu can be powered by your favorite power supply. 

A good quality linear power supply is highly recommended. Costs vary widely.

The opticalRendu has optical Ethernet input and USB-Audio output with all the connectors located on the rear of the unit for easy cable routing. 

Just plug a standard RJ45 ethernet cable coming from your internet router, switch or wifi extender into the Rendu as your input. Standard USB A-B type goes from Rendu output to your DAC input.

The opticalRendu utilizes a new proprietary printed circuit board with only the essential components and many updates to match its optical designation. 

It uses a small number of good parts to sound good.

 The best way to connect the opticalRendu to a USB device is via your favorite USB cable. 

Years ago, USB sucked pretty bad, now it doesn't, if care is taken. Some users used to add converters to instead connect a different digital cable type to their DAC. Since they put lots of effort into making their USB output sound good, you shouldn't bother with any of those converters and instead just connect a USB to your DAC.

The opticalRendu is easy to configure, accepts streams from various sources, and includes our latest version of our operating system Sonicorbiter.

You use your web browser on any device to adjust settings. It's pretty easy. When they do software updates every couple of years, you can buy it for ~$30. They mail you a little micro-SD card, and you just pop it in to replace the old one. Takes 2minutes.

Does that help? Cheers,

Spencer

By using a simple Linux OS focused only on doing audio, these(and many other good streamers) eliminate lots of this noise.

I believe this to be an important point.  Many of these add-on enhancers originated in response to cleaning up EMI/RFI noise resulting from computer sources.  While today's dedicated servers are essentially still computers, many have been significantly improved by using Linux OS, upgraded power supplies, and improved connection interfaces.  This may be one reason why there is such a wide range of impact and improvements reported by users of these add-on enhancers.   My server uses a Linux OS, choke power supply, and the well-regarded JCAT USB Card XE audio output board, and the changes/improvements I have heard from a variety of this stuff (such as the ENO, Gigafoil, switches, and fiber) have been subtle at most.  

@sbank Good post, one little nit, OpticalRendu requires optical cable input, thus, requires FMC, unless one's router, switch, server has optical output.

And yes, I believe highest quality lps a must to extract max potential from OR. Sonicorbiter OS very easy to navigate, easy to implement OR into streaming system.

Seems router that does optical output would be ideal and why would this not be a great ? 

Router and/or switch with optical out could be contender, one issue could be lack of choices with optical. Some claim audiophile switches superior to generic, don't know of one with optical.

Don't know if I already mentioned in this thread, but thus far I prefer ethernet vs generic FMC going to server, optical post server best for me.