So one TP-Link Media Converter sits downstream of the switch connecting the QNAP NAS to the Internet, and is then connected by fibre to the other MC200M just behind the Naim, where a five-port Netgear switch also gives me capacity to plug in other equipment on test. The new connection is between my NAS drive for music – one of two I have dedicated purely to audio, each backing up the other – and the Naim NDS network audio player I use as a reference, and now provides complete electrical isolation between the two while still allowing Internet connectivity through for online radio and other streaming services.
So how far did I need to cover with this latest upgrade? Ummm, two metres would have done it, but I went for a 3m length of fibre to be on the safe side, and as it was on special offer on the site where I bought the TP-Link converters. It’s hardly surprising given the length of cable run involved: after all, the fibre-optic link equipment chosen – the same TP-Link MC200M converters and a run of Lindy ‘cable’ – is certified for up to 0.55km. Yes, stock up on rotten vegetables and wet sponges, folks – I’m going on record as saying this one really does sound better. However, I’ve just got round to putting in another fibre-optic connection in place of copper cable, and this time there’s definitely been a boost in performance. Lots of talk about how Ethernet was more than sufficient for the kind of run I’d needed, and how I’d wasted my money, but the point of it was never about speed, but isolation.
I took a bit of a kicking from the online ‘experts’ last year when I posted about having changed a long network run from Ethernet to fibre-optic cable (see below), simply because they didn’t understand why I’d done it. Well, I’ve just introduced some more fibre optics into my audio system, and this time the sound really has taken a leap forward.
#MODEM TO NETWORK OPTICAL ISOLATOR UPGRADE#
My latest music-network upgrade is another run of fibre-optic cabling – and it’s made an amazing difference
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