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Post by MartinT on Jun 20, 2018 8:43:21 GMT
This short cable accessory is a LAN isolator, inserted into the ethernet cable line just before your media streamer, Pi etc. It does exactly what it claims to do, isolates the streamer from the noise created in routers, PCs and NAS drives from the sensitive streamer/DAC circuits. It combines an isolation transformer with a choke for both DC and noise reduction. Inserting this between my MeiCord ethernet cable from the router into the Pi, I can hear the effect as an overall improvement in clarity. It opens up the sound and reduces the noise floor, making instruments and voice more stark against a quieter background. It's fairly subtle but a further improvement if your target is to make your streaming/file based playback sound as good as possible.   Acoustic Revive |
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Post by John on Jun 20, 2018 10:00:16 GMT
Been thinking of adding one for awhile good to know they work out
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Post by nrg on Jun 20, 2018 10:01:26 GMT
Worth pointing out that ethernet isolators are nothing new, they have been around for years and high spec versions are used in the medical world to protect sensitive instrumentation from noise and voltage spikes. They are readily available off the shelf at various price points depending on the specifications and protection levels required.
It’s also worth noting that ethernet end points are inherently isolated due to their design unless using a fully shielded installation, this is laid out in the IEEE 802.3 specification. These add on devices provide additional higher levels of protection in environments that required it.
Another way of providing isolation is to use a copper to fibre ethernet converter at each end providing immunity to noise over distance, probable quite expensive though.
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Post by Slinger on Jun 20, 2018 13:18:01 GMT
Are salesmen running out of "must have" devices to sell?  Yes, I know - I haven't got one, I've never heard one, and to be honest I probably wouldn't notice if I had one. This is taken from the NuNu Distribution page... ...and highlights what happens when you c&p from the manufacturer's bumph without checking what you're actually pasting. I'm pleased to see that, as per usual, the more you have the better they get. I wish people would design devices properly, so you only needed one that worked properly. I am heartened by the knowledge that using more than one will not generate any negative side-effects. I should bloody well hope not if they're recommending you use as many as you can squeeze into your system. My favourite quote, though, is probably this one... At least have the decency to translate it from Japenglish guys. Tourmaline? Tourmaline is a piezo-electric crystal ("healers" love it) so why on earth would you add a piezo-electric element to a shielding foil? As I said at the start, haven't got one, and due to that I'm not commenting on whether or not it works (my only 'real idle curiosity' is about whether it's 10/100 or gigabit capable) but it has given me a good laugh. I hope it works, but nothing I've actually read would encourage me to try one, or two, or three, or... In the spirit of fairness, other audiophile LAN isolators are available. www.pinkfaun.com/index.php/pink-faun-lan-isolator-rj45.htmlYou could also try a TP-LINK Gigabit Media Converter, and run fibre instead of CAT 7, but eventually, somebody would end up trying to sell you a "special" torch, or audiophile purple sheathing for the fibre. |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 20, 2018 14:16:33 GMT
You could also try a TP-LINK Gigabit Media Converter, and run fibre instead of CAT 7 You could, but since you'd be introducing optical jitter (group delay) then you might be substituting one kind of problem for another. I don't really care for the Japlish foo-talk, I just know that it works for me. |
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Post by Slinger on Jun 20, 2018 14:42:04 GMT
You could also try a TP-LINK Gigabit Media Converter, and run fibre instead of CAT 7 You could, but since you'd be introducing optical jitter (group delay) then you might be substituting one kind of problem for another. I don't really care for the Japlish foo-talk, I just know that it works for me. Can I sell you some purple sheathing for the fibre? It come goodly with including special crystal according to your birth-sign. |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 20, 2018 16:10:47 GMT
Will it create an artificial mammoth creature (as I once read in a Japlish manual)?
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Post by Slinger on Jun 20, 2018 16:23:24 GMT
Will it create an artificial mammoth creature (as I once read in a Japlish manual)? Plobabry. |
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Post by nrg on Jun 20, 2018 23:45:04 GMT
You could also try a TP-LINK Gigabit Media Converter, and run fibre instead of CAT 7 You could, but since you'd be introducing optical jitter (group delay) then you might be substituting one kind of problem for another. I don't really care for the Japlish foo-talk, I just know that it works for me. Group delay is not jitter. Any group delay introduced by using copper to optical trancievers will be insignificant. The HiFi BS talk as posted above by Slinger is just that, if you really have an issue where ethernet isolation is required then go for something that is not wrapped up in marketing crap talk. IE: www.reichelt.com/gb/en/Network-Accessories/EMO-EN-70E/3/index.html?ACTION=3&LA=2&ARTICLE=145550&GROUPID=5861&artnr=EMO+EN-70E&trstct=pol_2 |
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Post by MartinT on Jun 21, 2018 5:51:15 GMT
No, I should have expanded that group delay can cause jitter as the waveform sensing trigger-point becomes more vague.
I took things from the opposite angle - it was suggested that I try the LAN isolator as possibly being of benefit to sound quality. I didn't know I had an issue until I tried it, I wasn't actually trying to fix anything. It improves my streaming sound quality as described above, which is what is important to me.
The foo-talk is amusing, but did you look at the graphs they published? They quite clearly claim that their device is better than a medical grade isolator. It's their claim, not mine. I can just hear the end result.
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Post by nrg on Jun 21, 2018 8:51:08 GMT
Fair enough Martin. The graphs look impressive  however I cannot square away their claim of ‘better’ over a proven and certified device....still that’s HiFi marketing for you!  |
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Post by Tim on Jun 21, 2018 9:21:23 GMT
So how do you come across stuff like this, as in first discover it?
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Post by John on Jun 21, 2018 9:32:19 GMT
I read a few positive comments on the Jplay forum
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Post by MartinT on Jun 21, 2018 9:59:28 GMT
So how do you come across stuff like this, as in first discover it? Good question, Tim. Some of it I read up on, research and go find all on my own, like the Nespa Pro Optical Disc Finalizer that I bought several years ago. Other things are sent to me by various vendors hoping to get me interested. I try a lot of things: some of them don't work for me and I return them with a 'thank you'. Other things are great, very nice to try but I cannot afford them and return them with a big 'thank you'. I have had monoblock amps nearly into six figures in my system, all part of some interesting experiences. A few things make an immediate and repeatable improvement, are affordable and I end up buying them. Some vendors like to bring their prototypes around and I've spent many a good evening chatting about music and listening to equipment that I cannot write about. I have a good wider circle of friends who are in the trade, journalists or just hobbyists themselves. This started back in the early days of CIX when I ran the hi-fi conference there, through being a moderator at The Art of Sound, and now as a founder member at TAS. I have tried many components which you will never hear about as they didn't impress and I tend not to write about them. The few reviews I post are of things that really work for me. I am no great writer and just try to keep it honest and as I hear it. |
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Post by Tim on Jun 23, 2018 10:51:18 GMT
Cool, thanks. I guess it explains why I'm unlikely to discover suchlike myself |
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Post by John on Feb 17, 2019 5:50:32 GMT
I forgot to add I ordered one a few months and like Martin I like what they do A subtle but in my system noticeable difference to sound quality.
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Post by nrg on Feb 18, 2019 22:34:51 GMT
I’m going to have a go at making my own, just to see if I can and if they really make a difference.
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Post by John on Feb 18, 2019 23:06:46 GMT
Let us know how you get on
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Post by Slinger on Feb 18, 2019 23:53:41 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Feb 19, 2019 1:06:02 GMT
If the graph is accurate though, the hifi version is more effective. |
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Yes, I know - I haven't got one, I've never heard one, and to be honest I probably wouldn't notice if I had one.
however I cannot square away their claim of ‘better’ over a proven and certified device....still that’s HiFi marketing for you! 
