Sonore optical rendu

I don’t but I hear good things about them

In the UK designacable would charge under £14 for 3m, and they are reliable

Ditto to AndyL. My Catsnake Cat 5es came from Designacable but of course the price here includes VAT @ 20%.

If you are not in the UK and Bluejeans seems a better option then go for it. I have never heard anything except good reports about Bluejeans. Also the rejoinder posted by the owner of Bluejeans , Kurt Denke, to Monster Cables’ attempt to sue his company for patent infringement is legendary and would just make me want to buy there:

1 Like

Absolutely epic!

I assume Monster did not respond and closed their file :slight_smile:

@PAR Thanks for including the response letter from Kurt Denke of BlueJeans to Monster’s attorney back in 2008. I’m now a lifelong fan of Bluejeans for not backing down to what appears to be bully tactics on the part of Monster. Interesting that Monster sent the letter to arrive at Mr. Denke’s office on April Fools’ Day.

Anupc or Pete,

I know I need to replace the Melco Cat 7 cable to the Rossini with Cat 5e such as the Belden CatSnake cable. I also have a Melco Cat 7 cable that I use as a patch cord from the wall RJ45 outlet to my UniFi switch. Should this patch cord also be changed to Cat 5e?

Thanks,
Brian …

My practical answer to your question is that the Belden cable is so cheap compared to the Melco you should be able to just buy the extra length and try it.

As it happens I replaced all of the ethernet cables in my system with Catsnake Cat 5e but I cannot say that I did it from a more sophisticated reason than consistency. Did I bother to A/B compare the cables router to switch and switch to Melco N1? No. It all simply sounded so great anyway that I couldn’t be arsed.

1 Like

@PAR Thanks Pete, makes sense.

100% superb. Wonderful people. Excellent products. Great service. If they make what I want or need, I buy it from them.

Thanks Greg, I just ordered the Belden CatSnake 5e Ehternet cables from BlueJeans. Pete’s right, BlueJeans price for these is very affordable.

Anupc, I set up the TrendNet fiber optic devices in my system last night and kept the PSUs on a different AC circuit and 8 feet away from the Rossini as many suggested.

I played a variety of songs that I’ve played hundreds of times. The music seemed a bit clearer almost like fine tuning a camera’s focus. The bass slam seemed to go a bit deeper and fill the room a bit more.

I’m not claiming the TrendNet fiber optic segment was jaw dropping but it’s the best $175 investment I’ve ever made.

Thanks to Anupc, Pete, Greg and many others that assisted me with properly setting up my LAN segment that connects to the Rossini.

Brian …

3 Likes

Great to hear Brian. Enjoy!

Glad to hear that Brian :slightly_smiling_face:

No real need to actually, especially now that your Rossini is isolated via fiber, that wall-to-UniFi Ethernet cable is completely inconsequential, and you will not experience any sonic benefit from changing it out.

1 Like

Anupc,

In addition to the TrendNet fiber optic setup you recommended I had already ordered a Sonore Optical Module Deluxe bundle from SGC. It arrived yesterday and consists of a Sonore OpticalModule with an optional linear power supply, a SGC branded media converter with a PSU, a pair of SFC modules already installed and a fiber optic cable. I’m not sure why the Sonore device is called ‘Deluxe’.

You have to connect the bundle in the following way: Unifi <—(Eth)—> Sonore OpticalModule <—Fibre —> SGC media converter <—(Eth)—> Rossini. This makes me think the Sonore OpticalModule is doing something in addition to media conversion.

I briefly listened and compared it to the pair of TrendNet media converters. I don’t hear a noticeable SQ improvement, which you thought might be the case. Do you know what the Sonore optical module is supposed to do other than provide a fiber optic segment to reduce electrical noise on the copper Ethernet cables?

1 Like

That is precisely what it does. To me, it is most effective connecting to a switch or router that already has an SFP cage, so you are going switch->fiber->SOM->copper->DAC. In your case, they had to sell you an FMC, presumably because the Unifi doesn’t have an SFP cage. In that case, I would stick with @Anupc‘s recommended configuration and save some money. The Sonore is doing nothing extra for you.

1 Like

Greg,

With the pair of TrendNet media converters Anupc recommended, it doesn’t matter which TrendNet device you connect to the UniFi copper Ethernet cable and which you hook up to the Rossini. This is because both TrendNet media converters are exactly the same and perform the same function, media conversion.

With the Sonore equipment you must connect the router/switch copper ethernet cable to the Sonore Optical Module and the Rossini to the media converter, otherwise no sound. So I think this means that the Sonore Optical Module is performing some function other than media conversion.

Sorry for throwing another curve ball, but I’ve seen people raving about the UpTone EtherREGEN device. The EtherREGEN chassis looks similar to the Sonore Optical Module.

Anupc, are you familiar with the function(s) that the Sonore Optical Module performs other than media conversion? Is the UpTone EtherREGEN just a variant of the Sonore Optical Module device?

Thanks, Bran …

Right. I’ve owned them, and that’s one benefit: interchangeability. But the Sonore is supposed to be bi-directional. See here:

The Sonore opticalModule Deluxe is a bi-directional fiber media converter or FMC. The opticalModule has an SFP fiber optic transceiver on one side and an RJ45 connector on the other side. The unit can be used to add fiber-optic networking to your existing wired network or convert your existing fiber optic network to a wired network.

If it won’t work in both directions with either side bringing the connection from the LAN, then it seems to me it is even less worthwhile. But that sure doesn’t sound right to me, or sound like something Sonore/SGC would build. But no, there really is no other function. It doesn’t do anything else. It is an FMC. It has no other functions.

As for EtherREGEN, I own a couple of those as well. It offers a fair bit more flexibility that the SOM. Uptone also claims to accomplish some audiophoodoo regarding Ethernet jitter, but other than isolation, I have not perceived any great benefit. I have had long discussions with the guys over there; they’re smart and earnest, but to my mind, I think some of the ER technology is a solution in search of a problem. Some of the unbridled enthusiasm for EtherREGEN seems difficult to comprehend—one has to wonder what is going on in some folks’ systems—but Uptone has a very fair return policy. One thing I don’t like about the ER is how hot it runs. And compared to the TrendNET solution, if all you need is isolation, the ER is fairly expensive.

My apologies Greg. You’re correct the Sonore is bi-directional. As Anupc says, a picture’s worth 1,000 words.

Interesting that the SGC bundle includes an inexpensive media converter (top component) with a PSU that gets connected to the router and the optical (middle component) that gets connected to the Rossini. The bottom component is the LPS that powers the optical module.
I guess SGC saves the consumer a few $ by only using 1 Sonore optical module and 1 LPS that connects to the player…

Here’s the connection diagram they recommend.
image
.

2 Likes

No apologies. We all keep learning. And it’s good to have choices here. But if one is only seeking fiber isolation on a single line, it’s tough to beat the TrendNET solution. I say that even though I give a big thumbs up to Sonore for well-made stuff.

Brian, @PaleRider is spot on.

All these units - the SGC Media Converter, the Sonore Optical Module, the TrendNets - do exactly the same thing.

Ethernet is so ubiquitous because its based on very tight standards specified by the IEEE. If that weren’t the case, you wouldn’t be able to interconnect the SGC’s MC to the SOM. Also, the fact that you can plug virtually any off-the-shelf SFP into these converters tells you precisely that theres absolutely nothing special is going on in them.

[Slight correction] By the way, SGC’s “Media Converter” box looks likely to be a Gao Tek made-in-China OEM;

Unfortunately from what I’ve seen of the original Sonore Optical module, the only thing special they’re doing is 10x inflated pricing for an Audiophile market eager to believe it does something special for the price. :wink:

1 Like

But that’s pretty special. :wink:

And yes, I should have clarified that some of the stuff they make, as opposed to simply re-label, does seem well-made. I have an Optical Rendu, as I mentioned elsewhere. While probably over-priced, it does seem solidly made, and it performs its function quite well. Unfortunately, it cannot cure USB.

1 Like

I listened for a few hours to compare the Sonore optical module setup to the TrendNet setup and couldn’t tell any sonic difference, so I’ll stick with the TrendNet setup. As I already mentioned, both the TrendNet and Sonore setups did clean up the music slightly which is likely attributable to adding the fiber segment before the Rossini to reduce any electrical noise from the copper Ethernet cabling…

As Anupc recommended, I did keep the 2 TrendNet PSUs connected to a AudioPrism power conditioner on a different AC circuit about 8’ away from the Rossini. With the SGC setup, I’d have to do the same as the inexpensive media converter they provide has a PSU.

I’m starting to believe what Greg mentioned about all the people that rave about the Sonore and EtherREGEN equipment. As Greg mentioned, ‘you have to wonder what is going on in some folks’ systems’. Perhaps they have lo-fi equipment or are using computer based USB based systems as their sources.

Anyway, I think this chapter in my system’s evolution is complete and my Gryphon Antileon EVO amp is showing more of its’ prowess in controlling my Rockport Altair speakers. Thanks to all of you for the assistance.

1 Like