Fibre Bridge - Power Supplies

Obsydian posted:

I did want to post this on the old thread but it's closed.

For those using a Fibre Bridge, why does 5v seem the preferred rating given the TP link Converters bundled SMPS are 9v.

On many other forums the talk is also of a lower rating say 5v on the 1st converter and then a higher say 9v on the second, but no mention as to the logic.

I recently removed the whole bridge and other add on' s to aid some system fault finding, restoring these add ons is still a big plus.

Hey Obsydian, have you received your second ghent cable ?   another add on is that ?   so with genth ethernet from router and indigo to nova,  it is still sounding inferior vs the fiber bridge ?

The difference for me is the nds vs nova, it can explain why things are different for us.  

I am glad you enjoy your system more now.   For the 5v vs 9v, i read that 5v is less noisy.

Hi FRENCH ROOSTER.

The Ghent went quickly as MIKEB suggested the Meicord and in short I would say I prefer unshielded, so now I have all Miecord and still the Chord Aray on the last leg. I even introduced a Lindy RJ45 down connector more for less strain but do feel it improves, maybe as it breaks the shield grounding.

Interestingly I preferred the TP Link bundled SMPS 9V to a LPS, so looking to go back to IFI SMPS but thought 9v this time rather than 5v previously used.

Reason for the 9v question I felt these were better.

I think 5v became popular as it was the standard operating voltage for a now largely superseded logic chip family known as TTL (Transistor Transistor Logic). 4.75v-5.25v was the actual voltage range allowed. Most logic chips today run on mush lower voltages than this. 5v was also later adopted as the standard for USB, so loads of consumer devices ran at 5v.

With regard to fibre converters, I can't see it making any difference whatsoever. It's just one design choice that the manufacturer made along with many others. I suspect compared to other design decisions that have an audible influence, the input voltage ranks near the bottom compared to clock circuits, internal chipset, care with EMC etc....

I got rid of my media converter in favour of a Cisco 2960 with a fibre SFP module. I no longer have the option to tinker with linear power as the whole unit has an internal SMPS. Overall, I like the new sound, so I don't feel I have lost anything.

Hi DAVEBK, yes 5V consensus just seems to be so.

I did consider the 2x 2960 SFP setup but felt the TP Links sounded good and left it.

Obsydian posted:

Hi FRENCH ROOSTER.

The Ghent went quickly as MIKEB suggested the Meicord and in short I would say I prefer unshielded, so now I have all Miecord and still the Chord Aray on the last leg. I even introduced a Lindy RJ45 down connector more for less strain but do feel it improves, maybe as it breaks the shield grounding.

Interestingly I preferred the TP Link bundled SMPS 9V to a LPS, so looking to go back to IFI SMPS but thought 9v this time rather than 5v previously used.

Reason for the 9v question I felt these were better.

I didn’t know that tp link 9v was better and i am surprised that you prefer it to tp link 5v with lps.  But the most important is what works best for you.

DaveBk posted:

I got rid of my media converter in favour of a Cisco 2960 with a fibre SFP module. I no longer have the option to tinker with linear power as the whole unit has an internal SMPS. Overall, I like the new sound, so I don't feel I have lost anything.

This works well for me, too. The switches have a good PSU built in, and it minimises the clutter of multiple wall warts and boxes all over the place.

There is excellent synergy between my TP Link SG1008D 9V (switch) & the iFi power 9V smps. Recommended!

Brilliant I use the Cisco switch but will be going 9v IFI for the TP link Converters.

CHRISSU - So you are daisy chaining two 2960 with SFP fibre.

So your setup is

Router (RJ45) Cisco 2960 (fibre) Cisco 2960 (RJ45) Streamer. So you get the fibre benefit but outboard power supplies required.

I just find the 2960 a pain to site, at the moment mine stands on its side.

Obsydian posted:

CHRISSU - So you are daisy chaining two 2960 with SFP fibre.

So your setup is

Router (RJ45) Cisco 2960 (fibre) Cisco 2960 (RJ45) Streamer. So you get the fibre benefit but outboard power supplies required.

I just find the 2960 a pain to site, at the moment mine stands on its side.

Yes, in fact I have 3 of them. One is connected to my router, and has 2 SFP ports, so I run fibre to the other two from there. This gives me all the Ethernet ports I need around the house. Of course, they are a little larger than cheap consumer switches, but I was able to hide them, and the absence of wall warts is a bonus.

Setting them up can be very cheap and easy once you have figured out the right components, so there is little to lose if you want to try it.

Thanks CHRISSU I must admit I also like the fibre for ease of Install away from my kit, as opposed to running a long ethernet alongside speaker cables.

I'm going to stick with 2x IFI 9v and the media converters as works for ME and discrete enough.