[Yucca]

Hello there,
I can at last post on this terrific thread. I' m mainly a long time member on French forums, and also on computeraudiophile, and VERY interested with AOIP.
The price was way too high to test some devices in Europe till last months (rednet 3 and 16 are more than $1500 here...), The Attero tech is also much more expensive in my country than US (900 to 1000€ there vs 600$...), so no way to buy it for me.
...but the times are changing, and we can find now the RDL SF-ND2 at about 550€ (but still less than $400 for you I believe)...still need a small PoE injector, so let's say less than 600€ total.

There's another option also, which is the brand new Motu 8D, 192kHZ capable, world clock in and out, aes and spdif (no optical) at 750€/$600. It's an AVB based product, and I don't know if it's as good as Dante´s stuff...With the new firmware update, an AVB switch is no more needed with a Mac, so you can connect it directly to your ethernet output and it would work (but you still need to use USB or a 3-400€ switch if you have a windows pc). It's 12-18v DC powered, so also easily tweakable with a linear LPS.

Can someone tell me (us) how AVB Motu cards compare with Dante Ultimo cards (the one who are in the Attero tech and RDL stuff) for sound quality ?

 

[yates7592]

I am using this Startech card in my PC: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MZ2V3NY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

This fiber cable: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000067SCF/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

And these FMC's: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003AVRLZI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have one fiber card in my PC and then the built in ethernet port. So here is the setup:

Starttech PCIe fiber card > SC fiber> FMC> CAT7> D16

PC ethrnet port > CAT7 > FMC(LPS powered) > fiber > FMC > CAT7 > LAN switch

I believe that the principle benefit is from great isolation for the signal and especially the grounds.

i'm interested in trying this fibre optic gear with my D16, but wondering how does it benefit if the audio signal still has to pass through an ethernet cable at some point in the chain?

 

[mourip]

i'm interested in trying this fibre optic gear with my D16, but wondering how does it benefit if the audio signal still has to pass through an ethernet cable at some point in the chain?

I cannot answer that question definitively however it has always been my assumption that the fiber allows complete isolation of the signal ground from any upstream devices. Part of the success may be from also powering the downstream FMC with an LPS.

If you buy from Amazon you can always return the pieces if you do not hear a difference.

Let us know how it goes it you decide to try!

 

[mourip]

Hello there,
I can at last post on this terrific thread. I' m mainly a long time member on French forums, and also on computeraudiophile, and VERY interested with AOIP.
The price was way too high to test some devices in Europe till last months (rednet 3 and 16 are more than $1500 here...), The Attero tech is also much more expensive in my country than US (900 to 1000€ there vs 600$...), so no way to buy it for me.
...but the times are changing, and we can find now the RDL SF-ND2 at about 550€ (but still less than $400 for you I believe)...still need a small PoE injector, so let's say less than 600€ total.

There's another option also, which is the brand new Motu 8D, 192kHZ capable, world clock in and out, aes and spdif (no optical) at 750€/$600. It's an AVB based product, and I don't know if it's as good as Dante´s stuff...With the new firmware update, an AVB switch is no more needed with a Mac, so you can connect it directly to your ethernet output and it would work (but you still need to use USB or a 3-400€ switch if you have a windows pc). It's 12-18v DC powered, so also easily tweakable with a linear LPS.

Can someone tell me (us) how AVB Motu cards compare with Dante Ultimo cards (the one who are in the Attero tech and RDL stuff) for sound quality ?

Sorry. I am not familiar with and have no experience with those devices. Let us know how it goes if you try them. Odd that the Focusrite devices are so expensive in France. I thought that they were made in Europe.

 

[johnjen]

i'm interested in trying this fibre optic gear with my D16, but wondering how does it benefit if the audio signal still has to pass through an ethernet cable at some point in the chain?

Perhaps another way to think of this is, the ethernet data feed into the RedNet box is now optically isolated from the computer and all of its self generated noise. This essentially breaks the direct electrical connection, galvanically (electrostaticlly and electromagnetically), between the computer (source of noise) and the rest of the audio system, by severing any metal to metal connection.

So by not adding any additional noise to the digital audio stream gear, it has less to pass along to the dac etc, via AES, or SPDIF, or…

JJ

 

[Ysound]

I'l be listing my D16 soon, if anyone is looking for a mint unit look no further.

 

[mourip]

I'l be listing my D16 soon, if anyone is looking for a mint unit look no further.

I am curious about your findings when comparing the GEN5 USB to the D16. Do you have an internal card or the Eitr? Yggy or other DAC?

Did you find the results so close that you decided to sell the D16 to save money or did you find the SQ of the Gen5 to surpass in your D16 setup?

In my HP setup I have a D16 (with the SMPS replaced by an external LPS) and an Yggy using AES input. I have about 50 hours of music burn-in on my new GEN5 internal board. I would call the GEN5 a remarkable value but still prefer the D16 as having more air and clarity. I find the GEN5 to be a little on the warm side of neutral.

 

[kazsud]

I'l be listing my D16 soon, if anyone is looking for a mint unit look no further.

Moving to greener pastures?

 

[JayNYC]

Looks like there are some new Dante interfaces that were announced, including a simple Dante->Digital (AES/Coax/Optical) box (max of 96KHz) for < $400. There's also a small Dante-connected headphone amp and a few others. Take a look at https://www.audinate.com/products/dante-enabled/oem-new-products/rdl?

The SF-ND2 digital interface looks like it's tentatively shipping end of July - Markertek has it listed as selling for $383.

-Mike

Is it fair to conclude that absent proprietary desktop software from one of these other/new Dante product integrators, none will be able to offer Sample Rate Follow like Focusrite's Rednet Control? Said differently, for those who prefer to always listen at native (non SRC'd) rates to their libraries which consist of tracks in assorted sample rates, Focusrite Rednet hardware is still the only option at the moment, right?

 

[gefski]

Is it fair to conclude that absent proprietary desktop software from one of these other/new Dante product integrators, none will be able to offer Sample Rate Follow like Focusrite's Rednet Control? Said differently, for those who prefer to always listen at native (non SRC'd) rates to their libraries which consist of tracks in assorted sample rates, Focusrite Rednet hardware is still the only option at the moment, right?

My understanding is that even with Rednet, there is no "set it and forget it" function for sample rate follow. In discussions about it with Rednet owning friends at meets, the answer has been that it "sort of" works. So IMO, Dante may not be ideal for those with lots of varied sample rate files. (Especially now that Schiit's Gen 5 USB interface hit the streets)

For me, with 99% Redbook, I'm all smiles with uDO/Yggy, changing manually on the rare occasion I play a "hi-rez" file.

 

[Ysound]

Moving to greener pastures?

Not at all, I have not found a better set up than the D16.
Selling 1 of the 2 units I have. Don't need for the 2nd. system.

 

[Ysound]

I am curious about your findings when comparing the GEN5 USB to the D16. Do you have an internal card or the Eitr? Yggy or other DAC?

Did you find the results so close that you decided to sell the D16 to save money or did you find the SQ of the Gen5 to surpass in your D16 setup?

In my HP setup I have a D16 (with the SMPS replaced by an external LPS) and an Yggy using AES input. I have about 50 hours of music burn-in on my new GEN5 internal board. I would call the GEN5 a remarkable value but still prefer the D16 as having more air and clarity. I find the GEN5 to be a little on the warm side of neutral.

I only have the D16s, never tried any of the above mentioned pieces.
I still have the Hydra USB and the JCat USB card but it's only for my headphone set up.

 

[mourip]

Sorry. I got my forums confused. I have been following the Schiit EITR thread also.

Actually I am in your same shoes. I have two Yggy's and two D16's and may sell the D16 in my HP setup as I mainly listen to my speaker system these days and the Gen5 USB board does sound very good in my HP setup.

 

[castleofargh]

still nobody with some measurements? I can get the all subjective performance for headphones, sometimes even for amps, but for a digital path? are you guys really fine with some vague incomplete theories, and by ear opinions about what works best? I'm super curious about the all Ethernet path thing(no this is not sarcasm, I really am very interested), but in 200 pages I couldn't find one guy to even loop his signal and measure a few of his own solutions to check possible fidelity variations... please tell me it's because I suck at using the search functions.

 

[gefski]

still nobody with some measurements? I can get the all subjective performance for headphones, sometimes even for amps, but for a digital path? are you guys really fine with some vague incomplete theories, and by ear opinions about what works best? I'm super curious about the all Ethernet path thing(no this is not sarcasm, I really am very interested), but in 200 pages I couldn't find one guy to even loop his signal and measure a few of his own solutions to check possible fidelity variations... please tell me it's because I suck at using the search functions.

Atomicbob may have something. He listens to and measures most everything we've tried.