Assisi

Finisar SFPP AOC O01and Ubquiti ? Much lower in price than the Cisco! John

My experience is that the Cisco AOC is superior to any SFP and attached cable. Important that it must be genuine Cisco. There are copies available that are not genuine and do not perform so well. The price quoted on the link for 1mt is low. Listed at US$300 new . Maybe the Ebay one is 2nd hand. John

I have lost my enthusiasm for for SFPs and cables after discovering AOCs especially the Cisco genuine. I do not like to change the network setup and leave as is if the outcome pleases me. I find changes can become confusing. The order of the sequence of the network switches and cables etc can have an impact on the listening SQ outcome. I recently did change the order partly because it was suggested by others. Plus, I acquired a Waversa Hub 3 which seems to have a beneficial synergy with a Waversa Filter. When I acquired the Wavesa Hub 3 it prompted me to have all the Waversas connected to each other and last before the Helios DAC as the filter for me should be near the DAC. With the change I removed a Sonore optical that was connected to a Ubquiti router via a 15mt Finisar Cisco compatible AOC. The Ubiquiti is to isolate my digital network from all other house network activities. Printer, Solar, Battery, House power regenerator etc. The other switches that I have are a SoTM, Melco and 2 X Nordosts which were originally after the 4 Waversa components. The Waversa filter was last before the DAC. The SoTM is now connected to the Ubquiti in with the 15mt AOC and out to the Melco with a Cisco genuine AOC. The Melco is RJ45 to the Nordosts and then RJ45 to the First Waversa the server CORE. Bit complicated but this sequence change did achieve a surprising to me improvement. I am not interested in swapping things around and will leave this Network sequence for the time being. I consider that I have the best SQ that I have ever had. The next thing that interests me is trying a Melco DAC cable between the SoTM and the Melco. John

Almost correct. I do not count my Waversa filter reference as a switch. The third switch and last in the network before the Filter is a Waversa Hub3. On its own I was not overly impressed. When it is connected though to the Filter something special happens. There is a synergy between the two components. In a review the reviewer said " the WSmarthub brings changes to the overall structure, the W LAN-EXT1 can be said to express the sophistication of the interior of the structure." This is a bit off topic. My initial post was about a DAC cable Vs the Cisoc AOC and where I have the two AOC connected switches in my network. Plus my interest in the Melco DAC cable. John

I have tried a DAC cable between SoTM and Melco switches at the beginning of my network before 2x Nordost and 3x Waversa. Supposedly the DAC was the one used by Taiko. In my setup I considered the Cisco genuine AOC superior. I am interested in trialing the Melco DAC cable when I can get a loan of one. Soon. John

I have mentioned in posts above of my opinions from my experiences of AOC and DAC. my preference was Cisco AOC genuine. My network now is Waversa Core, Router, HUB and two Nordost Qnets plus Waversa Isolator. I am unable to use AOC or DAC as the Melco and SOtM are not connected to the network. I consider that with the listening pleasure experience that I now have, the quality of the above that I am now using means that there is no need for AOC or DAC. John

There are individual SFPs that you can connect to separate optical cables . Then there are Active Optical Cables (AOC) to which the SFPs are permanently attached. Thirdly there are Direct Attached Copper (DAC) to which the SFP is also permanently attached. With both the AOC and the DAC the attached SFPs are plugged into the slot of the switch etc. As to which is the best arrangement it is up to individuals to try the three alternatives. Lots of fun. The best for me is the Cisco genuine AOC. Taiko use a DAC to connect from its switch to a port in its server. To me the DAC cables I tried were good but not as good as the AOC Cisco genuine which was better than any AOC compatible. John

It probable that the perception of what is right with the above options compared to another implementation may come down to system synergy and personal preference with how things sound. In the context of AOC I have the FS but thought that the genuine Cisco once it settled provided a more pleasing outcome. John

My understanding is that the 'A' in AOC means it is active. Therefore low power is present. My experience is that once power is present anywhere then there will be a settling in period. There was a small improvement with my Cisco genuine AOC over a few days. The Cisco is better than any other several optical connection options I have tried. It is used to connect SOtM and Melco switches. The signal is 100mgbs. John

HI Adrian, I have not tried the ISO Regen. I am aware of its existence but not in a hurry to get one. When I had the W4S I also had a purpose built LPS. At the moment the chain is Antipodes DX Server, Intona and then Berkeley Alpha USB to the DAC. For me that is probably enough. John

I have and still use an Intona. I did have a W4S but sold it and I have tried a Regen. I tried them separately and in combination. All three of these devices did make a difference. However not every difference is beneficial. For me, only the Intona provided a benefit. Of course the experience of others may be different depending upon specific situations. John

My experience is similar to some others above. I had it working straight out of the box with the supplied PSU in a couple of minutes. I had not expected great things and initially it was not impressive. I used two USB cables that I had. Over the 10 hours that I have had it going it has definitely blossomed. I tried it in variety of combinations with AQ jitterbugs and an Ifi filter. I settled on The Ifi at the DAC and one AQ jitterbug at the server. I am using a Telos cable from server to RUR and Curious Cable from the RUR to DAC. My server is Antipodes DX and the DAC is Soulution 541. Until now a CD played in the 541 was marginally better than the same file from the DX. Now I consider that the file from the DX is slightly better which is interesting. It is all about the silence. I am so impressed with the RUR that I am gong to order a LPSU tomorrow to experience if there is further improvement. John

Hi Bill, I have had my DS for nearly 3 months. At the beginning to me it was obviously better than the PW but not by a huge margin. Now it is as if they are in a parallel universes. Just wait a while for the DS to blossom. My ML2 Limiteds show how the difference is so profound. When you do the GTG I hope that you get the power set up sorted out compared to last time at Mike's earlier this year so each DAC can actually strut its stuff. It will be interesting and I await the results with interest John