Brinkmann Nyquist and the pitfalls of connecting a high end music system to a network
 

Approximately 8 years ago I bought an Aurender S10. I connected the Aurender with a digital cable to my Burmester 089 CD player and used it as an alternative to the CD transport. I remember that Frank Zappa OZ was the first test where I compared the file source with the CD and wow, what a difference in sound. I enthusiastically called the late Dieter Burmester (who was always happy to receive a call from a customer) and got a short lesson in the challenges of red-book standard CD decoding :nerd: I loved the sound of this setup and it got even better when Qobuz came with high resolution downloads.

When 2019 was coming to an end, I sold myself to the idea of upgrading this part of my rig. 8 years were 8 years after all. DAC and network streaming technology must be a lot better now. My plan was to replace the Aurender S10, use a NAS as a local library and switch to Roon for control.

When the Nyquist arrived it sounded OK - but not great. I had expected the kind of "great" that makes you want to listen to your entire collection again because you feel you hear something new everywhere. Nada, nothing - no greatness. Shallow, disappointing. No difference to a CD from my trusted Burmester 089. I thought, maybe the Nyquist needs "burn in time" and I just need to be patient? I kept myself motivated reading all the enthusiastic reviews and listening, hoping for the magic to arrive. But nothing. Even the Burmester 089 sounded flat or so it seemed. Whatever it was, maybe it was infectious :D Clearly something was wrong. But what?

I have a network in the house and an IT room with switches, NAS filer, servers, internet gateway etc. The Nyquist was connected to the central switch in this room. Maybe the electric noise of those devices was infesting my rig through the copper-based network cable? To test my hypothesis I went to get 2 inexpensive Ethernet to SPF-fibre media-converters and a fibre flylead. The fibre would provide galvanic isolation!

The first seconds of sound, great relief, joy, now the magic is here again. The loud silence between tones. The stage, the vibrance - everything, that was missing. For a total cost of less than 200$!

The Brinkmann Nyquist Mk2 is all I would want from a DAC/network streamer. Initially it is a bit confusing. No options, two buttons. You switch it on (button 1) and after a short while it is ready but muted. You unmute it (button 2) and off you go. It will select everything itself based on the selected input source and the nature of the detail signal. You can use an App to control streaming from your network, a USB device or a streaming service like Tidal or Qobuz. It is also a Roon endpoint and this is a very nice interface to control a digital library and and online streaming service. The Nyquist is totally transparent - you don't notice it at all. Not only does it sound amazing but to my big surprise it gave 16 bit 44 kHz recording a second life! In my previous setup the difference in sound from high resolution sources to standard CD quality was so profound that I avoided anything not high resolution. The Nyquist makes you nearly forget that you are listening to a lower resolution source!

- Ecki

Ecki, thank you for sharing.
Glad that it all worked out fine.

Now you can update your signature. ;)

Bart,

I can't change my signature!

Strange...
Maybe you'll have to renew your subscription.

Wonderful system you have!

Solved that - signature is updated.

But this thread should not be about my signature but about optics decoupling noisy network electronics from a high end audio rig.

Hi Ecki!

Nice post, and good to hear that you've benefited from using optical fiber for your high-end audio rig for streaming digital content. I just wrote an article about this that will be published in TAS in the July/Aug issue.

You're correct that implementing optical fiber will improve the sound quality of LAN-based digital streaming configurations.

I've been using a long run of optical fiber from my music server, which is in my bedroom/study and running "downstream" to my network bridge (SOtM SMS-200 UltraNeo) in the audio rack for the last several months, and have observed the same degree of considerable sonic improvements that you have.

Part of the reason for this is the galvanic isolation as you say, but that's not the entire story. The optical fiber also provides isolation from RFI/EMI, which copper Ethernet is susceptible to. But most importantly, using optical prevents the downstream passage of low- and high-impedance leakage currents that cause increased clock phase noise. The impact of high-impedance leakage currents on clock phase noise was only discovered by engineer John Swenson in Q4, 2017. The sources of low- and high-impedance leakage currents is...the switch-mode power supplies (SMPS) that power all the stuff you've referenced above in our digital chains: switches, NAS filer, servers, internet gateway etc.

So, the reason "optical" results in improved audio quality is a combination of reducing all of these noise components, but...most of which come from...the dreaded SMPS.

These devices also have sh**ty clocks in them which also degrade the sound.

So....if you want to take the sound quality of your optical fiber system even further, here are my suggestions based on my own experiences over the last 9 months or so. FWIW, I'm just relating what has really worked for after extensive research and real-world testing over the last 9 months or so.

1) Replace the dreaded SMPS that are powering your switches, NAS filer, servers, internet gateway with linear power supplies. For example, you can get good quality linear power supplies that match the current and voltage requirement of all this gear for $9-11 from Jameco Electronics in the SF Bay Area in the U.S.

2) Replace the generic, consumer-grade FMCs you're using with the Sonore OpticalModule from Sonore in the USA (https://www.sonore.us). These cost $250/each and will provide significantly better sound-quality than the generic computer-industry stuff. They have considerably better internal voltage regulators, RJ45 jacks, Ethernet flip-flops and a considerably better clock (crystal oscillator). This makes a BIG difference.

3) Replace the Jameco LPS for the Sonore Optical Module with either a Small Green computer power supply for about $150, or better yet, the Uptone Audio LPS-1.2 for $435 (https://uptoneaudio.com/products/ultracap-lps-1-2). Specifically, the Uptone LPS-1.2 is will really take the Sonore OpticalModule to the full performance it is capable of, because it is also specifically designed (by the same engineer, John Swenson, that designed the OpticalModule) not to pass low- and high-impedance leakage currents which cause...yep, you guessed it, increased clock phase noise. :yikes:

4) Add the Uptone Audio EtherREGEN (ER) Ethernet switch to your system (https://uptoneaudio.com/products/ultracap-lps-1-2). The EtherREGEN is, yes, also designed by John Swenson and is audiophile-grade Ethernet switch that was designed to provide maximal audio quality from an Ethernet swtich. It uses a very sophisticated Ethernet circuit topology optimised for audio that is state-of-the-art, as well as the same Crystek CCHD-575 oscillator that the OpticalModule does. You can use ER upstream and run an Ethernet cable from your existing Ethernet switch to the B-side of the ER, and then use an optical transceiver in the SFP cage on the A-side of ER for your run of fiber downstream to the OpticalModule that will connect to your Nyquist.

OR, run it in the reverse configuration: connect copper Ethernet cable from your existing switch to the OpticalModule in the upstream position and then run your fiber down to the SFP cage on the A-side of ER. Then connect from the B-side of ER via copper Ethernet to your Nyquist network bridge.

Adding the ER wil provide the biggest improvement overall in your optical fiber based streaming setup. You can watch a video of Hans Beekhuzen's review of it here: https://youtu.be/Io4SDi5hLxs

Adding these components WILL make a notable increase in your digital streaming front end using optical so if you can add them to your system, you will enjoy the improved sound quality and a more relaxed and engaging and compelling listening experience.

Feel free to post any other questions you may have here; happy to help.

Cheers, Stephen aka PC.

Reason number #22 to browse the posts;

I'm a Zappa addict and was not aware of, "OZ."

Ordered.

Thank you!

- Bob

I run the Brinkmann Nyquist II as well, and love it!

It’s use of 1960’s Telefunken NOS tubes to support the gain and output, plus being modular to update which they proved before for $1200.00 is big. And the update was hardware and software. This is the only piece that I have not mechanically isolated and continue to use the OEM power cable following Helmut Brinkmann recommendation, but have tried a few cables not reaching better just different.

Puma is on the right road as we both went down this path.

Thanks Stephen and "For The Love of Music" for the explanation of the ER product.

I am more or less doing the same. The fibre acts is an isolator between the noisy network side and the clean audio rig side. The ER does that with some fancy filtering.

The ethernet clock is not visible in the data arriving at the processing part of the Nyquist . So I don't really understand what the benefit of reclocking an ethernet signal should be :dunno:

I am living in South Africa so I can't just call those ER blokes and ask them to send me a test unit.


I am running a dedicated power line towards my rig. Before the power goes into my GigaWatt Evo4 conditioner, I added a "T" and an outlet for the Brinkmann. The media converter on the clean side gets its power from the GigaWatt too.

I see that you have an Aufrender N10. Do you have the N10 connected to the Brinkmann Nyquist? How does the sound compare to an ethernet based source (Qobuz, Tidal etc) or a NAS?

- Ecki

Hi Ecki,

The benefit of reclocking an ethernet signal is that it notably reduces clock phase noise. This makes a notable and audible difference.

As for the ER, you can order it, and if you don't like it, you have 30 days to return it for a full refund.

But, you'll like it...:thumbsup: