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ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter

Many audiophile hi-fi enthusiasts swear by the need to pay the utmost attention to the network as the basis for streaming, even to the point of special network components that are completely optimized for “hi-fi”. This includes the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter.

The ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is a very special solution that is aimed at particularly demanding hi-fi enthusiasts who want nothing less than the best fundamentals for their network.

Designed as a plug & play solution, it guarantees complete galvanic isolation, because it does not rely on copper cables, but rather on fiber optics.

Network as essential basis for streaming

One thing is clear, for streaming a network is the essential basis, without it it simply does not work. However, we are moving in an environment that is assigned to the IT world, which is a rather complex topic for many hi-fi enthusiasts due to a lack of specialist knowledge.

Many manufacturers are now trying to serve this customer group as well as possible, including some proven network experts who offer special solutions for use with hi-fi components.

These include the Japanese company Buffalo Technology Inc., which even founded a brand with Melco Audio or Maki Engineering Laboratory Company, which not only reminds us of its own roots, but also deals solely with audiophile network systems. With ADMM Audiophile Digital Music Masters and the brand ADOT Audiophile Digital Optical Technology, further systems are available, first and foremost the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter.

Copper or fiber optics?

Normally, networks are based on classic copper cables in a wide variety of grades and standards, which are used to transmit data packets. In principle, of course, the network is completely indifferent to the type of data to be transmitted, whether emails, websites, text documents, photos or audio and video data. At the network level, it is only a matter of data packets that need to be transmitted in the best possible way, i.e. always without errors.

In the enterprise segment, however, an alternative to copper is also used, namely fiber optics, especially when it comes to really high data throughput rates and thus maximum performance as well as bridging large distances.

This is why fiber optics are also the basis for global data exchange, because fiber optics are also used as the basis for the network infrastructure of Internet providers, starting with the connection of houses, entire towns, and even worldwide data networks that span the globe.

Fiber optic cables therefore offer three main advantages: they can transmit enormous amounts of data over long distances with maximum performance.

But ADMM also relies on fiber optics for network solutions in the hi-fi environment, although this is neither about performance nor about really long distances that have to be bridged. Another advantage is brought into play here, which, according to the manufacturer, has a decisive effect on the quality that can ultimately be achieved in streaming systems, namely the complete galvanic isolation.

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ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter

The task of the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is therefore neither to deliver particularly high performance, nor to bridge particularly long distances in the house, although it can certainly do the latter. The primary argument that the manufacturer brings into play for the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is, as described, the complete galvanic isolation of network segments, namely the one that forms the “normal” network in the house and the one that is used solely for streaming around the high-end HiFi system.

Digital audio is equally sensitive, and digital data must be treated with the utmost protection to achieve the results promised by today’s high-resolution digital music files, the manufacturer argues.

As a true plug-and-play solution, the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is easily integrated between the existing router of, say, the Internet provider and an audiophile switch, such as a solution from the Melco Audio brand.

For this purpose, it first offers a conventional RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet interface to establish the connection with the router.

The second port is a so-called SFP port, which is thus designed for optical cables. This is then used to connect the switch, which is the central interface for all streaming components, i.e. the streaming clients and the storage solution, the so-called NAS, where the audio data is stored.

Many a high-quality router has such an SFP port, which of course also includes the Melco S100 Data Switch.

The manufacturer promises a much more exact data transfer by using the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter, and wants to prove this with measurements of the edges. After all, it is really only 0 and 1 that are transmitted, but the decisive factor is how precisely these signals are pronounced. The ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter delivers particularly precise pulses, free of noise, due to its complete galvanic isolation. This should prevent timing errors and jitter that could damage the sound.

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Plug & Play, no expertise required

As already indicated, the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter does not require any expert knowledge in the field of networking, it is consistently designed as a plug & play solution, which in the simplest case is simply integrated into the network, and immediately ready for operation.

The only controls, if you want to call it that at all, are DIP switches on the front panel. These are used to set the data rate that the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter will transmit. In principle, this can transmit 1 Gbps, but the manufacturer recommends reducing it to 100 Mbps, as this gives much better results.

Three options available

The ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is offered in three configurations, whereby these differ first and foremost in the power supply used. This is also very important for the quality of the signal transmission, so that the user is offered corresponding upgrade options.

The simplest variant is the ADOT MC01 Kit, which consists of the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter as well as a universal switching power supply, two ADOT SFP transceivers and a fiber optic cable with a length of 1.5 meters. For this solution you have to budget € 479.

The second variant is the ADOT MC02 kit, which also includes the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter and two ADOT SFP transceivers, the fiber optic cable with a length of 1.5 m, but a linear power supply. A price of € 529 is shown for this.

The third and, according to the manufacturer, optimal variant is the ADOT MC03 kit, which includes the ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter, two ADOT SFP transceivers, a 1.5 m fiber cable and a 5 V Sbooster power supply. The price for this solution is listed at € 749.

Last but not least, the ADOT Accessory Kit is also offered, whereby this is aimed at users whose switch does not have an SFP port. This kit builds on the previous ones and includes an ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter, a Y-cable splitter, and a Melco C1AE CAT7 network cable with a length of 1m. You have to budget €269 for this.

Getting to the point

The ADOT MC01 Audiophile Grade Gigabit Ethernet Media Converter is aimed at hi-fi enthusiasts who want nothing less than the best in network technology, which is essential for streaming. This is a solution that makes a complete galvanic separation between the “normal” network and that segment of the network for streaming in the HiFi environment. The fact that no basic knowledge of network technology is required, since it is a plug & play solution, should please the target group.

Manufacturer:ADMM Audiophile Digital Music Masters
Distribution:Drei H Vertriebs GmbH
Price:ADOT MC01 Kit € 479,-
ADOT MC02 Kit € 529,-
ADOT MC03 Kit € 749,-
ADOT Accessory Kit € 269,-

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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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