iFi Audio SilentPower LAN iPurifier Pro Ethernet Noise Filter -- Snake Oil or Remedy you never knew you needed?

[High Power Dude]

From my limited knowledge, converting an ethernet signal to light then back to digital has benefits in industrial, heavy machine environments, but for home use? iFi Lan iPurifier Pro uses an ethernet filter to convert the signal to light than back to digital claiming to reduce ethernet "noise" and improved clarity. On the SilentPower.tech website, I could find no proof or test evidence confirming an audible or visual improvement when installed between the router or switch and the streaming/4K media device. Will a subject matter expert please expound? Many thanks!

 

[Purité Audio]

‘Iffy’ in the UK is slang for something or someone not quite ‘right’.
Keith

 

[NTK]

From my limited knowledge, converting an ethernet signal to light then back to digital has benefits in industrial, heavy machine environments, but for home use? iFi Lan iPurifier Pro uses an ethernet filter to convert the signal to light than back to digital claiming to reduce ethernet "noise" and improved clarity. On the SilentPower.tech website, I could find no proof or test evidence confirming an audible or visual improvement when installed between the router or switch and the streaming/4K media device. Will a subject matter expert please expound? Many thanks!

Apply Hitchen's razor.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.​

iFi has provided "theory" (i.e. pulled a hypothesis from their arse), but zero evidence to demonstrate how "clarity" is "improved" (measurements of before vs after?)

 

[Thighsofsteel]

Apply Hitchen's razor.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.​

iFi has provided "theory" (i.e. pulled a hypothesis from their arse), but zero evidence to demonstrate how "clarity" is "improved" (measurements of before vs after?)

Just like every other ‘audiophool’ network tweak.

 

[Devnull]

How many billions if not trillions of dollars move on regular Ethernet cables everyday without Ethernet "noise"? Enough said......

 

[Thighsofsteel]

How many billions if not trillions of dollars move on regular Ethernet cables everyday without Ethernet "noise"? Enough said......

Multi trillions an hour probably.
But just think how many veils would be lifted from your bank account with the correct audiophool Ethernet cabling infrastructure.

 

[Indydan]

I actually bought this device a while back. It made no improvement! I sold it and recouped some of my money. Lesson learned.
I am really happy I never bought the Synergistic Research ethernet switch. 3000$ US dollars for a useless device. Ouch!

 

[Mojo Warrior]

Apply Hitchen's razor.

What can be asserted without evidence can also be dismissed without evidence.​

iFi has provided "theory" (i.e. pulled a hypothesis from their arse), but zero evidence to demonstrate how "clarity" is "improved" (measurements of before vs after?)

Does not pass the smell test, either

 

[diddley]

a bit is a bit that arrives or not and then when it arrives it gets converted, I still don't know why people fall for this nonsense.

 

[vext01]

I looked into this device a few years back. This converting to light and back thing (with opto-isolators) is a form of "galvanic isolation", which in itself is legitimate way of excluding noise.

What bothers me is that the ethernet spec stipulates that ethernet sockets must already have galvanic isolation. So for this device have any effect, you'd have to have an off-spec ethernet device in your chain somewhere. And if you did, I suspect TCP error correction would detect and fix any corruption such a device would cause.

Yet, there's a whole thread on head-fi of people saying that they hear sound-quality improvements.

I'm highly skeptical.