Hello,
I am waiting for delivery next week of my RD160 to match with the RS130. Can you recommend the type of cable to use to connect the 2 devices. In the manual it recommends USB SFP. Can you explain what type of cable this is and the connectors on each end of the cable?
After testing several SFP cables and modules, here is what I liked best in order of preference:
thanks - this is really helpful. Your first option is a copper cable and not fiber optic?
Indeed, the RS130 is already isolated from the rest of the network via its fiber internet connection (Finisar 1475), I found the Amphenol cable was warmer, with a more analog sound. This cable is a consensus on many forums, I tested it since its price was ridiculous (50€ on Mouser.com), since then it remains in my system and will not move there anymore…
Thanks. Ordered what you recommended from the place you recommended. Thanks!
My RD160 arrived today, and switched 150 to 130. My Amphenol cable per your recommendation arrives on 24th. My dealer recommended connection via i2S using an HDMI cable. I should be able to test back to back soon.
He left me an HDMI cable to test. The Audioquest Dragon 48, 0.75m. It’s priced at a ridiculous $2,500!! I’m therefore preparing to test whether the Audioquest is 50 times better than the SFP option. Surely it can’t make much difference? They are recommending the HDMI option to all clients. Hopefully I can show similar performance at 50x less money!!
The match is likely to be tight…
I haven’t tried I2S, only USB, AES and USB Fiber.
Despite the excellence of the cables used, there was no debate for very long.
Concerning the Amphenol DAC cable, it will sound thin in the mids and treble the first few days, but after 2-3 days the scene will widen, the depth too, then after a week everything will be in place, deliciously soft and fleshy at the same time.
I look forward to reading your feedback.
But 2500€ against 50€, that will be interesting… 
I’m not sure my ears are qualified to tell the difference. But my wallet is!!
Bonsoir Patrice,
Merci pour tous vos posts clairs, détaillés, et surtout pour votre patience.
Étant novice en connexion SFP, et en quasi absence d’information sur ce sujet de la part de Rose , j’ai suivi également vos conseils, et ai commandé le câble Amphenol chez “Mouser” pour essayer cette connexion en direct entre mon RD160 et le RS130 (Je n’ai pas le RS720)
Malheureusement, le message d’échec déjà reçu par certains après plusieurs minutes apparaît: “Aucun DAC trouvé , veuillez réessayer”.
Auriez-vous éventuellement quelques retours d’expérience sur ce qui pourrait bloquer , la dernière mise à jour étant pourtant effectuée sur le RS130 (5.7) ??
Merci d’avance pour votre réponse . Très cordialement
Good evening Christophe,
You see me surprised, I have 2 Amphenol cables, one in 2m and the other in 1m, both work perfectly without the symptoms you mention.
What firmware version do you have in your RD160? it may be the problem. Mine is in 1.17
Bonsoir Christophe,
Vous me voyez étonné, j’ai 2 cables Amphenol, l’un en 2m et l’autre en 1m, les 2 fonctionnent parfaitement sans les sympthomes que vous mentionnez.
Quelle version de firmware avez-vous dans votre RD160? c’est peut être le problème. Le mien est en 1.17
You should also check if the DAC is recognized as a USB Fiber output and not USB (see in the RS130 settings input output settings)
Vous devriez aussi vérifier si le DAC est reconnu en tant que sortie USB Fibre et non USB (voir dans les paramètres du RS130 réglages entrées sorties)
Merci beaucoup pour votre retour.
Je n’ai pu vérifier tout cela ce soir , car suis rentré tard à la maison, mais je vous tiendrai au courant ce week end.
Très bonne fin de soirée.
Which SFP modules are you using with the Amphenol cable ?
I’m a bit surprised that copper was sounding better that optical but everything is possible in audio.
One of my friend that makes high end silver cables may work on a project and make a pure silver SFP cable to compare. It will take weeks before it is ready but curious to compare with the Amphenol.
I am neither a prophet nor a soothsayer.
Ultra prestigious brands such as Taiko or Melco recommend DAC cables (therefore copper) rather than fiber with SFP. On forums that talk about equally high-end products such as Whatsbestforum, 2 cables are now preferred over Finisar fiber and modules, these are the Melco C1 and Amphenol. If we consider that Melco is 20x more expensive, Amphenol is the good value for money. I have of course tested Commscope and Corning fiber combinations with a few SFPs (Finisar 1318 and 1475, as well as Cisco and Avago). All have their advantages, but none have brought more than Amphenol (so much more analog, so much detail, etc.)
I really appreciate that you are taking the time to help the community. Thanks for that. I will follow your recommendations and order the copper cable until my friend have the pure silver ready. Rest of my system is all pure silver.
In our common passion that is Hifi, what is 50 USD, while we have articles at several thousand or even tens of thousands USD. You have to try it, it will perhaps be the best investment you will have made in your expensive hifi system
Yeah my system is way too expensive it’s certainly not a few hundred $$ that will change something at this point. With that cable, which sfp connector are you using ?
This is a new cable / technology to me. Here is what I ordered:
Hopefully I got the right thing!
I have an Amphenol cable between my 2 Sotm switches, then a Corning fiber with 2 Finisar 1475 to the RS130 and finally an Amphenol from the RS130 to the RD160.
I found that the 2m Amphenol DAC cable sounds a little better than the 1m. I find it has more air between the instruments and the voices are more detached without being too much. On the other hand, the 1m is perfect between the 2 Sotm.
In fact the SFP connectors are attached to the cable on both sides. Obviously what makes the difference when listening is the quality of the copper cable ( High performance quad-shielded 30 AWG twinaxial SKEWCLEAR wire) and the type of connector slightly different from classic SFPs