AfterDark. Project ClayX Constellation Reference IX2000 SFP/SFP+ DAC LAN Cable for Audiophiles  

AfterDark. Project ClayX Constellation Reference IX2000 SFP/SFP+ DAC LAN Cable for Audiophiles  

The reference grade SFP/SFP+ Lan cable will improve the perfromance on data transfer. Since signal transfer is so sensitive to vibration on SFP module, vibration countermeasures are most effective to reduce jitter and improve sound quality. 

The IX2000 is an SFP Direct Attached Cable (DAC) Lan cable,  developed specifically for audio, taking a different approach from SFP optical cables which are "expected to cut noise from upstream" by focusing on the diversity of SFP. The IX2000 uses exotic copper wires for connection, and is designed to "connect SFP-compatible audio devices."

The IX2000 will improve the texture and details of the music and we like the dynamic and very natural and refined sounding. The improvements with IX2000 is immediately noticable during our listening experience when we develop this product , we recommended to mix with the use of Finisar SFP optical fiber to achieve the optimal sounding. 

Why Direct Attached Cable (DAC) is good for Audiophiles?

• A standard RJ45 cable comprises twisted pairs of cables that are accessed by a Bus interface called the PHY (Physical Layer). This is robust and reliable but not optimal for audio use. Twisted pairs are subject to impedance mismatch, speed restriction, pulse infidelity, crosstalk and external interference, all of which can be minimised by good engineering but not entirely negated.
• The IX2000 SFP Direct Attached Cable on the other hand, is constructed and designed to build with tighly controlled impedance, tested to manufacturing at 100 Ohms, without any impedance mismatch. As a result, the sound is much more natural and music is more musical. Most audiophile will hear the presentation is more transparent and alive sounding with much great space and air around everything, it’s not a subtle shift at all.
• The SFP completely bypasses the need for the PHY interface and allows for data stored on the music server with SFP NIC card to be accessed directly, with a commensurate decrease in data errors and loss, improving the sound quality of the overall signal.
• The IX2000 SFP DAC cable comprises of two twisted pairs of silver plated OFC Copper conductors rather than four in an RJ45 cable. The copper conductors is braided shielded twisted and each pair is individually screened and the entire cable is constructed with exacting precision to ensure that the technical benefits of the design are achieved in reality. This makes the IX2000 SFP Lan cable with much higher bandwidth 14Gbps vs 10Gbps. 

• The benefits of improving the data integrity (often referred to as the ‘eye pattern’) is that the demands placed on the decoding hardware are reduced as less reinterpretation and reconstruction work is required, yielding further sound benefits in overall audio quality. 

• IX2000 SFP DAC cable is designed to reflect the requirements of transmitting digital audio where stability and minimising errors are more important than out and out transmission rates. 

• The cable is used between AfterDark. NETone Switch or PA2 fitted with SFP sockets and the matching connections on the Buffalo BS-2016 SFP network switches, creating an ultra-high-quality link between the two devices that is almost wholly immune to outside interference.

• The IX2000 SFP DAC Cable enables to supply the finest connectivity and interface between its components that far outweighs off the shelf alternative connectivity options, delivering performance that simply isn’t possible with less sophisticated network hardware. A plug-and-play solution, the IX2000 SFP DAC Cable can be used with most audio hardware equipped with SFP ports such as Aurender, HiFi Rose, Linn Klimax DSM, Taiko Audio SGM Extreme / Extreme switch, SFORZATO DSP-Columba, DSP-Corvus, DST-Lepus, UpTone EtherREGEN, Mirotik SFP Switch, Cisco SFP Switch, and Intel NIC. 

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Method 1: 

Product details:

• Optimized for New NETone switch with built-in SFP optical bridge connected to a single clean output Ethernet
• Silver plated OFC copper conductors for excellent signal intergrity. 
• Audiophile grade Direct Attach Cable (DAC) for highest quality data trasfer
  • SFPs abstract the connection to the module to support a variety of cable formats, but direct attach cables directly connect SFP ports without conversion in the module. Compared to RJ-45, which needs to support a variety of connections, and optical fiber, which needs to perform optical encoding and decoding, there is no overhead processing, making it an extremely simple and straightforward configuration.

• The four internal cable conductors are made of silver-plated OFC copper solid wire. The structure is designed and built ultiizing a shielded twisted pair construction. 
• Low differential to common mode conversion
• Industry-leading within pair time delay skew
• Ultra low latency for Audio Applications
• Foam perimary insulation utilizes uniform, small cell structure for exceptional performance. 
• Carbon Fiber Woven materal for DAC cable stablization and EMI Shielding. 
• WA-Quantum Chips applied on both SFP connectors. 
• KARMET EMI Shielding material on the side of SFP connectors for extra shielding. 
• Heavy modified with tweaks for sound optimisation 

Carbon Fiber Woven material for EMI Shielding and anti-vibration. 

WA-Quantum Supreme Chips 

The very 1st batch of order is completed and ready to make delivery today. 😁

This DAC cable is warm, with sweet details and very balanced sounding. The reference IX2000 SFP DAC Cable will be one of the impressive upgrade when compared. 

                             Carbon Fiber Woven material for anti-vibration and EMI Shielding 

KARMET EMI Shielding + WA-Quantum Supreme Chips

The new length of 1.5M is optimal length on sounding for Audiophiles. 😁

The new order is ready to dispatch today. 

We would like to share some listening impression with reference IX2000 vs DELA C1 DAC cable with respect to reference grade Taiko Switch and Taiko Extreme Server.  😃

The IX2000 is the upgrade option and sound much better when compared with DELA C1 DAC Cable. 

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