ADOT offers three different kits: The cheapest version, the MC01, is available with a plug-in switching power supply. Although this affects the sound quality of the media converter and also has a negative effect on the rest of the system, the overall sound advantages of the fibre-optic transmission path outweigh the disadvantages, says Alain Ainslie. The MC02 kit comes with a linear plug-in power supply powerful enough to feed two media converters. MC03 kit is the top version and in some markets comes with a custom build Plixir low noise power supply with three stage noise reduction. In Germany the Melco Distributor sells the MC03 with the Sbooster power supply. Finally, the MC Accessory includes a media converter without SFP adapter and optical fibres, but with a Y-cable that enables the supply of two media converters by one (plug) power supply unit. The Y-cable is not the only indication of where ADOT sees the Fibre Kit's field of application: It is not primarily intended for loss-free signal transport over long distances, but to interrupt the electrical Lan connection and thus act as a filter for jitter and high-frequency interference.

A special feature of the ADOT media converter compared to all those presented in Hifistatement so far is the possibility to limit the transfer rate from the usual one gigabit to 100 megabits per second, providing that the other components support it. Also in the Melco switch S100 the transfer rate for four of the eight Lan ports was reduced to 100 megabit. This is said to be one of the main reasons why the audio components connected to it sound so excellent. With the ADOT media converter, these settings can be made with DIP switches. To gain initial experience with the media converter, I set the four switches as recommended by the manufacturer for audiophile operation.

I could not use the enclosed SFP adappters because of the long duplex single-mode optical fibre with a wavelength of 1310 nanometres that is laid between my router and the switch; the ADOT adapters are designed for duplex multimode optical fibre with 850 nanometres. So I'll stick with my Finisar adapters. How reassuring that Alain Ainslie has already mentioned that singlemode SFPs can be a welcome upgrade for ADOT media converters. For an initial functional check, I put the ADOT in the place of the 10Gtec media converter near the Ansuz PowerSwitch. There, the two boxes are much easier to access than the converter near the router. My 10Gtec is powered by a five-volt SBooster, the ADOT has to make do with its linear plug-in power supply for the time being: And you seem to hear that from the brand-new media converter. It plays a little rounder and, yes, also more ingratiating than the 10Gtec, but lacks a little openness and spatial depth. But the larger power supply could still change that.

Before I switch to the SBooster, however, an hour or two passes with intensive writing - and a tea break. After that, I listen to the 10Gtec again with Shostakovich Symphony No. 15 and then continue with the ADOT. Although the ADOT still draws its power from his mains adapter, it is almost indistinguishable from the 10Gtec and SBooster in terms of airiness and three-dimensionality. The 120 minutes of warm-up time have done it audibly good. Actually, I don't want to hear play-in effects in products that can also be counted as computer peripherals. Nevertheless, they are unmistakable here. Even with the standard plug-in power supply, I like the ADOT a little better than my previously tried and tested combination because of its greater suppleness in the high-frequency range. When the media converter from the Fibre Kit is also fed by the SBooster, it suggests an even larger imaginary stage than the 10Gtek, proves to be even more playful and dynamic: excellent!