Special mains cables...yeah right!

[hamster]

Bearing in mind that there's 20m of twin and earth between my fusebox and the wall socket, and some huge smoothing capacitors in my Amp's Power supply to take out transients.........
..........how can anyone hear a difference with an £100 mains cable?

By the way, the mains is pretty good - the voltage doesn't dip if I turn my amp up, and the resistance is less than 1 Ohm...so I'm dropping less than 0.04V down the 20m.

The limiting factor is the PSU design not 1m of cable, surely! And if the PSU was really that dire, then the solution would be some bigger capacitors...£10 from Farnell.

Comments? Blaze away!

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Don't disagree with what you have said but there is much more to it than this. What about you neighbour on the other side of town who does have faults on the mains as he lives near an industrial area and has only cheap kit with cheap power supplies?

 

[eviljohn2]

Not necessarily my own opinion, but what if the RC characteristics of a fancy mains cable could act as a filter network? That might make a difference.

 

[GW43]

Don't disagree with what you have said but there is much more to it than this. What about you neighbour on the other side of town who does have faults on the mains as he lives near an industrial area and has only cheap kit with cheap power supplies?

Surely spending the money on more expensive kit with a better power supply ought to be the way to go.

As has been quoted in the past - spend your first £10K on kit, then worry about cables.

 

[hamster]

I agree a damn great filter (say some big ferrite cable shields like on printer cables) and a capacitor network would be a good idea. But that's a mains conditioning block - I don't think the cables have filtering in them. Maybe I'll have to buy one, X-Ray it at the airport then take it back....

Anyone out there got one of these cables? If so have you also chipped out your mains in the wall and fitted an Audiophile fusebox?

 

[GW43]

Anyone out there got one of these cables? If so have you also chipped out your mains in the wall and fitted an Audiophile fusebox?[/QUOTE]

I've not got one of these, but I regularly replace the air in my listening room with audiophile quality air, when I want to do some serious listening - that is when I'm listening but not smiling!

 

[Nic Rhodes]

Surely spending the money on more expensive kit with a better power supply ought to be the way to go.

As has been quoted in the past - spend your first £10K on kit, then worry about cables.

you get no argument from me In fact I would ONLY endorse spending money on mains 'products' IF YOU HAVE A PROBLEM.

 

[Jeff]

I like RA Yellow cables, they may not make a difference acoustically, but they certainly look good.

 

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

Yes

 

[hornydragon]

No

 

[Gordon @ Convergent AV]

I agree with Horny.,,,,well there had to be a first time........

OK: Mains cable does make a difference...IMHO...but the cost you put against hearing or seeing a difference is different for different folk. I have no doubt it exists.

Nic: How do you know when you have a problem?

Gordon

 

[Nic Rhodes]

clicks, pops, RFI detector, mains sniffer etc is what I use. The main sniffers I think are best. I own one but RA hire them out. Elliot want to show his friends how these boxes worked when he was up here, it was turned on and was TOTALLY silent. Down in Guildford it sounds like white noise!! In fact my box had to go back for checking as we suspected it might be faulty!! Most of the 'faulty' can be cured by basic engineering however and it is only rarely that mains cables are the 'best' solution. They do work however in certain circumstances.

I also like the look of the RA ones, use loads as they look nice.

 

[Peridot]

I like RA Yellow cables, they may not make a difference acoustically, but they certainly look good.

My mains cables are all hidden behind my equipment so I don't really worry about how they look .

 

[BadgerB]

I agree a damn great filter (say some big ferrite cable shields like on printer cables) and a capacitor network would be a good idea. But that's a mains conditioning block - I don't think the cables have filtering in them. Maybe I'll have to buy one, X-Ray it at the airport then take it back....

Anyone out there got one of these cables? If so have you also chipped out your mains in the wall and fitted an Audiophile fusebox?

Hampster: where can I get one of these Audiophile fuseboxes? Will it stop crosstalk from next door? Can I install it myself or do I need to get it done and safety checked by a registered electrician?

 

[hamster]

I am currently working on the development. There are essential things to consider:
1 RCD current transformers introduce crosstalk and also act as antennas for LW broadcast signal
2 Transformer action in actuation solenoids for curcuit breakers

The design will have screened CTs for the RCD and a separate fused only path for an audiophile channel. This will use SMD fusible links mounted on a PCB. This reduces contact rectification effects on the metal-metal junction which is usually the case with a clip fuse. In addition there will be mains filtration by iron powder ring cores and ferrites. At the moment I plan only a 1kW model, but a higher power thro'put one could be possible.

To this you should then attach a dedicated feed cable to your system.

I am also experimenting with low temperature feed, using oxygen-free copper piping with liquid nitrogen running through it. With adequate lagging this lasts several hours from a fill and lowers the thermal noise output from the cabling. Remember to use silver solder for pipe junctioning, not normal plumbing type.

Liquid nitrogen is approximately £1 per litre, so hardly expensive these days. Howeve recommend appropriate training before handling it.

 

[Rolo Tomasi]

Audiophile fuseboxes are yesterdays kit. The future is Audiophile MCB's!

 

[stebbo]

I agree with Horny.,,,,well there had to be a first time........

OK: Mains cable does make a difference...IMHO...but the cost you put against hearing or seeing a difference is different for different folk. I have no doubt it exists.

Nic: How do you know when you have a problem?

Gordon

As with all these topics it is not about wether they work for you or not. It is about independant repeatable and verifiable evidence that they work and WHY!.
To date the the evidence has not been presented, never mind the understanding as to why.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

That I feel is because the problems that make these things work (in theory) are constantly changing. To prove their effectiveness you need to simulate faults (constant faults) and look at the effectiveness of these device. I know of no tests that have attempted this. There is 'anacdotal' evidence from many however that when there are no measurable issues on the mains then these 'fixes' are no longer that as in my case.

 

[alexs2]

That I feel is because the problems that make these things work (in theory) are constantly changing. To prove their effectiveness you need to simulate faults (constant faults) and look at the effectiveness of these device. I know of no tests that have attempted this. There is 'anacdotal' evidence from many however that when there are no measurable issues on the mains then these 'fixes' are no longer that as in my case.

Very true...and as I've commented previously,even when mains quality is poor,they sometimes have no effect,or make things worse,as I found trying a few of these on my Krells.

By all means try,as sometimes benefits can be had,but as Nic says,paying attention to the identifiable problems prior to cables can be far more cost effective.

 

[TurnipFarmer]

I must admit that I originally thought that by spending lots of money on a mains block or mains cable would make loads of difference. In the end got a top of the range Belkin Surgemaster Gold Series off ebay. It has got rid of my hiss at higher volumes and made the music a bit clearer. However i dont think its worth spending loads and loads.

So me answer is get a Belkin Surgemaster, does the trick

 

[CJROSS]

So me answer is get a Belkin Surgemaster, does the trick

£6.99 Belkin Surgemaster. Does the trick for me. In all my systems.

http://play.com/play247.asp?page=title&r=ELEC&title=615661&source=996#