mains filter block

Discussion in 'Hi-Fi and General Audio' started by soundbyte, Feb 11, 2007.

  1. soundbyte

    soundbyte

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    I bought a cheap mains conditioner today, a Tacima CS929 from Maplin, it was only £24 in the sale. What hi-fi gave it 5 stars.
    Anyway the difference is mind blowing, for £24 I have more transparency and a smoother sound.............................
    Do mains filters really make that much difference. If so should I invest in a more expensive one ??
    My hi fi is Musical Fiidelity / Accoustic Energy
    cheers
     
    soundbyte, Feb 11, 2007
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  2. soundbyte

    Tenson Moderator

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    Unfortunately you will have to try that and find out for yourself. Some will tell you yes, some will tell you no. I would tell you no and that any decent equipment should have decent noise rejection in its PSU anyway. But, since you have heard a difference with that one, I guess you should try another!
     
    Tenson, Feb 11, 2007
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  3. soundbyte

    Neil

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    I've noticed some differences but not "night and day" - I use a "Little Meade" conditioner - similar to the RA purifier products (I've had a purifier and its similar to the Little Meade, the super-purifier didn't seem any different to me, despite the price difference.) I do hear a difference using a good powercord but would hesitate to recoment any particlar flavour. I also have a dpa "The Power" in-line conditioner which is good for digital sources but not as suited to amplifiers imo.
     
    Neil, Feb 11, 2007
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  4. soundbyte

    julian2002 Muper Soderator

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    if it works in your system then great. i've used one off and on over the past 3 years.
     
    julian2002, Feb 12, 2007
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  5. soundbyte

    zanash

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    its very location dependant to .....if you've low quality mains they can help ...if you've good clean mains they tend to make things sound a bit squashed.

    pleased it works for you !
     
    zanash, Feb 12, 2007
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  6. soundbyte

    sq225917 Exposer of Foo

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    any chance we could see a pic of the conditioning unit inside. might be worth making a test board.
     
    sq225917, Feb 12, 2007
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  7. soundbyte

    soundbyte

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    Thanks for all the replies
    And yes most of you are correct, the PSU in the Musical Fidelity's is probably superior. Initally the sound is striking. You hear sounds on the cd you really have never heard before - really you do !!
    But after a couple of days once I got use to the sound I realised that you loose musicality (if such a word exsists) Yes you hear every single tinkle, cymbals are more precise, but you loose the soul of the music. Back to the old normal mains lead/block and whilst the preciseness goes, the musicality comes back.

    What I have learnt is that mains blocks do make a difference and demand a lot of research and capital outlay. But I cant justify £500 for the What hifi best buys

    This filter is a fantastic buy - it just doesnt suit my system.
    Heres a link to it with piccie: http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...v=/images?q=Tacima+CS929+&svnum=10&hl=en&sa=G
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 13, 2007
    soundbyte, Feb 13, 2007
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  8. soundbyte

    Baudrillard

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    I read somewhere the other day that connecting your hifi components to one mains block means 'they are effectively connected to your house mains circuit at one point- known as 'star powering'. This helps a system to perform better than connecting mains leads to several wall sockets at different points'.

    Is there any truth in the above? I would have thought that directly connecting components to individual mains sockets would result in a cleaner connection than going through a mains block.
     
    Baudrillard, Feb 13, 2007
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  9. soundbyte

    zanash

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    yes .....

    there are many diy mains filters out on the web .....from the info supplied .... the statment that these "This kind of unit will not work for every mains interference problem, but it will for most." indicates the type of filters fitted. I'm assuming that these will rid your system of spikes, pops and squeecks from fridges and central heating systems rather than mains bourn hash super imposed on the sine wave.

    £500 is way too much to spend on this ....you could for £50 get a mains block and the components that would be at least the equal of those shown.

    http://www.triode-systems.com/modules/wfsection/

    these are at the bottom of the page ...they work too which is a bonus !
     
    zanash, Feb 14, 2007
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  10. soundbyte

    Colin2040

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    mains filters and conditioners

    Found this thread doing a search, I am looking into possibly adding a power conditioner something like the AEL one and a filter unit.Reading this makes me think that there are possibly better ways of improving sound.I dont think the supply where I live is particularly bad but you can notice differences throughout the day.It varies by about 5/6% in volts per day which I didnt think was too bad.I would appreciate any further thoughts on this subject.
     
    Colin2040, Mar 25, 2007
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  11. soundbyte

    Shuggie

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    I have had good results with a Vertex Jaya, which is not too expensive at around £300. I've heard it totally transform one system - the difference was simply staggering. Not a night and day difference in my own system, but every aspect of musical reproduction is improved. Works well on the telly, too. I think the negative comments about mains conditioners probably relate to those that use series inductors.
     
    Shuggie, Mar 25, 2007
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  12. soundbyte

    Tenson Moderator

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    I have also heard from someone who usually does not rate mains conditioning that the Vertex was good. On the other hand I still remain very sceptical due to the odd use of 'acoustic absorption' in a mains conditioner! I will have to give it a go when the chance arises. Is it simply a normal mains filter but only using parallel components and no series ones?
     
    Tenson, Mar 25, 2007
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  13. soundbyte

    Colin2040

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    Dont know the vertex jaya I'll have a surf in a moment.Is it the same vertex as the cables?. I have played around with some filters and recently borrowed one from a friend sold on e bay .It was a cable potted in a copper tube plus the filtering components.Not sure if it was a unit or individual components.I have to admit it made quite a difference hence the reason I am now looking into it.
     
    Colin2040, Mar 25, 2007
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  14. soundbyte

    Shuggie

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    Difficut to say as it's impossible to get inside to take a look at any Vertex products, but I suspect it's entirely parallel. I have met the Vertex designer and he has spent many years in the military aerospace world, where acoustic effects on electrical wires/circuits are a known problem, and thus I am convinced that the Vertex solutions are not bluff but based on sound physics. It's easy to demonstrate the benefits on picture quality of the Jaya using an LCD telly, which gets around the perennial arguments about audio blind testing etc (blind testing of tellies would be interesting!). I also have a Vertex balanced digital interconnect, between my Lyngdorf CD-1 and Lyngdorf TDA2200, which is certainly good enough to justify its cost, bettering Nordost Vahalla in my system.
     
    Shuggie, Mar 25, 2007
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  15. soundbyte

    Tenson Moderator

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    Sorry I still remain very sceptical, especially when they are made impossible to open!

    The acoustic effects on wires sounds like something blown completely out of proportion i.e. grenade going off next a circuit with 180dBSPL pressure fluctuations, okay it may have an effect. Speakers on the other side of a living room? Hmm..

    As they say though, the proof is in the eating, or something like that!
     
    Tenson, Mar 25, 2007
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  16. soundbyte

    Shuggie

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    I think you misunderstand the term 'military aerospace' - the problem is not simply impulse sounds, nor simply the effect of noise on interconnecting wires - it's much more complicated than that. Think large military surveillance aircraft crammed with sensitive electronics, where the effects that Vertex claim to reduce have been known problems and clearly demonstrated. You can't blame Vertex for making their stuff impossible to open - after all these days it's necessary to protect your intellectual property. Perhaps you never trust anyone's claims, but in this instance having met the Vertex designer, Vertex's claims seem to be entirely reasonable bearing in mind his professional background. It's a shame that their stuff is not cheaper, but hey, they have to make a living, and it's not like they dress it up in posh boxes and bling.

    I know that there are a few audio companies out there selling stuff based on what many see as pseudo-science, and I have grave problems with, for instance, Belt stuff (after trying the foil). Please believe me that Vertex are incredibly modest and there is only science - not pseudo science. It's a shame that their website does not explain any of this. While I am qualified to blather about acoustics, electronics is not my suit.

    Anyway, if anyone wishes to try any Vertex product, I am sure any of their dealers will facilitate a home trial. Anyone thinking about mains treatments should definitely consider the Jaya, so you are quite correct in that the proof is in the eating.

    If anyone from Vertex is reading this - please, please make the cables more domestically acceptable! I know those alloy boxes are borne out of function, but I really could not live with the speaker cables, which are visually too intrusive.
     
    Shuggie, Mar 26, 2007
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  17. soundbyte

    Colin2040

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    I have a dealer nearby that sells Vertex and I'll borrow some for home use ,in fact I'll borrow a few bits of kit and report back.He does Nordost and Isotek .I want to establish that sorting my mains may be more beneficial than filtering it.
     
    Colin2040, Mar 26, 2007
    #17
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