So, this mains business

I have not dabbled in it at all as yet other than getting a sparky to come and put in a cable that runs from the box thing with the fuses to the 4 plugs I use for the hifi.
I did that because there were no plugs where the hi fi lives.

So Lavardin say don't use other mains cables and the TT has a captive lead, the phono stage has a big bugger of a lead already so what might be worth doing?

I know many of you are right into mains type tweakery and you can't all be misguided so maybe there's something in it.

What could I do for not much money that might convince me?

 

warning. FLAME ALERT!!..!!!


Ji Jools.

Cheap as chips (actually LITERALLY as cheap as a bag of chips..alright, maybe a bag of fishy and chips)

Get a ferrite ring from an electricians supplier, like RS components. It will cost literally less than £3. Stick it on the lead going to your 4 way adaptor.

It will stop a lot of the RFI. Treble will seem less hissy, and backgrounds quieter.

Not everybody likes the effect, and some people take them back off again.

I cant think of a mains tweak that comes close in terms of price and effect though.

Other tweakery is a chapter and verse to itself... from using braided cable to passively reduce RFI, shop bought mains cable, re-wiring your 4-way, de oxit on the connections - christ, the list is almost limitless.

The only thing I really havent tried is mains isolation kit - which apparently give cleaner mains. As I said - havent tried them - so cant comment.

For what its worth - my experience with trying mains cables all the way from FOC ones to Shunyata hydras, is that if I had my time over I really really quite honestly would not bother. The differences are IMO at best not much to write home about.

I know this is a rare view on the forum, and Im expecting to get linched now! lol

Try for yourself mate, and dont be afraid to say if you were or were not impressed. A home trial on some power cords and 4 ways would not be a bad idea from a shop.

this wine is making me less PC than usual... a bad thing? dunno...

Chris

 

Thanks but the wine must be affecting your eyes!!! I don't have an adapter just 4 plugs attached to the wall and the cable is under the floor so getting to it is a problem!!

Other ideas sound harmless enough but why bother if there's no major shakes in doing so as you found?

I might just buy some records instead!

 

hehehe u might be right my friend.

Biggest illustration of it all for me, was when I asked a high end dealer to set me up ... a 'sledgehammer demonstration' as I called it..

His demo, his kit - picked for the illustration .... going from a cheapy cable into a standard 4 way block - exchanged for £1000 worth of hydra into a hydra block thing (god knows how much that cost) I heard..... naff all difference.

Naff all differences in other demonstrations Ive been to too, sometimes I can hear a difference, but it isnt to my ears one big enough to get my wallet out for.

As I said though - some people disagree with me 100%!!!!! - so dont just believe me, u might learn to hate me for it!!

All the best
Chris

 

Bottleneck,

I disagree 100% with you

Do you think it is to do with the fact that you are using valve amps which are less susceptible to the crap on the mains that causes the horrid distortion in solid state amps?

Cheers, Robbo

 

bye bye dynamics!

I didnt like this tweak at all. sucked all the life out of my system

 

Chris,

On Saturday, get Graham to try the wadia with and without the trichord block. I am sure you will hear a big difference with this

cheers, Robbo

 

no mate, honestly.

Like with the shunyata demo, it was a CDP and solid state amp demo I went to. About £2k each they were, and very nice too (Hegel - hadnt heard of them before)

At Julians bake off, I could hear a little difference between some of them, but it wasnt enough to part money for IMO.. some just sounded ever so slightly brighter or duller than others, and that was it really for my ears.

As I said though, I know Im in the minority on the view but hey, guess thats ok!

Like with the green pen - its a subject that polarises view.

All the best
Chris

 

I agree with you, the differences were not huge at Julians. but in other setups they can be night and day IME

cheers, Robbo

 

So on that basis what's a good place to have a go?

I thought about the trichord mains doodah but it's many shekels..

 

i,ve not heard one yet (well i have but did no comparisons), but if they,re half as good as the guys say then it,s money well spent .(imho)
for a cheaper view , you could try lynwood , which to me seem fine vfm .
and of course the cheapest view is to d.i.y , but unless you buy a case to put them in (bumps up the cost quite considerably), they are damn ugly .

this is 120 quid +vat
1000va



they,re real easy to hook up , but they are ugly .

 

Joolsburger,

Try the eupen power leads, they start from £40 ish I believe and seem to work well for a number of people on the forum. Ask HenryT about a couple of weeks ago when we visited him and tried a eupen lead in his system. I use RA leads which are quite expensive so I would go with the eupen.

http://www.audusa.com/main.htm

Cheers, Robbo

 

Jools, why not ask Zanash to let you borrow one of his TT DIY mains leads, they work quite well on some kit, else try a Eupen for the money you get a fair return (£48 ) if you like I can lend you one, to try completely free, (we don't sell them ) to try as long as you like, if you hear no difference then nothing is lost.
I would steer well clear of the ferrite rings on mains leads, as Robbo says, big 'Life killers', Chris wouldn't be the only one to doubt mains alledged benefits, but I am quite happy to state that I feel that a 30% (if not more of my systems preformance) comes from my 'Sorting out' of the 'Incoming juice'
Some systems seem to be 'more' effected by power mods than others, but in all honesty, I wouldn't ever consider building a system, without some form of mains treatment. WM

 

I have recently employed the services of a Lynwood Mega Power supply - which is a 3kva tranny, currently conditioning my sources and amplification. I have also added an Olson mains filter in series on just the front end. This is all hooked up using RA Yello's.
Frankly it is has made a significant difference to my system, with a cleaner sound, tighter bass, extra detail being the main improvements. Its benefited across the board IMO, without detracting anywhere.e.g loss of prat - if anything i think it has added jest here too, with extra pace to my 'fruity', 'bubbalicious' amplification. Well worth the money - all s/h or offers - hence very cheap, and taking this into consideration a significant upgrade for the money. It has possibly had such a positive improvement due to the fact that i use lower priced equipment in the first place, which has been commented that they tend to have less well speced internal power supplys, and hence will tend to respond better to mains treatments than more high end stuff which is possibly already sorted and less in need of some good juice further down the chain.

Not to be discounted without experimentation in your own system.

Robbo, i thought valve gear responded even better to mains tweaks, due to the inherent way in which valves operate or something? Am i wrong?

 

To be honest, I dont really know for sure. but when I tried power conditioning on my WAD kit 88 integrated, it made bugger all difference, whereas on my solid state amps it was obvious.

Cheers, Robbo

 

My system used to only sound good after 9:00 at night and was pretty rough during the day.

Then I got an Olson Sound Fantastic power strip and some Eupens (one each for the sub, amp and CD).

Now my system sounds great 24 hours a day.

Nuff said!

Chris

 

So did I

2 Olson strips (one 4 plug for hifi, one 6 plug for AV) and everything that doesn't have a captive lead now has a Eupen on it (even the DVD player )

All that lot (not all bought at the same time) made a hell of a difference. I also have an IsoTek IsoPlug in the wall (between where the 2 Olsons are plugged in) and that made F-all difference.

Michael.

 

So I take it that's a thumbs up for the Eupen and the oslen stuff then, can't think of why or who would suggest it, beyond me
Although, I have replaced them all at Chez Rock 'n' Roll :slayer: :guitar: :drum: :guitar: :slayer:

 

nice little band you have playing there, Tone