Confused about what mains cables to use.

[admin_exported]

I've been looking at various threads about the merits of better mains cables and extension leads but seem to be getting myself somewhat confused about what would be best. Currently, I have my Denon 1909 and Sony BDP S350 plugged into a standard short extension lead and my Panasonic Plasma, PVR, M&K Sub and Wii plugged into a 3 metre extension lead. Now what I'm confused about is whether I need something like the Tacima CS929 and a ClearerAudio copper line alpha or would one or the other be ok. Also I need one of the extension leads to be 3 metres and I think the Tacima only comes as 2m. What would be the best thing to do in this case?

Any help would be very gratefully received

 

[Big Aura]

I have the tacima and the copperline on my 1909.

The Tacima is good and really, really cheap. I only plugged in using the CopperlineA last night (her indoors was out for the evening, and I'm not allowed new kit, so under cover of darkness....!), so haven't had a chance to properly listen to it, but I think it's giving a bit more depth to the sound (even in pro-logic). Will properly test it over the next few days.

The combined tacima and copperlineA will give you 3m, tho....

 

[Anonymous]

I use Alpha coppers for everything, even just changed the supplied QED qonduit 1.5mtr which connects all my gear to my Qonduit 6way mains block, i've put a Alpha with a wattgate 320i and a high performance upright plug with 2 x super soppressers 1 at each end!

i find this mains block a great piece of kit and has the added protection of sourse designated inputs ( higher for plasma's and amps )

you could then add a 3mtr Alpha to this and sell the supplied lead on a curtain site?!

you then could have everything plugged in together and one good cable connected to the mains!

Just a thought?!

 

[clearer_audio]

nibbo:Now what I'm confused about is whether I need something like the Tacima CS929 and a ClearerAudio copper line alpha or would one or the other be ok.

Hello nibbo,

The Tacima CS929 and Copper-line Alpha Power Cables do different things so using them in combination is very worthwhile.

Firstly the CS929 utilises a simple capacitor and choke network which helps to reduce common mode and differential mode noise along with other noise such as Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). This is dealing with noise that is already on mains supply.

Secondly, the power cables are important and it is advisable to use shielded power cables when using any conditioning equipment (like the CS929 and others). If you use unshielded power cables they can pick up airborne noise such as RFI after the power has been filtered. This noise will then be transferred to your components thus undoing all the good work done. The shielding also stops the power cable from interacting with other cables that are in close proximity. Furthermore the Copper-line Alpha Power Cable provides better power transfer than standard power cable thus improving performance.

So having both a CS929 (or similar conditioning block) and Copper-line Alpha Power Cables (or other shielded power cables) will offer the best performance and ensure that you also get the best out of both block and cable and ultimately your system.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Darren

 

[Big Aura]

Darren

On this point - where is interference most likely to come from - analogue interconnects; speaker cable; or HDMI.

Or does it matter?

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

Hi all, Should I buy a Copper-line Alpha Power Cable and connect it to my plasma screen or to the media box. Would I benifit with 2 cables, 1 to the screen and 1 to the media box? Would this give a better all round performance? I am having a CS929 delivered shortly.

Regards... Deed

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of your advice. What I might do is keep the Wii and PVR plugged into the original extension lead and buy a Tacima and plug the Blu Ray, Receiver and Sub into this with standard length Clearer Audio cables and also the Plasma with a 5 metre Clearer Audio cable.

Any more comments are more than welcome.

 

[clearer_audio]

Big Aura:
Darren

On this point - where is interference most likely to come from - analogue interconnects; speaker cable; or HDMI.

Or does it matter?

Cheers

Hello Big Aura

Interference can come from a wide variety of sources. Both analogue interconnects or HDMI cables carry low-level signals which will not affect other cables nearby. Speaker cables carry signals of higher current so can therefore induce currents into delicate signal carrying analogue and digital interconnects including HDMI that are in close proximity. Power cables obviously carry mains voltages along with high currents so they exhibit an electro-magnetic field which can affect any cable. This is why having high performance shielding on all system cables can be very beneficial since it significantly reduces such interactions.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Darren

deed:
Hi all, Should I buy a Copper-line Alpha Power Cable and connect it to my plasma screen or to the media box. Would I benifit with 2 cables, 1 to the screen and 1 to the media box? Would this give a better all round performance? I am having a CS929 delivered shortly.

Regards... Deed

Hello Deed

If you are thinking of purchasing one cable then most certainly use it to power your plasma screen. This way you will see - and hear if you use the plasmas internal speakers or audio outputs - improvements no matter what source you use. The improvements are gained by the plasma screen so it will not matter if you use the media box, a blu-ray player or other source the improvements will always be apparent. The ideal solution is to have a cable on both the plasma and media box as this will give the best performance. Also doing so you will get the best out of your CS929 since this will filter the mains supply from interference and unshielded power cables can pick up unwanted airborne noise after this good work has been done.

Hope this helps.

Kind regards,
Darren

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Darren, I've just connected the CS929 filter cable and will now purchase 2 Alpha cables for even better results.

Regards

Deed

 

[JohnHolmes]

Jesus! please don't waste your money! I can't believe Im reading this thread.
Just think about how the power gets to the socket.. You reckon the
people who built the house thought lets go and get some decent cable to
wire this house for better quality power? They would get the cheapest
they could get away with...

EDITED BY MODS for house rules violation

 

[Anonymous]

JohnHolmes:Just think about how the power gets to the socket.. You reckon the
people who built the house thought lets go and get some decent cable to
wire this house for better quality power? They would get the cheapest
they could get away with...

That is precisely the point of buying mains filters, to cut out all the interference and rubbish that has been picked up by the cheap cable used when building the house.

I admit that I am sceptical about it all, but spending £25 on the Tacima mains block is a good start and if I don't notice any difference with that then I will go no further. If I do notice a difference then I will move onto the Copper alpha's, I can always send them back if I don't notice any difference. I recently tried QED hdmi cables on a home trial against the ones I bought from HDCable and could see or here no difference so they went back.

 

[Anonymous]

don't moan about till you've tryed it!!

that's why these companys offer a 60 day money back policy!

we can all READ articals,

but it's the eyes and ear's that tell us the true results!!

Nibbo, try em, if you find there's no difference then send em back!

 

[Anonymous]

i use cleares audio cables they r great and i have a seperate power source coming in to the house for my system

 

[Anonymous]

petesneds:
don't moan about till you've tryed it!!

that's why these companys offer a 60 day money back policy!

we can all READ articals,

but it's the eyes and ear's that tell us the true results!!

Nibbo, try em, if you find there's no difference then send em back!

That's exactly what I'm thinking. I don't mind buying as long as it's going to make a noticeable difference. I couldn't tell any difference between HDMI cables and I was able to return these, so being able to buy the copper alpha's on a 60 day trial I have nothing to lose.