I regularly read about the benefits a good earth can bring to the sound of a system. I'd like to look into this further but to be honest it scares the hell out of me. There are products with an earth terminal on the face plate of mains sockets e.g RA's SuperSocket plus. Whether these are safe is my primary concern, followed by do these work? If any one has any info on these, it'd be much appreciated.
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When should you upgrade your hi-fi? How to control ‘upgradeitis’
Earth terminal on mains sockets
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Well I have one of Russ Andrews super sockets connected to my dedicated ring main and the earth terminal on the super socket is connected to 6 earth spikes in my back garden, does it make a difference? Yes, a massive amount on my Naim gear, noise floor went down and the treble and midrange was really sweet sounding with no grain or harshness.
But sadly I sold my Naim
and now I have it connected up to my home cinema equipment, the difference on my onkyo is not so big, or it may be my speakers now are not so revealing.
They are safe if you install them correctly and the earth terminal is safe to touch as it’s the same as touching your cooker or washer or any pipes around your house as they are all earthed.
Hope that helps a little.
But sadly I sold my Naim
They are safe if you install them correctly and the earth terminal is safe to touch as it’s the same as touching your cooker or washer or any pipes around your house as they are all earthed.
Hope that helps a little.
what exactly is a supersocket???, sounds like a bit of gimicky rubbish that doesnt work.
For information about house earthing Douglas self expalins perfectly about potential earthing problems and how to avoid them.
http://www.douglas-self.com/ampins/groundloops/grndloop.htm
If a product is that fussy about its mains supply then its either a poorly designed peice of kit or there is a problem with it.
For information about house earthing Douglas self expalins perfectly about potential earthing problems and how to avoid them.
http://www.douglas-self.com/ampins/groundloops/grndloop.htm
If a product is that fussy about its mains supply then its either a poorly designed peice of kit or there is a problem with it.
Thanks for the info on your first hand experience0077L2Thrill. It's always good to get feedback from someone who has used a product. This may tempt me into investigating further. I have an Isotek Aquarius which made a great deal of improvement so am convinced of the benefits of a good mains supply. Without trying these things, you never know.
Thanks for your view hifiscore. The kit is Meridian / KEF Reference so is high quality. It may sound gimicky, but given the cost of my system, relatively speaking it's peanuts . Everything is merely theory until you give it a go.
Thanks for your view hifiscore. The kit is Meridian / KEF Reference so is high quality. It may sound gimicky, but given the cost of my system, relatively speaking it's peanuts . Everything is merely theory until you give it a go.
hifiscore said:
So you are saying these sockets don't work? As in don't deliver electricity to plugs inserted into them? Or in some other way?
You really can't make accusations like this without backing them up, hifiscore...
Frank Harvey
Well-known member
They look like standard sockets with a big green earth terminal on the front, so i am sure they will deliver 240volts to your equipment, but they wont be any better than high quality sockets from B&Q i bet. They have been treated with DeoxIT™ DN5 contact enhancer. Will this lower the contact resistance over a B&Q socket and make you hifi sound better, a no i think. £24.0 for a socket with a big green earth terminal is a bit of a rip off. And russ andrews has no proof or data to backup his claim that it improves the performance of your hifi equipment even with Deep Cryogenic Treatment (DCT) which would bring the total to £37.0
ericleroi said:
Not a problem,
I placed six earth spikes in the back garden in a star pattern then with the thickest earth cable I could get may hands on, I then connected all the spikes to the middle spike then connected the middle earth spike and ran the cable around the side of my house through the side wall up to the second floor under the floor boards then along my mains spur, then in the front room then connected to my super socket, I have some kimber earth weave then connecting from the super socket to the back of my AMP, when I had my Naim - I had the earth weave connected to all the chassis’s.
Like I said, it did wonders on my Naim but not as good on my onkyo.
If you do try it out you will have to update this thread as I would like to know what you think!
Hi, have been away for a while but just poped in for a look.
In my experience ensuring that the power supply is as clean as pratically possible is the most cost effective improvement to make all your music and AV system perform at its best that can be done.
The solid copper wire 'True Earth' quickly oxidizes with age, so impedence is increased.
Also the ring main acts as an conductor which puts noise on ALL 3 lines. Besides the music you are also listening to the effects of this through your system. (Noise floor, detereation in channel seperation, loss of detail and timing.)
When I had an electrician put in a dedicated 40A wired spur along with a new consumer unit I also had him clean the Earth wire from the meter. (also I used my deoxIT Kit on ALL terminals) The improvements were impressive, even more so after I went on to fit a Tacima block feeding 2 BT MTU's. This led to a complete absence of hiss, hum, the noise floor disapeared.
My music was a joy to listen to again, even the TV!
Here are a few pointers. I think it is always best to start at the beginning of the chain and work down the line. Check the quality of the Earth bonding to the home, ensure it is well connected and clean. If your consumer unit is old get a new one fitted with more outputs so you can lift and seperate better the ring circuits. Put the Hi Fi onto the 1st feed using 40A wire, nearest the isolation switch (if you are not using a seperate unit) then the highest current demand rings in assending order.
Personally I use the True Earth direct feed, I think a Balanced mains or BT MTU remove all the noise anyway. (well they do to my ears!) Improving your mains supply is a no brainer, your equipment runs smoother, sounds better, last longer.
I will get my coat now before the fighting starts.....
In my experience ensuring that the power supply is as clean as pratically possible is the most cost effective improvement to make all your music and AV system perform at its best that can be done.
The solid copper wire 'True Earth' quickly oxidizes with age, so impedence is increased.
Also the ring main acts as an conductor which puts noise on ALL 3 lines. Besides the music you are also listening to the effects of this through your system. (Noise floor, detereation in channel seperation, loss of detail and timing.)
When I had an electrician put in a dedicated 40A wired spur along with a new consumer unit I also had him clean the Earth wire from the meter. (also I used my deoxIT Kit on ALL terminals) The improvements were impressive, even more so after I went on to fit a Tacima block feeding 2 BT MTU's. This led to a complete absence of hiss, hum, the noise floor disapeared.
My music was a joy to listen to again, even the TV!
Here are a few pointers. I think it is always best to start at the beginning of the chain and work down the line. Check the quality of the Earth bonding to the home, ensure it is well connected and clean. If your consumer unit is old get a new one fitted with more outputs so you can lift and seperate better the ring circuits. Put the Hi Fi onto the 1st feed using 40A wire, nearest the isolation switch (if you are not using a seperate unit) then the highest current demand rings in assending order.
Personally I use the True Earth direct feed, I think a Balanced mains or BT MTU remove all the noise anyway. (well they do to my ears!) Improving your mains supply is a no brainer, your equipment runs smoother, sounds better, last longer.
I will get my coat now before the fighting starts.....
The_Lhc
Well-known member
trevor79 said:If your consumer unit is old get a new one fitted with more outputs so you can lift and seperate better...
I will get my coat now before the fighting starts.....
Coat? You mean Bra surely?
Thanks for the info trevor79. I have an Isotek Aquarius and now a Syncro to go with it so can relate to your remarks about improvements the mains can bring. I'm also a fan of Caig De-Oxit as well.
I'm particular intrested in your comments around earth bonding. Mine is attached to a pipe in the garage which is where the consumer unit is. I'll check it out. Any pointers or additional suggestions in this area would be appreciated.
@playtexthe_Lhc lol!
I'm particular intrested in your comments around earth bonding. Mine is attached to a pipe in the garage which is where the consumer unit is. I'll check it out. Any pointers or additional suggestions in this area would be appreciated.
@playtexthe_Lhc lol!
Check that you have a clean and tight connection. Also see if further bonding points are fitted under the sink, near Gas Meter.
If the house has strong Earth connections it not only improves safety but reduces noise on the earth wiring.
Fit a dedicated spur to a 2VA or better Balance Mains transformer with a 220v output and you are sorted. You could well find that with well planned cable runs investing in expensive cables makes no difference at all!
If the house has strong Earth connections it not only improves safety but reduces noise on the earth wiring.
Fit a dedicated spur to a 2VA or better Balance Mains transformer with a 220v output and you are sorted. You could well find that with well planned cable runs investing in expensive cables makes no difference at all!
Thanks for the pointers. I did check the earth connection from the consumer unit. it seemed to be very poor. I've cleaned up the pipe it was connected to (which seemed to have a thin coating of something on it) with a fine abrasive and applied Caig Deoxit. I switched off the power before doing this.
Improvement? Yes! Cost? Practically zero. I'll be on the hunt for other connections today. Thanks again.
Improvement? Yes! Cost? Practically zero. I'll be on the hunt for other connections today. Thanks again.
Glad to be of help.
It's quite simply reallly, poor wiring connections create impedence, which in turn hinders the flow. For running your fridge, cooker, lighting etc it doesn't really matter.
But the instant demands of current amplification needs it does. Amps will amplify everything that is sent through them including ALL THE NOISE on the electricity supply feed. Signal paths in equipment are extremely sensitive to polution off the power rails.
It makes sense to get rid of this noise as far back down the line as you can. Also stabalizing the supply dealing with spikes and surges.
That's what Hi End Hi Fi does much better.
It's quite simply reallly, poor wiring connections create impedence, which in turn hinders the flow. For running your fridge, cooker, lighting etc it doesn't really matter.
But the instant demands of current amplification needs it does. Amps will amplify everything that is sent through them including ALL THE NOISE on the electricity supply feed. Signal paths in equipment are extremely sensitive to polution off the power rails.
It makes sense to get rid of this noise as far back down the line as you can. Also stabalizing the supply dealing with spikes and surges.
That's what Hi End Hi Fi does much better.
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