I was driving to Thorpe park and on the side of the road was a ............

[admin_exported]

Mains conditioning unit - BT 500MTU.

It was sitting there, on the pavement, on the north side of embankment, just before the road turns north towards earls court.

Best bargain of the year!

It works but the problem is this.......... The power cord was cut and, with a new plug on, is only 6 inches long. How can I extend this cord? Is it just a twist and lots of electrical tape? But this does not feel safe.

I'll play with this unit on monday and will report best use, if it sounds better at all, after listening tests. 

 

[John Duncan]

Stick an IEC socket on the end, then you can use any mains cable you like.

 

[idc]

You could just plug it into a mains extension. I hear that Tacima do a good one and QED, but it is more expensive ..oh.....

 

[Anonymous]

Well, the jury is still out.

With the conditioner in place on all components, there is more air around the instruments but the bass sounds a little bloated.

Just on amp doesn't really give any change.ÿ

I have a feeling the conditioner will be walking out the door. Still, worth a try.

 

[Andy H]

Might be worth your while putting a post on for Trevor, he seems to be a fountain of all knowledge on these units.

 

[Anonymous]

I have spent another 2 hours this morning playing with the unit and.........

I'm still not convinced.

Cheers for the suggestion Andy H. I have had the MTU125 for about 6 months and have been following Trevors posts. Tomorrow, I will try the conditioner with bog standard mains cable. I know that Trevor mentioned he uses only the bog standard cable.

I have a feeling that the cables I have made are doing a similar job to the BT unit. So, tomorrow will be bog standard cables into mains VS bog standard cable into BT unit.

This could result in people acheiving an upgrade for less money or, to put it another way, is it worth finding a BT unit before upgrading mains cable.ÿ

Oh, and it hums a bit!ÿ

I'll report back tomorrowÿ

 

[a91gti]

You have to wonder how it came to be at the roadside, maybe thats a comment on its value?

 

[Anonymous]

No,

I can see why people would want one of these in their system. I think it makes a difference but, in my particular system, I prefer the sound without.

With the BT in, the bass is a bit tighter on some tracks but a bit muddy on others. Also, the sound is a little more refined but it somehow takes a little of the musicality away. BUT THAT IS ON MY SYSTEM. It may be different on yours or someone elses.

As to being at the side of the road, one mans junk is another mans treasure.

I'll let you know tomorrow what happens with normal cables.ÿ

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, so I have been playing.

I'm not one for constant fiddling with my hifi doing multiple blind tests ect but this is what I found (with about half hour of fiddling).

Bog standard cables straight into wall. This sounds ok but going back to it after 6 months of using mains power cables made my hifi sound like a cheap AV system (to my ears). The emotion had dissapeared from Susan vega voice. No soundstage (everything came from speakers). Everything sounds brittle. Boo!!!

Bog standard cables into conditioner. The soundstage was better but still in the speaker confines. Sounded recessed. The bass was better but not great. Instruments sounded more tangeable.

My cables DH labs Power Plus into wall. Its all back! Soundstage outside of speakers, presence, tuneful bass, music sounds like music.ÿ

I recommend these cables but there is a caveate. I have not compared them to anything other than bog standard cable.ÿ

The conditioner does not improve my system but the cables...........oh yes.ÿ

As I am bi-amping, both amps are 800VA each, plus CD, and the conditioner is rated at 500VA. I believe that I do not hear any improvement as there is no headroom. (I know that the system is not drawing 1600VA all the time but I think, at points, it will draw in excess of 500VA for miliseconds)

I could try to get another BT (no, too many boxes). I would like to try one of the airlink transformers to see if the extra oomph will give me the best of both worlds (I think it might).

So, the conditioner goes. ÿ

PS, this is my system and I am pleased for others for whom the BT has worked for.ÿ

 

[idc]

Have you got a link as I cannot find these units on the web?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys, spotted the posts!

Have read through the thread and my thoughts are as follows......

1st a great find, you can't beat something for nothing!

The unit should run silent and not hum, it makes me wonder if the Mains capacitors are shorting out.

The transient current draw off the monoblocks (in following the music) should be easily handled with the Mains capacitance built into the CPU. With the observation of the music at times sounding 'muddied' it should never be like that!
It is obviously being strangled with a restricted current draw which is unpleasant. (Most Hi Fi sounds thin like this)

Perhaps that is why it was found at the road side?

One very big plus point with these BT Units is the built in Mains capacitance that not only smooth out the Mains but store and provide a consistent feed on the transient demands of the power supply, giving pace, timing, depth, and texture to the music being played.
By the reports it is not functioning well.

 

[Anonymous]

Mine hums too, can you get to the capacitors and replace them?

 

[Anonymous]

It's a brave man who starts DIY on 240v appliances.

Or indeed who finds one discarded at the side of the road, takes it home and plugs it in.

 

[Anonymous]

Cheaper to buy another unit off E Bay, the Mains Caps are expensive!

 

[the record spot]

JohnDuncan:Stick an IEC socket on the end, then you can use any mains cable you like.

Aha! This could be what I need for mine! Must pick one up as I have a similar problem to the OP's with mine (3 socket BT MTU).