Just put in some mains cable upgrades

[the record spot]

I’ve learned so much to day, now I know what woofle dust is. Oh, do power blocks have a burn in time? 8)

*slap*

 

[ellisdj]

Not read the whole thread but I would never plug my hifi or av into an extension block like you have there - even though I do have them.

I experimeted with one of these after the 5 star review http://www.whathifi.com/review/tacima-cs929

They can be had for £27 on fleebay so they are not expensive at all. However I found them more than worth the money.

I personally run several to share the load off more than one 13 amp supply at the wall but I am quite ott and have a juicy system, but I felt I got better results than loading one right up.

I also favour clearer audio copper line alpha one - with 2 supressors for mains cables - again they are the cheapest in the range but I have found benefits for both picture and sound.

Cheap things to try out

 

[cheeseboy]

I also favour clearer audio copper line alpha one - with 2 supressors for mains cables - again they are the cheapest in the range but I have found benefits for both picture and sound.

Cheap things to try out

even cheaper if you make them yourself. Those clearer audio line alpha one is about 10 quid in parts and about 2 minutes to make....

 

[ellisdj]

Its always cheaper if you make it yourself, wiring a plug is easy admittedly but I like the way the suppressor or ferrites I assume are sheathed on to the cables. Porbably just heat shrunk but still I feel they warrant the cost

 

[CnoEvil]

Then we are as one! You can hear a difference and I can't but in the complete absence of woofle dust.

Chris

TBF. You have to try one, in order to not hear a difference.

 

[the record spot]

Just carried out a little cable addition of my own; some Van Damme speaker cable to bi-amp the DC4s. At long last...! Very pleased with the outcome.

 

[Covenanter]

Then we are as one! You can hear a difference and I can't but in the complete absence of woofle dust.

Chris

TBF. You have to try one, in order to not hear a difference.

TBEF life isn't long enough to try everything so I restrict myself to those things that have a rationale that I can understand. I am also predisposed not to try things that come with associated psuedo-science as I have an aversion to snow jobs.

When I got my current setup I did buy a mains conditioner. I bought it because i needed a new extension lead anyway, because there is logic in having a clean power supply, because it was highly reviewed in WHFI and because my dealer recommended it although they didn't sell it (Oh and because the cost wasn't material to me). You may recall I posted on this forum that I tried it blind with my concierge doing the swapping and couldn't hear any difference at all.

Now I suspect my apartment is awash with all types of radiation. There are 70+ apartments in the block so there wil be hundreds of pieces of equipment switching on and off all the time putting little blips on the mains supply, I'm maybe 30ft from the sub-station so there will be lots of 3-phase in the air, I'm 100 ft from the BT tower so there will be loads of microwave and I'm inside 2 BT OpenZones (the telephone exchange is on the other side of the road) and I can see 30 (I just counted them) wireless networks with signals strong enough to register. A mains conditioner ought to really work for me but no it doesn't.

Should I try mains leads? Why should I? I don't think they will work. On another forum I have been reading recently about "Ayre Myrtle Wood Blocks" which people apparently put under speaker cables "The first thing I noticed was an improvement in image focus, with a concomitant tightening up of the overall soundstage. This translated into a subtle but tangible improvement in the presence and the palpability of images ...". I'm not going to try them either (although they are at least very cheap). Neither, if you tell me it works for you, am I going to stand in a bucket of water whilst listening to my hifi. All these things are to me equally ridiculous and life isn't long enough!

Chris

 

[Supreme]

Zzzzzz

 

[kmlav]

Its been a busy week so I have not really had much more of a chance to chill out and listen to the hifi so no real feedback on the mains cable change from me yet. I am going to get a better mains extension block in the next couple of weeks, still doing research on it.

But what is really exciting is (hopefully) my Cyrus Streamer will be back this week with its upgrade to the version 2 so it can play the really high res files and I am adding Chord Signature Analogue interconnects from the Pre DAC XP to the power Amps which will make a nice contribution.

While the unit has been away I have been using my Sreamline from my home office system as the steamer , which is the silver box in the image, so with the higher res files and the new signature cables in place it should sound really nice.

 

[CnoEvil]

Its been a busy week so I have not really had much more of a chance to chill out and listen to the hifi so no real feedback on the mains cable change from me yet. I am going to get a better mains extension block in the next couple of weeks, still doing research on it.

But what is really exciting is (hopefully) my Cyrus Streamer will be back this week with its upgrade to the version 2 so it can play the really high res files and I am adding Chord Signature Analogue interconnects from the Pre DAC XP to the power Amps which will make a nice contribution.

While the unit has been away I have been using my Sreamline from my home office system as the steamer , which is the silver box in the image, so with the higher res files and the new signature cables in place it should sound really nice.

My only advice is not to make too many changes at once, so you can pin down what is making the difference (if any), and by how much.

I look forward to what you find.

 

[Covenanter]

Zzzzzz

I suspect you are snoring because you have spent, what, c£400 on a piece of kit which comprises a few capacitors which you could have bought for a few pence and the snoring is to cover your embarrassment! Reading the specification is like reading something written for school-children (which of course it is). Now please tell me, how do you spell "gullible"?

Chris

 

[kmlav]

So is it that the Hi Fi industry is a victim of "Group Think" where magazine reviewers, component manufacturers, distributors and many users all seem to agree that upgraded mains products do improve a system and the truth is the cheap mass produced leads from China that most products get shipped with are every bit as good.

I am open to the idea that the Hi Fi Industry and a lot of consumers have got this wrong. The world has seen this before when we the US and the UK managed to invade Iraq on evidence produced from the CIA which was in said latter to have suffered from "Group Think" which led to the presumption that Iraq had WMD's. So if the bight and intelligent world leaders can get something so serious wrong based on "Group Think" then us mere Hi Fi enthusiasts dont stand a chance and we have all been suckered in by the evil Hi Fi industry to spend a load of money on stuff we dont need and they have been so clever that they have managed to make people believe that it works.

 

[Supreme]

Zzzzzz

I suspect you are snoring because you have spent, what, c£400 on a piece of kit which comprises a few capacitors which you could have bought for a few pence and the snoring is to cover your embarrassment! Reading the specification is like reading something written for school-children (which of course it is). Now please tell me, how do you spell "gullible"?

Chris

Actually, it works a treat and didn't cost me anything. Now please tell me, how you spell 'bitter'

 

[Covenanter]

So is it that the Hi Fi industry is a victim of "Group Think" where magazine reviewers, component manufacturers, distributors and many users all seem to agree that upgraded mains products do improve a system and the truth is the cheap mass produced leads from China that most products get shipped with are every bit as good.

I am open to the idea that the Hi Fi Industry and a lot of consumers have got this wrong. The world has seen this before when we the US and the UK managed to invade Iraq on evidence produced from the CIA which was in said latter to have suffered from "Group Think" which led to the presumption that Iraq had WMD's. So if the bight and intelligent world leaders can get something so serious wrong based on "Group Think" then us mere Hi Fi enthusiasts dont stand a chance and we have all been suckered in by the evil Hi Fi industry to spend a load of money on stuff we dont need and they have been so clever that they have managed to make people believe that it works.

I don't think it's a conspiracy. The mainstream manufacturers are I am sure operating in an ethical manner (there may be exceptions). However I think there are people on the periphery who take advantage of the naivety of some customers. Some of us are old enough to remember when CDs came out a company making money selling people green pens which improved the sound. (I bet there are people who still believe it.)

Chris

 

[TrevC]

Zzzzzz

I suspect you are snoring because you have spent, what, c£400 on a piece of kit which comprises a few capacitors which you could have bought for a few pence and the snoring is to cover your embarrassment! Reading the specification is like reading something written for school-children (which of course it is). Now please tell me, how do you spell "gullible"?

Chris

Actually, it works a treat and didn't cost me anything. Now please tell me, how you spell 'bitter'

I would hope it does work, LOL. The thing is, as long as the mains is connected proper like, it will sound exacrly the same as an Asda cheapie.

 

[Covenanter]

Zzzzzz

I suspect you are snoring because you have spent, what, c£400 on a piece of kit which comprises a few capacitors which you could have bought for a few pence and the snoring is to cover your embarrassment! Reading the specification is like reading something written for school-children (which of course it is). Now please tell me, how do you spell "gullible"?

Chris

Actually, it works a treat and didn't cost me anything. Now please tell me, how you spell 'bitter'

Why would I be bitter?

Chris

 

[kmlav]

so all the reviews are basically lies http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/mains-products ?

 

[hammill]

so all the reviews are basically lies http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/mains-products ?

The UK may well end up with a King who believes in Homeopathy. Is he a liar (about this subject)? I think not. Does Homeopathy work? No. I have a similar view about whathifi and mains cables.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

All half decent manufaturers ship their products with premium cables. HDMI, mains and signal cables are top quality 'freebies' as well as the recommended cables to be recommended by good speaker manufacturers. So no need to buy 'better'.

 

[kmlav]

so I guess Naim dont know anything about Hifi if they think their mains cable does all this....

"With the launch of Naim's first custom designed and manufactured mains cable system, the most fundamental of all audio hardware items has hit centre stage. The Power-Line consists of a mains outlet plug, a mains cable and a mains IEC inlet plug, Each element incorporates features never before seen in an audio mains cable, and, like Naim's Hi-Line interconnect cable, the Power-Line represents a genuine advance in high-end audio engineering.

The unique design of the Power-Line is the result of hundreds of hours of experimentation, research and listening aimed at identifying and optimising the critical elements of audio mains power cables."

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/pdt-type/power-line

 

[hammill]

so I guess Naim dont know anything about Hifi if they think their mains cable does all this....

"With the launch of Naim's first custom designed and manufactured mains cable system, the most fundamental of all audio hardware items has hit centre stage. The Power-Line consists of a mains outlet plug, a mains cable and a mains IEC inlet plug, Each element incorporates features never before seen in an audio mains cable, and, like Naim's Hi-Line interconnect cable, the Power-Line represents a genuine advance in high-end audio engineering.

The unique design of the Power-Line is the result of hundreds of hours of experimentation, research and listening aimed at identifying and optimising the critical elements of audio mains power cables."

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/pdt-type/power-line

Naim sales manager "How come we don't sell our own expensive mains cable - our customers would trust us if we said it made a difference and we could make a fortune as they cost virtually nothing to produce" .Naim head of engineering "because they are little better than a placebo and the ones we already ship are perfectly fine". Naim sales manager "If you want a bonus this year, you had better build one"..............

 

[RobinKidderminster]

Naim power line £450. No comment

 

[hammill]

Naim power line £450. No comment

Not bad for a tenners worth of components

 

[steve_1979]

so all the reviews are basically lies http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/mains-products ?

The WHF reviewers also claim that USB cables sound different to each other.

I once asked the WHF reviewers if they would be willing to back up their claims by taking part in a blind test to see if they could really hear any differences. They refused.

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/a-challenge-for-whf-reviewers

 

[Covenanter]

so all the reviews are basically lies http://www.whathifi.com/reviews/accessories/mains-products ?

Not "lies" but reviewers can be as deluded as anybody else. There is a psychology of "buy in" and once you have taken that step there is an inbuilt propensity to continue to believe.

Chris

PS And as another poster has mentioned why no blind test? It would be really easy to do with mains cables.