Mains cables

[camcroft]

Hi.Do you think there is an improvement to be had by replacing the mains cable with a more dedicated cable or mains conditioner.I was looking at the Tacima CS929 mains conditioner 5 star rated on this site and thought for £26 it could be a cheap upgrade.Any thoughts.Thanks

 

[shafesk]

Haven't tried one myself but have heard good things about this Tacima, apparently its one of the cables non believer try and then become believers. If you think its cheap then I think you should go for a home demo and see what the fuss is about. AND THEN LET ME KNOW SO I CAN BUY ONE TOOO!

 

[camcroft]

Hi. Shafin and thanks.Its on Amazon so it is not so easy to home trial.I will wait a bit to see if anyone else has anything to say about the subject.Thanks.Alex

 

[Juzzie Wuzzie]

You've answered the question yourself - 'cheap upgrade' - so personally I don't think you can go wrong at £29.

 

[idc]

I have used mains conditioning in various house with differing effects. So find out how worthwhile they are I listen to my headphones with no music playing and turn the volume up to hear background hiss. If adding mains conditioning reduces that hiss, I think it is worthwhile. I presently have two liug in ones, one by Russ Andrews and one by Tacima.

I am sure that the effectiveness is down to how 'noisy' your mains supply is in the first place.

 

[relocated]

All you can do is try it out and see if it makes a difference to you.

No amount of replies here can help you because the believers believe and the non-believers just take the ~~~~ and quote various bits of science and about ABX and stuff.

The Tacima does get good press, but amoungst believers it is the majority opinion that you should not use one on an amp. Sources and TVs are considered to be better when such devices are used.

Some companies do a try before you buy but not at £30 a pop items. Amazon has always been excellent on returns[in my experience] so there is no real risk. If the Tacima does not impress you then at least you will have surge protected some gear albeit at a more significant price.

I have used one successfully for some years.

 

[idc]

Testing with no music playing and seeing what effect there is on background noise is reliable and effective enough to tell you how effective mains conditioning will be. I do not think that an ABX test is needed as you are listening for a noise and not making any sound quality judgements.

 

[oldric_naubhoff]

I'm using this Tacima block. telling frankly I hear no difference when listening to music when the gear is plugged into Tacima or standard extension lead. so maybe it's true what other people say, that a lot depends on quality of your own mains electricity. and also, even more depends on quality of your gear (good power supply will mitigate bad influence of poor mains electricity). however, I never checked levels of background noise. this seems like a good test to do.

but, if you're really serious about mains conditioning there's no better thing than balanced mains regenerators. this is the simplest and most efficient way to clean mains pollution. this is not a mains conditioner which tries to filter out nasties, with better or worse results. this thing completely recreates mains AC current cancelling any frequencies that shouldn't be there (i.e. mains pollution) leaving pure 60Hz sinewave at the output.

if you're interested, this is the cheapest balanced mains conditioner I could find:

http://www.transcendentsound.com/Transcendent/Transcendent_Sound_Power_Supply.html

or, arguably, the most eye-pleasing one:

http://www.atlascables.com/1.0-kva-balanced-transformer-line-conditioner.html

or, if you're a DIY person, you could easily built your own balanced mains conditioner. you'll find many tips on DIYAudio forum.

 

[nlanks]

I bought one to try just the same as you are considering, but I had to remove it as the only thing I wanted plugged into it to see if there was an improvement was the TV and it actually created a loud buzzing rather than removing anything! Had to put it up for sale therefore

Might just be my TV and set up as others say they have had good results.

General consensus seems to be not to plug amps into them as they don't allow enough current through, thus strangling them a bit.

End of the day it's cheap enought to just buy and try

 

[Anonymous]

The best and cheapest improvement you can make concerning the electricity is using a direct cable to your meter cupboard for your stereo setup only. I wouldn't expect miracles from a cheap mains conditioner. But, of course to decide whats good for you, use your own ears!

 

[CnoEvil]

I wouldn't expect miracles from a cheap mains conditioner.

I agree, as I don't think mains conditioning can be done cheaply and well. In fact I'm with Oldric....balanced mains transformers are the way to go. I have heard the Atlas he refers to, and IMO it's one of the best out there (and silent to boot).

 

[shooter]

I use a Tacima as i needed a nice quality extension for my digital stuff, it works but i plug amp's into wall sockets as some say the Tacima sucks the dynamics from the music, something to do with the choke though i've never experimented in that respect.

 

[Native_bon]

Am thinking of getting a mains conditioner myself. I dnt think its something you should do on the cheap.. I did use one of Tacima conditioners. I would say it worked by adding a smoother over sound, but kills dynamics a little. Sounds more relaxed.

No harm in trying. Am actually looking to get an ISOL-8 MiniSub wave conditioner.. A friend just got one & said his system sounds so much better, its night & day!! But the price range on these are very steep.. Also depends on mains polution in your area & quality of system.

Am hoping to get at least one week's home trial.

 

[CnoEvil]

Am thinking of getting a mains conditioner myself. I dnt think its something you should do on the cheap.. I did use one of Tacima conditioners. I would say it worked by adding a smoother over sound, but kills dynamics a little. Sounds more relaxed.

No harm in trying. Am actually looking to get an ISOL-8 MiniSub wave conditioner.. A friend just got one & said his system sounds so much better, its night & day!! But the price range on these are very steep.. Also depends on mains polution in your area & quality of system.

Am hoping to get at least one week's home trial.

When I had a home demo of an Isol 8 regenerator, where I plugged my Linn DS into it, I found it made the sound too cold and clinical for my taste .....but don't let that stop you trying it.

 

[Native_bon]

My system is very warm sounding. If i can get a weeks trial at home then nothing to loose. Hifi Systems reaction in diferent ways to equipment. Anyway thanx 4 the info.. Hum.. almost put me off now.. cause i dnt like clinical sound..lolol

 

[CnoEvil]

My system is very warm sounding. If i can get a weeks trial at home then nothing to loose. Hifi Systems reaction in diferent ways to equipment. Anyway thanx 4 the info.. Hum.. almost put me off now.. cause i dnt like clinical sound..lolol

If you have a warm sounding system, it may be just the ticket.....if I've learned one thing with this ridiculous hobby, it is that you can take nothing for granted and everything has to be experienced personally.

So please don't be put off, as I was just putting an alternative perspective.

Cno

 

[Native_bon]

That's true, your very right. If i dnt like i can always get a refund. So its a win win situation.

Thanx.

 

[CnoEvil]

That's true, your very right. If i dnt like i can always get a refund. So its a win win situation.

Thanx.

Please report back, as I would like to know how you get on.

Apologies to OP for diversion.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi camcroft,

I've just ordered a CS929 from Amazon and it's due for delivery in the next couple of days. Like others I'm a bit sceptical until I've tried it but at £26 I'm not going to worry unduly! The plan is to use it for CD, amp (currently not being used) and tuner, with headphone amp in a separate plug socket, although I'll also try it with the headphone amp plugged in as well (just for comparison). If there's no perceivable benefit then I'll use it for my TV.

 

[Marie Antoinette]

I had a Tac CS 929 in my system, at the time of purchasing I had compared it to a couple of far more expensive units ( music work 6 way, and QED Qonduit) and it compared favourably.

I have however since bought a Belkin unit which retails sub £60' and it was a lot better, add to that the Belk was on offer at something silly like £12 !

I have been told internally the Belkin is basically a PF 30, a very respected mains unit, but if you can't get a Belkin, the Tac is a great unit for less than £30.

PS I never personally never noticed a detrimental difference with my amp, a meaty 200 per channel Lyngdorf, when plugging into the Tac. Ymmv.

 

[willgaunt]

Can you tell me what model the Belkin is? Currently using a Tacima which made a bit of a difference, but I found I had to plug my amp into it (I know...) to get the best result, and so there was a bit of a compromise. Would prefer to get something better but can't afford minisub prices.

 

[Native_bon]

yea thats fine. I would certainly report back.. cheers.

 

[Ambrose]

Hi,

I tried the tacima and convinced me that mains conditioning was worth persuing.

However it did impact dynamics but gave greater overall clarity.

I have wirewold matrix and stratus now and didn't rob dynamics but nice natural and quieter background so that more music is heard. This is my own limited experience. The amp is direct into mains still however.

Ambrose

Good Luck!