Having got things pretty much where I want them on the component and accessories front, my attention is turning to the mains conditioning products on the market, and I'm finding it hard to judge what if anything I should spend, which manufacturer to go for, and who's claims to believe.
My system is Arcam CD37/A32/P35, PMC TB2+, Chord Chorus 2 interconnects, Van Damme LC-OFC 6mm speaker cable, Atacama AV rack, and Partington Super Dreadnought speaker stands.
I already have Russ Andrews mains cables (a classic on my CD and 2* Powermax on my amps) and an Olsen 8 way mains extension block (c. £100), which also serves my HC system.
I did notice a difference when I first got the Olsen several years ago, a small improvement in clarity and reduction of 'grunge'. The RA mains cables cumulatively also give a subtle increase in bass clarity and 3 dimensionality. However what makes me think about looking further in to this is that I can still notice a distinct difference in sound quality at different times of the day, (although less than it used to be), and the general consensus seems to be that this phenomenon is due to mains quality being affected by the load on the grid and inteference deposited by the things connected to it, both within and beyond one's property.
The problem is like anything in HiFi - who's claims to believe....I was looking at the Isotek Sirius. However I am intending to connect both HiFi and HC components to it and I've seen other Isotek mains products claiming to be tailored for AV use with different properties - so would one product not fit the bill for both? (Annoying because I only have one available wall socket and not much space behind my rack - any detrimental effect of 'daisy-chaining mains extensions?) Some Isotek products have dedicated sockets for 'high-current' devices, but not enough for my system annoyingly.
Then you have Russ Andrews, who don't differentiate between the characteristics required to serve HiFi and AV uses, or offer dedicated 'high-current' sockets (and would be different about a high-current socket anyway, they're all connected to the same mains?!), but generally just claim that their products are the best. And the little pseudo-scientific graphs comparing the subjective qualities of the different products in the RA range just make me deeply sceptical.
Some of these products cost as much as high end HiFi components in their own right. Also it doesn't stop at mains cables or mains conditioning extension blocks - apparently you can get better wall and IEC plugs that can improve the sound, and Russ Andrews even sell the wall sockets themselves, and special mains wire to re-wire your house......Now I like to think I'm fairly open minded, and I can get about as far as believing that a woven mains cable will have the benefit of rejecting radio frequency inteference, and that a thick cross section of high quality copper will reduce resistance, because that all has a sound scientific basis, and filtering/conditioning the mains supply so that you have a rock-solid 230v at 50 Hz also seems to make sense to me and aligns with my experiences of varying sound quality varying through the day. But if you start upgrading your IEC plugs and you wall sockets, really, where do you stop?
I think I could countenance a spend of about £250 for an 8 way mains block if it I believed that it would really make a significant difference and eliminate the variation in mains quality throughout the day.
Any thoughts, experiences or recommendations.....?
My system is Arcam CD37/A32/P35, PMC TB2+, Chord Chorus 2 interconnects, Van Damme LC-OFC 6mm speaker cable, Atacama AV rack, and Partington Super Dreadnought speaker stands.
I already have Russ Andrews mains cables (a classic on my CD and 2* Powermax on my amps) and an Olsen 8 way mains extension block (c. £100), which also serves my HC system.
I did notice a difference when I first got the Olsen several years ago, a small improvement in clarity and reduction of 'grunge'. The RA mains cables cumulatively also give a subtle increase in bass clarity and 3 dimensionality. However what makes me think about looking further in to this is that I can still notice a distinct difference in sound quality at different times of the day, (although less than it used to be), and the general consensus seems to be that this phenomenon is due to mains quality being affected by the load on the grid and inteference deposited by the things connected to it, both within and beyond one's property.
The problem is like anything in HiFi - who's claims to believe....I was looking at the Isotek Sirius. However I am intending to connect both HiFi and HC components to it and I've seen other Isotek mains products claiming to be tailored for AV use with different properties - so would one product not fit the bill for both? (Annoying because I only have one available wall socket and not much space behind my rack - any detrimental effect of 'daisy-chaining mains extensions?) Some Isotek products have dedicated sockets for 'high-current' devices, but not enough for my system annoyingly.
Then you have Russ Andrews, who don't differentiate between the characteristics required to serve HiFi and AV uses, or offer dedicated 'high-current' sockets (and would be different about a high-current socket anyway, they're all connected to the same mains?!), but generally just claim that their products are the best. And the little pseudo-scientific graphs comparing the subjective qualities of the different products in the RA range just make me deeply sceptical.
Some of these products cost as much as high end HiFi components in their own right. Also it doesn't stop at mains cables or mains conditioning extension blocks - apparently you can get better wall and IEC plugs that can improve the sound, and Russ Andrews even sell the wall sockets themselves, and special mains wire to re-wire your house......Now I like to think I'm fairly open minded, and I can get about as far as believing that a woven mains cable will have the benefit of rejecting radio frequency inteference, and that a thick cross section of high quality copper will reduce resistance, because that all has a sound scientific basis, and filtering/conditioning the mains supply so that you have a rock-solid 230v at 50 Hz also seems to make sense to me and aligns with my experiences of varying sound quality varying through the day. But if you start upgrading your IEC plugs and you wall sockets, really, where do you stop?
I think I could countenance a spend of about £250 for an 8 way mains block if it I believed that it would really make a significant difference and eliminate the variation in mains quality throughout the day.
Any thoughts, experiences or recommendations.....?
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