Socket to me

[6and8]

I need 6 mains sockets to plug in all my gear. I want a simple solution that doesn't involve having the house rewired.

I can get a 6 socket mains extension from B&Q for about £16. But after doing a bit of research I started reading about mains conditioners. Some hifi reveiwers waxed lyrical about wider soundstages, deeper bass, absence of any background sound. And of course, protection from spikes in the current. Some reviewers warned that certain products could have a detrimental effect on the sound. Some user comments included 'didn't notice any difference'. Is this more hifi snake oil?

Richer Sounds are selling the Tacima 6-way CS947 for about £35. Or I could go for the Olson Sound Fantastic HF6 for about £135. But if I wanted to splash the cash there are also the Russ Andrews X6 and the Iso Tek EVO3.

WHF say the Tacima is good value at its price point, implying that if you spend more you get more. Do these products really make a difference? Are they worth the money?

 

[ifor]

Might be worth checking out.

 

[Gray]

As a rule, B&Q overprices electrical products. Even so I'd imagine the £16 gets you some spike protection.

If that's what you'd be paying anyway, add £19, go for the Tacima. If nothing else, it's well made, though plenty of people will say it too is overpriced and unecessary.

Fit it, forget it and don't think what might have been had you paid more.

 

[6and8]

I thought you were taking the p!ss with Clearer Audio, went to their website, their flagship mains hub weighs in at over 2 grand! I guess you meant the entry level one, the Copper-Line Alpha power hub. Lots of favourable reviews, some claiming 'night and day' sound experiences which I find hard to swallow. At £90 WHF still turn their noses up, 'sound lacks cohesion', (really?), 'not best in class'! But thanks for the tip, may follow up. But as Gray says, go cheap, forget about it and you won't know what you've missed.

 

[Deleted member 108165]

I prefer Tesco's over B&Q, much more organic and meaty sound. Was looking for snake oil to rub on my cables but couldn't find any *biggrin*

 

[ifor]

I thought you were taking the p!ss with Clearer Audio, went to their website, their flagship mains hub weighs in at over 2 grand! I guess you meant the entry level one, the Copper-Line Alpha power hub. Lots of favourable reviews, some claiming 'night and day' sound experiences which I find hard to swallow. At £90 WHF still turn their noses up, 'sound lacks cohesion', (really?), 'not best in class'! But thanks for the tip, may follow up. But as Gray says, go cheap, forget about it and you won't know what you've missed.

I've got an eight socket gang from them, but I've no idea whether or not it's better than the daisy chained cheapos I used before.

 

[nopiano]

I needed eight sockets a few years ago, and got a Russ Andrews one that was about £150. I’m not sure anyone else did that many at the time.

All his stuff can be trialled for a couple of months, and I can’t fault the construction or finish. I’ve never been sad enough to A/B test it against the wall socket, but since moving house my entire system is plugged into it. I recently read that you should plug the source items like turntable and streamer in closest to the input wire, but quite why isn’t entirely clear to me.

I’ve used a a Tacima in another property where we had to have a TV, bluray, phone extension and router all pretty much on top of each other. But I’d try a plain, unfiltered extension first if it were for Hi-Fi. I think one contributor here - it might have been Rick @ Musicraft - regularly recommended Wilko extensions, which are very thrifty!

 

[Oldphrt]

I need 6 mains sockets to plug in all my gear. I want a simple solution that doesn't involve having the house rewired.

I can get a 6 socket mains extension from B&Q for about £16. But after doing a bit of research I started reading about mains conditioners. Some hifi reveiwers waxed lyrical about wider soundstages, deeper bass, absence of any background sound. And of course, protection from spikes in the current. Some reviewers warned that certain products could have a detrimental effect on the sound. Some user comments included 'didn't notice any difference'. Is this more hifi snake oil?

Richer Sounds are selling the Tacima 6-way CS947 for about £35. Or I could go for the Olson Sound Fantastic HF6 for about £135. But if I wanted to splash the cash there are also the Russ Andrews X6 and the Iso Tek EVO3.

WHF say the Tacima is good value at its price point, implying that if you spend more you get more. Do these products really make a difference? Are they worth the money?

No, they do not make a difference. None whatsoever.

 

[Oldphrt]

I thought you were taking the p!ss with Clearer Audio, went to their website, their flagship mains hub weighs in at over 2 grand! I guess you meant the entry level one, the Copper-Line Alpha power hub. Lots of favourable reviews, some claiming 'night and day' sound experiences which I find hard to swallow. At £90 WHF still turn their noses up, 'sound lacks cohesion', (really?), 'not best in class'! But thanks for the tip, may follow up. But as Gray says, go cheap, forget about it and you won't know what you've missed.

I've got an eight socket gang from them, but I've no idea whether or not it's better than the daisy chained cheapos I used before.

What Hifi reviewers lack technical knowledge and are prone to flights of fancy. All mains connections perform in an identical way, so there will be no gains in using the expensive ones.

 

[nick8858]

Give me strength!

 

[MajorFubar]

Russ Andrews Give me strength!

Quite. I wouldn't give that opportunist-bordering-fraudster the snot out my nose.

 

[nick8858]

Russ Andrews Give me strength!

Quite. I wouldn't give that opportunist-bordering-fraudster the snot out my nose.

An eloquently put summation sir!

 

[brownz]

I notice the DDE-1 is no longer on the website.... still never worked out what it did for over £3K......

 

[nick8858]

I've worked out what the DDE-1 does for buyers. It empties their bank account in a flash and then causes deep depression as you then have to lie to all your mates that it makes a difference to what you hear*biggrin*

 

[brownz]

I've worked out what the DDE-1 does for buyers. It empties their bank account in a flash and then causes deep depression as you then have to lie to all your mates that it makes a difference to what you hear*biggrin*

Ah.... a solid state wallet lightner !

 

[GeoffreyW]

For £39, buy the Tacima, and if it works, great, but if not, sell it on. Personally, unless your hearing is golden, I wouldn't spend too much on sockets, but would buy good quality plugs and sockets, with robust connectors.

It's a very personal choice, music reproduction is.

 

[Oldphrt]

For £39, buy the Tacima, and if it works, great, but if not, sell it on. Personally, unless your hearing is golden, I wouldn't spend too much on sockets, but would buy good quality plugs and sockets, with robust connectors.

It's a very personal choice, music reproduction is.

They don't affect sound quality at all, either positively or negatively. So golden ears means imagining it.