upgrading mains cable on exposure monos

[scorps]

i read a lot of opinions of useing a quality mains cable which is ok for pre amp but my exposure 18 monos dont have plug in mains cables was wondering if anyone knew where i could get the cable upgraded and any suggestions on which cable to upgarde it with

thanks in advance for replies

 

[Thaiman]

Densen pre/Exposure monos...Great match

I haven't a clue about power cables though as i am a non believer but there are plenty here that can and will help you....good luck

 

[Anonymous]

I should probably know better but FWIW:

Clearer Audio Silver Line 1M ( avail for trial 3months, return option. Improved detail, smoother treble and lower background noise. Excellent on both CDP and Preamp.

MusicWorks IEC Mains cable: Very strong bass, less 'airy and open' than above, more in your face .50 quid cheaper.Not avail for trial. 1.8 M

Both are impressively thick, heavy, well screened cables. They are quite different in presentation so difficult to say which i prefer!

I use the Clearer Audio on my my cdp (Primare CD21) and the MWorks on the Pre30.
Personally I think it's worth it if you're looking at squeezing every last bit from your system. Any slight improvement (real or imagined) is better than a what if? Like I say, for me the differences are real .

 

[drummerman]

I have heard a few times that (especially earlier) Exposure amps occasionally suffer from transformer hum/higher than average noise floor. I think they are probably more sensitive to clean mains than some other brands and may benefit from a well screened power cable, perhaps even a mains conditioner. I would have thought that any dealer that has a half competent repair department can carry the conversion out for you. It may also be worth to contact exposure.

 

[fr0g]

Just make sure you can return them and try to blind test. Personally I think they make zero difference. Maybe if you have lots of unusual interference near your house it could help (you dont live in a Telephone exchange or a nuclear power station maybe?).
As for changing the 'type' of sound, ie improved bass, mid-range etc, I call BS on that one. You'd be better off aligning all your screw heads, and buying a magic sound amulet.

Of course I may be completely wrong.

 

[Anonymous]

Brill stuff? As for the magic sound amulet, c'mon that's foo man.....

 

[scorps]

thanks for thoughts im certainly in the make a difference camp so will get in contact with exposure see what they say

 

[Anonymous]

scorps:
i read a lot of opinions of useing a quality mains cable which is ok for pre amp but my exposure 18 monos dont have plug in mains cables was wondering if anyone knew where i could get the cable upgraded and any suggestions on which cable to upgarde it with

thanks in advance for replies

The fact that the manufacturer has fitted fixed leads should tell you all you need to know. Those that claim sound improvements for such things have an over-active imagination.

 

[professorhat]

Jim - do you think that the freebie RCA phono cables that get bundled in with components are as good as you can get? (Just a question, I'm interested in your opinion).

 

[fr0g]

professorhat:Jim - do you think that the freebie RCA phono cables that get bundled in with components are as good as you can get? (Just a question, I'm interested in your opinion).

When and if you get bundled RCA leads, the recommendation is to change them. Those leads are carrying analogue audio signals which without doubt can be affected by differening electrical characteristics, not the juice to power up the unit.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with drummerman try a mains conditioner, I cant speak for your kit but to my humble setup the tacima CS929 made more than a £40 difference, worth a pop if you ask me.

 

[Anonymous]

professorhat:Jim - do you think that the freebie RCA phono cables that get bundled in with components are as good as you can get? (Just a question, I'm interested in your opinion).

I think that the claims for expensive cables are exaggerated, but the bundled cables are generally not good enough.

 

[Pike900fish]

Brisk:I agree with drummerman try a mains conditioner, I cant speak for your kit but to my humble setup the tacima CS929 made more than a £40 difference, worth a pop if you ask me.

Bought one of these and I couldn't hear any difference. Tidied up my cabling though. Mind you, I've never herd (for my ears anyhow) any difference between standard wiring and bi wiring of speakers. I am experimenting at the mo with bi-amping though.

 

[professorhat]

fr0g:professorhat:Jim - do you think that the freebie RCA phono cables that get bundled in with components are as good as you can get? (Just a question, I'm interested in your opinion).

When and if you get bundled RCA leads, the recommendation is to change them. Those leads are carrying analogue audio signals which without doubt can be affected by differening electrical characteristics, not the juice to power up the unit.
Yeah, I know - just seems strange a manufacturer would bundle a cable which isn't giving you the best sound... I wonder why they do this?

 

[fr0g]

professorhat:fr0g:professorhat:Jim - do you think that the freebie RCA phono cables that get bundled in with components are as good as you can get? (Just a question, I'm interested in your opinion).

When and if you get bundled RCA leads, the recommendation is to change them. Those leads are carrying analogue audio signals which without doubt can be affected by differening electrical characteristics, not the juice to power up the unit.
Yeah, I know - just seems strange a manufacturer would bundle a cable which isn't giving you the best sound... I wonder why they do this?

To give you choice perhaps? To be honest, the only piece of kit I have bought that has come with cheap leads, has been a squeezebox.
I certainly didn't get any with my amplifier, or speakers.
Leads carrying musical information can, and do sound (slightly) different (My only arguement on this point is the scale of the difference). Not so with a mains lead which just needs to be up to the job (IMO).

 

[drummerman]

I think most are aware that I am not anal about cables etc but I am the first one to admit that different cables make a difference and sometimes they are not just subtle. Problem is its not exclusively price related and more often than not its very system dependent ie. what works for you may not for someone else. Same thing with the tacima, one of which I still got here. It can either make an improvement, none at all or actually be detrimental to sound. I recently ordered a gotham interconnect. Its a fine cable for the money but I would'nt go overboard about it, it's clearly got a relatively dry and not to extended treble and a softish, again not very extended bass compared to other ones I use but using the tacima extends and firms the bass on this cable even if it does little for the treble. If I use the tacima with some of my other interconnects it saps the life out of the bass ... figure that. What it always does is to somewhat lower the noise floor though that is also dependant on the time of day ie demand on the grid. The result is a more pristine (hifi) rendering of things with slightly better focus but it also robs some dynamics and impact, two things I happen to like. In the end its peanuts to buy though and I would say is a good buy for components which are more mains sensitive than others as it is an active mains purifier as opposed to mains cables whose success depends on shielding alone.

 

[Anonymous]

drummerman: What it always does is to somewhat lower the noise floor though that is also dependant on the time of day ie demand on the grid.

I'm so happy you said that! My system sounds MUCH better in the early hours than during the day (even when it's really quiet). Secretly, I reasoned that it could be something to do with the mains...although there is less 'background noise' at these hours anyway :_)

 

[scorps]

i also find that it sounds better in the dark wether that has to do with cutting interference or just wether u concentrate on the music better wi nothing to distract your mind

i contacted exposure nad they done do a upgrade for the 18s but said "what some people do is cut off the mains lead to about 6 inches from the
case and then use a re-wireable IEC socket"

now that i cant see point in as u still using original cable or am i mistaken

 

[wireman]

I know this is a really old thread, but I thought I'd throw in my tuppence worth anyway in case scorps is still around / using his exposures.

John Farlowe, the original founder/owner of exposure and designer of the 18's didn't believe in all that fiddling with mains leads and power conditioners. The product was designed to sound best the way it was supplied, even down to the fixed mains cable and use of their own branded version of (cable-talk made) speaker cable which has certain inductive properties, which similarly affects how the amplifier sounds. The mains cable is captive (fixed) to avoid mains connectors, which (however good they are) don't 'sound' as good as a soldered mains connection (in JF's view). The way the mains cable is stripped back, tied and soldered inside the amplifier make it difficult to change anyway.

The "cut the cable off and use an IEC to join a new one on" is a Russ Andrews approach (see his web-site), but I'd advise against it in this context. RA (Kimber) mains cables, in my view, kill everything that's special about the exposure sound. To clarify, I do own and have heard wonderful results using RA mains cables - I just personally wouldn't suggest using them in an exposure based system. If you want to change the exposure sound that much, you'd be better off considering another brand of amplifier.

If you want your exposures to sound how they were intended, use the XLR inputs (even though they're single ended), exposure branded (or cable talk) speaker cable, and a good old-fashioned metal/glass rack (Mana, Target etc). If your 18's have had more than 10 years of reasonable use, they reportedly benefit from a capacitor change, an operation exposure still regularly perform, even after all these years. Ironically, what makes an exposure really sing is not to replace the mains lead, but to cut the 13amp plug off the mains lead at the wall end, and hard wire the amplifiers directly into the mains - preferably to a suitably protected dedicated ring or radial circuit - further reducing use of mains connectors (not recommended unless you know what you're doing (I'm an electrician)).

All systems, in my experience, are affected to a greater or lesser degree by mains-bourne interference, which is why they sound better at night when there's less interference being created either within your own home or on the supply coming into it - even these great £2000+ mains regenerators only lessen the effect, not totally eliminate it (unless you live in a comparatively 'clean' and stable mains area anyway). Your one consolation is that a key factor common to all exposure product was the attention given to power supply design - it's more robust and less suseptible to interference than most.