Wall sockets, surge protectors and mains conditioners - opinions?

Page 4 - Seeking answers? Join the What HiFi community: the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products.
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest

thats a shame. i was expecting a a good laugh from your "assessment" of that product !

any thoughts on the thread i have posted on stock power cables, freebie interconnects and qed 79 strand ?
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
I put dde-1 in a search on Russ's site, drew a blank. What is it?

it was an "optical disc enhancer"...

it cost nearly 4K and there was no actual description of what it did or how it actually worked !

not surprised it has disappeared !

here is an old thread on this item :-

 

TrevC

Well-known member
it was an "optical disc enhancer"...

it cost nearly 4K and there was no actual description of what it did or how it actually worked !

not surprised it has disappeared !

here is an old thread on this item :-


Obviously it was such nonsense that even gullible Russ fans wouldn't buy it!
 
Last edited:
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
Obviously it was so obviously nonsense that even gullible Russ fans wouldn't buy it!

i did wonder if anybody did or who would buy that thing !

still find it hard to believe they tried to sell something with no actual explanation as to what it did...
 
D

Deleted member 188516

Guest
It used the magic of the colour green and De- magnatised c.d's if I remember rightly.
As you say it disappeared.

his superkords are still going strong though !
(mains cables with filters attached...).
 

Gray

Well-known member
Isn't this true of all Russ Andrews products?
I’d assumed, like Chord, they’ve learned about what they can and can’t say, thanks to ASA for saving us from using our own judgement - hence both now say very little. Vitamin supplement makers do similarly.
Chord often have something in their ads like ‘enjoyed by music lovers’ which can’t be disputed!
 

Mike Hunt

Well-known member
Jan 22, 2020
164
115
4,770
Visit site
Don't disagree with any of that. I just find it disappointing that some people feel the need to repeatedly say 'that's all rubbish'. I see that as shouting the other side down, rather than debating.

But there is no middle ground as Doug says, and there is no accommodation of others' experiences, because people who disagree are 'deluding themselves'. Again, that rather closes off debate.

I'll accept that my standards for acceptable behaviour are higher than most peoples, so I have to lump that - but my points about lack of respect shown in some quarters seem pretty valid to me.

Yet...

(If you are of the opinion that mains devices make no difference I'll respect that - just don't feel the need to tell me - that's not very interesting and I am, after all, the only one who heard it before and after.)

So, basically, you're prepared to listen to any opinion, so long as it agrees with your opinion? :ROFLMAO:
 

HappySounds

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2020
25
8
4,545
Visit site
To my mind there are two aspects to this, as follows:

1. Ensuring that the socket on your wall delivers a clean 230v sine-wave mains supply (IF this is important/worthwhile). The ONLY way of totally reliably achieving this is to run a large diameter (let's say 6 or 10mm2?) cable directly from your incoming mains supply cutout to the mains terminal on your equipment. No plugs, sockets, or fuses. Obviously this would not be safe or sensible.

Every connection you introduce between the incoming mains cutout and the equipment will potentially reduce the "quality" of the mains electricity. In a typical house ring mains circuit with let's say eight sockets on it (could be any number in practice) there will be approximately at least an additional FIFTEEN discontinuities/contacts between the incoming supply and the terminals on the equipment, each of which could introduce a varying amount of impedance and/or capacitance depending on how well they have been made. Not to mention switches, trips (MCBs) and fuses, each of which can degrade the signal in different ways. In addition the resistance of the cable will drop the voltage depending on how thick the cable is.

This is the real world of a ring main circuit, but whether it matters or not is definitely HIGHLY debatable and depends on:

2. Whether or not the power supply of your equipment can cope with the varying "quality" of the mains supply. The power supply is designed to turn the AC (alternative current) mains supply into a clean DC (direct current) supply for the electronics. The objective is a flat voltage with no ripple or hum, and these "impurities" in the DC voltage can be measured.

There are various VERY WELL KNOWN techniques in power supply design to achieve this and the filtration is likely to be extremely good, certainly in any high quality HiFi equipment. Whether the incoming supply to the equipment is a perfect sine wave or a slightly imperfect one is extremely unlikely to make much difference to the quality of the DC voltage that comes out of the power supply - it is of almost vanishingly small significance against the much bigger challenge of cleanly changing a sine wave into a DC voltage.

The above is the reality of the way in which your equipment gets its source of power. In my view people are surprisingly easily seduced by snake oil salesmen. Don't believe the hype - research the truth and be sceptical!
 
Last edited:

HappySounds

Well-known member
Feb 18, 2020
25
8
4,545
Visit site
I will recommend you to go for best surge protector. It's my personal experience.
For what purpose? You don't say why.

If it's to protect the equipment against mains surges (maybe lightning strikes) then yes that MAY be worthwhile, but are you suggesting that it will improve sound quality?

If the latter then personally I doubt it will for the reason I gave above. Maybe you could explain more why you make your recommendation?
 

RoA

Well-known member
Feb 11, 2021
665
373
2,270
Visit site
I have been using Tacimas for Hifi and TV for years. I don't think they'll do anything in case of a direct lighting strike other than immediately melt and shrivel to a little plastic ball but I like the look compared to a bog standard extension lead.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts