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View Full Version : Power Lead/Wiring Advice Please.



DaveK
25-04-2009, 09:25
'Mornin' All,
Thanks for your recent inputs into my posting regarding my kit.
At the moment all my kit is wired up using the leads that came with it and includes permanently wired, kettle plugs and figure 8 (2 pin) plugs, all fed from the same 'PC World' type surge protector The way I look at it making minor/inexpensive changes to this may lead to benefits - expensive power leads are definitely out at the moment.
I have recently purchased on fleabay a multi-plug connector and some rewirable kettle plugs and fig 8 plugs with the intention of using some shielded power cord (fleabay) to couple everything together. Unfortunately the orifices in the multiplug look just about big enough to take 2 core light flex !!
So..... I would appreciate any advice on the best, most cost effective way to wire everything up. If offering any advice, please bear in mind: -
1) within reach of the kit location I have access to 2 x twin sockets, and
2) in the fullness of time I plan to incorporate a DAC and an AV amp and possibly an active sub-woofer, so any scheme should be extendable without degrading the improvement.
I would appreciate as much, even conflicting, information as possible as I plan to (try to) take a concensus of opinion, if I can find one, and act on it.
Thanks all for your ususal helpful response,
Dave.

DSJR
25-04-2009, 09:49
I used to recommend wiring everything in a system back to the same socket(s) if possible, although with ring-mains the horrid way they are it probably doesn't matter too much.

I'd probably recommend the sensible option of a 13A mains strip with the lead to the wall as short as neatness allows (for neatness). If you want to play with any sort of RF suppresiion, try some external "ferrites," which are cheap to buy from Maplin at £3 each or so and clip over the wires (I go mad through habit and put one near the main plug and others as the wires(IEC plugs) enter the relevant piece of equipment. I also cut the connecting leads (if removable) as short as neatly possible to minimise spaghetti behind the equipment. It's a good idea to keep the interconnects as short as possible and keep them away from mains leads, crossing at 90 degrees if they have to pass each other directly. I still rate MK mains plugs too, although the Crabtree ones that Naim used were good too, to be fair.

The advantage of a mains strip is that it can be cheaply replaced every few years if it "goes off" and also you'll find that most modern gear seems more immune to RF and ultrasonic nasties coming in through the mains.

A mate working at a Top End London store sells loads of Transparent Audio mains leads, the cheapest selling for £760 approx. he has no fear of products of this nature selling for this silly amount, but I brought him down to earth when I described my tenner worth of 16A three core cable, with MK plug and IEC connector bought from Maplins.

My distribution for many years uses one of these made up leads feeding a metal IEC block I bought from RS Components many years ago. I use a few ready made IEC male-female leads for some source components and still have a couple of very chunky IEC leads I retained when I sold the Tube Technology amps many years ago...

Ali Tait
25-04-2009, 10:14
It's worth buying a cheapish mains strip and rewiring it with heavier/better cable.It's also worth cleaning all connections on all leads,including i/c's and speaker cables in your system periodically,even if it's just with some WD40 or Brasso or the like.

keeper
25-04-2009, 17:57
you could start with these.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180349920217QQssPageNameZMERC_VIC_RCRX_Pr4_Pc Y_BIN_IT&refitem=180336678042&itemcount=4&refwidgetloc=closed_view_item&usedrule1=CrossSell_LogicX&refwidgettype=cross_promot_widget&_trksid=p284.m183&_trkparms=algo%3DCRX%26its%3DS%252BI%26itu%3DUCI%2 52BSI%26otn%3D4

Spectral Morn
25-04-2009, 21:26
Looks promising....worth ago. Try one and see what you think, and if you like it and it makes either a big or small difference you can let us all know. If you feel up to it you could write a review and place it in Strokes of Genius.


Regards D S D L

Barry
26-04-2009, 00:53
Hello Dave,

If I understand you correctly you have four wall sockets to which you want to connect (or have the future provision) to connect more than four items of equipment. I further assume that your system is the same as shown in your photos, that is, it includes the TV, a digital decoder and some sort of video recorder.

If this is the case, then I would plug the the three 'video' items into the three wall sockets, and use the fourth to supply a multi-way 13A distribution strip. By 'PC World surge protector', do you mean a 13A plug that contains a surge suppressor (usually a simple VDR; voltage dependent resistor) that can be fitted to the end of a cable, or is it a 'stand alone' device that simply plugs into a convenient adjacent socket?

At this point I have to declare my sceptism concerning the efficacy of exotic and usually expensive mains cables. And of exotic mains distribution boards. I get infuriated by the obscene prices sometimes charged for these items (Dave (DSJR) has already given an example), especially as often they are conventional items that have been 'badge engineered' and given a fancy name. So I would recommend, along with the others, that you buy a simple 6-way distribution board from say PC World, or better (cheaper) from Maplin.

If you want to make up your own interconnects, then you can use shielded (screened) three core cable, of at least 3A rating, with either MK, Crabtree or Nettle 13A plugs. I personally prefer Crabtree plugs, but I does not matter (actually, I think there are more MK plugs used in my system), just avoid very cheap plugs of the sort that you could have bought in Woolworth, or now in Poundland. These cheap plugs are usually made in China, and despite claiming to be made to BS 1363, I regard them with suspicion.

When making up a mains lead with screened cable, connect the screen only to the earth terminal of the 13A plug. Make sure that the fuse you fit is of the correct rating (usually 3A or 5A) and that all conections are tight.

That's about it. If you want to, you can clean the pins of all your 13A plugs with Brasso wadding every so often; I doubt if it will make much improvement, but you will have the satisfaction of knowing that the pins look nice and shiney. I even do it myself, despite my scepticism.

Barry

DaveK
26-04-2009, 09:56
Hi Barry,
Thanks for that - just what I wanted - maybe partly because I share your sceptism about high priced, badge engineered, mains cable and the like, and maybe partly because I'm a Yorhshire man and careful with my money !! :lolsign:
Regarding your bit below: -


Hello Dave,
If I understand you correctly you have four wall sockets to which you want to connect (or have the future provision) to connect more than four items of equipment. I further assume that your system is the same as shown in your photos, that is, it includes the TV, a digital decoder and some sort of video recorder.

your assumptions are mainly correct but the current (pictured) kit is: - Sony Vaio MM PC, Sony BD-S350 Blu-Ray player, Marantz PM 6060OSE KI amp, Thompson Sky HD box, Marantz CD63SE KI player and Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 LCD TV (yes I like Sony kit), no video recorder. Hidden behind the TV is a mains/transformer powered, USB connected, external hard drive for the PC on which I have stored all my (2,000 ish) FLAC files. Likely future additions are Marantz SR4001 AV amp, (currently loft stored), active sub woofer and Freesat box (yet to buy).
The PC World surge protector is a badge engineered (possibly), 6 outlet extension lead -- suspect fitted with cheapest possible plug, cable and innards. Please let me know if any of the above additional information significantly changes anything that you have advised earlier.
Thanks again,:cool:
Dave.

Barry
26-04-2009, 19:19
Hi Barry,
Regarding your bit below: -



your assumptions are mainly correct but the current (pictured) kit is: - Sony Vaio MM PC, Sony BD-S350 Blu-Ray player, Marantz PM 6060OSE KI amp, Thompson Sky HD box, Marantz CD63SE KI player and Sony Bravia KDL-40W2000 LCD TV (yes I like Sony kit), no video recorder. Hidden behind the TV is a mains/transformer powered, USB connected, external hard drive for the PC on which I have stored all my (2,000 ish) FLAC files. Likely future additions are Marantz SR4001 AV amp, (currently loft stored), active sub woofer and Freesat box (yet to buy).
The PC World surge protector is a badge engineered (possibly), 6 outlet extension lead -- suspect fitted with cheapest possible plug, cable and innards. Please let me know if any of the above additional information significantly changes anything that you have advised earlier.
Thanks again,:cool:
Dave.

Hi Dave,

OK, I have a better idea now of your system.

I think what you need to do is to separate all those items that are likely to have a switched mode power supply (SMPS) and feed them from your surge protected distribution board. Switched mode power supplies can, if poorly designed, return a lot of noise back into the mains supply. Your distribution board should absorb most, if not all, of this.

So plug your:

1. TV
2. BluRay player
3. Sky Box
4. PC and
5. PC hard drive

into the distribution board. That leaves the amplifier and CD player which you can plug into the remaining wall sockets.

To allow for future use of an AV amp and an active sub woofer, I would buy an additional surge protected distribution board and then plug all the audio components into it. You will thus end up with two 6-way distribution boards; one for all the video and PC components, the second for all the audio components. You then have a 'way' spare on each board. The plugs feeding each of these boards can then be pluged into two adjacent wall sockets.

In each case add up the total power drawn from the respective distribution boards and make sure the fuses that you fit are appropriate. With this arrangement, the surge protection circuitry should prevent high frequency rubbish created by the SMPS from getting out into the mains, and at the same time prevent it getting back into you audio equipment.

If you experience any trouble, you can then experiment with fitting external ferrite sleeves around the mains cables that feed the boards. Should any further problems occur, then you will have to think about replacing the distribution boards with ones that are fitted with a low frequency filter as well as surge suppressors. However one thing at a time.

I ought to make it clear that the scepticism I expressed is purely a personal opinion. There are people who can clearly hear an audible improvement through using specialised mains cables and distribution boards. I don't, you might. Perhaps I am fortunate, in that either my mains supply is not badly affected, or that the equipment I use is not unduly sensitive to the quality of the mains supply.

Regards

Barry

DaveK
26-04-2009, 20:22
Thanks Barry,
That was just what I needed - clear simple instructions that even I can follow, and not too much money spent doing so !:)
I have been thinking about this all day and my thoughts are beginning to crystalise. I was initially suffering from the " what can I spend to make it better" syndrome but during the day the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" medication kicked in. I am not aware that I have any problems with dirty mains, RFI, noisy mains or HF rubbish from the SMPS, so what am I trying to clean out? My silences are very silent (jet black) in and between tracks as far as my hearing can detect and I cannot recall hearing clicks or anything else when the CH, dishwasher, vac or washing machine kicks in so I'll spend my money on something else, for the time being.
Thanks again for your input - it may well come in handy in future,
Dave.:cool:

DaveK
26-04-2009, 20:38
Hi Barry,
Just re-read my posting and realised I did not make myself very clear and may have confused you even further. I will follow your advice about which item to plug into where but I have abandoned any plans to spend money on expensive boxes, power cables or plugs.
Thanks again,
Dave.

Barry
26-04-2009, 21:14
Hi Dave,

Yes, completely agree with you: 'if you haven't got a problem, don't go looking for a solution', especially if the 'solution' could be a waste of money.

How are you getting on with adjusting the position of your speakers to provide a stereo image further away from the TV? You need to 'toe' them in as Chris (The Grand Wazoo) has described. Your 'eureka' moment in discovering the stereo effect, caused us great delight on the forum. A little more work and you will complete the task.

Regards

Barry

DaveK
27-04-2009, 07:44
Hi Dave,

Your 'eureka' moment in discovering the stereo effect, caused us great delight on the forum. A little more work and you will complete the task.

Regards

Barry

Hi Barry,
Yes, I gathered that it did by the tone of the replies !!!:ner:
Dave.