Hi-Fi power supply improvements.

[Ali Tait]

Very true.However I don't think it will make a difference sonically TBH.I doubt anyone could hear the difference between a radial and a ring.

[Steve Toy]

I doubt anyone could hear the difference between a radial and a ring.

One way to find out. Marco, could you possibly bring two runs of your finest 10mm twin and earth?

[Marco]

Don't see why not

Marco.

P.S so when are we 'doing the necessary', then?

[twelvebears]

Mmm...... Thanks, Ali. I'll need to remember that. Whenever I refer to my dedicated mains set-up as a "separate spur", what I really mean is a radial circuit!

The only difference is, my 'radial circuit' is a 16mm armoured cable direct from my incoming mains supply straight into a dedicated CU for my system, which all the mains leads for my components are then hard-wired into with individual 63A MCBs - there ain't no 'socket run'

Marco.

P.S Steve, mate, got your PM - been busy, but will reply later!

Cheers Marco.

Any chance you could post a few snaps of your wiring arrangement? I'm interested to see what it looks like.

S.

[Snoopdog]

This one baffles me, I'm afraid, Steve.

Firstly, do you live on a tectonic plate fault line, or even have heavy lorries rumble past, shaking your house? I can't imagine ordinary unswitched sockets, plugs and fuses interrupting the flow much in a 'trembling' wall. If this is indeed possible, then more's the case for hard-wiring, surely, or maybe a 'floating' socket (not attached to the wall).

Secondly, you mention 'dual radial' supply as opposed to 'spur', whereas it's evident that you only have ONE radial circuit (though I may have got the wrong end of the stick here). A SPUR is an offshoot from an established ring main, I believe (although the word is commonly misused).

Thirdly, as I (and most people who have installed a la Roy Riches' philosophy) have 32 amp RCBOs in my C U, I imagine you must have a much lower specified breaker/RCD (20 amp?) to match your lower specified cable.

I must admit, Steve, that I've not come across this method for dedicated mains before (not that I'm an expert in any sense). That your installation shows marked improvement on your previous ring mains connection, however, surely evidences the benefits of ANY approach to isolating one's hifi from the domestic supply.

Hi Mike,

Point One. No. I don't fear seismic anomolies in my installation, but I am a firm believer in keeping vibration to an absolute minimum, hence my extensive use of Stillpoints technology throughout my system. I don't mind others taking the piss, but it is a simple fact that 'The Lens' wall outlet (designed to isolate the outlet from the wall) sounds superior to a bog-standard 13amp socket (to my ears anyway!). I live in a modern house and the wall through which my dedicated mains travels from CU to hi fi is stud/block/stud construction and acoustic pressure inside the listening room will vibrate the stud wall.

Point Two. As I understand it, a dual radial supply incorporates TWO runs of cable from CU to a single outlet. I suppose if there were more than one outlet, it would be called a ring. I listened to a single run of cable from CU to wall outlet (Spur) and the twin run, which halves the impedance and doubles the current capacity, and preferred the sound of the dual radial supply to my hi fi.

Point Three. As the cable run is doubled up (40amps), hence the inclusion of a 32amp RCD/RCBO at the CU.

Regards

Steve

[Ali Tait]

Hi Steve,
A single run from the CU to your socket is a radial circuit,not a spur.A spur is a socket tapped off an existing ring circuit.

Not having a go,just don't want peeps getting confused.

[Snoopdog]

Ali,

Not being an electrician myself, I bow to your superior knowledge and stand corrected.

My own confusion arises from installations that have been described as dedicated spurs, where multiple single runs of cable have originated at seperate MCB'S at the CU and terminated at seperate wall outlets in the listening room or a single run has been hard-wired to a hydra-like arrangement to feed seperate system components..

I was attempting to describe my own installation where a double run of cable originates from a single MCB/RCBO at the CU and terminates in a single wall outlet (a dual radial).

[Ali Tait]

Yes,I guess you could call that a dual radial,or a ring feeding just one socket.Strictly speaking I'm not an electrician,more an electrical fitter.I deal with high-voltage substations etc.While I have fair theoretical knowledge of domestic installations,I have next to no practical experience,nor do I have 17th edition,so I'm not a real expert by any means!

[Marco]

Hi Steve,

I was attempting to describe my own installation where a double run of cable originates from a single MCB/RCBO at the CU and terminates in a single wall outlet (a dual radial).

What thickness of cable are you using, 6mm, 10mm, or what?

You can obtain the same effect as your double run of cable in a dual-radial installation by using a single run of very heavy-duty cable direct from the incoming mains supply to a dedicated CU, such as the 16mm armoured cable used in my set-up. It just depends how you want to do it

The impedance on my mains supply has been measured at .32 ohms, so it doesn't get much lower!

The biggest difference in lowering the impedance on your mains supply I've found is by installing a separate earth for your hi-fi system via a series of (long and thick) copper earth rods plunged as deep as possible into the soil in your garden (using 6mm earth cable to connect them all together and then feed the cable back to a dedicated CU) - and making sure that the soil around them is kept wet.

This has a far greater effect, in terms of lowering impedance, than whatever mains wiring circuit you employ - but the combination of both is ideally what you're looking for!

I also hard-wire my component mains leads directly into separate 63A MCBs inside my dedicated Memera CU (not 32A RCBOs), which also makes a difference, as the extra protection circuitry inside RCBOs raises impedance more.

You just have to decide what you think will work best and go for it!

ABOVE ALL THOUGH, MAKE SURE THAT ALL WORK IS CARRIED OUT BY A QUALIFIED ELECTRICIAN - AND ALSO THAT YOU ARE HAPPY WITH THE COMPROMISES TO SAFETY THIS TYPE OF INSTALLATION INVOLVES!!!

Marco.

[Snoopdog]

Marco,

Here is a link to the RS cable I have in my installation (the same as used by MusicWorks for their ReCoil mains power cord). The cable I used has also been subject to DCT.

http://uk.rs-online.com/web/search/s...47&cm_vc=av_uk

I have 25mm live and neutral meter tails, 100A incoming fuse and 100A DP Isolator switch on the MEM CU.

My Hi Fi MCB is rated at 32A but I understand that the RCBO field fit kit is rated at 63A.

I have not had a seperate earth spike installed as I want to research this option further and I have to say that the dedicated installation as it presently exists, is a serious improvement over my former house ring mains connection to the hi fi.

I agree that you just have to decide what works best and go for it.

There are those that swear by a dedicated spur and others (like me) who prefer the sound of a ring.