Protecting Hifi from Mains problems

[Mikeandvan]

I live in a rented flat, and I ;ve had 3 amps go bang on me in 3 years. Lucky not crazy expensive. My Naim amps have always been fine. I've just bought a Nak ca-5 and I'm too scared to plug it in (don't have a power amp yet anyway!). Waste of time speaking to landlord, is there an extension lead with protection I can buy to stop this happening again? Its already cost me £300 in wasted amps (possibly more). I had a JVX ax-4 and a Roksan Kandy that I never got to hear, the Kandys' power output stage was frazzled, and it defo happened in my flat, as seller demo ed it to me. It was mint too, boo hoo. I also get light bulbs blowing every month or so, when turned on.

[walpurgis]

Yes. I get light bulbs blowing a lot and had a mains transfomer in an amp need replacing. It could be highish voltage locally or surges and spikes. I'm also wary of DC content in mains and I'm planning to use a DC blocker. Useful surge and spike protectors are used with professional computers. I have one or two of these.

[bobvfr]

Maplin's (And most electrical suppliers) sell surge protectors or you could buy a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) and that way you can still listen to your music if the power goes off (amount of time dependant on size of UPS).

[Mikeandvan]

Maplin's (And most electrical suppliers) sell surge protectors or you could buy a UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) and that way you can still listen to your music if the power goes off (amount of time dependant on size of UPS).

My power never goes off, it is 100% consistent. Would a surge protector do the trick? They seem cheap enough. BTW the amps have gone bang on switch on, they've never gotten past that stage. The Naims have been 100% fine. I did briefly try another Jap amp, some very cheap Yamaha, that was fine too.

[hifi_dave]

Yes. I get light bulbs blowing a lot and had a mains transfomer in an amp need replacing. It could be highish voltage locally or surges and spikes. I'm also wary of DC content in mains and I'm planning to use a DC blocker. Useful surge and spike protectors are used with professional computers. I have one or two of these.

We go through light bulbs at an alarming rate but only the modern ones. We have a couple of ancient bulbs which go on and on, while the modern ones with smaller glass bulbs last only a few weeks.

They don't make em like they used to..

[Barry]

We go through light bulbs at an alarming rate but only the modern ones. We have a couple of ancient bulbs which go on and on, while the modern ones with smaller glass bulbs last only a few weeks.

They don't make em like they used to..

Are your "modern" light bulbs incandescent or LED?

[Mixc]

Have you checked what voltage comes out of your mains sockets?

I had solar panels fitted and the inverter tripped one-day.
So i did a bit of digging and it turned out the mains voltage was set too high at the sub station.

The nearer you are the higher the voltage.
Anyway i contacted the leccy company and they fitted a device in my house that monitored the voltage constantly for 2 weeks. it showed that the voltage reached 265volts periodically.
So they came out and adjusted the tapping in the sub station. All good now.

Lots of appliances are rated to 230v. not the nearer to 250volts from uk sockets.

[struth]

I live in a rented flat, and I ;ve had 3 amps go bang on me in 3 years. Lucky not crazy expensive. My Naim amps have always been fine. I've just bought a Nak ca-5 and I'm too scared to plug it in (don't have a power amp yet anyway!). Waste of time speaking to landlord, is there an extension lead with protection I can buy to stop this happening again? Its already cost me £300 in wasted amps (possibly more). I had a JVX ax-4 and a Roksan Kandy that I never got to hear, the Kandys' power output stage was frazzled, and it defo happened in my flat, as seller demo ed it to me. It was mint too, boo hoo. I also get light bulbs blowing every month or so, when turned on.

a mains regenerator would do it

[Mikeandvan]

a mains regenerator would do it

They're also known as mains conditioners right?
Thanks, can you tell me of any cheapish ones? A quick Google has thrown up £5k monstrosities!

[Mikeandvan]

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Tacima-CS...8AAOSwjDZYlImT

Only £40 and it gets a What hi-fi 5 stars!