What Quality 8 way distribution block

[Steve Toy]

Never had a problem in ten years without surge protection which is appropriate for computers.

There are these things called fuses and I've only ever known one blow and that was when I allowed an IEC connection to arc.

Now I switch equipment off before unplugging/plugging in IEC leads.

[Macca]

Now that's interesting . . .

Maybe I should try substituting my surge protected computer grade mains block for a standard one . . .

What troubles me though is the then lack of surge protection. I wonder how common equipment destroying surges really are and if it's ok not to protect expensive and sensitive equipment like Hi-Fi?

Kris

Kris I think you should get rid of the computer mains block. I was using a large 8 way Belkin surge protector block - it did sit on the dynamics, no question - I swapped it around with a couple of cheap 4 way blocks that were lying around; they all had a different sound. Ended up buying a 4 way Russ Andrews (about £100). Problem solved.

I don't think there are any 'surge' issues on the UK mains - all you are doing is protecting the system against a lightening strike - and what are the odds of that happening? (Unless God doesn't approve of your taste in music).

[colinB]

I once owned an Isotek mains block that had surge protection and shunt filters and was dissapointed to hear no diference at all. Then i spoke to the guys at Merlin and bought a Black Widow mains block on 30 days return. The improvement was amazing, i guess it lowered the noise floor or something but it gave ny system a nice dark sound. It cost me £200 but they seem to be on sale for £100 on their web site.

[Marc B]

What troubles me though is the then lack of surge protection. I wonder how common equipment destroying surges really are and if it's ok not to protect expensive and sensitive equipment like Hi-Fi?

Kris

It's your gear.. I've had a lightening strike totally wipe out one of these...



It was a nice £4k+ worth down the drain in a quick flash.

[chris@panteg]

I did some messing around with my 2 mains block's ' one is the Tacima 6 way fitted with surge and filter's ' the other a is Duraplug 4 way standard bloc but fitted with Living Voice mains cable ' its very thick and substantial stuff ' .

I found some interesting results ' the Cambridge 740a sounded best through the Duraplug/LV 4 way where as the Yammy and phono stage sounded clearly better to my ear's anyway through the tacima ' especially the Phono stage seems very sensitive to mains quality .

[MartinT]

For surge protection and general noise reduction just plug as many stand-alone noise reducers into spare sockets in the house as you can. I have two Russ Andrews Silencers, one Isotek IsoPlug and two PS Audio Harvesters plugged in.

The system itself gets fed from a PS Audio Powerplant Premier. I don't suffer from mains problems at all.

[Ammonite Audio]

I once bought an Olson "Sounds Fantastic" mains block (see http://www.soundfantastic.co.uk/ ). Needless to say, it did not sound even remotely fantastic - it was improved by removing the in-line filter module, then further by ditching the screened mains cable, then finally by ditching the internal wiring for solid core 1.5mm copper in PTFE tubing. In other words, Olson sell a really good basic distribution block, but do wire it yourself. Don't buy the ready-made product!

[dazzler9000]

I once bought an Olson "Sounds Fantastic" mains block (see http://www.soundfantastic.co.uk/ ). Needless to say, it did not sound even remotely fantastic - it was improved by removing the in-line filter module, then further by ditching the screened mains cable, then finally by ditching the internal wiring for solid core 1.5mm copper in PTFE tubing. In other words, Olson sell a really good basic distribution block, but do wire it yourself. Don't buy the ready-made product!

Cheers for that, I'll forget that idea then.

[Ali Tait]

Mains surges are rare,but they do happen.I was at a substation near York when a surge happened.The voltage is monitored by a voltage transformer that monitors the HV on the circuit breaker.This is monitored by relays that control the tap changers on the transformers.In this case,the connection from the hv to the VT fuses went bad,meaning the tapping relays didn't see the right voltage,so they proceeded to tap the tranformers up and up to restore correct voltage.The upshot was hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to all the electrical items in the homes and factories fed by this circuit.So,yes,these events are rare,but they do happen!

[Kris]

Ok, before I unplug my surge protector, can anyone tell me (I can't find the documents) if contents insurance covers electrical equipment covered by mains surges?