Do mains cables make a difference??

[Bigman80]

Your phone needs charging Oliver

its on now

[Edward]

I think that they can, but not for the reasons that are often touted in marketing. When I used to spend a lot more time building hifi bits I noticed that having a good low impedance grounding scheme could make a huge difference on performance. My current theory is that the special mains cables make a difference because they tend to provide better earth connections. Couple some good mains leads with a good block and chances are earth currents between equipment will be lower and any filtered noise can be delt with more effectively.

Also screened cables can help especially near phono stages. If you ever wave an oscilloscope probe near some mains cables you can quite easily see the pickup on the scope.

Cases protect against this noise, but you need a good solid ground connection scheme in order to get this noise away from the equipment.

Interested to see what you results you get with your experiments.

Paul

What are some simple things to do to implement a low impedance grounding scheme in a bog standard domestic settings? That is without ripping out ring mains or the like.

Additionally is there an easy way to measure things and from that work towards improvements?

[Primalsea]

A good start is to use a good quality mains block and mains leads as short as is feasible. A simple but limited way to measure is to use a multimeter to check for voltage differences of earth connections between different equipment. Without making it complicated you can check between metal casings if you can’t get to a mains earth directly. You can also measure between signal grounds without the interconnects connected. Ideally there should be no difference in voltage and this is the goal.

Its not a perfect way but its simple and should expose the bigger issues if they exist.

[Bigman80]

I am sick of this bloody hobby.

I genuinely didn't believe a mains cable could have any effect lf the main PSU of the equipment was sufficient. How wrong was I!

How can a shielded mains cable improve the sound??????

Seems to me the Micro dynamics and separation of the instruments has improved whilst adding a further depth of dimension to the soundstage. Background seems quieter and further away.

I realise that this may not be a universal result but I'd recommend trying it.

Ingredients at the top of the thread. Took about 10 minutes to make and £60 all in. I'll be making more for the Monoblocks and I'll be putting one on the BMU too.

This hobby is Madness.

[Macca]

I

I realise that this may not be a universal result but I'd recommend trying it.

.

I did try it, made zero difference. See if you can tell the difference when you don't know if the fancy cable is in use or not before spending any more money on them. You might get another surprise.

It's easy to imagine improvements in things like soundstage and separation, as opposed to 'tonal' changes, because the harder you listen the more things you notice are going on. They were always there before, but you are listening differently because you are evaluating.

When I discovered that I could improve the soundstaging and micro detailing of my system just by thinking about it was when I gave up on these sort of tweaks.

[Bigman80]

I've done it mate, I got the wife to swap them without me knowing which was in and I could tell, more importantly, so could she when I sat her in the chair.

The waybill could tell was in the bass. It's bigger and fuller. Better defined. I wish it wasn't true, believe me!

I did try it, made zero difference. See if you can tell the difference when you don't know if the fancy cable is in use or not before spending any more money on them. You might get another surprise.

It's easy to imagine improvements in things like soundstage and separation, as opposed to 'tonal' changes, because the harder you listen the more things you notice are going on. They were always there before, but you are listening differently because you are evaluating.

When I discovered that I could improve the soundstaging and micro detailing of my system just by thinking about it was when I gave up on these sort of tweaks.

[Bigman80]

Foo or not foo cable, depending where you stand on it.

[Macca]

I must have the only fancy mains cable in the world that does absolutely nothing special I suppose.

Ignore me, nowadays I'm not sure I would believe it even if I heard it myself

[Bigman80]

I must have the only fancy mains cable in the world that does absolutely nothing special I suppose.

Ignore me, nowadays I'm not sure I would believe it even if I heard it myself

Hahaha no mate, you're right in your assesment based on your experience. My phonostage is a homebrew one so maybe that's why it's making a difference.

I'm not making a universal statement just that it's made a difference here. I'm glad I've tried it and I think it's worth an experiment if someone has 10 minutes and a spare £60 knocking about.

[walpurgis]

I must have the only fancy mains cable in the world that does absolutely nothing special I suppose.

Is it directional? Mine is, it goes from one end to the other.