Switched or unswitched mains sockets

[JazzBones]

It has long been accepted as good practice (as far as I know) to have your Hi Fi and AV equipment powered up from an unswitched UK mains socket. How much of a difference to performance is there in using a 'switched' socket :scratch:? Is there any difference and if there is what is the difference?
I do believe in good quality plugs and sockets such as those from Grabtree and MK, the former are favourites of mine. I can't give my opinion on upmarket items simply because I have no experience in using the likes of Isotex, Furutech etc., but purely from an engineering view point they are very well made, maybe OTT (?), but is the bang for the buck a big one? Back to the question... unswitched or switched?

Mainland EU and USA use different plugs and back in Oz the mains plugs have a different unfused manufacture, does a switch or unswitched mains output socket make any difference to sound performance. It would be nice to hear opinions from outside UK borders as well on this one :):hmm:

Jazz/Ron

[MCRU]

Un-switched because the switch is un-neccessary circuitry. On the conductivity of electricity scale silver is first, copper is second and gold is 3rd. Pure silver is not used for sockets, copper is used by Furutech and brass by most others. So purely from a conductivity point of view copper sockets would be best, they are usually plated to stop the copper from oxidising, so gold plated copper would seem a good choice as gold is a good conductor as well as copper.

How they conduct electrons is not the entire story however as your partnering cables and equipment all have to be taken into the equation but in general a copper socket would be better than a brass one, especially if it has been cryo treated which removes internal streeses in the materials and has been known to improve conductivity as a result.

The sockets I have are silver plated brass and I also use a single Furutech gold plated copper socket, all un-switched of course. The proof of the pudding is in the eating so I always say let your ears decide regardless of the opinions given.

If you are a purist (like a lot of my customers) the traditional MK double socket has been removed and either USA or Schuko sockets fitted instead which gives you the opportunity to bypass the UK plugs with their out-dated fuses. The only problem being no one makes a back box for a schuko wall socket and they don't fit into a standard UK receptacle!

ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS, IF IN DOUBT ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL.

[Reid Malenfant]

If you are a purist (like a lot of my customers) the traditional MK double socket has been removed and either USA or Schuko sockets fitted instead which gives you the opportunity to bypass the UK plugs with their out-dated fuses. The only problem being no one makes a back box for a schuko wall socket and they don't fit into a standard UK receptacle!

ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS, IF IN DOUBT ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL.
David, the mains fuse is there in the plug to protect the cable in the event of a fault ;) It has nothing to do with protecting any hifi equipment as electronic equipment invariably has an internal fuse & this will blow if a fault occurs in said equipment. The same cannot be said of white goods such as fridges, kettles etc. I make this distinction so people can see the difference.

However, if you are going to fit a plug with no fuse the cable will need to be rated to carry the same current as the circuit breaker or fuse fitted in the consumer unit for safetys sake. That'll mean fitting a minimum of 2.5mm^2 cable as you'll be relying on the consumer units protection to protect the cable that is now not fused :rolleyes:

I definately agree with the following :eyebrows:


ELECTRICITY IS DANGEROUS, IF IN DOUBT ALWAYS CONSULT A PROFESSIONAL.

Not an amateur :doh:

One thing i will say is that if someone happens to buy any of the PS Audio power plants then there is no reason why they can't use a mains lead with no fuse! This is simply because the power plant will current limit just like a power amplifier & thus protect any kit & cable. Even the figure of 8 mains cables that power cassette decks etc will handle 3 Amps, that's 750W at 250V AC so you'd be safe using a non fused plug.

I have a feeling that if you used a non fused plug & something happened to cause a fire your insurance company would tell you to take a running jump! Even if you were powering stuff via a power plant. Everyone knows that if they can wriggle out of a payout then they'll try it on :rolleyes:

Be warned!!!

A non switched socket is not an issue however, if you need to disconnect whatever it is because you are off on holiday then pull the damn plug out of the socket :eyebrows:

[chris@panteg]

I run both my sytems from MK unswitched double socket's , changed from switched Crabtree's , and to be honest i can't remember much of a difference .

[MartinT]

Unswitched MK double sockets for me. Don't run the risk of stuffing your insurance, put 13A fuses in all your plugs and the insertion loss is minimal. For the best, use Russ Andrews fuses.

[Beobloke]

How much of a difference to performance is there in using a 'switched' socket :scratch:?

Absolutely none. Stop worrying, spend your socket upgrade money on new LPs, CDs, 78s, 8-tracks or whatever your preference is and enjoy your system!

[Marco]

Lol - what Adam has said.

However, to answer the question, if you were to measure the electrical resistance on both a pair of switched and un-switched sockets, depending on how poor quality and/or badly made the switched sockets were, the latter would measure (marginally) higher resistance.

Whether or not your system would be good enough to show that difference, in a sonic sense, or you'd actually be able to hear it, is quite another matter! ;)

So, worry not, and just enjoy yer tunes :)

Marco.

[DSJR]

Been there, got hysterical about it and fussed and worried, even to the extent of turning fuses round in mains plugs, "hearing" a difference each time, or so I thought...

These days, I couldn't give a stuff because I feel I'm getting a better sound than I had back then. Some of us are still in the "expensive mains plugs are better" mode, but it's as much to do with needing to be "better" than everyone else I suspect, and psychology has an enormous effect on things like "HiFi enthusiasm..."

Ron, do as Adam (Beobloke) has suggested and don't worry your head about it. if you still have a niggle, get a good qualified local sparky to check the house wiring, tighten up all the cables in the mains sockets AND CONSUMER UNIT (the wire connections in which can work loose) and ensure the house-earthing is to modern standards. I know your house isn't more than a very few decades old, but it's worth checking. Then just kick back and continue to enjoy the music :)

[Rare Bird]

Switched cos when i got to bed i wan't peace of mind

[DSJR]

Whether or not your system would be good enough to show that difference, in a sonic sense, or you'd actually be able to hear it, is quite another matter! ;)

So, worry not, and just enjoy yer tunes :)

Marco.

Wot yer mean guv is whether your stereo is so badly designed that a volt or two drop in mains causes the power supplies to freak out :ner: :lol: :cool:

Do you really think the power companies give a stuff about all this nonsense? A local 230V supply wire fractures, they crimp it back together up the pole or down the hole. You think a regularly exercised switch in a mains socket is really going to make any difference? perhaps if you have ancient sockets and wiring. I don't know when our old house was re-wired, but the mains wiring looks newer than the remaining stuff used for the storage heaters that used to be here. Loads was done to the property in 1986 and our electricity meter dates from 2003, so I don't know if a total re-wire was part of the schedule, followed by a thorough overhaul a few years ago, but all our light and power switches/sockets are reasonably up to date.

[synsei]

The problem with getting anal about all the little details is that it quickly becomes apparent that you can't realistically go back to check whether there really has been any improvement, so to save face you convince yourself there is... :doh:

[MCRU]

The problem with getting anal about all the little details is that it quickly becomes apparent that you can't realistically go back to check whether there really has been any improvement, so to save face you convince yourself there is... :doh:

That applies to ALL hi-fi doesn't it!

[synsei]

That applies to ALL hi-fi doesn't it!

To a certain extent I suppose it does Dave, but at least if one buys a set of IC's or a mains cable for instance, it is reasonably easy to swap them around to get an idea of exactly what's what. Not so easy to do if you've had a sparky in to rewire yer hoose... :lol:

[jantheman]

Switched or unswitched...no difference detected. Now using switched MK's with the switches outboard cos I turned off the wrong one too many times...:doh:

[MCRU]

I have a single furutech gold plated socket connected to my aquarius with a short power cord, previously there was a switched un-named socket on there, the point is with all this tweakery going on, small up-grades like wall sockets may improve your perception of the sounds you hear but it's the overall synergy and presentation that matters and if you have done everything you possibly can to ensure the best mains path possible then no more needs to be done apart from maybe some ferrite rings around the place.

1. The mains feed into your house, cannot tamper with it.
2. The mains feed from the consumer unit to your hi-fi, buy a separate small consumer unit with silver plated contacts and choose the appropriate cable for your tastes then call the sparky
3. Fit silver, gold or rhodium plated wall sockets to the appropriate walls again call the sparky if you cannot do it yourself or don't want to
4. Use the right mains cables to suit your system, advice on this freely given with no obligation whatsoever
5. Replace all the fuses inside your gear with proper ones (not the 7p ones supplied when you bought said equipment).
6. Regularly clean your plugs with de-oxit or clean it or some other contact cleaner
7. Listen to some good music and stop worrying about the next mains related up-grade as there isn't one

All IMHO of course. :)