Mains cables & PSUs

[Reid Malenfant]

Just received a delivery of some nice Mark Grant figure of 8 screened mains cables today. Now as my TV happens to use this type of mains connector i'll be plugging this into the back of my Belkin PF40 & seeing what happens very soon.

On another note i just realised something else that may well make a difference to picture quality & this will also be tested out to see if there is any picture improvement ;)

I just realised that the wall wart that feeds power to my Octava 5 x 2 distribution amplifier is an SMPS type :doh: As i'm no longer using any of the wall warts that fed various Freeview boxes i realised after a trawl of ebay that i happen to have a linear PSU (regulated) at precisely the right voltage. Now we all know or should by now that changing from an SMPS to linear supply improves the sound on various bits of kit, i'm hoping the same will happen to the picture with this new supply...

Watch this space :)

[colinB]

:popcorn:

[Reid Malenfant]

I have been running the Octava distribution amp on it's original SMPS wall wart since i installed it so i guess i'm used to how the picture looks on my TV.

The standard unit is rated at 2.5A, i have no idea why as 12.5W is quite a bit to dissipate in a 7" x 3" x 1" case. I thought i'd try out this linear regulated wall wart which is rated at only 1.2A :rolleyes:

Needless to say it works...

Very well indeed!

Upon powering up the TV & blu ray player i was faced with the BD players splash screen, i immediately noticed it was different! There was always a bit of distortion to certain parts of it that looked visibly better with this linear PSU :) There was simply less distortion in the picture, it looked more "solid" for want of a better word..

Onto a film i know very well indeed :eyebrows: Mr Cameron & his film Avatar... I think the easiest place to start is to say what hasn't changed & that would be the sound as i'm not listening to the sound via the TVs speakers :eyebrows:

In every other respect things have changed though. Contrast is up, colours are more saturated, there is less visible noise. Edges are sharper, motion appears to be better & the whole picture appears to be more 3 dimensional with increased detail :scratch:

I'm beginning to think that i'll have to recalibrate the TV as the differences are that startling. Before i do that though i have just purchased a new 3.5Amp CB power supply that i'll modify to output 5V DC - Yes it has made that much difference :eyebrows: As i'd much rather have an overated PSU than underated this is the way i'm going, i'm also pretty sure that the CB PSU will be better regulated than this wall wart which can only possibly benefit things further. I'll also install a screened DC lead to the Octava, thanks to Chris (The Grand Wazoo) i happen to have some nice Mil spec silver plated screened cable here that is ideal for the job :cool:

I'll test the Mark Grant mains cable another day, possibly tomorrow.. For now though it's back to the music & bye bye Pandora :)

I'll be honest & say that this has got me wondering if a linear PSU powering the blu ray player wouldn't be a bad idea. I happen to have a couple of the same model so while one might be in the rack i can play with the other one at my leisure :smoking:

[colinB]

Nice one Mark. Love to know if the cable does any thing to the picture.

Can you recommend a PSU for a playstation slim? :eyebrows:

[Reid Malenfant]

Nice one Mark. Love to know if the cable does any thing to the picture.

Can you recommend a PSU for a playstation slim? :eyebrows:
Yes me to Colin, the fact that it's screened & with a properly twisted pair of centre conductors should help a bit ;)

I have gone back to the SMPS wall wart to test it out though as i know the picture very well indeed. As well as i don't like running an underated PSU.. I think i have sussed why the Octava needs up to 2.5A of current, my guess is it needs the extra to power two displays as it can do this.. While i'm only ever likely to use one at a time i still prefer to have an overated PSU any day of the week :cool:

Isn't the PSU built in to the slim playstation? :lol:

[colinB]

Er ...yeah its built in. :o

[Reid Malenfant]

Er ...yeah its built in. :o
Do you know the voltages & currents required to run it?

I'm pretty sure like i mentioned with the BD player that linear PSUs will be of benefit, if you can find out what is required you might find something out there, but at a price :rolleyes:

[colinB]

Probably picking one up tomorrow. Ill let you know if thats ok.

[HighFidelityGuy]

This is an interesting one. I too have an Octava HDMI switch box and I've been wanting to swap it's SMPS for a linear one for a while but the high current requirement has put me off. I think I have a 1.2A Maplin linear supply somewhere so I guess I could give that a try. My HDMI box isn't a distribution amp, it's just a switch box, so hopefully it won't need the full 2.5A. :scratch:

[HighFidelityGuy]

Darn, my Maplin supply doesn't do 5V. The closest settings are 4.5V and 6V. :(

[Reid Malenfant]

Modify it ;) You'll likely only need to change a resistor & yes i'm sure 1.2A will be enough as that was the maximum load that the one i used could put out :)

[HighFidelityGuy]

Modify it ;) You'll likely only need to change a resistor & yes i'm sure 1.2A will be enough as that was the maximum load that the one i used could put out :)

I guess that should be possible. I've just looked at the case and it's secured with special screws that need a screwdriver that's like a flat head type but with a notch in the centre. Do you know where I could get one of these?

[Reid Malenfant]

Try the usual - fleabay :eyebrows:

I'd look myself if i had time, but i'm finally sorting this room out in preparation to take the stereo kit out of the rack :doh:

[HighFidelityGuy]

I've found out they are called spanner head screws. So I need a spanner tip screwdriver. Unfortunately searching for spanner and screwdriver turns up a lot of false positives funnily enough. :doh: To add the the difficulty the screws are in deep recesses, so I need a long shafted version. I've found some on ebay HERE (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/5mm-Magnetic-Tip-75mm-Bit-Length-Spanner-Screwdriver-/400191844481?pt=UK_Hand_Tools_Equipment&hash=item5d2d4af081) but they're all from Hong Kong, so that'll be a 2 week wait minimum. :( I guess this is another project to put on the back burner. :doh:

EDIT: Good luck with the equipment move. :)

[Reid Malenfant]

EDIT: Good luck with the equipment move. :)
Cheers, at the moment i'm just sorting out the CDs into racks in alphabetical order, then it'll be blu rays :doh: Just found another pile of Cds, that means moving over a thousand as each goes in it's place :mental:

Like you i'm waiting for stuff to arrive before i can get on with the rack, i still need to prepare though & that's what this is all about right now :eyebrows:

I also found the Post Office form with shipping prices so i can finally shift some DVDs :cool:

It's never ending i tell ya :eek: Have mercy :lol:

[Techno Commander]

Check out Maplins for "Security Screwdriver Bits". Their site seems down at the moment, I will check later, but there is a set which contains the bits you need.

[Techno Commander]

This is the Kit. (http://www.maplin.co.uk/33-piece-security-bit-set-11520)

[Reid Malenfant]

Nice find Andy :)

Looks like i'll be testing out the mains leads tomorrow as i'm still sorting stuff out here at the moment. I'd much rather do it in the day with alcohol not having any part in the proceedings :eyebrows:

Yes, i realised it's leads as both the TV & Panasonic blu ray player are both getting them, hopefully it should be enlightening :)

[Ali Tait]

Darn, my Maplin supply doesn't do 5V. The closest settings are 4.5V and 6V. :(

Should be fine on 4.5v I'd have thought. Try it and see.I doubt half a volt is going to stop it working!

[Reid Malenfant]

Should be fine on 4.5v I'd have thought. Try it and see.I doubt half a volt is going to stop it working!
Tbh Ali nothing would surprise me :scratch: With a low HDMI output there may well be handshake problems with the TV. It might well work though, could try it & see innit!

By the way, i measured the linear wall wart & the output is 5.3V DC..

Better a tad high than low i reckon as HDMI is a fickle thing :cool:

[Ali Tait]

In that case try the 6v also and see if there is any difference. I was just a bit leery of saying so in case the higher voltage was a problem, but it shouldn't be. I'd have thought there was more than a one volt leeway.There'd kinda have to be to allow for mains fluctuation methinks.

[Reid Malenfant]

All the supplies are regulated Ali, i reckon you are right that half a volt shouldn't be a problem, but lower could be problematic on handshake issues. Half a volt up should be ok, i'd be wary of 6V though as this could cause excessive dissipation. Don't forget what we are dealing with here is effectively very fast logic & hot isn't good for longevity....

Hmmm, you just made me wonder about something :scratch: I'm wondering if the voltage level affects what we see on the screen, after all my wall wart was outputting 5.3V & not 5V..

Looks like a little experiment is in order :)

[Ali Tait]

:lol: Let me know how you get on.

[Reid Malenfant]

:lol: Let me know how you get on.
Yes i will do Ali, in theory it shouldn't make any difference as the signal is digital - just 1s & 0s but we'll see. Just waiting for my CB supply to get here before i can have a play :eyebrows:


On a different note i have installed the Mark Grant figure of 8 mains cables from both the TV & BD player to the Belkin PF40, i'll try it out early this evening & see what gives :)

[Reid Malenfant]

As i mentioned the other day i changed back to the SMPS wall wart so i could evaluate these Marg Grant figure of 8 mains cables which i connected up earlier.

System as it stands right now:-

Belkin PF40
Panasonic DMP-BD80 (stereo output to hifi pre amp)
Octava 5 x 2 distribution amplifier (SMPS wall wart)
Mark Grant G1080 HDMI cables
Philips 56PFL9954H

The Mark grant leads are replacing standard giveaway figure of 8 plug mains cables...


On power up there was an even greater reduction of distortion on the Panny splash screen than using the linear PSU wall wart which kind of surpprised me to say the least :scratch: I'm not exactly sure how this is occuring, it could be due to the greater cross sectional area of the cable or the screening or both, whatever it was a surprise :)

Same film as last time just so nothing changes. The same effect as per the linear wall wart - increased contrast, improved colour saturation, improved edges, detail & less motion blur :scratch: Detail in shadows is also enhanced & an even more pronounced effect of depth to the picture..

Now another shock :D Just like i know the film & picture well i also know the sound & i was dead surprised that this appears to be more solid with a frankly astonishing bass end (it was nice previously but not quite like this ;)) & greater detail throughout the audible range. It'll be interesting to see how it sounds in 5 channel surround which i will very shortly!

At this point i couldn't help myself, i decided to plug the linear wall wart back in & see what happened. Paused the BD player, unplugged the SMPS & plugged the linear supply in, waited for the handshake & hit play &


I have never in my life seen any LCD, LED or Plasma TV look as good in my entire life. I'm seeing new stuff on this film that i have never noticed before. I can't believe how detailed everything is even if it's moving like the clappers, when things slow down to normal levels it's quite breathtaking!

In my opinion the Mark Grant cable & the linear wall wart have made as much difference to the picture (possibly a tad more) as the Belkin PF40 did upon installation.

Recommended :)

[Ali Tait]

Good stuff. Might have to try some of these mains cables. Mark's HDMI cable certainly made an improvement.

[Reid Malenfant]

Yes, & i believe you are using a PF30 as well ;) You don't need to worry about the wall wart thing, that's just me this way so i can feed both the TV & projector from the same source without having to plug & unplug stuff :)

Must say i'm a happie chappie Ali, very surprising indeed & all for the better..

[Ali Tait]

Glad it's worked out for you mate. I've managed to get rid of all switching supplies except one feeding the NAS, but I should sort this sometime soon. All is plugged into two PF30's, but I'll have to change things as I'm getting occasional static clicks. Must have an earth loop somewhere.

[Reid Malenfant]

It could be a fridge or freezer switching on or off Ali, they are a sodding nuisance due to the inductive load of the motor :doh: An earth loop would cause hum, not clicks or pops ;)

[Ali Tait]

Well it's a static build up somewhere as I've stopped it before by changing plugging arrangements. As it is, everything is plugged in to the Belkins, so should be immune to switching spikes! In any case they are random and not down to anything switching as far as I can determine.

I need to do it methodically this time so I can find the culprit.

[Reid Malenfant]

The Belkins are filters agreed, but it doesn't mean that they have infinite rejection of crap on the mains & switching spikes from inductive loads are the worst :eek:

Static build up you say, or something similar? I'll think on it Ali, if i come up with possibilities i'll let you know :)

[Ali Tait]

Ok cheers.I'm pretty certain it's not any appliance in the house, so it's got to be the system.

[HighFidelityGuy]

Hmmm, you just made me wonder about something :scratch: I'm wondering if the voltage level affects what we see on the screen, after all my wall wart was outputting 5.3V & not 5V..

Looks like a little experiment is in order :)

On the subject of experimenting with voltages around 5V for the HDMI switch box; I've just remembered that I have a big bench top supply that can do 4-6V up to 4A. :eyebrows: I might try running the HDMI box off this while tweaking the voltage around the 5-5.5V region. It's going to be a pain the hook it up though as the HDMI box is buried at the back of my rack. I'll give it a go though. :)

[Mark Grant]

I'm not exactly sure how this is occuring, it could be due to the greater cross sectional area of the cable or the screening or both, whatever it was a surprise :)

Same film as last time just so nothing changes. The same effect as per the linear wall wart - increased contrast, improved colour saturation, improved edges, detail & less motion blur :scratch: Detail in shadows is also enhanced & an even more pronounced effect of depth to the picture..

Recommended :)

Pleased you like the cables :)

It is the core construction and the type and design of screening that makes the difference. Really does work for lots of people.

Many people report differences with devices such as sky boxes etc, always worth a try.
The Sound quality is often commented on.

The figure 8 power cable is here for anyone interested:
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=45_18&products_id=47

reviews on my site: ( not many as people have to use real names which puts people off, they are real customer comments though)
http://markgrantcables.co.uk/shop/index.php?main_page=product_reviews&cPath=45_18&products_id=47&number_of_uploads=0

another one:
http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/30/08/2010/a-great-figure-of-eight-the-mark-grant-dsp1-0-mains-lead/

Anything can be returned for refund, so no risk.


Mark

[Reid Malenfant]

On the subject of experimenting with voltages around 5V for the HDMI switch box; I've just remembered that I have a big bench top supply that can do 4-6V up to 4A. :eyebrows: I might try running the HDMI box off this while tweaking the voltage around the 5-5.5V region. It's going to be a pain the hook it up though as the HDMI box is buried at the back of my rack. I'll give it a go though. :)
Let me know how you get on Dave, i'm just waiting on this CB power supply now, when it gets here i have shed loads of work to do :eek:

Pleased you like the cables :)

It is the core construction and the type and design of screening that makes the difference. Really does work for lots of people.

Many people report differences with devices such as sky boxes etc, always worth a try.
The Sound quality is often commented on.

Anything can be returned for refund, so no risk.


Mark
Ah yes, the twisted cores, i forgot about that :doh:

As for returning them you'd have to prize them out of my cold dead hands :D

[Reid Malenfant]

<snip> i'm just waiting on this CB power supply now, when it gets here i have shed loads of work to do :eek:
Well that CB PSU arrived today & what a piece of crap it is :doh:

I have never seen such a shoddy excuse for a regulated supply :eyebrows: I expected to see something like 18V on the PSU capacitor which is plenty of headroom for regulation, what i found was 25V :scratch: It was all explained though when i looked at the capacitor & found it was only 3,300uf. With a 3Amp draw that works out at a hell of a lot of ripple voltage on the cap :rolleyes:

I have modified it already but in all honesty i'm not sure the heatsinking is going to be up to the job, i might try it later on...

Meanwhile Paul Hynes has just received an order for one of his super regulators :) When that gets here in a month or so i'll see what that does to the picture :eyebrows:

[Reid Malenfant]

Well as i'm very gradually re-populating my equipment rack i have decided there is no way i'm going to trust that piece of junk PSU to power the switcher. I'll use the regulated linear wall wart until i receive the Paul Hynes PR3i regulator :)

Of course the problem is i won't be able to get to the back of the switcher or the Belkin PF40 unless i strip the whole of one side of the rack out. However i have a cunning plan that doesn't involve turnips :eyebrows:

What i have done is make a new DC lead for the wall wart that is attached to the output of the wall wart with a terminal block, when the PR3i arrives it'll be fed into a screened chassis enclosing the regulator & transformer etc. What i'm using for a DC lead is some rather nice & very handy cable i bought from Chris (The Grand Wazoo - cheers once again chap :)) which you can see here (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8943). I'm using the 14 guage stuff which is nice & thick so no real voltage drop, the cores are twisted & screened - perfect!

The cable is long enough to connect to the HDMI distribution amp & feed to the very bottom of the rack & out of the front, so when the time comes i can transfer it to the new power supply. I'm doing the same with some Mark Grant DSP 2.5 mains cable but fed from one of the Belkin PF40s & to a mains socket. When the time comes the socket will be replaced with an IEC plug which will plug into the new PSU..

I hate having to think every little thing through so damn thoroughly but i guess i'd be cursing a lot more if i didn't :eyebrows:

[colinB]

Sounds like youre getting there:)

Im doing mine at the weekend. Not looking to the work but definitely to the reslults.
Got 20m of Van Damm blue series of Mark Grant and i have low mass WTB speaker bananas form some previous mad project, and i bought my PS3 tonight:eyebrows:
Using a ikea lack table as tv/TT support, and selling my racks.

[Alex_UK]

...and i bought my PS3 tonight:eyebrows:

Good lad! Just don't go setting up the PS3 before you do the move around or else it won't happen! ;)

[colinB]

Yeah your right. :lol:
Ill just open the box then.

[MartinT]

Cheers, at the moment i'm just sorting out the CDs into racks in alphabetical order, then it'll be blu rays :doh: Just found another pile of Cds, that means moving over a thousand as each goes in it's place :mental:

Yes, I *hate* buying a CD with an 'A' artist as everything has to move to the right :)

[Techno Commander]

A friend of mine has approx 5000 CDs ordered in "chronological date of purchase". :)

[Reid Malenfant]

Yes, I *hate* buying a CD with an 'A' artist as everything has to move to the right :)
Box sets are or can be problematic. I had to add a single CD recently, by the time i'd gone through the whole alphabet i was moving more than 10 CD albums :doh:

[MartinT]

Not to mention DVD-A albums with their tall cases :(

[Alex_UK]

You know, you all need to adopt my ruthless approach to media storage (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6900) - you'll never look back (or at the front, or at a digipack, again! :eyebrows:)

[Reid Malenfant]

<snip> I'll use the regulated linear wall wart until i receive the Paul Hynes PR3i regulator :)

Of course the problem is i won't be able to get to the back of the switcher or the Belkin PF40 unless i strip the whole of one side of the rack out. However i have a cunning plan that doesn't involve turnips :eyebrows:

What i have done is make a new DC lead for the wall wart that is attached to the output of the wall wart with a terminal block, when the PR3i arrives it'll be fed into a screened chassis enclosing the regulator & transformer etc. What i'm using for a DC lead is some rather nice & very handy cable i bought from Chris (The Grand Wazoo - cheers once again chap :)) which you can see here (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=8943). I'm using the 14 guage stuff which is nice & thick so no real voltage drop, the cores are twisted & screened - perfect!

The cable is long enough to connect to the HDMI distribution amp & feed to the very bottom of the rack & out of the front, so when the time comes i can transfer it to the new power supply. I'm doing the same with some Mark Grant DSP 2.5 mains cable but fed from one of the Belkin PF40s & to a mains socket. When the time comes the socket will be replaced with an IEC plug which will plug into the new PSU..
Well the Paul Hynes PR3i regulator should be here in a little less than a week & i still haven't sourced a case yet :doh: Time to get on with it as i have the transformer & everything else i need to get this thing together :) This should give a good upgrade to the picture quality over a cheap wallwart, as well as that it'll allow me to use both displays at once, though i can't imagine why the heck i'd want to :scratch:

Ebay here i come :eyebrows:

[Reid Malenfant]

Well it took a little longer than expected as you can't account for the weather setting things back or illness come to that :(

Regulator is now on the way via special delivery :) Having had a quick chat with Paul about a load of power Mosfets i happen to have here i might do a bit of Mosfet rolling (ok so they don't roll very easily but still) :lol: As this is a low voltage supply i can use some 30V Mosfets that i have here which should (so i concluded) increase the regulator performance, which Paul agrees with ;)

PSU testing & build coming shortly in the DIY section...

[MartinT]

Keep us informed :)