I wonder if the non-UK europeans on the forum, ie. those without an earth connection on household sockets, or anyone with an electrical/electronic interest have any comments on the improtance of getting live and neutral the correct way round. In Sweden you can put a plug in either way up and, to my ear, it seems to make no difference to the sound
.
Also, which terminal on the back of the equipment (IEC socket ?) is expecting a live feed should I decide to do things right.
/david
Posted on: 31 December 2001 by Phil Barry
Obviously you have tin ears. :-)
When I bought my MF A1, the dealer spent 5 minutes ensuring that the two-pronged plug was inserted so as to provide the best sound. I was in a hurry and very annoyed. I did not hear a difference then, but sometimes I do.
Phil
Part time tin ears
[This message was edited by Phil Barry on TUESDAY 01 January 2002 at 08:20.]
Posted on: 31 December 2001 by bam
I'm afraid I'm a UK European but I can help explain why the wiring matters.
In the UK the live (brown) is 230Vac and the neutral (blue) is close (but not equal to) earth.
The equipment safety fuse is located in the live line inside the equipment case upstream of the power switch. This is done for safety reasons. If the fuse blows the live is isolated. If you connect it up the wrong way the fuse will blow and you will still have live within the transformer and associated wiring and power switch.
I am not familiar with the electrical safety laws in the UK but would I would certainly take a very concerned approach to any dealer I found altering the mains wiring of my hifi on the pretense that it sounded better. Obviously with 2-wire gear like portable radio/CD players and such you cannot do anything about this although they may get away with it as their cases are mostly plastic.
Posted on: 01 January 2002 by DIL
Richard,
Thanks for the info. Just to clarify, in the diagram you supplied, am I looking into the socket (female) on the back of the equipment or into the cable (male) ?
Thanx.
/david
