which mains blocks

Posted by: scottyhammer on 20 January 2007

hi all,
had the sparks in to install some more sockets in the walls but found that some of the flooring requires lifting to get at cables so am left with one double for now untill i move the gear to get to them.
so am running a hydra into one and the TT is in the other. the question is i need a couple more sockets for now and was wondering if you lot could recommend a decent 3/4 way block preferably with surge protection built in.
have seen a couple on the web but they seem to have mains filters built into them which im not keen on.
youre thoughts would be appreciated very much.
cheers, scotty. p.s. a picture would be nice.

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by graham55

Get a proper Hydra with as many heads as you need, FFS!

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by ryan_d

Scotty musicworks....er, work well. I use their powercords and they are good. They are also the only ones my dealer recommends for naim.....and no they aren't the only ones he carries and aren't the most expendsive either for all you cynics.

Ryan

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by Alan Paterson

The hydra is not expensive, designed for naim equipment (i believe, Grahams state that it is for naim only), sounds good, can be made to your required length, is neat and tidy and finally it can be sent back to have new heads added if you buy more equipment.

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by hungryhalibut

quote:
and finally it can be sent back to have new heads added if you buy more equipment.

Actually, that's not correct, as I asked Grahams last week. You have to trade the old one in. But whatever, a hydra is probably the answer.

Nigel

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by ewemon

Would recommend the Hydra. If you end up not needing it you will get a very good price (better than the last Musicworks block i saw sell there) for it on eBay so you can recoup some of your money.

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by graham55

Quite remarkable that these silly questions come up every two weeks or so.

Get a Hydra.

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by scottyhammer

hi all,
if you had read my post properly as stated have already got a hydra but require couple more outlets into 240v / 13amp sockets which are the napsc and TT !
regards, scotty

graham 55 - i see you havent lost any of youre charm !

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by graham55

So swap it for what you need and keep non-Naim kit separate. Not rocket science.

Alternatively, get a mains block and fuck the whole thing up.

Your choice.

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by graham55

scotty, I see that you haven't worked out how to spell words yet!

Posted on: 20 January 2007 by scottyhammer

how about this: P R I C K

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by ryan_d

Scotty i didn't know Rick had a silent P

(in total agrement by the way)

Ryan

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by prowla

I think scotty is right - you keep the NAPSC & TT separate from the hydra.
I don't know if any mans blocks can help those components (I don't think the NAPSC should care at all if it's for the digital part of a pre).
I guess Russ Andrews sell some mains blocks, and there's MusicWorks.
But I'm not sure they'd be worth the outlay.

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by ryan_d

The Musicworks block is quite cheap....relative to Russ Andrews et al, and does appear to work well imho.

Ryan

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by scottyhammer

thanks guys, think ill have a word with my dealer before making a decision.
regards, scotty

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by Guido Fawkes

Scotty

I have the NAPSC on my Hydra and I've tried plugging it in to it's own mains socket and it makes no difference to the sound in my system. So I would go for a Hydra with an extra head. If you're not happy with this then it'd go for a Maplin Multiplug and avoid the mains block (i.e the TNT sysle Hydra). However, in my set-up I have the Graham's Hydra for my Naim kit into a dedicated spur and the other kit (TT PSU, DAB Tuner, Phono Stage, CD Recorder, Cassette Recorder) connected to room's ring using an Isotek Multi-Way - seems to work quite well.

Best regards, Rotf

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by scottyhammer

ROTF,
thanks for that - might have a word with dealer about changing from 3 way hydra to 4/5 way hydra as i have cdx2,hi-cap,180 through hydra at the moment. just thought the LP12 and possibly the NAPSC should be kept seperate from the hydra. LP12 at very least.
cheers, scotty

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by scottyhammer

anyone heard of MERLIN BLACK WIDOW mains block ?
cheers, scotty

Posted on: 21 January 2007 by joesilva

quote:
Originally posted by scottyhammer:
anyone heard of MERLIN BLACK WIDOW mains block ?
cheers, scotty

I haven't heard of Merlin, but after Peter of Cymbiosis demo'ed the Experience filtration kit (with surge protection), I replaced my Naim cabled Hydra with the Experience.

Experience kit (power block & mains cable) is made in the U.K. and I'd recommend you search some out to try.

Joe

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by KTMax

In my experience surge protection, switches and leds in the mains supply are very effective music killers...

Richard.

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by joesilva

quote:
Originally posted by KTMax:
In my experience surge protection, switches and leds in the mains supply are very effective music killers...

Richard.

Hi Richard,
In general, your comment is often very true . But there are always exceptions to the rule and in my experience in any event, the Experience power block (with surge protection) and mains cable work brilliantly. They make the background blacker and lets the music come through so much cleaner. Not recommending that anyone ought to buy blindlly, but certainly worth seeking out a home demo IMHO.

regards,

Joe

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by Right Wing

quote:
Originally posted by scottyhammer:
how about this: P R I C K

SCOTTY, I almost spat out my cereal, laughing so hard reading this.

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by hungryhalibut

Scotty

My advice would be to have all the Naim equipment on the hydra, and that includes the napsc. Keep the LP12 separate. I know someone who will have a four way hydra spare very shortly, if that helps. For the other bits, a Maplin multiplug (about £7) will be absolutely fine. I've one in the garage if you want it.

Nigel

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by Cymbiosis

quote:
Originally posted by KTMax:
In my experience surge protection, switches and leds in the mains supply are very effective music killers...

Richard.

Not this one!

Obviously, it's for everyone to check out the best with their own systems. However, I've heard all the main options about, and I practise what I preach and I'm very happy.

Regards,

Peter

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by ryan_d

Peter, which is? I'm sure you've posteed this elsewhere, but i'm lazy!!

Posted on: 22 January 2007 by scottyhammer

hi peter,
do you sell the experience mains block or know an outlet ?
regards, dave
p.s. the sondeks singing well