Impact of powerline

Can you borrow two or three from your dealer?

Failing that there's some info here: https://www.naimaudio.com/product/power-line-0

I have the feeling that this has to be experienced rather than theorised about. Enjoy your music.         

Chris

It's just a piece of wire but the plugs decouple vibration, there was probably some listening gone into selecting the wire too. If you have the Oppo and PC plugged into the same wall socket as the Naim stuff you'll probably hear no effect from a powerline as the SMPSs will be messing thing up somewhat, also if you haven't got the system on a suitable rack, controlling vibration coming in through the power sockets might be insignificant. With a system on a Fraim Lite and a dedicated radial supply from the consumer unit for just the Naim boxes I found powerlines worthwhile on a 282/250 system, even down to the NAPSC.

It helps to remember that we are dealing with alternating current, where electrons are jostling each other back and forth, with no net movement. What they are doing is transferring an energy wave.

From the perspective of the audio transformer, the power cable is the first thing it sees in the electrical circuit and thus the one that has the most effect on the transfer of energy.

Power cables are an interesting phenomena.  Several times now I've sat down to listen to different power cables thinking "it really CAN'T make much difference.  I must have imagined it last time.  I wonder if I'll hear any difference at all...."  And yet each time I would say the difference has been both obvious and quite fundamental.  I'm not sure anyone REALLY has a full scientific grasp yet of why this should be so.  But I am sure that it IS so.  But, for everyone, the proof of the pudding must be in the listening.  If you aren't SURE you can hear a genuine improvement worth paying for (rather than just a difference) then don't pay for it.  Simples!

also, it's worth noted that the powerchord is not at the end of the power net, but in the middle of it. just as Jan wrote, the power chord is the first circuit of the amp, and not the last cable of the net...

please see the effect of a very good power chord - albeit non-Naim - in my topic "PS audio AC-12 with 200DR". it is a very visible effect.

still odd how the Powerline while being all about decoupling is fitted with a third party no-decoupling Schuko plug for sales in Europe.

For info, this thread has my experience of using the Powerline (which I still do) - https://forums.naimaudio.com/to...97#31273966719193797

HTH

Jude

Very interesting feedback, thanks all for posting. I don't want to sound daft here, but I still can't see the logic of the PL.. The way I understand it, the SuperCap in my system takes care of all the electrical current issues, regardless how dirty and stabilizes it, driving it out to the boxes in a much cleaner/stable state... The PL also does not do any power conditioning, just conducts the current to the SuperCap... Why would the SuperCap benefit from a PL feeding?

Maybe the bit about the "Decoupled" pins has some effect, but other than that I struggle to get the science behind this..

Off course, I will try my best to audition the PLs to get a first-hand impression before passing any judgement...

yeti42 posted:

If you have the Oppo and PC plugged into the same wall socket as the Naim stuff you'll probably hear no effect from a powerline as the SMPSs will be messing thing up somewhat,

Today I have the PC and the Naim boxes (4 Naim leads for the DAC-V1, NAP250, SuperCAP and NAPSC) as well as the Oppo on one high quality power strip.. I will try removing the Oppo and the PC and having those sit on a separate power strip (on a different wall socket) to see if that helps... I cannot have the naim gear connected directly to wall sockets as I only have 2 sockets in the room.

That's a very good idea. You don't want anything with SMPS power supplies plugged into the same socket as your Naim boxes. Ideally you want a dedicated mains feed for the Naim. It makes more difference than a Powerline and costs less too. 

You mean one mains feed (power strip) for the Naim boxes and another power strip for the remaining components? If so, that is easy to arrange and I will test it out over the weekend...

Any recommended power strips in mind?

I would put the PC and oppo on a completely different wall socket if I were you. 

Will try that next weekend for sure...

I would invest in a 'clean' dedicated supply to your hifi first. You'll then reap the benefits of having your 'dirty' SMPSs on the house circuit. It makes a big difference from my experience and you'll probably gain more than introducing a PL first. You can always buy one later. The cost of a dedicated supply should cost no more than a PL.

Good luck

Steve

thijazi posted:

Will try that next weekend for sure...

Why the rush?!  ;-)

C.

Steve J posted:

I would invest in a 'clean' dedicated supply to your hifi first. You'll then reap the benefits of having your 'dirty' SMPSs on the house circuit. It makes a big difference from my experience and you'll probably gain more than introducing a PL first. You can always buy one later. The cost of a dedicated supply should cost no more than a PL.

Good luck

Steve

By "dedicated" do you mean a dedicated line (from circuit board all the way to the socket)? or do you mean put the naim stuff on their own power strip/extension-chord? excuse my English, it isn't my native language ..

Yes, a dedicated line from the circuit board. Ideally you have a completely separate board just for the Hifi. 

Ideally not from the home CSU but a separate line taken from the main supply tails before the home CSU having it's own circuit board. Having a line from the home circuit board is a waste of time IME, you still have loads of interference from computers, fridges, hairdryers etc. 

When I had my separate consumer unit installed many years ago, its earth was connected in to the original unit. When we recently had a new unit for the house, I got the electrician to split the earth as well, which seems to have made a further improvement. 

Getting the mains right is definitely the first thing to do, before worrying about Powerlines. 

Yes HH, having a separate ground earth is better. Mine is in my garden near the hosepipe so the ground around the copper spike can be kept moist during dry spells. Some, like a certain person who recently left the forum, used to have a more novel way of damping the ground. 

Spacious grounds mean one can wee without being overlooked. It works on compost heaps too. 

I'm interested - not in weeing without being overlooked, but in having a dedicated line; are there any specific requirements (cable thickness, etc.)?

Split the meter tails, separate consumer unit, 10mm2 cable to unswitched sockets. That's it in a nutshell. 

Thanks!

De rien.