Mains Sockets
Posted by: Bryce Curdy on 17 September 2016
I don't need any convincing about the contribution that power cables can make. I've got three Chord Sarum Tuned Arays with plans to upgrade from Tuned to Super in due course. I've also had a separate consumer unit as well as switchless sockets with star earthing. I am about to move house and wondered if the mains sockets themselves are important and if so does anyone have recommendations, ideally in a satin chrome finish (ie brushed rather than gloss).
White, white or white
sounding absolutely fantastic no colouration whatsoever.
Bryce Curdy posted:Alan Willby posted:I have just installed 3Nr MS HD Power Unswitched double sockets to my new dedicated mains supply. Unfortunately I cannot tell you what they are like yet as I am a week or so away from setting up my system again following building works. They do Silver, Gold and Rhodium versions. I went for the Silver version at £50 each - the other two are virtually the same price at around £90 each. They will take a 14 mm2 cable connection. My electrician commented that they appear to be very well made.
At the risk of sounding 'hung up', what finishes are available?
White is all I have seen.
Bryce Curdy posted:There's no need to try and sound so superior. If you actually read what I said you would realise I'm far from hung up on it.
My response was intended to be frank within my priorities for a socket. If you found my post superior sounding, then I suppose our priorities don't align as I rank the sonic output of a socket far above any finish options- "satin chrome finish (ie brushed rather than gloss)". Satin, brushed, or gloss finish? WTF are these finishes and who else really cares within the context of a wall socket? Are you buying a door knob?
These are the terms you have posted. You asked and I responded. I wonder whether you're actually reading what you've written here. Think about it. It's a freaking wall socket. What's next, which finish for the cover plate? They've got carbon fibre you know.
When doing our new kitchen we spent ages choosing between satin chrome and satin nickel cupboard door knobs. The two are subtlely different, with the former being blueish and the latter yellowish. It turned out that the satin nickel goes far better with the stainless steel oven.
The electrician then wanted to know whether we wanted satin nickel electric sockets and switches. We actually liked this idea but it turned out that one of the sockets was not available in satin nickel, so we'd have to have about 15 satin nickel and one white. We didn't fancy that so went for all white in the end, which looks fine. In fact they are all MK logic plus....
If someone has a carefully designed living room with all the sockets visible, I can quite see why they would want them to match visually, and I would want to do the same. When I changed a light switch in the living room a couple of years ago I then changed every one in the house, so they all looked the same.
So I guess I'm with Bryce here. That said, it's only a power socket and it's not something to get excited about. Just get a decent quality one in the same colour as all the rest in the room, and once it's fitted you'll never think about it again. All our sockets in the sitting room are MK logic plus, except that for the Hifi which is a Crabtree. No visitor has ever mentioned it, and until this thread I hadn't thought about it for years. On the dullometer, power sockets have got to be right up there.
I found going between good quality domestic to specific audio sockets gave a different view of the perspective within music. Domestic more forward and audio more recessed.
joerand posted:Bryce Curdy posted:There's no need to try and sound so superior. If you actually read what I said you would realise I'm far from hung up on it.
My response was intended to be frank within my priorities for a socket. If you found my post superior sounding, then I suppose our priorities don't align as I rank the sonic output of a socket far above any finish options- "satin chrome finish (ie brushed rather than gloss)". Satin, brushed, or gloss finish? WTF are these finishes and who else really cares within the context of a wall socket? Are you buying a door knob?
These are the terms you have posted. You asked and I responded. I wonder whether you're actually reading what you've written here. Think about it. It's a freaking wall socket. What's next, which finish for the cover plate? They've got carbon fibre you know.
I'll let others come to their own conclusion whether they think this amounts to low grade trolling. If you find the content of the topic so dull you do realise you have the option of ignoring it. You are not obliged to comment.
Hungryhalibut posted:When doing our new kitchen we spent ages choosing between satin chrome and satin nickel cupboard door knobs. The two are subtlely different, with the former being blueish and the latter yellowish. It turned out that the satin nickel goes far better with the stainless steel oven.
The electrician then wanted to know whether we wanted satin nickel electric sockets and switches. We actually liked this idea but it turned out that one of the sockets was not available in satin nickel, so we'd have to have about 15 satin nickel and one white. We didn't fancy that so went for all white in the end, which looks fine. In fact they are all MK logic plus....
If someone has a carefully designed living room with all the sockets visible, I can quite see why they would want them to match visually, and I would want to do the same. When I changed a light switch in the living room a couple of years ago I then changed every one in the house, so they all looked the same.
So I guess I'm with Bryce here. That said, it's only a power socket and it's not something to get excited about. Just get a decent quality one in the same colour as all the rest in the room, and once it's fitted you'll never think about it again. All our sockets in the sitting room are MK logic plus, except that for the Hifi which is a Crabtree. No visitor has ever mentioned it, and until this thread I hadn't thought about it for years. On the dullometer, power sockets have got to be right up there.
Agree entirely. There's only one person getting excited about it, and it's neither me nor is it you.
Maybe amusing or maybe not but my slight personal worry is that the non switched dual MK Logic Plus white socket that we use for our Naim kit doesn't match the Crabtree sockets fitted throughout the rest of the house. It's crazy because this 'Naim Supply' socket can't even be seen. And to think that I used to be paranoid
The MK are not all copper construction, they use steel earth bar. The distribution layout is in series, whereas Crabtree it's parallel and this is part reason I prefer Crabtree. Crabtree's receptacle lends itself to being drilled out and accept larger diameter wire (or two) whereas Mk doesn't.