Another dedicated mains supply post!
Posted by: Bryce Curdy on 26 August 2017
By chance, the post at the top of the list (when I started typing) relates to this too and if the mods want to merge my thread I will have no objections.
Having heard the difference a power lead (Chord Sarum) can make I am more than convinced of the merits of a good mains supply. There are a lot of doubters out there and I'm sure it's system and house dependent to a degree.
i now want to install a dedicated mains supply. My system is CD555 with PS555DR, 552DR and 300 (about to be DR upgraded), so far from shabby but probably not ever going to upgrade to a 500 or go active. I'll be upgrading my loudspeakers too in the relatively near future, possibly to Sonus Faber Guarneris. I have a Rega Planar 3 TT with a smallish vinyl collection and MIGHT consider a streamer at some point but I don't want to factor either of these into my decision making.
My dealer who knows his stuff is suggesting two dedicated supplies each on a single high end socket (Lens). He is suggesting the 555 and 552 would feed into a isol-8 powerline axis which would then feed into one socket and the 300 would feed into the other socket directly. This would potentially involve 4 top end (Sarum T?) mains leads. I own three Chord Sarum SA already. So there's my first question. I could potentially have three high end sockets on two power supplies and bypass the need for the isol-8 powerline and the fourth power lead. Does the lead diameter need to be factored into this decision? If I have dedicated supply/supplies, high end sockets and mains leads would the isol-8 add anything? Or is there one of the other components I'm discussing which would add little? Do I need all of the above? If I need the isol-8 powerline is there a superior model I should be considering? I'm sure I've read somewhere that things feeding into a single socket has advantages. And if the isol-8 is adding anything should the 300 not feed into it also or a separate isol-8 if separating sources from power is important.
And then I've read on here about 'balanced power supplies', 'dedicated earth spikes' and 'split meter tails with Henley blocks' which have gone straight over my head but as one of the converted if they would make a difference I'm willing to splash the cash within reason. What is the difference betweeen an MCB and an RCD? I'm guessing an MCB means two accounts and meters? Is this worth it? Is this easy to set up with your average energy supplier? My dealer is recommending 10mm, ideally 15mm cables. Is the MCB/RCD/cable brand matter important and if so does anyone have particular recommendations?
Sorry for so many guestions but probably one of the most confusing topics on the forum to your average punter.
Interesting. Balanced power was one thing I was considering but never actually tried. Which brand of transformer are you using? Is it in your hi-fi room or close to your fuse box? How warm does it get? Does it hum or is it reasonably quiet in operation? Do you leave it powered up the whole time (can't imagine why you wouldn't) . Finally did you find it had a major impact on SQ?
If it works as you state it would certainly be more cost effective than even a half decent power cord
Bryce Curdy posted:...
Foot tapper - where would the balanced power supply go? How big and heavy are they?
Have a search for the Naim forum thread called "Suffering from those transformer hum blues?"
I started it about 2 years ago and it should tell you all you need to know. As a BPS has a substantial transformer at its heart, you should expect it to hum if your mains is "dirty". Strangely, mine hums a lot less and more quietly than the transformer in the 555PS and Supercap did. However, just in case, mine was installed by the electrician in the garage, just below the main electrical consumer unit for the house, then we ran the radial from there to the living room.
Picture of our BPS to follow if I can load it up in time...
Hope this helps, FT
For what it's worth - very little probably - when I had a spur installed I asked Naim what to do and they recommended a single 10mm wire. So that's what we did. We have only one double unswitched socket on the end. When we needed more than two plugs we used a Grahams Hydra. If I wanted more now I'd have two double sockets on the end of the spur, rather than using a powerblock if only to avoid a large expensive block sitting in the room.
The wire is just a bog standard SWA supplied by the electrician, as it runs round the outside of the house in the flower bed. Nothing fancy at all, but it works really well with no sonic issues, and improved the sound over the ring main significantly - at that time I was using a 552/300 so it was a highly resolving setup. One change we made a couple of years ago was to run the earth from the stereo's CU back to the meter cupboard: previously it was piggy backed off the main CU.
The Henley Block that you mentioned earlier is the black plastic box that has the meter tails going in and two sets of tails coming out.
