Picking up on a thread started in August last year and especially a post by Blackmorec regarding how some mains cabling will lead to a sound that sounds like it needs burning in, but never actually does.. This is precisely the issue I have. I wrote before of my dedicated mains, Prysmian 10mm2, radial journey and ended it flummoxed; with sound that lacks the warmth, airiness and long note decay I get with the house ring main. Instead I get a sound that is a bit more etched, a bit more 'compressed' and lacking scale in the mid bass. It's exactly like a new interconnect - or amp/pre-amp for that matter - (IME) which needs burning in to open up and shed some brittleness. A-to-B testing is easy and conclusive because sockets for both are one above the other.
After about 100hrs on it, I gave up for a bit, but it niggled, having gone to all that effort. So I tried 6mm2 to a single socket and different makes of MCB and RCD (RCCB) I also put in a balanced power supply which, fyi, completely cured amplifier hum with no perceived negative effects. But, none of these made any significant difference to SQ - for better or worse.
The installation is text book mains tails/Henley/separate CSU and carried out by a qualified sparks who was amazed that he could actually hear a difference between the two supplies and as frustrated as me that he couldn't solve the problem. He called the dedicated supply sound 'tinny'. Anyhow, I believe I'm left with only one thing left to try - different cable. Blackmorec said to use cable which experienced audiophiles have used with positive results, but stopped short of noting any. Can anyone here do so? My run is about 4 metres along the floor of the CH boiler cupboard which is where my meter board lives. I'm considering a shielded cable like Supra Lorad 2.5mm2 or MCRU shielded 10mm2, but voices of first hand experience would be much appreciated.
On another point, the main CSU is earthed inside the (power company-secured) 100amp fuse box. So an earth block was fixed to the board next to said box and earth cables from main CSU and dedicated CSU plumbed into the block on one side with single earth from 100amp fuse box earthing point joining it on other side. I know little, but I do wonder how much use is such a 'dedicated' radial (or spur) when it shares the same earth (point) as the house ring?
Thanks all.
Ian
Posted on: 12 January 2018 by Mr Happy
Sounds like you are getting there now. Im surprised you didn’t hear a difference with the memera rcd/mcb. You will definitely need to let things burn in now, with at least a small current being pulled through the circuit for a few weeks.
Posted on: 12 January 2018 by eagle3333
Mr Happy, yep, improvements have happened. I am curious about the ring/radial thing, though. Anyhow, if it's not playing music it'll have something idling on it and pulling power..
Posted on: 12 January 2018 by eagle3333
For anyone still with the will to live on this thread : My sparks arrived for his cash and kindly ran a quick 2.5mm sq ring from the dedicated csu to my socket. I'm sure it was closer to the sound I've described from the house ring than the dedicated radial with all its 'special' bits.
I found a post, earlier, from Darkebear who described having installed a dedicated ring and several radials and found the radials to be too lean and lacking coherence and the house ring much smoother and more musical. Exactly my experience. He went on to say he found his dedicated ring better than his house ring. I hope I may be about to follow in this.
Sparks returns next Friday to wire a loose ring into the dedicated csu on another MCB, next to the radial, so I can easily compare them with each other over the weekend. Then, notwithstanding allowances for lack of burn-in, I will have my answer to life, the universe and everything.
Posted on: 14 January 2018 by eagle3333
Blackmorec - will do. I'm currently burning-in the new radial cable. Next Friday the ring will be loosely (not fixed to wall) installed next to it and I'll burn that in for a week. Latter will be 2.5mm sq ordinary cable sharing the hifi dedicated CSU. Same cable diameter as the main house ring, which is still sounding more musical to me than the radial on its Furutech stuff. Then I'll be able to A/B the two which will simply involve plugging from one to the other.
Posted on: 20 January 2018 by eagle3333
Update :
The dedicated ring went in yesterday morning and now has 24 hrs draw time on it. Just sat down for some early A/B testing.
I've documented the difference between my radial and house ring and it's not a million miles from Geko's obs' earlier in this thread in terms of 'harsh' vs 'smooth' (though that was related to sockets.) The news is that the dedicated ring is much smoother than the dedicated radial. The radial SQ very obviously lacked mid bass scale, warmth, smoothness, space, airiness, soundstage size; it was compressed and analytical. All these obs' are made in comparison to SQ on the house ring. The dedicated ring replicates the musicality of the house ring but with the added benefit of what I'm pretty sure is a quieter background and slightly more presence of performers and instruments. I need to spend more time on a few different tracks to accurately quantify latter; but I don't need to spend any more time comparing to the radial. In my circumstances, the ring wins hands down.
For anyone putting in a dedicated line, my personal conclusion is that there is a yawning difference between the SQ from a ring and a main. (Fyi - my house wiring is 10 years old and appears to have been done very well with no clicks from appliances etc. Though the lights dim momentarily when I turn on the animal amp.) Had I not discovered this; had I gone with a radial, I think I'd have grown to find my SQ fatiguing and started messing with hifi components in a bid to change it. It may, therefore, be worth loose-wiring a radial and a ring if time and logistics permit and comparing both before committing to the final, fixed instal. 'Source first' is often espoused; p'raps at a certain level it should be 'power first' given the degree of difference it truly makes.
Sparks will come back next week and replace the fixed radial fix with a ring. I'll probably stick with the basic 2.5mm sq. run being used for the test as 4mm is the biggest he reckons can use for a ring and I'm not sure there'd be much discernible difference between the two.
Thanks to all who contributed to this journey and especially Finkfan who suggested I try what I was too wood-for- trees to see myself. Hope it helps others. Anyone want 4m of very lovely Furutech cable?
Posted on: 20 January 2018 by Finkfan
Thanks for the update Eagle! Very interesting findings.
I’m fortunate enough to have my new office wired up separately to the main house too, so at some point I’ll unplugged everything from the dedicated radial and try my system on that. I felt the dedicated radial for me was a significant improvement over the house ring, but a dedicated ring I’ve not tried.
Posted on: 20 January 2018 by eagle3333
Excellent Fink! Would be interested in your findings. I think we can say that there is a very definite difference in SQ - in my context - between ring and radial and a little less so, but still very worthwhile, between a dedicated ring and house ring. Which presentation anyone else finds subjectively better over the other will be a matter of taste. I'm more than happy to now be looking for new music on Qobuz instead of researching MCB's and mains cable!
Posted on: 20 January 2018 by Geko
Yes, interesting outcome. When I compared my radial supply to the house ring the radial was overwhelmingly better. By comparison the house ring sounded flat, two dimesional and grainy. The dedicated radial was like changing to a power supply, all finely etched and detailed. Changing plug socket was interesting but that's another story.
Got me thinking that I might need to try the radial as a ring!
Posted on: 20 January 2018 by eagle3333
I bet of 10 people listening to the two in my set-up, 5 would prefer the ring and 5 would prefer the radial, Geko! My radial, too, is more 'finely etched'; but too 'etched' for my preferences. The ring is just as detailed but in a more liquid smooth way, more airy and more relaxing, for me. If it does what it does here, you might find a ring too 'soft' for your preferences, for want of a better word. Nice to have the option to fine tune in whichever direction you prefer, though 
