Do I really need a dedicated circuit?
Posted by: Armadillo on 05 August 2008
Two sentiments repeated over and over on the forum:
1. With respect to deciding on potential upgrades: listen first. Insist on a home demo if you can.
2. A dedicated circuit is one of the best value for money upgrades you can do.
Of course, you can't really home demo a dedicated circuit, right?
Which brings me to the question of whether it would make sense in my case. Perhaps it's a question of the "definition" of a dedicated circuit. My system is plugged into the power strip provided by my Naim dealer, which is then plugged into the wall.
My question: if nothing else is turned on, on the circuit that my system is plugged into, does that in fact make it a dedicated circuit? (It's pretty easy to do this -- I live in a fairly new detached house, and I can turn everything off in my music room, and adjoining rooms for that matter.) Or, is the test more stringent: if nothing else is connected to the circuit that my system is plugged into, does that make it a dedicated circuit? Or, does just the fact that there may be, for example, unused outlets on the same circuit as my system render my circuit "not dedicated" and argue for the upgrade?
Thanks for your advice.
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by pjl
stevebrassett,
I bought a Hiline for my system but I've found it has made no difference whatsoever to the sound. Could this be because it's still in it's box and has never been connected?!
Peter
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by 151
probably
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Flame
Hi guys;
Can somebody post a picture of a Hydra as Graham's website don't seem to have a proper picture of it. Thanks
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by pjl
"By the way, it's called a dedicated radial circuit, not a spur"
Well done that man, I was just waiting to see who'd spot that one first!
Peter
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Guido Fawkes
quote:
Originally posted by Flame:
Can somebody post a picture of a Hydra
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Guido Fawkes
Oh sorry Flame you didn't mean that, you mean this
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Stephen Tate
Ah! - The leviathan?

Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Flame
Thanks for the pic ROTF. That's the same pic I found on the net and I wasn't too happy with it. I was a bit scared with the looks especially the part in the center of the picture that appears wrapped in some sort of nylon. It looks all very home made and DIY. Maybe if somebody is using a hydra for their kit they can show us how it looks in the real world. Thanks
Regards...
Posted on: 05 August 2008 by Exiled Highlander
Armadillo
Given that you are in the US, I strongly suggest you give Naim USA a call to help you figure all this out.
The advice from Europe, while perfectly valid in Europe does not necessarily apply here in the US. Someone at NANA will help if your dealer cannot (which they should be able to do).
Cheers
Jim
Posted on: 06 August 2008 by 151
quote:
Originally posted by munch:
You can have a wind up and a laugh.
But still do all the info stuff.
And meet some great guys.BUT NOT IN A GAY WAY.
munch my dear,i hope your not being homophobic.

Posted on: 06 August 2008 by i am simon 2
Reading this thread made me realise that I might have gone over the top when I had my electrician install 3 spurs from my consumer unit each with 6mm cable to my hifi room.
1 spur has a switchless double plug into which i plug my tt and cdp (one is alway off if the otehr is on), and then the hicap on the pre, and the power amp each have thier own supply.
It did seem to improve things rather a lot.
Simon
Posted on: 06 August 2008 by 151
quote:
Originally posted by i am simon 2:
Reading this thread made me realise that I might have gone over the top when I had my electrician install 3 spurs from my consumer unit each with 6mm cable to my hifi room.
1 spur has a switchless double plug into which i plug my tt and cdp (one is alway off if the otehr is on), and then the hicap on the pre, and the power amp each have thier own supply.
It did seem to improve things rather a lot.
Simon
so why do you think its over the top?
Posted on: 06 August 2008 by KenM
quote:
It did seem to improve things rather a lot.
My dedicated "spur" made no discernible difference. £250 down the drain. Unfortunately, I couldn't know that before I decided to have one.
Maybe I just already had a good, clean mains supply.
Ken
Posted on: 06 August 2008 by bazz
I got a single 20 amp spur for the hi fi a a couple of years ago, just for completeness I thought, wasn't expecting too much.
Got a surprise though, there was an immediate and large improvement, the music opened up, new instruments and multi-tracked vocals appeared from nowhere. Akin to going from Hicap to Supercap for a couple of hundred bucks!
I suppose much depends on the quality of the existing wiring, and what else is on the same circuit as the hi fi.