Now that my new spur is fitted...
Posted by: Consciousmess on 22 April 2009
Hi all,
(Gosh I wish I could post the pictures I've taken, but I just don't know how to???!!)
I wrote a while back informing the forum that I've now had a separate spur fitted by a qualified electrician. It is completely legit as I have just received a letter through the post, which is an official government document certifying the work done.
But the electrician did not do as good a job as I had hoped. He connected my new hifi unit to the existing consumer unit and not directly to the meter. What is more frustrating is that I insisted he connected 3 10mm spurs to 3 double sockets next to my Naim - which he did - but the cable going from the hifi unit to the existing consumer unit is 2 x 6mm wire!!!
So essentially I am not benefitting from the 10mm wires!!!
Am I correct claiming this???
As a further question, and I would be tremendously grateful for your help, would it be straight forward to connect my new separate hifi spur to the meter and by-pass the existing consumer unit???
I hope that question makes sense and if anyone could give me tips on how to post pictures, I'd be more than grateful!!!
Many thanks,
Jon
Posted on: 22 April 2009 by Polarbear
Hi Jon,
well he got it almost right.
I am sure the new unit can be connected to the metre very easily and theregore getting the full benefit of the new spurs,
Regards
PB
Posted on: 22 April 2009 by DaveBk
I'd suggest getting the original sparky back and telling him to finish the job properly. It's relatively easy to do assuming your original consumer unit is close to the new one. Doing this yourself is a really bad idea unless you involve your local building control people, but this will probably cost more for a small job than the sparky will charge. Think it cost me £120 to get building control to sign off my work.
Posted on: 24 April 2009 by hungryhalibut
You need to get the electrician to put a splitter into the tails from the meter, and then run two sets of wires - one to the original CU and one to the new hifi one.
This has to be done by cutting the live feed from the meter, and is absolutely a job for a qualified professional.
Nigel
Posted on: 25 April 2009 by Consciousmess
Thanks for the feedback, PB, Dave and Nigel.
I will get my local electrician round next weekend and get this sorted.
Am I correct saying that the cable coming from my hifi control unit should be 2 x 10mm cables?? The sparky I had followed my instructions by installing 3x10mm cable to my hifi sockets, but the cables going to this hifi fuse box is only 2 x 6mm cable. Very frustrating!!
So should I insist to the electrician that the tails from the meter go to 2 x 10mm cable??
I want the absolute best I'm legally allowed to my Naim!
Many thanks again.
Jon
Posted on: 25 April 2009 by u5227470736789439
More to the point, perhaps, is what effect the change has on your enjoyment of your set's function?
Has it improved?
ATB from George
Posted on: 26 April 2009 by Consciousmess
Hi George,
Essentially I do notice slightly more space around all the instruments, and a slightly better decay after each note....
...but it isn't a 'night and day thing'!!
As I have the job almost fully complete, I might as well make sure that this new spur now comes from the meter directly, bypassing the original consumer unit.
I'll be content when that is done, but my partner isn't too happy with all the plaster that's been destroyed!!
Regards,
Jon
Posted on: 26 April 2009 by DaveBk
quote:
So should I insist to the electrician that the tails from the meter go to 2 x 10mm cable??
Jon, Meter tails are usually 25mm. He will need to split the existing tails with something called a Henley Block, then run an additional pair of tails to the hifi consumer unit.
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by hungryhalibut
Precisely so. The tails are very thick, and 25mm sounds right. With only 6mm cables connecting one CU to the other, a lot of the benefit of the spur is being lost. The proper splitter should make a big difference. And remember that the spur needs awhile to run in - mine sounded quite thin for while then opened up nicely.
Nigel
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by Analogue
Allow 6weeks for burn in, try running your tuner through the system 24/7 to help things along.
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by Consciousmess
Thanks for the posts, but why would a new cable need burning in??? Is it the human ear instead, as surely a wire is a wire that conducts electricity???
Apologies for my naivety!!
Jon
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by DaveBk
I'm not convinced over the need to run in mains spurs. Some components such as elecrtolytic capacitors definately change with use as the dielectric layer builds up, but any physical change to a copper wire must be minimal.
There are all sorts of complex issues to consider when looking at cables such as skin effect which predicts that most of the current flowing in an AC conductor does so at the surface. This is relevent at the design stage but it does not explain how the cable changes with age.
I've read somewhere that the crystaline structure of copper changes when a current flows through it in one direction, but in an steady 50Hz mains circuit I think this should cancel out...?
When a cable is drawn, I'm happy to accept the crystaline structure is different one way to the other which could explain the perceived differences in directionality, but this relates to signal conductors not power?
Overall it's a complex matter with some proven physics, but a lot of pseudo-science...
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by Derek Wright
To expedite the usage of the cable - plug in an electric fire for a few days - this will draw far more current than the hifi equipment and if burn is a valid phenomena then it will be burnt in quicker - if not, you will have at least kept your house warm
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by DaveBk
Now why didn't I think of that... much simpler
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by hungryhalibut
quote:
but why would a new cable need burning in???
Dunno really, but if you install a new snaic or interconnect the sound changes over the first days. There is no reason a mains wire would not be the same.
It's so cold tonight that Derek's fire plan sounds very appealing.
Nigel
Posted on: 27 April 2009 by pjl
I'm with DaveBk on this one. Yes there is a lot of pseudo-science talked about cables, including "burning in". In scientific terms, what does this actually mean? Nothing. Has anyone carried out a controlled experiment to eliminate the variables that exist when a new cable is introduced into a system? In other words, can we be sure that any changes taking place to the sound are due to changes of some kind in the cable, and not caused by other factors such as equipment warm-up after switch -on or the introduction of new black boxes? What parameters should one consider in order to measure and characterise cable burn-in? Resistance, colour or some as yet undiscovered property?
Peter
