Just a couple of thoughts and suggestions - as others have commented the quality of the socket (especially when the rest of the mains and mains block quality have been taken care of) can make quite the difference.
I would, however, really make sure to choose a good quality ALL copper socket as most are at best a mixture of copper and brass or similar components inside and then plated, certainly MK and I believe also MS HD power and most others. Quite a good safe choice is Furutech (with some plating options but really what you need is good copper). The single socket Furutech should take up to a 10mm2 cable.
If you were referring to putting a regular TT earth rod into a house which already had a TN-C-S arrangement you would be right, it would be potentially lethal. If, as you seem to be suggesting, you think a Groundmaster is similarly dangerous, you have failed to understand that it isnāt the same as a TT earth that grounds your home mains circuitry.
Iāve just had a dedicated feed installed, terminating the 10mm2 cable with a single Furutech socket. Recommend a deep back box to give the installer a fighting chance of wrangling the incoming cable. The electrician separated the cable into two strands for each terminal L,N, E - the strands sit either side of a central threaded bolt that holds the cable clamp. Very tight and secure connection.
As I understand it, the Ground Master is capacitively coupled to the earth rod. This means there is no direct connection. The capacitor isolates the circuit at DC and low frequencies and begins to conduct as frequency rises. I am unsure of the specific crossover frequency.
The important fact is that without a zero ohms path to earth they cannot be used as a safety earth.
Iām not at all clear on what they are supposed to do, One thing the manufacturer claims is the device shunts SMPS switching noise on the earth circuit. However, a potential flaw in this theory is that many SMPS units do not actually have an earth circuit.
I will speak to sparky but thinking standard double unswitched socket by MK or if he knows better than go for that. Going to keep it simple. I can always upgrade it later.
Question is will I hear a difference when work is done? I have 20amp 4mm 2 x double unswitched radials. And the Puritan 156. I will do the work regardless. You donāt know until you try.
The external set up will likely be waterproof 32amp separate CU running directly off mains supply henley block. Then galvanised conduit encasing standard 10mm cable going direct into lounge.
Like I have said I have block paving out the front and gas box and mains services underneath block paving. The galvanised conduit will have bends going around gas box and other services such as fibre cable conduit.
Then a galvanised back box in corner of lounge out of site with standard unswitched double socket.
Thatās the plan but have yet to get my electrician over.
Dan, Iām not up on UK wiring but I can tell you wall outlets can have a massive impact on sound, depending on what version you go with. I would highly recommend checking out whatever the top of the line Furutech NCF is for the UK. I use the North America version but I was in complete disbelief, when I swapped from the builder grade to their top of the line version on my dedicated run. While a ridiculous cost for ājust an outletā, it has been the biggest price vs performance upgrade I have ever done & made me realize how much impact power can have on sound. Iām not sure if the UK version is as āfancyā as the North American version, but know some in the UK have been very impressed with it.
I am sure some of the more heavily priced sockets maybe better.
However, to start with I am going fairly standard. And see if the work done makes any difference. The Puritan 156 does alot although Naim donāt recommend them. It got rid of the hum on my 500DR and 552DR PSs. Note the two newer 555DRs had no hum at all.
Like I said a more expensive socket can be added later. It sounds like with the Furutech I could only go with a single socket or I would have to run two separate 10mm cables. This complicates things.
Ideally I want a double socket as I have alot of equipment with two switches and additional power supply, a router aand then all the Naim power supplies and Linn power supply.
An unswitched double socket is therefore required.
Trying to fit two 10mm cables into galvanised conduit is not viable. If I was running it all under the floor then no issues. The project I have in mind involves minimal disturbance to the interior and a neat finish to the exterior.
The fibre has a power supply and then there is the SACD player. So 10 power supplies and 2 blocks. Wireworld Matrix 2 which I may upgrade and Puritan 156 which has solved the hum from 500DR and 552DR and has provided a cleaner sound IMHO.
With new Mains supply maybe the Puritan 156 wonāt be necessary? I will take things one step at a time. The system sounds fantastic as it is already. Time will tell on all counts.
I doubt very much that the dedicated mains supply will remove the need for your Puritan, but thereās only one way to find out.
Keep the router and any other non-Hi-Fi stuff off the dedicated mains.
Possibly also keep the Linn PS off the dedicated mains - I donāt have experience of this but others have posted here that they are best kept separate.
Thereās another mains socket for that in the area. Or they can all go to the 20amp 4mm separate radial off the main consumer unit a bit further along the room.
Keeping the router off the dedicated mains makes sense - unless one is streaming, in which case the router effectively becomes a part of the hi-fi.
Fancy mains sockets are a bit hit and miss I think. I would stick with standard MK or Crabtree. I prefer Crabtree as the terminals seem much more robust to me. Switched or unswitched? Logic dictates unswitched, although I recall from some time ago that there was a school of thoughtb that the MK switched sockets actually sounded superior. Something to do with the earthing arrangements IIRC.
I definitely wouldnāt use any mains block with filtering of any sort. I use a Chord Company Powerhaus M6 block and it really is superb. The improvements brought about by this are not subtle at all.
Unless your current socket is all rusty and rotten, you are unlikely to hear any difference with this one. And at that point in your system, I would assign the Matrix 2 to fridge duties.
Morning dude, have you thought about hard wiring your extension leads straight into the Henley block, No need for sockets then, donāt know if you remember but I hard wired my IECs, and it was signed off by a sparky.
I have a couple of these Dan, they were fitted a few years ago when we renovated. Quality seemed really good and different options available now. Very good value.
