The armored cable will be heavily shielded this could also have an impact in reducing RFi…maybe
I am sure this also has an impact. One of the best upgrades I have done.
RKR I remember him, he sent me a demo CD that he’d compiled with some excellent tracks to demonstrate soundstage etc. think I still have it.
I have lots of his mains advice schematics and articles…somewhere!
Chris
Yes Roy would send out CD’s and lots of other paraphernalia related to maximising a dedicated mains, often to complete strangers, and would tour the UK and drop in to add his learned ear to any final tweaks that might be needed. He was indeed an enthusiast and certainly knew his stuff. The ultimate test of an optimised mains was the number of tings you could hear on one of his test CD’s (5 was the ultimate…I think I heard 4 but cant quite remember). Last I heard he is still around and pops up now and again on certain forums. A true Hifi legend RKR
I met Roy a few times and he was very helpful - a true Gent. My previous installation was greeted with a Roy thumbs-up when he visited. But despite it all I never heard the Tings (it was in an Elvis track IIRC).
His zeal pushed the boundaries of an unfettered power supply chain - often beyond warranties and wiring regs!
We have to find that track with the tings!!!
It would then be good to have a ting chart
Careful Nick, I got shot down for this sort of language previously. Beware of the righteous here waving the black flag! Enjoy your lovely system Peter
Cry-ting in the Chapel?
He was super helpful, there was an Elvis track on the test CD and I seem to remember the “tings”, I’ll see if I still have it! No chance of hearing them now though I fear!
I might add here for the sake of full disclosure (!) I installed a dedicated supply for the hifi system, and although put in before the current regs, and by my own hands, it is near the sort of thing folk are putting in under the current regs.
I used “cooker cable” and separate dedicated feed at the fuse box, but as I say, amateur effort.
Just two double unswitched boxes at the hifi end, and no fancy cables (the orignal supplied) to the amps and turntable, the Alphason and Naim 62, hicap and 140.
Seriously if you could let us know it would be great…
No luck with the CD yet, but I did find Roy’s covering letter which came with the CD dated 2003! It mentions what to listen for on some tracks but sadly no actual track listing, I’l reproduce it here if that isn’t against forum rules , with addresses etc removed if anyone is interetsted? Apparently he gave a copy of the CD to “2 people at Naim HQ when I visited in 2001, and I’m told that it is sometimes used in their demonstration room”. The plot thickens…
Im pretty sure this is the disk, but I cant remember the track that he used. By the way there isn’t an Elvis track on here but then I don’t recall it being an Elvis track…
…then again again this is 2004 and so doesn’t tie in with ChrisG’s letter…
That’s not the one I had, from memory it contained earlier tracks hence the Elvis content, certainly no Calexico. I’ll dig deeper tomorrow…
That’s a lovely set up. Well done on the new mains supply. Superb job. Enjoy the upgrade the mains supply will bring!
I have been following this topic with a view to putting in a dedicated mains radial. I’ve got everything ready for the electrician ( I’ve done all the crawling through loft spaces) and I notice that my two way consumer unit with rcd isolator is rated 40 amps - I have 32amp type c mcb and am only fitting one double socket. Will this be ok? Using 10 mm cooker wire. It’s a Hager vml402ah 2way consumer unit.
Thanks for your advice
Dont see why not. A double socket can only take two plugs at 13amps each anyway. What you are doing with the mcb is protecting the cable, which at 10mm is well protected. The plug fuses then protect the equipment.
That’s a relief. Thanks, I bought it on advice from electrical supplier who had no idea about hifi dedicated radial and it took three weeks to arrive and elsewhere in this thread it recommends 100 Amp CU.
Sympathetic electrician coming next Monday to connect it all up.
Thanks to all who have made this such a useful thread.
Just to add my experience on the subject…after finally being able to have dedicated lines (20a) set apart from anything that might require non-audio plug-ins (15a for lamps, etc., as well as recessed LED ceiling lights residing on a separate circuit), I can say unequivocally that it is the best upgrade you can do, period. This minor investment in the grander scheme of things versus truly expensive cables, power supplies and so forth nets actual results from the get-go versus a suck it and see or an, ‘I think I can hear’ approach to hi-fi. Having a good, trustworthy electrician come in and perform much of what has been discussed here is worth its weight in gold. IMO, it has been the most obvious and beneficial upgrade to my music listening experience in all of my years in this hobby, and is an often overlooked part of the equation that simply keeps on giving; there is no second-guessing its contributions. It’s simply peace of mind. Hi-fi outlets are a great addition, too.
I love for example that I can flip on a light or that when the refrigerator compressor kicks-in the system is completely unaffected. Now, that’s not to say there isn’t noise on the dedicated line anyway, but it’s greatly diminished, as obviously I cannot control the electricity coming in from outside.
Anyway, very interesting and informative thread. It’s something I would highly encourge anyone to investigate with serious intent. It may seem disruptive and could very well cause marital strife in many cases, but it’s very temporary and in the end a juice that’s worth the squeeze.
I think access is the key. I too have a CU in the garage and the hifi at the diagonally opposite room in the house from the garage, but I was able to (or rather the electrician) feed the cables outside up through the outside wall, through the loft space and down the outside wall at the other side of the house to the plug points (its about 30m, another reason I went for 10mm), all in trunking, so why not 10mm and why not 4 x runs of 10mm (RKRs recipe) for marginal additional material cost. However, I understand that others might have more difficulties with a cable run…