Agreed, and as an electrical engineer I do know what I’m doing. And also familiar with Olson sockets as I had them in trade schools around Europe and elsewhere.
With any electrical work, I would always advise anyone who is not confident with their ability skills or whatever to get it done by someone who is, and per my post that suggested to change the cable.
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Have you?
How so?
I think that’s a bit unfair HH. The OP wanted recommendations for a better block than his Tacima at a reasonable price. The Olson is the obvious candidate, being well made and sounding very good. It’s not as good as Chord or Musicworks but these are far more expensive and the OP obviously doesn’t wan’t to spend that much.
What have you got against this thread? It seems innocuous enough to me and quite informative and interesting.
I understand your frustration Mark and I think somehow you and Olson got your wires crossed (no pun intended) which possibly was to do with your original request of star wiring. Seriously do give them a ring - you may be surprised.
@MarkL3w
It says on the Olson website to telephone call for custom build.
The telesales just deals with shelf orders.
You only want a block with no light and a shorter cord.
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To me, as a casual observer, it shows people obsessively pushing their own choices to the exclusion of other options. It’s one thing to say that one has a preference, but quite another to diss other options to the extent they are being dissed here. It’s the sort of argumentativeness (is that a word?) that shows the Forum in a bad light. But what do I know.
Yes. I wonder if things have changed. I also wonder if I was actually in touch with them or if they’ve contracted out their website. I used the form on the made to order page making it clear I wanted a bog standard 6 way block with no neon, but no go.
If people are happy to keep this thread running it’s fine with me @Richard.Dane
My email trail is just an order confirmation, so I think I must have placed the order on the phone. One last try?
To be fair, the poor guy at Olsen has probably been inundated with dozens of emails with weird non-standard requests in the week this thread has been running and is wondering why the world has gone mad. Talking to someone by phone is usually a much better way to explain what you want.
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I don’t have an exotic mains block - just one constructed using high-quality components. At present my system is powered from a ring main which includes the boiler, washing machine and tumble dryer, so it seems to me that there is little to gain from a special mains block until I get a separate mains feed for my system. That is do-able because the main consumer unit is the other side of a hollow wall from my music room. It’s just that Mrs. Bubble has views on the matter, but I am working in that. I would tend to agree that ‘simplest is best’ and I, too, am inclined to build my own using unswitched sockets. It’s amazing what’s on the market; I’m sure much of it is quality gear but I can’t imagine any of it is a better use of my hard-earned than a separate supply.
Hardly that HH. You do yourself a disservice as a long time Forum Member!
I can’t speak for anyone else but my dismissal of the MCRU block and praise of the Olson is based on personal experience. I know very well the mass market block that MCRU uses - I bought two or three of these some years ago now from Robert Dyas. (I don’t think they sell them anymore). I concede they are a little better than your average mass market block. The plastic casework is thicker and more robust and the internal bus bars are a little heavier guage than is typical for these sorts of blocks. But they are basically cheap and nasty. Not the sort of thing you want feeding a Naim system - even if plated. The Olson blocks are very robust with steel casework, very well made internally and sound very good indeed. Not as good as home made, which would be my first choice here, but the OP doesn’t want to make his own or isn’t confident to do so.
I don’t personally think it shows the forum in a bad light. Several of us here have stated the virtues of home made blocks as being the ideal option. Failing that, there really aren’t that many good commercially available options at the sort of price the OP wants to pay. The other options like the MCRU are being dissed because they are arguably inferior to the Olson. A Hydra, as you say, is another good option but then one loses the benefit of the Powerline Lite plug.
At the end of the day it’s about finding the best solution for the OP. So the best solution in people’s own view is the one that gets pushed. It may appear that this is pushing the Olson and it is - but that’s because a number of people here agree on its merits and also agree that the alternatives are inferior.
In the interests of the OP’s sanity I’ve looked at the Olson website and found a suitable non neon block. It needs wiring but that’s easy to do, and should solve the problem and make everyone happy. The only problem is that it’s over two feet long!!
Also… 4mm² internal wiring – 32A rated!
Well if you can’t beat ‘em join ‘em! Looks like a good choice (4mm2 wiring) apart from the length and that one needs to attach one’s own cable. I personally much prefer that but not sure about the OP.
Just put the plug from one of your Powerline Lites on the Hydra if you think it’s worth it. Easy to do, and easy to reverse if you need to in future.
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I’d go option two individuals.
Your cable to the socket will be neat too.
It can sit beside or even run along behind the rack.
I never do busbars or filters or neons.
Try to keep it to what’s required with minimal spares if any.
I’d have that over the Olson but I’d only need 3-4 sockets.
I wish I knew what make of socket they are.
Best yet stop looking now
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Agree with @Skeptikal. I actually had something very simiilar several years ago. Go for it.
PS. Whenever I’ve looked at his website he’s always out of stock of mains blocks.