My Olson block is at the back of the system along the skirting board and everything seems happy enough
If everyone thinks that I can improve things by moving it I might consider that but I’ve no idea where I’d put it as it’s quite large
My Olson block is at the back of the system along the skirting board and everything seems happy enough
If everyone thinks that I can improve things by moving it I might consider that but I’ve no idea where I’d put it as it’s quite large
I think some people are overthinking this one Skep. Your outlets look great, I have shamelessly copied.
Shall I tell you about the time I upgraded the power cord on my RCM?
@Mikee
Hi mate nice to hear from you.
Go for it if you dare?
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Best not, might be believed
Still loving the SN3? Mines going nowhere
Likewise. ![]()
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Fair enough. You can do your own risk assessment for your own use case. That doesn’t change the fact that, overall, the evidence is that socket covers don’t improve the safety statistics.
My rather large Olson block runs behind my rack and along the skirting board but, to me, it’s sounding great
If it stops unwanted stuff going into something that shouldn’t I don’t see the problem.
I’d rather that than go to use a socket left open and dirty and when something is plugged in that pulls current you get a dust flash or worse.
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I reckon you’ll be ok @Skeptikal, I mean, there’s a whole load going on in the world I doubt your dust cover is gonna be public enemy no 1. ![]()
There are products designed to cover sockets to keep dust and dirt out of them. The purpose of the inserts you are using is different - to prevent the insertion, accidental or intentional, of fingers, screwdrivers etc. into the socket in such a way as to deliver a potentially fatal electric shock to the user. They have been widely criticised by organisations such as the IET, HSE and others because they are unsuitable for their intended purpose, which has been made redundant by the shutters used in any socket made from about 1940 onwards. Whether or not you choose to use them in your own home is your choice, but if you defend their use on a public forum for a purpose for which they were not designed, I will not hesitate to point out to others that there are genuine safety concerns over the use of these products.
I find the placing the block beside the rack can look fine if the wires are arranged carefully. I use velcro tape to bind them to a common arc. Them all together under the rack to avoid any signal or DC power cables. Under the rack is one large unstressed loop with tails coming off of different lengths to each of the hifi units above. If everything is Naim the the power cables will all rise up on the right side in a straight line together well away from other cables.
Try as I might to find a pic, I couldn’t. But I’ve followed this on 3 systems now. Practical and effective.
A consideration for myself on the block placement was the frequency of lightening storms and ability to disconnect the system to safeguard against electrical spikes. Of course depending upon where you live, this may not be a consideration.
Can you not unplug the wall socket instead of having to unplug multiple sockets from the mains block?
When we were both working full time one simply had to accept the possibility of lightening occurring during working hours. Fortunately it rarely happened as I recall, but in any case I really don’t think my boss would have been very sympathetic if I’d requested leave to go home and unplug my Naim system! Thinking about it I don’t think I’ve ever unplugged a system during a storm and I’ve had no issues. Maybe I’m just lucky. I see you’re in Portugal and If you do get a lot of storms then for peace of mind maybe don’t leave the system powered up. It’s a compromise and sound quality will suffer but at least you know there won’t be any damage. An alternative in this scenario would be to change to something less sensitive to warm-up, thus allowing it to be only powered up when in use without SQ compromises.
Really funny this thread has exploded from a simple question from the OP
He put his mains block under his rack and built up with no access to the plugs.
Looks tidy .
Would there be any advantages SQ or otherwise for the block to be beside the system instead. ![]()
Edit
Thank you for the like from the OP. ![]()
We had been in Portugal for only a few weeks when a lightening storm damaged a number of TVs and audio equipment in houses nearby. So I got a power block with a switch. T was easier to use that switch than pulling the plug out. In the last couple of weeks I have resolved this issue by installing a dedicated power line.
I do understand the concerns and the facts that most things can be abused and used incorrectly.
But I as an adult and assume I’m talking to reasonably intelligent individuals decided to show what I did out of the way to prevent dust settlement.
In my installation there is nothing that can’t be done with a proper plug or the blank in its form to do the wrong thing.
My blank has no pos or neg pins and the earth pin is only half the length so the shutters are not activated.
It would be a PITA to point this out every time as I suspected I was communicating with sensible adults that converse about many technical modifications.
Like most things if used correctly can be ok.
In view of this I shall install an unterminated MK plug in the socket as a blank instead.
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I’m sure there’s a definition out there of the term “over thinking” attributed to something audiophiles invented to pretend they don’t have OCD.