Now I am confused …
Extra earths have been run back to the shared earth block, the existing earth from the hifi sockets are still in place on a lighter duty cable.
I had read that an independent earth rod was recommended in the 18th regulations as a backup to the main earth failing, this was confirmed by my sparks. However I also read that such a rod is not permitted because of the risk of voltage surge seeking out the spike and damaging equipment tied to that earth.
Separating the CU boxes made a difference to the sound when watching the biathlon on Eurosport, but that may be down to a different recording regimen at the world championships over the regular broadcast.
Thanks vex not had a chance to listen to music yet has sparks is running the last of the cables and I’ve dismantled half of my fraim setup. … more to follow
Adding an earth rod to a property supply that does not require an earth rod can be dangerous.
Some power supplies have a combined return that constitutes both the Neutral & Earth, these should not have additional earths - as in earth roads - added.
Your electrician will know the earth type your property has & will advise accordingly.
Thanks I think that this is the case here … the earth goes to the step down transformer down the lane from whence the power comes.
Hi Huw,
I was trying to figure out from your photos what you have done with the earthing. Have you abandoned the earth cable in the T&E cable and run a separate one from each socket directly to the earth cennector block?
I asked my sparks what happened to the original earth cables, he said they were still there. The new cables run around the outside of the house from the hifi sockets back to the existing earthing strip.
Now after a few days the sound has settled down - in simple terms it’s clearer, instruments standout, but vocals appear sharper. I had hoped that I could take the ground loop isolator out from the TV to 52, but no such luck.
So the earth in the T&E cable is still connected? Sounds a bit odd, but I’m not a sparky!
That’s what I thought… must download the new regs.
FWIW I had a separate earth spike put in when I had my sparks execute the above and could discern no difference between earthing the new CSU with it or the main house PME; beyond what might have been expectation bias, anyway and certainly not enough to stop me worrying at night about whether the ground around the spike had dried out. If you really want to make a difference, now, I’d recommend a look at power cords. (Steady, ChrisSU 
Interesting thought …
The difference is slight and only on my main system, with my ‘qutes I have not heard an audible difference with the new (additional) earth. I’m not looking to make any more upgrades, unless a reasonable 2nd hand 250 comes on the market.
The sound will continue changing for a few weeks of burn in. It has ups and downs but as time passes these swings get less noticable and the sound gets better and better. Be patient and enjoy the music in the mean time.
Hopefully not off topic…
I notice on the digrams ‘unswitched’ sockets mentioned. Is there a clear audible difference when using these vs normal switched ones and why might that happen? Is this only relevant if you have a dedicated mains for your HiFi or would there be improvements for sockets on a ‘normal’ mains also?
In theory because of the direct connection with no potential of defects or resistance in the switch circuit, it should sound better. In my experience there is very little (if any) sound difference between switched & unswitched. But I have to say I’ve only tried this with MK ‘Logic Plus’ sockets & it might well not be the case with other models & brands.
Did I say “slight”?
Extend listening last night …
Things still sound bright, which takes some getting used to. It may be exposing poor recordings.
Nevertheless, there seems to be more space around instruments.
This sounds similar to what I experienced. I couldn’t use the dedicated lines because, though fast and dynamic, the sound was/is too bright/harsh/compressed even after about 350hrs. Perhaps that’s still not enough. In any event, I ran out of patience and preferred the house ring until I found quality power cords completely removed the harshness and opened up the sound on the dedicated circuits. I don’t use the house ring anymore. I would stick with it, though, as Mrhappy’s advice is the generally accepted principle. If it doesn’t improve over time, you can always demo’ a power cord, free, from some of the major suppliers like I did.
I use a hydra so only have four unswitched sockets for my main system…
But thanks letting me know of your experience Eagle3333
Thanks MrHappy[quote=“Mrhappy, post:71, topic:391”]
Be patient
[/quote]
How old is the wiring in your main ring?
Did you put in 10mm/2 cable in the dedicated radials?
Did you use a separate CU?
Do you plug the Naim boxes into the wall sockets now, or use a power distribution block?
How many radials did you install?
Ah just noticed you have no Naim boxes.
So perhaps your power line revelation is not transferable…
JimDog, yes these things are system dependent I guess. But I had a lot of Naim in the past and always struggled with some brittleness of leading edges. From my experience of the Thunder, I would expect it to have very slightly smoothed that. Man ring wiring is 10yrs old. Two dedicated lines : 10mm/2 in a dedicated ring with double unswitched socket; Furutech FP-3TS20 cable in a dedicated radial with double unswitched socket. Separate CU. I plug straight into the wall. It costs nothing to trial the cords for 60 days.
Wow - those sound like meaty lines.
What’s the difference sound wise between the dedicated ring and the radial?
And what do you plug into each?
I’m guessing you use the radial for your amps and the ring for your sources…?
Actually, the Furutech replaced the 10mm. I got pretty obsessed back then. The dedicated ring is on 6mm I think. The ring is slightly rounder, warmer. The radial, on the 10mm and the Furutech, is a bit less airy. Good guess, yes I plug the amp and dac into the radial; Melco and Moon phono into radial.