I’ve used PEEK in an engineering context, it actually has low vibration damping properties and is very rigid.
When compared to most other polymers, it’s primary properties are
High rigidity
Fairly high strength
Low creep
Low oxygen permeability
That fits with the Naim philosophy of transmitting the energy away rather than trying to damp it
Strange…it still works though, somehow🤪
Bear in mind that the sparkly base is made from some sort of clear plastic, with little bits of peek embedded - it’s far from solid peek.
Odd….as many on here have. If you want to describe it as the unpredictable noise tuning of the streamer, then fine.
I would be interested to know if you have heard the Vodka (as the last connection to the streamer) in your system, and if so, what your thoughts on it are, and then maybe get back on topic.
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Xanthe is being mischievous. What she means is that the cable doesn’t make an actual sound, not that it can never impact sound quality.
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I don’t believe anyone (on here anyway) knows why and how different ethernet/streaming cables ‘sound’ different, or how they might affect things up and downstream, to produce a different sound. So I would suggest that Xanthe’s theory is speculation at best.
Whether it is the ethernet cable itself or the effect the cable has on other components is to some extent irrelevant. It is the effect ethernet cables have on what comes out of our speakers that matters.
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It’s not just speculation; it’s based on good sound electronic engineering theory and on my personal experience of designing audio amplifiers!
(And HH read it exactly right!)
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Indeed a theory……We all have a long way to go to properly explain how and why, ethernet/streaming cables impart a different sound, same goes for switches.
I think we do. Simon has posted about it extensively. I can’t say I understand it but there are very sound (excuse the pun) reasons why different constructions can make a difference. It’s noting about how the bits get along the wire but about RF rejection, earthing, vibration and all sorts. I’m sure you could search it out. Read what I wrote about Xanthe’s post, then read her post again and you will see that we are all basically in agreement. This thread is, in any case, about mains blocks and not those pesky ethernet wires.
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It’s interesting to speculate what’s going on with this (or other ‘magical’) mains block. Star wired earthing is alway good practice, but a hydra type arrangement does that already. And with a hydra, the neutral and live wires are also star wired, in contrast to the daisy chain loop in this block - which creates a ‘pecking order’ between sockets, where the hydra leads are all equal. Then there’s the more obvious advantage of a hydra - soldered wiring instead of plugs and sockets.
Of course the hydra prohibits the use of any aftermarket mains lead, so I’m left wondering just how many people are using some expensive leads (plus an extra one for the block feed) in addition to the block itself - and possibly paying a lot in total to end up with something that is in some ways inferior to a hydra - even if it seems to work better than a basic hydra arrangement IYSWIM
Mr Tibbs
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I do see, and on the face of it, it makes no sense. How can adding all those extra connections make things sound better? I’m not sure anyone can say ‘it’s because of X’.
I used to use a Grahams Hydra and it was an improvement on standard Naim power leads. This was replaced with a Matrix II distribution block with a PowerLine to the wall and a mixture of a PowerLine and standard Naim power cords from the block to my black boxes. This was an improvement over the Hydra.
Then the unpeek’d G3 arrived with all PowerLines to and from it and it was a significant step up in SQ. More recently the new PEEK base plate was installed which took things even further in the right direction.
As you infer, I recon what I am hearing is a combination of the PowerLines working in harmony with the G3 and the cost of this arrangement is not lost on me. But in terms of sound per pound, it offers excellent VFM IMHO.
And no, I don’t know how it does what it does.
The earth may be stared but the star doesn’t appear to have equal arms, it could, so I wonder why? The L and N could also be starred, there looks to be space enough but they’re chained. I’d assume that none of this is accidental and therefore they have found that all starred isn’t the best setup and that even some variation in earth cable length is beneficial. Opposed pairs of sockets look to be equivalent but the three rows can be expected to have some differences.
Just observations as I have no plans to get one.
Anyone done their own experimenting with plug order on one of these?
My preferred setup on my own linear block has the sole 555ps in the prime socket, probably not that surprising and of great benefit to coherence but what I didn’t expect, and therefore didn’t try for years, was the power amp on the last socket. This increased the sense of scale considerably and dynamics don’t seem to suffer in the least.
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I think the ‘magic’ in the MW block is the star earthing (big plus for use with Naim kit) and minimal use of metal parts (which can pick up and pollute the earth with noise). This puts it at an advantage compared to (say) a bank of wall sockets with metal back boxes and less optimal daisy chain earthing (to comply with fixed wiring regs). It’s also obviously well designed and uses high quality sockets etc which may well make it one of the best blocks available. However that doesn’t mean it’s the optimal (or even the most cost effective solution). How about a hydra made using only HighLine components - cutting out the ‘middle man’ so to speak ?
In the meantime, enjoy the benefits of the MW block - the thread spurred me on to converting my 2 * 6mm dedicated radial feeds into 1 * 12mm radial, which feeds a ‘hydra’ and I’m very happy with the result. As HH has pointed out, without a dedicated supply you’ll never fully hear what your Naim kit can do.
Oh… final thought - the MW block is, like any other piece of kit, susceptible to acoustic vibes (hence the peek base upgrade). Might be worth putting it on a spare Fraim shelf for a try!
Mr Tibbs
How do the earths connect?
That would be a very interesting test - but if the person had to use a cheap extension cord to get the electricity supply to the hifi it could impair the test results.
to Mr. Frog - to summarise the hundreds of posts I’ve seen on this topic - the best is probably to get a dedicated radial in 10mm square cable etc with one (or two) unswitched sockets and also to get the MW block.
Hi Michael,
May I ask - Do you plug the Radikal into the house mains because you’ve run out of sockets in the Musicworks or because you don’t want the Linn PS on the same supply? I always wonder about the paradox of the long standing fear of adverse Naim/Linn PS interaction vs the compromise of having 2 different earthing paths in the same system. Did you try the Radikal in the Musicworks and found the sound was worse?
I did try the Radikal on the dedicated supply along with all the Naim gear years ago before the days of the G3 and found it sounded better plugged into the ring. I think the Linn “fear” as you describe harks back to the days of the Lingo 1 supply which was notoriously noisy. I am not sure whether the Radikal is less noisy, I suspect it is, and as I have no spare sockets left in the G3 it stays plugged into the ring to keep the uniformity of the Naim gear together. If I had a spare socket no harm in trying the Radikal in it of course… other owners might like to experiment!
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I’ve been experimenting with a piece of granite beneath my G3 today. The surprising thing is perhaps that I can clearly hear a difference. With the granite the sound becomes more upfront, but seems to lose atmosphere and depth. It seems to sort of compress and come forward out of the speakers. It’s like the whole soundstage moves. It’s more exciting yet less involving. I wonder if I’m going bonkers and it’s all in my head!! I wonder if anyone else has tried this experiment.