I’m sure this must have been asked before, but I can’t find it if so.
If my understanding of the decoupling element of the design is correct then using a Powerline plugged into a wall mounted socket such that the cable exits the body of the 3 pin plug vertically downwards should be preferable to plugging it into a floor mounted box with cable exiting the 3 pin horizontally which might introduce a sideways strain.
Given how many forumites (myself included) use powerblocks from cheap and cheerful right up to multi thousand pound Chords and Musicworks with horizontal plugging, I’m gonna guess that the answer to my question is no, but…
Can anyone hear a difference plugged in either way ?
I would say no they can’t, so wouldn’t worry about it
If the decoupled strain relief makes no audible difference, either working freely as by design or in a presumably compromised rigid state, completely negating the whole idea of decoupling, then what’s the point of it?
Or, am I not understanding correctly the principals involved?
I think the decoupling effect of the plug design works in any orientation.
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If a decoupled device no longer has freedom of movement, is it still decoupled?
It seems an interesting observation by the OP, although perhaps I’m not fully understanding the principal of mechanical decoupling, as mentioned in my previous post?
In very simple terms, I think the intention is that vibration doesn’t enter the flex. In a normal 3 pin plug, the flex is held rigidly to the body of the plug. Same goes for the 3 pins which are locked in place (very slight movement).
In the powerline, the same is true, but it’s only part of the whole plug, which is designed in such a way as to be partly “floppy”. (Apologies for use of technical terminology!). So the flex is floppy and the 3 pins are floppy.
That floppiness is always there as the plug isn’t a 2 part screwed together rigid design like a standard uk 3 pin plug.
The lite operates on the same basic principle of detaching the parts but in a more simplified way.
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The decoupled part is into the box and not the plug end into the wall or block, thats what i ment
The iec socket in the poweramp etc are floppy, the powerline mains plug itself is internally floppy.
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I think the question is about the plug in the wall.
I can’t see any situation where the IEC might be vertical. 
Yes I did. I built a unit to accommodate 3 sockets and mounted it to the wall. This had many benefits and gave the opportunity of the powerlines to fall freely and not touch anything between plug and hifi. You made me just Google this on the old forum archives and I can’t believe it was 14 years ago. The only photo that comes up on the archive is below. Yes the whole unit/installation made a big difference, but as it was done in one go, I can’t say what part made the biggest difference.
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Looks great.
So is that three double unswitched sockets embedded in a piece of wood?
Supplied by (how many) dedicated radials?
Did you make that by hand or did you commission it?
Are you still using it and if so any chance of posting a photo up to date?
Jim, it’s a hardwood framework into which 3 sockets are mounted. There’s a single radial from the cu going straight into the central socket, with the other 2 sockets connected via c101 rails, rather than wire. Carbon fibre backplate isolated via silicon grommets from the wall mounting. All electrical screws replaced by brass faced-off bolts.
I built it by myself and 14 years later, haven’t thought of a better way.
I don’t have photos readily to hand.
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Bloody marvellous.
I want one!
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