Thank you all for your advise.
Hello,
I have found Furutech cables and plugs to be quite good if you want to ‘roll your own’ mains leads & yes, try and use 2.5mm cable.
Some say that the Nap 500 sounds better if plugged directly to the wall, vs to a powerblock. You can try.
As for power cord from the wall to the powerblock, it’s the most important. So try to put the best one you can.
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Yes, there is a benefit in connecting the block to the wall with a PowerLine. It’s what I do with my MusicWorks block. The 552/500 is a big step from a Star! You’ll love the improvement I’m sure. If it’s not already done, see if you can install dedicated mains. It shouldn’t cost too much and gives a firm foundation for the system.
Erotic cables are great.
I’ve purchased a short lead for the time being based on the earlier comments . It was £60 so I’m not expecting miracles, I’ll compare it to a Naim powerline at some point. I’m just trying to ensure I can plug everything in when all the bits arrive. Ordered some Naim chip floor protectors from Cymbiosis too, it’s an ongoing process… that perhaps never ends.
May I presume that this advise is still current. HiFi Friendly Electricians in London
It’s a bit of a leap of faith buying expensive items on auction sites, fingers crossed.
Thanks again for all the advise
Some years ago, probably 15 or more I had a dedicated 30 AMP (45 might have been better?) spur bypassing the comsumer unit under the floor direct to four double socket unwitched MK 13 AMP wall sockets. This gave me 8 sockets to play with. Unswitched being better with one less “switch” in the system. Bypassing the consumer unit these days might be a no-no.
I have 4 Powerlines, from memory, one for 552 and 500 and a further two as the CD555 has two power supplies. A lot of my kit is built into a large modified record cabinet, my better half having nothing to do with the Fraim on looks alone. Its a hassle to pull it all apart to check.
Certainly a wothwhile exercise as it improves the whole system.
I seem to recall Naim specify the direction of the 13 AMP fuse in the Powerline plug. And the cables go through a factory shake rig to loosen up their performance. I used to take the older Naim plug leads apart, make fresh connections and Duraglit the fuse and plug spades. Produced a lot of muck. I am reluctant to do this to the Powerlines bearing in mind their cost.
Another " how far do you go?" exercise.
Just had a chat with an electrician who is not a specialist in hifi matters. He thought a 10mm2 would be very difficult to get into an MK socket (also not recommending MK), 6mm2 was apparently not much easier but 4mm2 was ok. He suggested the use of such cable was more akin to shower use at 40/50 amp. He quoted £250 but with the 10mm2 issue unresolved. It’s a bit tricky when my personal knowledge extends as far as changing a light bulb.
and so it begins…
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Take your time. Get them all plugged in and working for a while, then look into getting a dedicated supply. At least you should know what difference it’s made.
I’m in the camp that knows what quality mains cables bring to the table. And that the first cable into your strip will define all the subsequent quality of the others. Put an undernourished sounding cable as a feed will make all of them sound undernourished.
Similarly, put a spectacular sounding cable as a feed for a strip should have some positive effect on even a kettle cable powering something. (Other than the kettle)
I have found that the 500 sounds best plugged directly into my double MK unswitched socket on my dedicated spur. The other socket Is connected with a Powerline to my Musicworks G3 block and then Powerlines to all the other boxes on the system, 555PS x2 , Nac 552PS, Nat05 and Melco N1. I have my Radikal connected to the house ring main again with a Powerline. I have found this set up gives me the best sound quality from my system.
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It’s worth taking your time and getting things right and avoiding having to do any of the work twice!
Aiming for a 10mm T&E gives you a lot of headroom but is a pickle to fit in a standard 13A socket even for someone that is patient and careful, especially if it’s a flush fit one with a back box.
If you can surface mount the box and socket it gives you more room to play with but not a lot!
MK switchless Logic Plus (K781WHI) are quite common, I use those ones myself. MK also do a deeper flush mount 35mm box (886ZIC) and a surface mount box (K2142WHI). The electrician is correct in that the 13A sockets are not designed to accomodate larger diameter cables and ordinarily would be installed using 2.5mm T&E with a 20A circuit breaker.
Increasing the cable gauge to 10mm and the MCB to 32A allows for your power amp to be fed more effectively based on it’s power demands and in principle to provide a perceived improvement in the performance of the system.
In reality, isolation of the dedicated HiFi system circuit from other circuits within the home by branching off the supply as it enters the property, connecting this branch through a Henley Block and utilising a dedicated Consumer Unit for the HiFi System circuit give the most meaningful gains and reduces the likelihood of the effects of DC offset amongst other things caused by things like light dimmer switches, switching power supplies and microwave ovens. This can cause the power supply in your Naim kit to hum for example.
If the distance between your HiFi CU and the AC outlet sockets your equipment connect to is relatively short, I’d say within 5m, then using 6mm or even 4mm is going to work fine and still be capable of handling a sufficient load under normal listening conditions. A 6mm T&E cable enclosed in a wall is rated up to 32A and 4mm up to 25A. If you run the cable in metal trunking or run it clipped through a void this rating increases.
Personally I’d not get too entangled in the 10mm requirement, it has the potential to cause a lot of frustration and confrontational debates with your qualified electrician and not necessarily give you a meaningful improvement in the enjoyment of your system. Working to a compromise and walking through everything with them, perhaps even taking a small length of T&E and testing termination in the socket with the electrician to be sure they are happy with the goal, is worth the time and effort.
6mm with a 32A MCB should be achievable with a little patience and getting the cable run done properly, even 4mm on a 20A MCB will work fine in a branched off CU.
FINAL NOTE
Usual rules apply, a qualified electrician has to be comfortable and confident with the requirements of the work and the work has to be done and certified by them regardless of what materials are used.
I’m NOT a qualified electrician but have done an installation of a dedicated radial circuit with a qualified electrician and felt your frustrations!
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I’m currently making two power cables and will be duraglitting all contacts before polishing them off and even the internal contacts of the mshd plugs and the new fuse end caps so basically every minute detail to get the absolute cleanest possible connection. I even try to polish the copper ends of cable before crimping them or soldering them and don’t like to touch the conductor with bare hands because of sweat transference. A bit anal but bare contact are the critical points in joining the plugs together.
Remember that you are the customer. 10mm is what you wantYou want a separate CU with type C breaker; mine is 50 amp. Run an unbroken wire from the new CU to an unswitched socket. Have the earth go direct to the meter cupboard, do not daisy chain it off the existing house CU. If the electrician won’t do it, then find one who will.
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I think the most direct route to the power station for the hi-fi feed is benefical to the avoidance of transformer hum. This used to be fairly common when I had 135s and plugged into the GF ring main. Now with a dedicated spur and a 500 its almost vanished and I sit pretty close to the big black boxes.
How about the MS HD power sockets on the MCRU dealer website they are specified as accepting 14 mm cable, should put your electricians mind at rest?, bit more expensive, but may be easier to get a better installation.
I clean all contacts with 0000 steel wool and then clean with acetone only. I never touch any hifi contact with my fingers before use. Polish with metal polish leaves a film of residue and not advised.
How many amps will a 500 series system use? I will bet it is nothing like 45,50 or 65 amps which is the mains cable people are quizzing a sparky over.
My best guess is 9amps total at 230v
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This. I’ve had two mains installations in the last dew years, and on both occasions the electricians have tried the “you don’t need it”, backed up with “it’s too difficult to fit”. A double tea-pot, a steely stare, and a smile is needed!
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Good point regards socket choice, terminating the cables requires patience, and lots of tea.
Tea is probably the most important thing. Our friendly plumber, Martin, has an asbestos mouth - he can down a whole mug immediately and be ready for the next one.
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