Power Strip

I received the AV Options SuperWiremold, Tibia 12 cables, and a Hubble outlet.

I can report that it made a respectable difference. I installed the Hubble last, and it was a noticeable improvement in addition to the new power strip.

I can’t compare the AV Options gear to the other options listed in this thread, but I’m currently happy with the upgrades.

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Years ago when I was running a DBL six-pack, I had a breaker box installed with a total of 6 breakers, each feeding one duplex wall socket in parallel, although with common earths. I thought this was ideal…until a knowlegeble person brought along a Wiremold strip, and plugging that into one of those was demonstrably better than having multiple individual 20A mains feeds.
The Wiremold is remarkable for what it does NOT have in it to mess up the sound…additional IEC sockets, power switches, fuses, passive filtration, multiple earth points, loose contact sockets etc.
Ultimately I had the plug end of the wiremold lopped off and the wiremold cord was directly installed into the circuit breaker-by a licensed electrician, so no codes were violated.

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Well, firstly, nice to see you around, RT!

And secondly, would strongly agree with solutions that get all the multiple sockets and everything else out of the way, whether in the wall or in the power block. That was the orignal value of the Hydra, which has however been surpassed by hardwired stuff like the Powerigel and Sean Jacobs PowerBlack distribution block, which can be made up in any configuration you like.

These seem to have a VG reputation esp the no filter and star ground versions. They also look to be very well built and made in UK no less. I like the grounding point which can be connected to external ground with the puritan grounding brick which has been tested by ocd guy on ytube as having zero volts on the line showing just how efficient the grounding system is! No other manufacturer was able to do this on the test he did?

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Am I correct you have 4 main devices to plug in? I’m in Maryland, and asked my electrician. The breaker box stops surges he said. That’s what breakers are for. I had the electrician run a dedicated circuit for my Nova. And I plug my Powerline directly into the wall. Were I you I’d just install the same. Either one or two lines into 4 outlets (or however many you need.) My bill was under $200. Clean, no interference from anything else in the house. You do want the new wire to not cross any other electric wires in the run…

I have the Puritan PS108 power strip in my system for a week now. Very impressed…

The PS108 ‘Purist’ is the only model from Puritan without any filtering. It’s build like a tank. The electrically and magnetically shielded case is from mild steel, the cover holding the sockets is from alloy. Screwed together with countersunk Torx screws. Very robust and really nice. At 4 KGs it feels substantial too.

The (Shuko) sockets are heavy duty German ABL’s. No ‘audiophile’ sockets with fancy plating or anything like that. Apparently these ABL’s are selected for their sound quality and clamping force. The later is noticeable when you plug in the cables as they do require a bit more force than usual.

Looking inside I was a little sceptic/worried at first as the star wiring is done from a small PCB sitting in the centre of the case. Chatting with Puritan (Mike is very nice and responsive); they use a heavy 4oz PCB with the wires arranged in a tight circle around the connection points for live, neutral & earth. The wiring is 2.5mm2 / 14 AWG silver plated OFC with PTFE (Teflon) insulation.

I lost count of the # of power strips/blocks I’ve tried over the years. With and without filtering, regenerators or purifiers from the likes of Furutech, Isotek, Synergistic Research, Audioquest etc. They all did something or a lot of something. Ranging from plain poor SQ to ‘more hifi - less music’ but none of them made me reach for my wallet. Hence my simple custom made star wired power strip ‘survived’ for 15 years. Not anymore.

Within 15 minutes, straight out of the box, it was clear that this Puritan provides a substantial improvement in my system. In every aspect. The presentation has more authority and weight and the stage is clearly wider and deeper. Dynamics, leading edges, decay of tones and the perceived speed, energy and palpability all went up a notch. A big notch in most aspects. Amazing… really.

This power strip is a keeper. At € 650,- (less than a Power Line) it’s a bargain imo.

Highly recommended! :ok_hand:t2:

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I noticed you’re not using the green grounding point. You may benefit from a large SQ increase by using it correctly. OCD mikey on ytube used the puritan ground unit to connect an outer earth ground instead of using the inner house ground and it’s voltage was tested and was found to have ZERO volts on the line, he was quite taken aback at the time. Reminds me of a lot of British made products, really well built without any extraneous faff doing exactly what it was designed to do. I’m sure this model will beat quite a few much higher end power strips.

Thanks @Henryski - the green connector is connected to the central earth point on the PCB. The information that came with it says it can be used to connect non- mains connected accessories like a tone arm. I have no use for it in my setup. I also have a separate ‘audio only’ earth btw.

Enjoy,
Have you also examined the ISOL-8 Axis power strip, on the way, and if so, are there any differences between the two?

I ldid looked at it 'cos it ticked many of my boxes too. But the IEC intake is located on ‘wrong’ side for my situation (the cable from my spur comes in from the side). I also prefer a C20 inlet as they sound better in my experience than the more common C14 in this application/location.

But the ISOL-8 does looks promising imo too. Do seem to use the same ABL sockets btw. Can’t be a coincidence. :slightly_smiling_face:

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I use and Isol-8 Powerline Axis and am very happy with it.

G

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In my opinion Naim recommended Powerline without filtering and without voltage stabilizer…hopefully Isol8 and Puritan PS108 are without any of this.

The ISOL-8, without any filters, lightning protectors, stabilizers and other improvements …

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I use one of these. Works well and good quality.

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Toda

Luxman es-35. Non filtering loopless earth design with heavy duty Mitsubishi 3.5mm mains flex wiring.

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I have used quite a few of the above mentioned mains blocks and including Audioquest, Atlas, Isotek, MusicWorks, Puritan, Titan and then also many other cheaper/more modest ones. I would have probably happily lived (with a Naim but not only) with the MusicWorks G3 or the Titan Eros at quite a similar level and excellent natural sound. However, then at some point I tried the SOtM MT-1000 … and let me just say that the improvement vs the latter two was been simply overwhelming, never expected it to be so obvious, immediate and clear, especially with streaming. Cannot recommend it high enough. No change or even curiosity since … although … ok, might be tempted to at least try the new Chord block? :blush:

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Didn’t quiet understand you…do you mean SOtM MT-1000 is the best so far among all the others powerblock you tried before?

sorry, missed your question and if I wasn’t clear - yes, I very much preferred the SOtM over the MW G3 and Titan Eros. I did prefer the Titan Eros slightly over the G3, and they are quite similar in character (which makes the Eros quite some value for money!). When I connected the SOtM it’s one of these changes that take less than 30 secs to realise how much better it was (to me) - depth and detail, presence, richness and superb low end. At the time I did these comparisons I had more separates and a power amp, now it’s a lot simpler but the impact of a good mains block remains.

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Bevakasha