Power Strip

I suppose yes, a larger cable is not necessarily always better but in my experience the mains components that I’ve liked the most and that have stayed in my system just happen to be heavier and thicker, and agree, bigger cables better be done properly (professionally). My current block is wired internally with 8mm2 and my key current delivery cables are 5-6mm2 Neotech and solid core OP-OCC copper made by Mark Grant

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I think mine Matrix2 strip sound too bright to my ears,need a better strip…still wait for Chord strip to come out

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Found this to be an interesting read about power cables:
Why do power cables matter?

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As always that’s a good question and one that’s hard to answer especially when you start to thing about it.
It’s only 1m or 2m’s long and when you compare that with the rest of the cable in the power supply up to that then it really is a very, very small percentage,(0.00000000 whatever percent)
Plus inside the box isn’t the same, so it really is just 1m or so long.

But being shielded helps with any noise it might give off to other cables near, plus better plugs help with connection but after that you start to really struggle with the actual cable quality question?

Naim Powerlines are not shielded though. I once read that from the point of view of the transformer it’s not the last 2 meters of many kilometers of cable, but the first two. This made at least a little bit of sense to my feeble mind.

That said, when I tried powercables in my old system, I thought I heard some differences but I can’t tell if I heard them because I focused on trying whether I heard some. My current super expensive PL set & PowerIgel “strip” is there because I didn’t want to have to think about it :slight_smile:

In the article above, there’s just lots of vague claims that may or may not be true, but no evidence.

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The brain is a tricky thing to concur. I just added a new power cable to my phono stage and thought the whole system (not playing through the phono stage) sound worse :scream: :man_shrugging:

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Ahh but therein lies the issue. From a t.ransformer’s perspective, the mains lead isn’t the last metre in the chain. It’s the first. And the chain is shorter than you think. There’s generally only X metres between you’re home and a transformer feeding a group of houses. In addition, the cable proves a chance to mechanically decouple the hifi from the wall outlet (Naim PowerLine’s main goal).

The thickness of the conductor also provides lower resistance which can help power amp recover after delivering a transient load.

Now, is the impact of mains cables overstated? Yes I think so but I’ve been very surprised by the impact on occasion. Is there a lot of dubious snake oil out there? Ohhhh yes.

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Surely I have no proof but… I have an increasing belief & experience (yes, open goal now) that power cords affect each other and/or the system as whole. Not only the component they’re on. Almost if they ‘see’ each other if that makes sense.

This might be (part of) the reason the power cord on the NAPSC is often reported as having a significant effect on the sound while this PSU doesn’t handle any signal whatsoever. This is my own experience too btw. :man_shrugging:t2:

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In terms of Plug order there seem to be many different opinions. Naim Music-line netzliste state the following in the “manual” which is totally opposite to what many others claim. I believe Linn claimed the same order as Music Line netzliste.

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Who used the Music Line Netzleiste Plus? Are there pros and cons?

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IIRC this order came about after extensive testing and listening at Music Line’s facility.

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Well I would say unless you have the transformer at the end of your garden it’s going to be quite some way away and certainly a lot more cable than your power cable and so the percentage will be very small.
Also as the main power is flowing into the appliance, saying its the first meter seems like marketing talk more than anything else.
Plus I know about the un shielded naim cables and decoupling plug etc as I mentioned it.

Not saying they don’t make a difference but I would think that the biggest gain would be from shielded cables not interfering with other cables near it, rather than just one very small bit of expensive cable in the middle of a very long run

…whilst Wireworld with Matrix 2 “…recommend(s) connecting high-current demand pieces (power amps) closest to the inlet.”

So, Richard, do you suggest to follow the guidelines of each power strip brands?

I’d recommend trying for yourself and going with what you think sounds best.

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I am following that order too. Closest to the wall block cable plug: the most demanding in current components. Had no courage to try the opposite.

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Why, what do you think will happen?

It’s not just about current. It’s also in components/parts in your system contributing with pollution (reflections) so as I understand it having analogue, digital, pre-amps prior to power amps is for them to get a more stable clean power which is very important for them and that tests show that the benefit of this is greater than tiny bit extra (if anything) for the power amps. In many power strips you also have built in filtration. These filters are often close to the inlet by design and I believe that might be a difference too in terms of what a manufacturer recommends. Some strips like Supra also have the first two sockets with less filtering for power amps and so on.

I have a clean power strip and follow the order that music line recommended which seems to have been through extended testing with Naim equipment.

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Does anyone have the Anzus strip…if so how does it comparing to others strips he experienced…French you probably knows

The powerblock is behind my rack, not easy to access. It takes time, as you have to check the right polarity after each new plug.

There seem to be different advises for that. Some advise to plug first the power amp, big ps…other advises the contrary, other like you…