I’ve managed to improve my system sound considerably this week by simply putting the kettle on.
Ok, not strictly so.
For about a year now I’ve lived like a fringe, swapping the toaster and the kettle in and out of a socket because the adjacent socket ‘sizzled’ when used. I couldn’t wait any longer to find and electrician so decided to order a new MK socket facia to replace the old kitchen one. No more sizzle.
Anyway, good old large online retailer sent me a couple more double sockets today. I’ve lived here for 5 years now and the sockets I use for the system are the same as when bought the house. I noticed that they always seemed a bit loose and not quite grippy.
So I changed them over to new switched MK sockets. A lot more bite.
Anyway, the sound is immensely more cohesive and less edgy. I’m astounded. Best £3.46 I have spent.
I may look into switchless sockets (cheap or higher grade) and dread to think what a dedicated ring main could do.
I’ve struggled with my system for a while with what seemed like a flatness and ill defined bass. The change has solved this with the sound much more crisp and defined.
Probably a well known fix in these lands but a story worth sharing. What’s better is I can make tea and toast at the same time to boot.
Good Job ! Funny how it’s often the simple things that make a big improvement.
Just out of curiosity what make of kettle do you own ? Might be some unknown D.C. block
If you can’t move to a dedicated supply for the system then it’s worth making the most of what you have. Remove all the sockets on the ring your system sits on, loosen the terminal screws on the sockets and remove the wires. Clean up the exposed copper, replace the wires and tighten up the terminal screws. As you’ve found, overtime the copper oxidises and connections loosen off. Replace with decent un-switched sockets for the Hi-Fi too. Go right back to the consumer unit and ensure the connections are tight here as well. I did this a few years back when we were redecorating and it made a surprising difference for not a lot of effort.
As usual, ensure you have isolated the ring you are working on and to be really sure, isolate the whole house at the consumer unit. If you’re unsure of what you are doing then seek advice from an Electrician.
I’ve run through all the permutations I can come up with and even taking auto correct into account I’m at a loss as to what a “fringe” is … please, just to satisfy my curiosity, could you enlighten me ? Thanks.
@JohnWillmott according to your profile your from Florida.
I would of thought there’s nothing you can’t teach someone from Florida.
Try Googling " Florida Man + your own date of the day and month of your birthday"
Like spelling ? your, you’re, yore … please circle the correct answer …
To be specific, and a tad pedantic, I’m from North Wales and am merely living in Florida, but the point is taken. Florida man is a subject of ridicule and much head shaking here in the US, much of it thoroughly deserved …
Makes perfect sense, sockets, in particular, take a fair bit of stick during their life, (especially the kitchen ones) and they are not designed to last forever.
