Quality Non-Audiophile Mains Block

2.5mm solid should be fine. Definitely not stranded for mains; that’s only suitable for flex but internal wire should always be solid.

How are the two boxes joined and what is the round black thing?

@Marq
Hi the boxes aren’t joined as such but do have the very thick Belden cable going throughout so any flex is the same as the main cable that does not move it’s permanently plugged in and sat on the floor.
The black disc is a socket blank in an unused socket but might allow flexibility later if I add something.
Very robust and much safer than flimsy trailing sockets like the one I replaced. :+1:t2:




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Thanks, I may be able to do something like this where all my router, modem, phone, roon core etc. is. At the moment there is a generic surface mounted switched socket on the side of a skirting board, which I could replace with one of these and then daisy chain say another two from that fixed to the same skirting.

Good idea.
I’ve used some trailing sockets for a long time heavy wired and polished with the neon removed.
I opened mine up to rewire it and decided to strip it right down for cleaning then discovered it’s flimsy as hell inside and certainly not good enough for the value of the system.
I’ve got a separate spur for the Hi Fi so thought this was the next best thing to channeling out my wall. :scream: :+1:t2:

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How about attaching them to a piece of wood to cut down on vibration?

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@JimDog
Hi I could if they were getting moved around but as they sit and don’t move it makes a bit less bulky.
But it is an itch perhaps thanks. :thinking:

I’m sure I saw such a distribution block being used by Naim Audio like that. The back boxes were fixed to a piece of wood, which I think was varnished.

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@Artoly
Hi
I’ve pictured how it’s built here and there is no need for any soldering if you use the same products.

MKK0781 13 Amp 2 Gang Double Unswitched Socket - White
MKK2142 2 Gang 30mm Surface Box - White

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I wonder what they mean by “Active”. Have they just addressed the earthing by the way the screening is achieved, or Active in the true sense by adding extra electronics. I suspect the former, in which case best not to use the word Active, me thinks. I think I would have to ask more questions if I were going down the route. But as it has a Neon, then best stay clear.

No idea, and I did wonder the same.

Hopefully it’s a standard housing and the neon bulb has been disconnected or removed.

I looked far and wide but difficult to find anything for sensible money. Like I said it’s only for the router and switches it won’t be anywhere near my Naim boxes.

Thanks @Skeptikal
My intention was to star wire 4 outlets and to splice the wires direct to the mains cable along the lines of a video I watched (with solder and shrink wrap to seal it all up).

However, @robert_h advice to use solid wire might make that option a bit harder to do well. I might be better to get 3 copper jointing bars of some sort, which probably would negate the need for solder (I will have to dream up some other excuse for my OH as to why I needed to buy the soldering kit).

It’s actually against safety regs to solder joins in mains cables as sometimes a failure causes the solder to melt before a fuse or trip activates.


Be careful out there the way I did it is the safest and compliant as the sockets and parts are already safety regulated.

@Skeptikal
Noted and thank you. I will stick with approved screw connectors.
I don’t know what country those videos were from with spliced/twisted wiring.
Plugs and socket outlets don’t typically have fuses in NZ either, just trip switches on the main switchboard/DB (which has RCD’s in my case).

If you look inside eg a musicworks reflex multi socket, you’ll see the live and neutral are wired as a ring ie from incoming mains to socket 1, from socket 1 to 2, from socket 2 to 3 etc and back again from the last socket to the start. The earth however goes to a Henley block and then stars out to each socket individually.

Interesting @robert_h . With another look, it seems a few brands only star wire the earth wire in mains blocks. Some conditioner manufacturers talk about having no two sockets directly connected (e.g. Isotek), but perhaps that’s different where filters are also in the mix?
I found an old article from Christiaan Punter about ‘Power Extension Blocks – Serial or Star-wired?’ that discusses pro’s and con’s of parallel wiring vs. star. It seems to be yet another YMMV type of topic.

I use several of these Tacima blocks around the house where we have TVs, internet routers, adapters, computers etc. Good decent quality with some integrated mains noise suppression, including (and more importantly) some protection from contamination from these noisier hubs back to the house mains circuit

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Anyone knows if these blocks that house electronics with filters also filter noise from what you have inserted in the block to prevent it going from the block and into the grid or is it only from wall socket into the block the filter works?

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Well Richard Dane will tell you that when they tested Filtered blocks at Naim, it did effect the SQ of the system, even if the filter was plugged into a socket away from the HiFi, with nothing plugged into that filtered socket

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If it does something one way, it would (well, should) do it in the other direction too (inline filter)?