I know (now) that it’s mandatory (or strongly adviced at least) to have my Nait 50 plugged into an earthed mains socket. (I used to think this was only to avoid possible groundloops/humming)
Now, I live in the Netherlands, where most houses (build before 1996) don’t have earthed mains (apart from bathroom + kitchen) Today I checked the wallsocket where my system is plugged in. I disconnected the socket (ahum, after turning down the power obviously ) and my thoughts were confirmed. Not a ground wire inside.
Now that I think of it, I’ve had many Naïm amps over the years, from different Naim dealers, and I don’t recall any Naim dealer talking about (the importance of) earthed mains.
So, I was wondering… to al the fellow Dutch Naim lovers here… (or from other countries) can I ask, if any of you have your Naim amp/system connected to a non-earthed mains spur ? Or did you have a seperate, earthed mains spur installed by an electrician, before/after you got your Naim amp ?
(just to add: it’s not an option to have a grounded mainscable running from my kitchen to my system)
O, btw…I do have an earth leakage circuit breaker on every mains spur in my house. Can I consider that to be enough to take away/minimize potential risk ?
Had this in France too but there was an earth passing behind the socket on its way to an earthed socket on the balcony, there was even a loop in the wire so I tapped into it for the system.
I’ve also had an earth fault in the next house when EDF ENR severed the main earth while installing solar panels. It wasn’t discovered for several months until I had a new consumer panel fitted and even then it wasn’t the professional who found but me when I used a socket tester to check his work. I did find a difference in sound quality between with and without.
An earth is a safety issue if using class one devices, which Naim amps are except the MoSos.
Also in The Netherlands and never used an earthed mains socket, because it does not exist in my living room. Never had any issues and it is totally normal in Dutch houses. Only in kitchen, bathroom or other ‘wet’ rooms. I guess the the technicians thought about it and it is totally safe. Never had any hums.
Interesting. I’m in a 98 year old house. Many of the outlets in the house are not earthed. However, a few years ago we added a 100amp subpanel electric service to the 200 amp panel we already had. I added a dedicated 20amp circuit for the listening room on the subpanel, which has it’s own isolated ground, separate from the main panel.
That is one of the best sound quality upgrades I have ever done. Not only is an earthed outlet important, but isolation from house appliances (HVAC, appliances, fans, lights, etc) is too.
In a > 100 year old house in America. We are able to upgrade to modern electrical service here even if it wasn’t installed when the house was constructed. My house is wired with modern Romex to a 200A service panel and the listening room has a dedicated circuit. Is this not an option ex-US?
Having the the Naim system connected with the right phase from the outlet is also very important,
not discussed much because they don’t have that problem in the UK.
I guess technically it can be done, to add a seperate spur to my livingroom/system and I can also imagine having a seperate/dedicated spur for the system would make a noticable difference in sound quality. (as it makes sense if the amp does not have to share it’s power with say a fridge, tv, computer, router, etc) It’s just that… I now have that ‘here we go again’ feeling. (a typical Naim drawback imho, unless you live in the UK or a recently build house)
Btw, I do understand the safety issue, with un-earthed mains + Naim, but what I don’t understand is… how on ‘earth’ (pardon the pun! ) could like an internal wire in a Naim amp come loose and then connect to the metal casing ? Chances of that ever happening seem very, very slim I’d think. (IF it would happen I guess the earth leakage circuit breaker will immediately turn off the power, preventing me from getting a shock when touching the amp. (otoh, it does not safe the amp itself, so that probably won’t survive)
I would not worry about safety issues. There are numerous regulations that equipment must adhere to, before it is allowed on the market. I personally don’t know anyone in The Netherlands having earthed mains in their living room.
I remember that someone once told that you should not combine grounded- and non-grounded sockets in one room. But I don’t remember the details.
I don’t know anyone with earthed mains in their livingroom either, here in the Netherlands.
Yes, I also remember something like that.
I did some research and having a new, dedeicated earthed mains and new socket installed would probably cost me around €450,- to € 500,- (not sure if I want to spend that kinda money. (after I already lost another €200,- on the Naim Lavender rca-din cable, that now resides useless in a drawer)
You can temporary use an extension cord from a room with ground and see for yourself if you hear any difference. My own thought on this based on evaluation is earth only does not make a difference but earth combined with new socket, new connection, dedicated cables and such will. I also think it depends given the unique circumstances all homes and electricity/EMC has.
Adding earth can actually also introduce noise into your system if you have it on earth level.
That’s a good idea, BB. I think I do have an earthed extension cord lying around somewhere, but I must confess it’s a cheap DIY-shop cord/mainsblock, so that would probablky not give a fair comparison to the Naim/Musicline mainsblock I’m using for my N50.
I’m sorry, I’m not sure what you mean by ‘if you have it on earth level’
If you have noise on earth in your home it might get into your system when you connect it to earth.
you can also use a long electric wire and connect to the ground pin on your outlet and to a ground connection on your system. But only if you know what you do. The metal pins are ground. Only temporary to evaluate though
I expected this reply tbh. Having a dedicated mains installed is not exactly a try-before-you-buy kinda thing, so it’s a bit hard for me to decide if it’s well worth the outlay. Regarding the Lavender, that’ll be worth next to nothing I’m afraid, now that it’s broken. (rca plugs came loose after gently (dis)connecting the cable a few times)
Thanx for the tips, BB! Appreciated. Just to be sure, with ‘ground connection on your system’, I assume you mean the groundwire screw on the back of my Nait 50 ?
If you have your system connected to a mains block then better is connecting that wire to the ground pin on a socket not used in the mains block. Some mains block have a separate ground pin too.
Having the the Naim system connected with the right phase from the outlet is also very important,
not discussed much because they don’t have that problem in the UK as they can’t turn the power connectors the wrong way ( smart with 3 Pin connectors)
The phase must be on this side,when connecting to Naim equipment.
) and my thoughts were confirmed. Not a ground wire inside.
(a typical Naim drawback imho, unless you live in the UK or a recently build house)
Chances of that ever happening seem very, very slim I’d think. (IF it would happen I guess the earth leakage circuit breaker will immediately turn off the power, preventing me from getting a shock when touching the amp. (otoh, it does not safe the amp itself, so that probably won’t survive) 
Having a dedicated mains installed is not exactly a try-before-you-buy kinda thing, so it’s a bit hard for me to decide if it’s well worth the outlay. Regarding the Lavender, that’ll be worth next to nothing I’m afraid, now that it’s broken. (rca plugs came loose after gently (dis)connecting the cable a few times)
Well it has always been Naim’s advice to have a dedicated spur,I have not heard of anyone not being satisfied with the upgrade.
Just to be sure, with ‘ground connection on your system’, I assume you mean the groundwire screw on the back of my Nait 50 ?