To those who have heard The Ultimate Mains Lead, it now sounds even better. I am not divulging what is in the cake, just inviting anyone to have a taste, be warned though, if you audition one you will be back for more, the improvements can be astounding.
Available to suit UK, Europe and the USA with standard IEC or 16 amp, my best mains lead just got even better.
Available now on my website for £995 in standard 1.2 metre length.
We are authorized agents for the following respected brands:-
Isotek | Furutech | Black Rhodium | Canor | Oyaide | Blue Horizon | Tacima | Isoclean | Hi-Fi Tuning | Okki Nokki | IeGo | Jelco | Meicord
Supra | WBT | Vermouth Audio | Topp Sounds | Alexander Acoustics
Mains Cables R Us will be exhibiting at the Sound & Vision Bristol Show. Please visit our stand in the Conservatory.
The show takes place from the 24th-26th of February.
Hi-Fi mains leads or power cords as they are sometimes called come in all shapes and sizes, which to choose and what benefits will result is a question asked by many audiophiles. Budget is important to some while absolute performance is paramount to others. For many only the best will do regardless of cost while for many an improvement over the basic kettle lead supplied with the equipment will suffice.
Here some popular configurations, some costing under £50, others £1000′s.
The Technics SL120 when first launched was aimed at the audiophile market, it had a cut out to fit an SME arm so was aimed high to begin with in the 1970′s. It quickly developed into the SL1200 aimed at the DJ fraternity because of its rock solid build and many featuires ideal for DJ’ing, mainly pitch control to slow down or speed up music to mix the next track seamlessly and of course the rock solid quartz locked direct drive system.
Fast forward to 2012 and the legend that was the SL1200/1210 has ceased production, only 2nd hand ones now exist, but with millions sold there will be enough for everyone for decades to come. If you use one already or are looking for a vinyl spinner then buy a used SL1200 off e-bay and begin the up-grade journey. The definitive reference for all things Technics is The Art Of Sound Forum. Here you will find the most knowledgeable tweakers around, people who have spent £1000′s on their Tech’s to up-grade them to beyond imagination.
Even if you replace the existing feet it will make the deck sound better, one of the best up-grades however is to remove the existing stock power supply which resides underneath the platter and replace it with an external regulated power supply. The existing power supply can be left in place as long as it is dis-connected before wiring in a new one. Thankfully Mains Cables R Us have a new power supply that works if the exsting power supply is still installed or removed.
Much has been written about the mains supply with regards to Hi-Fi. As far back as the 1970′s it was muted that mains cables can make the sound better but to one took notice or believed it. How can 1 or 2 metres of mains cable possibly make a difference when the electricity has travelled 100′s of miles on pylons across the air from the power generating station? Often mis-understood, the UK mains supply is polluted, read this article about the mains issues to begin to understand why it is absolutley essential to address the mains before you do anything else to your Hi-Fi system.
To achieve a significant up-grade in sound quality (not just altering the sound for the worse but actually improving your musical enjoyment) a few simple alterations to your mains supply will reap enormous benefits. A dedicated mains spur is often discussed on Hi-Fi forums and in magazines but it is not always practical. Many audiophiles live in flats and or rented accommodation or have wooden or concrete floors where cables cannot be run, there is also the issue of the WAF (wife acceptability factor) and other reasons to make a HI-Fi mains spur a non starter. For those of us who can install one my advise is very simple, first call your electrician and ask him to do a site survey, once he has confirmed it is possible to carry out the work then purchase a simple mains unit with 2 spurs and some heavy duty 3 core shielded mains cable. Your electrician will install the unit and run the cable through the walls and terminate it near your hifi, the cable should ideally be connected to a good quality single or double UK wall socket, Mains Cables R Us have plenty in stock starting at only £15.00.
A dedicated mains spur need not be complicated, if funds are limited less expensive cable can be used and the existing wall socket utilized, I do however recommend un-switched wall sockets if possible and some form of plating to the internal rails to prevent oxidation and improve electrical conductivity. If funds are not a limiting factor I have a special in-wall cable that uses Furukawa UP-OCC wire and sells for £100 per metre. Used with the Furutech FP-1363 Rhodium wall socket a formidable partnership is obtained that will literally take your Hi-Fi to another level.
If a dedicated mains spur is not possible for whatever reason start at the wall which in most households is where your Hi-Fi system receives it’s fuel from (electricity), like the fuel powering your car, you would not run it using dirty or polluted petrol so making sure you system receives a clean supply of power is fundamental in getting the best performance from your Hi-Fi.
There are a limited amount of options when installing a new mains wall socket as the UK specification for houses dictates one size of back box so all conforming UK mains wall sockets must fit this space. Mains Cables R Us have plenty to choose from so help is at hand. Even the most modestly priced MCRU socket will improve over the existing switched socket.
It may be that you already have a dedicated mains spur already and a good quality audiophile wall socket, the title of this blog is “where do I start”, if the wall has been addressed then we must next look at what comes next.
Typically most hi-fi systems involve at least 2 components and a set of loudspeakers. So for even a minimalist system there would be a cd player and an amplifier both requiring mains power, the simplest solution for such a system would be to connect both components via a double wall socket, but what happens when the system expands and a 3rd or 4th item is added, then we have to look more closely at a mains distribution system. There are thankfully many solutions to this problem ranging from a simple 6 gang mains block to a full mains filtration/conditioning system like the Isotek Titan. There are more exotic ways to power your equipment such as mains regeneration systems and balanced mains transformers but the author has heard some of these and is of the opinion that a good mains filtration system will give the best performance for the money.
To prove that a good mains block need not cost the earth, the mains cables r us silver plated 6 gang mains block was recently well reviewed in Hi-Fi World by David Price who heartily recommended it. It costs £65 with 1 metre of quality cable attached to a silver plated UK mains plug, perfect for experiencing what up-grading the mains can do for your system. If you need more than 6 sockets or feel that spending more will yield better results then you are correct. There are various options available and all will help to reveal further details in your favourite music, proven by customer feedback. As with all mains up-grades some are system specific but careful attention to this very important area will help your hi-fi to reach it’s full potential.
Need any more help or information on The Mains Supply? E-mail The Mains Man anytime at david@mains-cables-r-us.co.uk
Coming next…choosing a mains lead
Different conductor materials are being used for audio purposes, the superiority of which is often being claimed by the respective supplier/manufacturer – sometimes without words, just by charging a high price. For instance, you can find brass mains plugs in the audio sector, which have been taken out of the production process before being nickel plated, subsequently being marked “genuine only here”, and then being sold for a lot of money. Or plugs from naked copper, which (just like the naked brass plugs) have no oxidation stability. The reasoning of companies supplying such plugs is always based on the conductivity, the specific resistance of the materials – the better a metal’s conductivity, the more suitable it is typically for audio purposes, since there is less loss of current or signal with a highly conductive material. This is commonly known, and can be adopted without much reservation.
But which material has the best conductivity? Fortunately, we don’t have to trust the respective marketing departments here, since the conductivity of metals is a well documented physical quantity (and physical laws are hardly debatable). The graded table of metals and alloys commonly used in the audio industry looks as follows:
These values are for the pure materials at room temperature. Now, many of these materials react with oxygen, particularly silver, copper, brass and bronze. Therefore, these materials are often plated – for instance, with nickel, zinc, gold, and – even if it oxidizes – silver. This has the following background:
Coatings
Copper is often coated to keep it from oxidizing. This is necessary, since, as is generally known, it tarnishes quickly, as anybody can see by taking a glance at the copper façades of buildings – the brown, matte material to be seen there is copper, the reddish shine of which will subside to the brownish colour of copper oxide within a few days. And copper oxide is a bad conductor. Similar happens to brass – everyone knows brass artifacts which show a patina, which is nothing other than an oxide layer. Thus, materials which are less prone or even inert to oxidization are being used for plating copper or brass, like tin, nickel, or gold. But also silver. Silver protects the carrier material from oxidation too, but will oxidize itself in the process. It is still a material of choice for plating electrical contacts, since silver oxide is a very good conductor, too, if not quite as good as silver itself. That is why silver plated contacts are best cleaned regularly, or protected by means of a contact enhancer.
Conclusions
© Hans J. Mennecke 2010 re-printed by Mains-Cables-R-Us Ltd with kind permission.
How many times have you sat back in your favorite listening chair around midnight or the early hours and noted just how spectacular your hi-fi system sounds? Then have you noticed how the sound deteriorates early evening? What you’re hearing is not just your system, but the mains supply. The bad news is, things are going to get much worse, but there is something you can do to get that ‘Midnight’ sound all of the time. Know Your Enemy!
What you’re fighting in your mains system is not just one problem, but a number of problems, all of which affect the sound of your system. The first problem is earthing, or rather a lack of. In older homes, or homes that haven’t been rewired for the last 20 or more years, it is not unusual to find that your earth is very poor. This can manifest itself as background hash during inter-transient silences, haziness around your images on the soundstage and sometimes glassiness to the midrange and high frequencies. The preponderance of low voltage power supplies especially in PC’s, satellite receivers, power supplies etc. also do a lot of damage to mains integrity and deteriorate sound quality still further.
Further problems in the mains can be found due to the age of the mains grid itself. Quite simply much of the equipment in the National Grid is old, and it’s operating efficiency is not what it used to be. Furthermore the ability of this equipment to deliver tightly regulated 230V / 50 Hz mains is deteriorating. It should also be noted that when the overhead power lines used today were originally installed, the air did not contain the RFI and EMI as it does now, hence the power, before it reaches the substations, is already polluted. We have mainly mobile phone masts to thank for that.
Due to current regulations the voltage delivered to your home can be as much as +/- 10% and this in itself can severely affect the ability of a power amp or A/V receiver to meet it’s specifications. The result is voltage that can swing between 207V and 253V. What is worse is your supplier doesn’t have to do anything about it. Today’s homes and offices also have far more low voltage equipment in them than ever before. The power supplies which drive these devices (like those in an audio system) only use the top and bottom of the sine wave to actually power them. Therefore the hypothetical 50Hz Sine Wave that should be coming out of your socket would, on an oscilloscope, actually have its peaks and troughs flattened off as it’s these peaks and troughs that drive devices that use switch mode power supplies found in so many devices today.
The next problem is the insidious duo of EMI (Electro Magnetic Interference) and RFI (Radio Frequency Interference). This pair are also on the rise with their crimes getting grander by the year. Mobile phones, wireless LAN’s, digital radio and digital satellite TV broadcasting all attack your mains. The aforementioned offenders cause a hideous soup of RFI that your mains just loves to transmit into your audio equipment.
Finally there is a problem of relationship counseling between components across the mains – with many digital components throwing all kinds of noise straight back into the mains supply that then drives your analogue components. This is like having an EMI & RFI source right next to your analogue components. Your Saviours!
It is only in the last few years that the damage which all this mains pollution can do to the final sound of your audio and home cinema system has been recognized and addressed. Fortunately there are many solutions to help deal with mains problems, these range from correct dressing of cables, to highly sophisticated mains regenerators, costing several thousand pounds, which literally give you your own power station in your listening room. In between these two extremes are a variety of mains filters, isolation transformers and mains cables, all of which when used appropriately can yield a big improvement in the sound and performance of your system disproportionate to the costs involved.
For most systems you should consider filtering the power to all components as an essential first step. If you have the budget for a dedicated mains spur please consult your local electrician and run a quality mains power cable from your mains fuse box to a separate consumer unit which in turn is connected to a wall socket near to your hi-fi. 
If you cannot fit a dedicated mains spur then at least use an audiophile quality mains wall socket like the Furutech FP-1363., this will improve conductivity and because it is un-switched with no on/off lights will also prevent further ingress of RFI into the mains system. Once the wall socket/s have been addressed the next stage is consideration how to connect your hi-fi system from the wall, dependant on your budget a mains regeneration system costing thousands of pounds can be considered but in the opinion of the author of this blog a far simpler solution costing a fraction of the previous cost will provide an effective solution to a dirty mains supply, the answer is a DC blocker. DC has resided on the UK mains supply for many yeas but not until recently has it been acknowledged and understood. Isotek have addressed the problem with their Syncro Power Cord . A DC blocking mains lead will solve many of the issues that a modern hi-fi system has to face with regards to the mains supply. As the owner of Mains Cables R Us I commissioned my own manufacture of en effective DC blocker called The Excelsior, a white paper has been written about the testing of it.
With The Excelsior or any other DC blocker in place attached to a good quality mains extension block or mains filtering unit such as the Isotek Aquarious or Isotek Sigmas you will have done virtually everything possible to supply your equipment with the best mains supply possible. With these products costing from £500 for high quality, system wide treatment, you will receive a significant improvement in sound (and picture) quality. Support this filtering with a fully shielded mains cable that features a high quality IEC connector from the likes of Furutech or Oyaide and you have already addressed a significant spectrum of mains noise. As your expenditure increases you will find the problem of inter-component interference is addressed through complete isolation of each socket. Further improvements will be wrought by plugging all of your components into isolation transformers, which effectively block noise movement into and out of your equipment whilst providing a very high standard of mains purification. Where nothing but the very best will do mains regeneration is the ultimate solution, giving each component it’s own dedicated power supply. Even at this price point the costs are easily justified once you hear the incredible improvements in sound quality that this sort of equipment can achieve.
You would not run your car on dirty petrol so don’t expect your hi-fi system to perform at it’s best without a clean mains supply. All cables are system dependant, let me know any time if you would like some advice on cable matching to your system.
With a few simple steps you can get the midnight sound, anytime.
