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Dedicated Mains

justin65

pfm Member
Hello, I have a naim hifi system and im thinking what is the point of dedicated mains. The line as been through thousands of homes before it gets to my house and a metre test would im sure confirm it is polluted. I can see the only point where a dedicated line would be perhaps beneficial to hifi is if you had the line directly from the power plant, or get a ps audio power regenerator plant Whats your views
 
I recently had the opportunity to fit a seperate 6 way consumer unit dedicated to the hi-fi (also Naim amps) thanks to laying new wood flooring in the lounge, dining room and hall. I think it has been very worthwhile. The system is much quieter with virtually no transformer hum and I sense an overall clearer, more detailed and quieter presentation.

While you can't do anything about what your neighbours might be up to at least you can isolate the system from the noise in your house - refrigerator, light dimmers, hairdryers etc.
 
I work in a small power station that is retained for backup purposes. When it was full time generation up to the mid 80’s hifi enthusiasts would’ve hated it. They had a master pendulum clock and a second electric clock which was supposed to be in sync with the master clock (“god”) at all times but often if not paying attention the frequency would wander off so at the end of the shift they would then have to try and make up or loose minutes on the electric clock to match the pendulum clock by raising or lowering the frequency.
 
My house had a hot tub out back, which the prior owners took with them, leaving a big 12-3 cable running along the side of the house. I had a sparky put two circuits into the kitchen (for the microwave and toaster). The toaster circuit also runs downstairs into my office, which is the mostly dedicated line for my stereo (except during breakfast). :D Therefore, I never really had a chance to get used to my system here without it.

As I've been building amps, I've had the opportunity to try them throughout the house, including on the kitchen island during assembly and test (using yet another plug which I've been told is the worst run in the house), and in my family room (where my secondary system lives). What have I observed?
  • The island plug in the kitchen causes a surprising amount of buzz in the transformers, especially if the microwave and/or dishwasher happen to be running. (Neither of those is physically near there.)
  • The plug in my family room results in a quieter performance, but any amp there doesn't sound as good as it does in my office.
  • In my office, with the dedicated 12AWG mains wiring, the sound is the most solid, clean, quiet, fast, etc.
Additionally, I had a friend's PS Audio PowerPlant P5 regenerator here for a couple of days. I auditioned his Avondale NCC300 amp that I had just finished with and without the P5 inline. It made highs seem a bit cleaner, but the bass felt slightly less well-defined. I got the impression it wasn't getting the current when it wanted it. My office still sounded better.

In conclusion, I contend that a dedicated mains is worthwhile, if you can do it. If you have really crappy power, you might want a power regenerator (not a conditioner).
 
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Hello, I have a naim hifi system and im thinking what is the point of dedicated mains. The line as been through thousands of homes before it gets to my house and a metre test would im sure confirm it is polluted. I can see the only point where a dedicated line would be perhaps beneficial to hifi is if you had the line directly from the power plant, or get a ps audio power regenerator plant Whats your views
At work I use a variety of amps ( not at the same time lol ) I have a couple of tiny amps (bantam stealth and a kingrex ) I use them with aa batteries and have now just bought a kingrex psu which works on both of them..on the whole I prefer the battery power( more bass, gentler presentation, very valve like ) however with the psu then the amps get more muscle? More in your face..can be bit like fingers down blackboard at times! I think clean power will make a big difference ( if my battery v psu is anything go by? ) but whether you prefer the difference?
 
The system is much quieter with virtually no transformer hum and I sense an overall clearer, more detailed and quieter presentation.

I put in a dedicated line years ago with six Crabtree unswitched sockets on the end and I agree with the above description. I got what I might call a 'blacker' sound with less noise and more clarity. On my system it did not make any difference to Naim transformer hum, not that I remember. The worst hum I got was from the XPS. Every night at exactly 11pm it started humming really loudly and kept it up for about ten minutes maybe, I never timed it. I suspect it was a signal being sent out over the mains, maybe to switch on off-peak alliances, I don't know but it did it ever night.

So is the dedicated line with it? I'd say yeah, probably. I suppose it depends on your exact situation as to how big a difference it might make and how much it costs to get it put in. I did mine myself so it cost me nothing really and it did sound better. Maybe equivalent to adding a Hi-Cap, something like that? So not huge but nice to have.
 
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In our last house I had one put in and my experiences were much as everyone else's, less transformer hum, a lot less but the sound had like a veil lifted from it, as above, a blacker sound, hard to describe in any other way but an improvement way above it's financial cost. One of the first things I had done in the new house was to have some fitted here too, having had one I wouldn't be without one
 
I'll follow this thread with interest as I'm planning a separate mains supply.
My home consumer unit is on the other side of the wall to my listening room so the actual cable run will be more than a few meters (which becomes a financial consideration if going with high quality shielded 'audio-spec' cable).
I'm just trying to decide if I go for a radial out of the current consumer unit or go the whole hog and have a dedicated consumer unit put in. I haven't had a quote from a sparky yet but if the dedicated consumer unit options isn't considerable more expensive then I'll go with it... only problem at the moment is finding an electrician available to do it!
 
I'll follow this thread with interest as I'm planning a separate mains supply.
My home consumer unit is on the other side of the wall to my listening room so the actual cable run will be more than a few meters (which becomes a financial consideration if going with high quality shielded 'audio-spec' cable).
I'm just trying to decide if I go for a radial out of the current consumer unit or go the whole hog and have a dedicated consumer unit put in. I haven't had a quote from a sparky yet but if the dedicated consumer unit options isn't considerable more expensive then I'll go with it... only problem at the moment is finding an electrician available to do it!

The extra cu is a pretty cheap thing to do once you've got the spark in the door.
 
Hello, I have a Naim hifi system and I'm thinking what is the point of dedicated mains. The line has been through thousands of homes before it gets to my house and a metER test would I'm sure confirm it is polluted. I can see the only point where a dedicated line would be perhaps beneficial to hifi is if you had the line directly from the power plant, or get a ps audio power regenerator plant Whats your views

Ye gods but this subject has been done to death in so many controversial threads in the past (as I'm sure you're aware, Mr Pig ;)). I didn't realise that the juice entering my house has been sampled by all and sundry in my street! Actually, I'm sure it's not, as I believe each h'hold is connected to a main conduit outside the premises.


I also had Naim for a generation or more, from 42/110 to 552/135s and put in several dedicated radial systems in previous houses. The one I have now benefits from the latest (safety) kit of about 13 years ago. 8 radials with RCBOs into separate c.u. and no sockets. About as dedicated as you can get barring a separate phase. Total overkill a la Naim excessive behaviour, of course, but absolutely no question of beneficial outcomes in dynamics, noise floor etc. It's also rather convenient (individual switching at the c.u.) and safe for (what was then) a 24/7 power-up.

Almost superfluous now with virtually all valved kit, but it doesn't eat anything and took took so much energy to install, with T&E over 12 metres up the wall, across the office, down the hall and into the garage. I was a lot younger then !!!!

Summary: any form of separation from the domestic rings is probably worthwhile, and even now, the cost of a few radials etc. would be a cost-effective upgrade, assuming a feasible cable route. Absolutely no downsides either.

N.B. Of course, there are a number of ways to bring a supply into the audio kit. C.U. adj. to the hifi and others means (armoured cable if outside route) etc.
 
I'll follow this thread with interest as I'm planning a separate mains supply.
My home consumer unit is on the other side of the wall to my listening room so the actual cable run will be more than a few meters (which becomes a financial consideration if going with high quality shielded 'audio-spec' cable).
I'm just trying to decide if I go for a radial out of the current consumer unit or go the whole hog and have a dedicated consumer unit put in. I haven't had a quote from a sparky yet but if the dedicated consumer unit options isn't considerable more expensive then I'll go with it... only problem at the moment is finding an electrician available to do it!
I’m doing the same later this year as well as running some more copper and fibre optic network cabling, same sparky doing it all. From what I’ve read a dedicated CU the like you’d use in a garage is the way to go.

There’s a load of info out there but the Regs change, good bit of info on Naim forum, decent looking diagram.
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/i...ed-hifi-spur-installed-in-your-house/1308/107


 
I’m doing the same later this year as well as running some more copper and fibre optic network cabling, same sparky doing it all. From what I’ve read a dedicated CU the like you’d use in a garage is the way to go.

There’s a load of info out there but the Regs change, good bit of info on Naim forum, decent looking diagram.
https://community.naimaudio.com/t/i...ed-hifi-spur-installed-in-your-house/1308/107



It's very helpful to have a 100 A breaker switch installed immediately after the meter.
 
It's very helpful to have a 100 A breaker switch installed immediately after the meter.

Don't know what this is. My installation is as per the diag. above, but there's no 'breaker switch', and the only thing I know to be 100 amp is the main fuse. Fault situations are covered by the RCD and overcurrent is covered by the MCB. I have RCBOs, which combine the two (more effective, i.m.o.)
 
Don't know what this is. My installation is as per the diag. above, but there's no 'breaker switch', and the only thing I know to be 100 amp is the main fuse. Fault situations are covered by the RCD and overcurrent is covered by the MCB. I have RCBOs, which combine the two (more effective, i.m.o.)

Oh, because you have to get the supplier out to be able to fit the henley blocks. It's handy to be able to isolate everything in future
 


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