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mains leads...

changing the rubber flex and using 1.5mm^2 of PVC coated core (again, tower heavy duty 3 core round flex from B&Q) instead brought music back. in fact my system now sounds very good indeed. strange, given that the hydra joint is still using those plastic strip connectors, and NOt soldered at all. if i feel confident about my soldering one of these days, i might actually solder the joint, but for the time being i will leave things as they are.

enjoy


ken
 
prowla:

...It's got an MK tough plug, 4mm core wire into a grey plastic junction box, 6 wires out - 3 to Wattgate IECs, 1 to Marinco (same really), and two with cheaper IECs unused as yet.
When I switched over I knew I'd got it!

phew !! those wattgate IEC plugs are EXPENSIVE!! just ordered the cheaper version from RA to try out (the upmarket one is £70 or so!!!) is the marinco slightly cheaper? did you find that these exotic IEC plugs work well??


enjoy

ken
 
I'm using the 320 (£20), not the (gold) 370 (£70) - they're just silly money.
The plugs certainly feel positive and fit snugly, unlike some others that I had to squeeze the contacts and wrap the barrel with masking tape to get a firm fit..
The Marinco I got cost the same but hasn't a clear cover, so I may replace that when I next get the urge. (I think the same bloke designed both brands and they look remarkably similar to me.)
 
Originally posted by prowla
wrap the barrel with masking tape to get a firm fit
Click to expand...


Paul,

with Naim gear, the plug is not *supposed* to make a firm fit in the socket. All contact is intended to be supplied by the three contacts against the pins of the socket.

This measure is intended to isolate the box from any vibrations which may be transmitted by the cable.

cheers, Martin
 
Whether any vibrations are transmitted throught the cable to your equipment has more to do with how flexy the cable is and what its touching on the way.
A tight fitting plug and a loose cable wont transmit any damaging vibrations, (just like an arm cable on a turntable).If the cable is completly unflexable then maybe it might , but you would be better off getting a longer cable than making the connection loose,which it will be if the plug is free to move causing the contact points to shift and sometimes break (on a minute scale)and as the equipments vibrates to the music.
A loose plug will cause more problems than any tiny vibrations from a mains lead.
I wedge all my IEC into the equipment (which is not Naim) it makes the sound more solid , fluid and dynamic.
 
Martin

Yes - I thought about that, but the other plugs I tried didn't seem to make a very good contact, so I prefer the firm fit.
 
Originally posted by Martin
Paul,

with Naim gear, the plug is not *supposed* to make a firm fit in the socket. All contact is intended to be supplied by the three contacts against the pins of the socket.

This measure is intended to isolate the box from any vibrations which may be transmitted by the cable.

cheers, Martin
Click to expand...

actually, i cannot see the benefit of making a tight fit to the socket, but i can see a lot of benefit in making a tight fit to the receptor pins inside the IEC socket. i actually thought this was the whole point of the wattgate -- mine has been delivered -- will have a look.

enjoy

ken
 
Originally posted by Ken C
changing the rubber flex and using 1.5mm^2 of PVC coated core (again, tower heavy duty 3 core round flex from B&Q) instead brought music back.
Click to expand...

actually, further extensive listening last night confirmed that this cable was a huge improvement (i never heard leonard cohen's "suzanne" the way i heard it last night, lyrics are now much much clearer). "essential handel" also sounded fabulous.

unfortunately, its not all good news. listening to other CD's (emmylou harris, van morrison, dave brubeck, etc) highlighted a problem with treble quality. its smeared. lacks precision. very apparent on orchestral strings.

its easy enough to change back to naim cable for the hydra feed (i.e. instead of the heavy duty 1.5mm^2) -- so i will do this sometime and see what happens.

pity, if the treble was OK, this hydra of mine would have been a real gem... never mind...

enjoy

ken
 
The problem I has with the Schurter plugs was that (a) they don't make a good contact with the pins, (b) they don't feel positive in the socket. The Wattgates do both, and also have good screw contacts.
I do (still) take the point about vibes though...
I've just listened to some stuff this Saturday morning, and it sounds rather good.
 
"actually, i cannot see the benefit of making a tight fit to the socket, but i can see a lot of benefit in making a tight fit to the receptor pins inside the IEC socket. i actually thought this was the whole point of the wattgate -- mine has been delivered -- will have a look."

Because a tight fit on the socket stops the plug moving around on the contacts .On most mains leads and plugs the weight of the cable will be tugging on the IEC plug and socket.If the iec is wedged on tight it helpsthe contacts have a good grip.As always try it and see.
 
I also made up a test plug from an inline plug, by stripping off the insulation just leaving bare pins. I could then test sockets to see if they give a good grip on the pins.
 
i promised you an update on the wattgate iec plug that i bought from RA.

the thing LOOKS the part -- looks very nice. suppose the £20 had to go somewhere.

as far as i could tell, the plug bit is the same size as the plugs that come with naim IEC leads -- certainly no bigger -- so the fit inside the IEC socket on naim equipment will be no different. what is certainly very different is the way the plug is designed so as to grip the pins inthe socket quite tightly -- making a firm and robust connection. sounds sensible to me.

as for sound quality -- it certainly doesnt make it any worse. i have made so many changes to my mains supply to my system that its hard to say whether the good balanced, and believable sound i am getting is because of that, or the wattgate. i really dont feel like an A/B right now. i'll leave it in for some time (on my supercap for preamp) and maybe another time when i need to switch the system off, i will do this test.

i also like the way the plug is very practical to wire, and the way it makes a very good tight connection.

its a very good design indeed. i wish it was a bit cheaper when i would upgrade all my IEC to wattgates and see what happens.

all my leads are now naim except for the wattgate on the supercap. the experiments with thicker higher rated core appear to have been a complete waste of time.

enuff, enjoy...

ken
 
hi folks,

talking aboit joining cables -- does anyone here know of a "machine" that i could use to more or less "cold weld" a joint?? i guess it would use the same principle as the "airlock" that some dealers recommend for terminating speaker cables -- but this time without the 4mm banana plugs. i am sure you know what i mean...


enjoy

ken
 
Waiting for someone to bring it up and no one has so can someone shed light as to where i might be able to obtain myself some decent thickness 3 core shielded mains cable so i can make myself a DIY mains cable ala TNT Merlino. Would appreciate it also being twisted if poss and not having to buy myself a 100m roll would be nice :) Tried Farnell and RS and they don't seem to fulfill the above criteria?
 
Mmmm...chunky! B&Q might suffice then. Thought RF rejection through was the route to audio nirvana. Or something.
 
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