mains cable current ratings ... ???

[jandl100]

Being a died-in-the-wool cable believer, I like to play around with the things.

One reason or another has led me to playing around with mains cables recently, to feed off the excellently good power extruded by my AG1500 regenerator ....

Perusing the eBay thing as one does, I came across some Nordost Magus mains cables - available in 2 versions - "15 amp" and "20 amp".

Err -- at this point I become confused. They have (at most) 13 amp fuses in the plug --- so 15 or 20 amp ratings don't seem to make much sense - what's going on here?

(The 20A version costs a fair bit more than the 15A version).

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

The thicker the better (core not dielectric), it has nothing really to do with current capability above about 5 amp for a hi-fi system. It is all a bit of a black art and the same as speaker cable thickness. If you go on what is needed for a hi-fi then you don't need much more than bell wire, but we all know that is wrong, same for mains cable. The nearest we get to a technical explanation is lowering source impedance, also the quality of the material the cable is made from, both core and dielectric influences this.

There is also synergy balance, until your system is pretty sorted then this sort of work you are doing has less effect (a cleaner window lets you see the smaller amount of dirt).

Anyway I and most people know why you have interest, those that shout loudest and most often about how brilliant they and their systems are gets the attention, a bit like children

BTW why no comment on the meet up on the power amps with Marco and MartinT ?

Go for it, try different cable, last time I did this was back in the early 90's and decided that Belden SYS armoured cable was best, as here http://uk.rs-online.com/web/c/?sra=oss& ... le&x=0&y=0 and again the bigger the current rating you can fit in is better, 379-362 if you can. BUT things have bound to have changed in availability of good cable since, just don't be sucked in to pay the stupid rip-off prices of MCRU.

Also get rid of 13 amp fused plugs, no matter who makes them (illegally or not) and no matter what supposed quality. Best option is non fused 15 amp UK standard plug that preceded our now standard fused plug, or second choice the European Schuko plug.

[Ali Tait]

Having recently tried some digi cables- same one with different connectors - I wonder if it's the connectors that have a bigger influence on the sound than the cable used?

[jandl100]

Having recently tried some digi cables- same one with different connectors - I wonder if it's the connectors that have a bigger influence on the sound than the cable used?

yeah I had a similar experience with some interconnects - same cable, different RCA plugs -- different sound!

A friend is sending me a £50+ Furutech mains plug to try out next week ....

Anyway I and most people know why you have interest, those that shout loudest and most often about how brilliant they and their systems are gets the attention, a bit like children

BTW why no comment on the meet up on the power amps with Marco and MartinT ?

Re-scheduled for 13th Oct.

No comments from me about it, though, I reckon -- I don't want to seem childishly shouty, after all.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Re-scheduled for 13th Oct.

No comments from me about it, though, I reckon -- I don't want to seem childishly shouty, after all.

Ah! but as with most things in life it is quality that is important not quantity. A little willy waving is fun. But constantly having it shoved up your nose is not a pleasant experience - and as we know Jerry, *most* of your comments are quality

[zebbo]

Doc, I've read before on here that you accept that a better quality mains cable is a good thing but simply removing the IEC plug & socket is of greater sonic benefit. If this is the case wouldn't the ideal construction be a good quality cable hard-wired to the amp? Is there a reason why you don't do this, cost maybe? If it was cost might it be possible to offer it as an option at additional cost maybe?

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Doc, I've read before on here that you accept that a better quality mains cable is a good thing but simply removing the IEC plug & socket is of greater sonic benefit. If this is the case wouldn't the ideal construction be a good quality cable hard-wired to the amp? Is there a reason why you don't do this, cost maybe? If it was cost might it be possible to offer it as an option at additional cost maybe?

I do use a good cable (synergy). The only cables I found better are so thick and unwieldy and stiff that they threaten to break an acrylic case when hardwired through it.

[zebbo]

Ah, ok cool, I thought you'd probably have already thought about it.

[applemarc]

I changed my 13a ring main to a radial main and switched to BS546 15a plugs first difference less noise from my various power supplies. Also when I came back from holiday the TDS's only tripped out the 20A consumer unit fuse 3 times before it was happy that would have been 32 x new fuse's for each amp.