UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Powered By Google Custom Search Vintage Radio and TV Service Data

Go Back   UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum > Specific Vintage Equipment > Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items

Notices

Other Vintage Household Electrical or Electromechanical Items For discussions about other vintage (over 25 years old) electrical and electromechanical household items. See the sticky thread for details.

Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 14th Jan 2019, 2:31 pm   #41
Scimitar
Heptode
 
Scimitar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 719
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refugee View Post
The only thing I have found that makes a difference to a HiFi is the shape of the room.
It will have an astonishing effect. Moving to a new house, my system is all set up in a garden room with wooden flooring. The quality is not a patch on what is was in the old house. When I get chance, it will have carpet and heavy curtains in there to tame the bottom end a bit. It sounds like a 70s Amstrad music centre currently.
Scimitar is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 2:32 pm   #42
Glowing Bits!
Octode
 
Glowing Bits!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK.
Posts: 1,457
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Refugee View Post
You would have a jolly heavy HiFi if you installed SLA batteries in it.
They would have to be big enough to run the set all day and charge up again over night.
The switching would have to be on the DC side of the rectifier.
Now I've established it's for the stereo system, not the house.
It seems pointless using batteries for daytime only to still require a mains socket by night, it might as well stay plugged in instead.
Rick.
Glowing Bits! is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 2:33 pm   #43
Refugee
Dekatron
 
Refugee's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Worksop, Nottinghamshire, UK.
Posts: 5,549
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

The layout of the walls has the greatest effect.
Refugee is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 2:57 pm   #44
kalee20
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Lynton, N. Devon, UK.
Posts: 7,061
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Glowing Bits! View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dai Corner View Post
Surely a huge array of batteries is a better power source than the mains?
Till it goes flat.
And therein is the rub!

If you charge the batteries from the same socket that you would have powered the amplifier, all you have done is time-shifted the problem. If the socket's going to damage the electrons, it'll damage the electrons.

The electrons stored in the battery will still be the same, second-class, chipped, squeezed, and generally socket-mutilated electrons that would have powered the amplifier direct. So the amplifier will sound exactly the same.

You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
kalee20 is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:31 pm   #45
dr_nick
Triode
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: South Lakeland, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 47
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

The definitive answer is clearly to rewire the house ...

https://www.psaudio.com/ps_how/how-t...cated-ac-line/

... and before anybody thinks I believe it, I have read it twice and I am not sure if this is a parody or the author believed it.

Nick.
dr_nick is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:34 pm   #46
gramophone1
Pentode
 
gramophone1's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2018
Location: Tyne and Wear, UK.
Posts: 168
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

I did not intend to start a flame war.

I am no audiophool either, but hifi accessories fascinate me.
gramophone1 is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:37 pm   #47
Guest
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Best HiFi...

Decide budget,
Spent a third on going to concerts,
Chose one that sounds like the concerts,

Easy really, oops I have gone off topic selecting/making a real HiFi not foolery nonsense.
 
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:39 pm   #48
Lucien Nunes
Rest in Peace
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: London, UK.
Posts: 2,508
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Last year, there was an enquiry on an electrical forum from an electrician who had been asked by a customer to install a dedicated circuit for a new home cinema amplifier. It was to be wired in screened 6.0mm² cable, and he flagged it up because the cable they had specified did not comply with the wiring regulations, plus the spiel they had given the customer did not make sense to him.

The massed ranks of electricians had a good chuckle, and for those who were not fully convinced that amplifiers should not be passing huge transients through the mains lead, I succesfully demonstrated playing Deep Purple or something at maximum reasonably listenable volume, via a 315mA mains fuse.

My response is always: If a difference in sound is perceptible when changing from one correctly fitted power cable or plug to another, there is a problem with the audio equipment that needs to be put right first.
Lucien Nunes is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:54 pm   #49
julie_m
Dekatron
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Derby, UK.
Posts: 7,735
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dai Corner View Post
Surely a huge array of batteries is a better power source than the mains?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Refugee View Post
You would have a jolly heavy HiFi if you installed SLA batteries in it.
No, they would have to be disposable batteries. The charging process could affect the power delivery from a rechargeable battery. It might spoil the clarity of the "R" sounds, or worse.
__________________
If I have seen further than others, it is because I was standing on a pile of failed experiments.
julie_m is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 3:58 pm   #50
dr_nick
Triode
 
Join Date: Oct 2018
Location: South Lakeland, Cumbria, UK.
Posts: 47
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Gramophone1, apology, no intention to cause offence. Many of us like the bells and whistles - they add to our enjoyment in using the gear. I think it is just that many people feel that in the high end hifi audio world that many people good honest people are being exploited.

Several posters have correctly identified the difficulty posed re the subjective assessment of quality and hence enjoyment. If only it were a case of people honestly saying - try this it sounded better to me, but there is no good reason that it should - instead of inventing a pseudo-scientific explanation.

Nick.
dr_nick is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 4:12 pm   #51
kalee20
Dekatron
 
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Lynton, N. Devon, UK.
Posts: 7,061
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by gramophone1 View Post
I did not intend to start a flame war.
To be honest, I don't think you have! A few of us have probably had a smile, that's all!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dr_nick View Post
Gramophone1, apology, no intention to cause offence. Many of us like the bells and whistles - they add to our enjoyment in using the gear. I think it is just that many people feel that in the high end hifi audio world that many people good honest people are being exploited.
Accepting the fact that human hearing has both crudities and extraordinary complexities - the scientific approach is that if there really is a difference in the perceived sound, then it can be measured - and there is an explanation for it.

Much audiophool stuff has defied any attempts to measure it, or even detect it by double-blind testing.

For the current thread, there is an argument to say that a bit of extra impedance in the mains is A Good Thing. Why? Because it reduces the peak currents into the amplifier's reservoir capacitors (while broadening their duration slightly) which both gives the capacitors a slightly easier time, and means that the following-on circuitry has a slightly less-rippley DC supply to contend with. So any intermodulation with the music being played, will be less.

However, the extra impedance of the socket should in itself be too low to measure. And, even if you add 100 more sockets in series, the effect on the amplifier should still be too low to measure. If it CAN be measured, then it's a bad amplifier design anyway!
kalee20 is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 4:28 pm   #52
Glowing Bits!
Octode
 
Glowing Bits!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK.
Posts: 1,457
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by gramophone1 View Post
I am no audiophool either, but hifi accessories fascinate me.
Neither am I, I just want amps to be loud enough to start annoying the neighbours and speakers good enough to thump the floor!
To sum it up, I don't care for fancy stuff so long as the amp says "made in Japan" on it.
Rick.
Glowing Bits! is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 4:46 pm   #53
stevehertz
Dekatron
 
stevehertz's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Rugeley, Staffordshire, UK.
Posts: 8,809
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Man of my own heart there.
__________________
A digital radio is the latest thing, but a vintage wireless is forever..
stevehertz is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 6:21 pm   #54
Guest
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

One chuckles...
 
Old 14th Jan 2019, 7:31 pm   #55
duncanlowe
Nonode
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Stafford, Staffs. UK.
Posts: 2,529
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

The best improvement you can make is using gold plated connectors on absolutely everything. Especially the TOSLink optical connections. The reduction in electrical resistance on this pure optical, digitally encoded path has to be heard to be believed. The same is true of the purely digital HDMI path, where your better off spending the best part of £100 for one than the £20 ones, the man in PCWorld says so therefore it must be true. The fact that you can get the £20 cable for less than a fiver from any half decent supplier, just means that the £4 cable will be even worse than the £20 one even though its the same thing from the same manufacturer in China.**

** Terms and Conditions apply. No purchasing decisions should be made on the basis of the statements made above since they may be entirely fictitious or worse.

Oh, and yes, I have seen people flogging TOSLink cables with gold plated ends. I may even have one that was being sold off really cheap.
duncanlowe is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 7:38 pm   #56
Scimitar
Heptode
 
Scimitar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: Gloucestershire, UK.
Posts: 719
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

There is justification for buying decent cables, HDMI or otherwise... Build quality. I often see customers coming with RF and HDMI cables with the business end broken off. Invariably they are Tesco or Poundshop types. That's not to suggest that I endorse the ridiculous claims and prices of the famed Dixons Retail Group members. (Leopards come to mind here for some reason).
Scimitar is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 8:15 pm   #57
Heatercathodeshort
Dekatron
 
Heatercathodeshort's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: Warnham, West Sussex. 10 miles south of DORKING.
Posts: 9,145
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Sounds like the King'a new clothes...
What about the house consumer unit contacts, the sub station fuses and connections, the numerous connections to the pylons.

This lovely lot just along the lane from my bungalow does not appear to effect the quality of my 'Hi Fi.' Oh well if yer can make a buck out of it, why not. Regards, John.
Attached Thumbnails
Click image for larger version

Name:	8-17 (1).jpg
Views:	168
Size:	31.9 KB
ID:	176421   Click image for larger version

Name:	8-17 (2).jpg
Views:	163
Size:	87.6 KB
ID:	176422   Click image for larger version

Name:	8-17 (3].jpg
Views:	148
Size:	33.1 KB
ID:	176423  

Last edited by Heatercathodeshort; 14th Jan 2019 at 8:21 pm.
Heatercathodeshort is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 8:42 pm   #58
Glowing Bits!
Octode
 
Glowing Bits!'s Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Wrexham, North Wales, UK.
Posts: 1,457
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

John, you have some nice firewood there, should keep the fire going for a week!
Rick.
Glowing Bits! is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 10:15 pm   #59
Radio Wrangler
Moderator
 
Radio Wrangler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,801
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI?

You're being far too modest, John. Surely that first photo shows the output transformer for your new amplifier, the one with push-pull Eimac 4CX15000As?

The second photo shows your new Russ Andrews underground 3-phase feeder with the acoustically superior woven outer jacket in its fetching red colour with 'clock' patterns to match your favourite socks. The filling pour for the jointing box was done in melted cones from BBC monitors.

David
__________________
Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done
Radio Wrangler is offline  
Old 14th Jan 2019, 10:20 pm   #60
duncanlowe
Nonode
 
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Stafford, Staffs. UK.
Posts: 2,529
Default Re: Switched or Unswitched Sockets for HI-FI

Quote:
Originally Posted by Scimitar View Post
There is justification for buying decent cables, HDMI or otherwise... Build quality. I often see customers coming with RF and HDMI cables with the business end broken off. Invariably they are Tesco or Poundshop types. That's not to suggest that I endorse the ridiculous claims and prices of the famed Dixons Retail Group members. (Leopards come to mind here for some reason).
Yes I do somewhat agree. But decent quality does not equate in any way to price I'm afraid. I buy my cables from CPC mostly and haven't had a bad one yet. So much so that at work I needed a decent length HDMI. We have an RS account. Now I know that RS are known for not being the cheapest. But RS and Farnell had the same cable for around £100. CPC was around £14. Farnell and CPC are the same company, and often you get stuff from CPC in Farnell packaging. So it was well worth going our circuitous route to buy from CPC instead of RS. The £14 cable is working fine!
duncanlowe is offline  
Closed Thread

Thread Tools



All times are GMT +1. The time now is 6:58 am.


All information and advice on this forum is subject to the WARNING AND DISCLAIMER located at https://www.vintage-radio.net/rules.html.
Failure to heed this warning may result in death or serious injury to yourself and/or others.


Powered by vBulletin®
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Copyright ©2002 - 2023, Paul Stenning.