asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Hi all, I asked this question deep in one of the Uptone threads but wanted to ask the wider CA community. Has had experience with using rack power distribution boards similar to the linked below, as a simple powerboard for Hi-Fi gear , on the ground and out of sight, behind the Hi-Fi furniture. In this particular case I'm not interested in surge protection or filtering. https://www.racklink.com.au/products/5190dd8da59383ded5ce3aef These (and other similar) appear well built. Description here: Locally Assembled - Made in Australia & New Zealand to exacting standards. Built to Last - Made of 1.2mm mild steel. Earth is secured internally with ring terminals and lock-washers. All raw components and powder coats are ROHS compliant Reliable - Individually hand-wired outlets. Professional in Look & Feel - Powder coated in ripple black finish means they get fewer scratches & finger prints. High density of IEC outlets means you fit more in your space without clutter. Apart from the fact they don't look like fancy Hi-Fi powerboards, are there any issues with using them in a typical Hi-Fi setting? The back of these is closed right? It's not an open back? While I think they'll work fine, I wanted to ask if anyone is actually using these type of power distribution boards for their Hi-Fi gear. If not, what would be the reasons to not use them (apart from the obvious needed for surge protection and filtering if you need it etc) The one linked above is just an example but happy to discuss these rack power boards in the general sense Many thanks in advance Link to comment
r_w Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 I used a black 8 way one of these metal IEC commercial mains distribution blocks and removed the neon light, it effectively becomes a configurable single fused star earth/hydra (for circa £80): Multi-coloured PDU with C13 sockets Source: *Aurender N100 (no internal disk : LAN optically isolated via FMC with *LPS) > DIY 5cm USB link (5v rail removed / ground lift switch - split for *LPS) > Intona Industrial (injected *LPS / internally shielded with copper tape) > DIY 5cm USB link (5v rail removed / ground lift switch) > W4S Recovery (*LPS) > DIY 2cm USB adaptor (5v rail removed / ground lift switch) > *Auralic VEGA (EXACT : balanced) Control: *Jeff Rowland CAPRI S2 (balanced) Playback: 2 x Revel B15a subs (balanced) > ATC SCM 50 ASL (balanced - 80Hz HPF from subs) Misc: *Via Power Inspired AG1500 AC Regenerator LPS: 3 x Swagman Lab Audiophile Signature Edition (W4S, Intona & FMC) Storage: QNAP TS-253Pro 2x 3Tb, 8Gb RAM Cables: DIY heavy gauge solid silver (balanced) Mains: dedicated distribution board with 5 x 2 socket ring mains, all mains cables: Mark Grant Black Series DSP 2.5 Dual Screen Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 I used a black 8 way one of these metal IEC commercial mains distribution blocks and removed the neon light, it effectively becomes a configurable single fused star earth/hydra (for circa £80): Multi-coloured PDU with C13 sockets Nice! This would work well for me for me too, if I could get it with Australian outlets. Link to comment
sandyk Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Nice! This would work well for me for me too, if I could get it with Australian outlets. 2m "Kettle Plug" Extension Cord Cable 240V Mains Power Lead IEC Male to Female | eBay IEC C13 To C14 M-F Mains Extension Cable 1m | eBay How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 2m "Kettle Plug" Extension Cord Cable 240V Mains Power Lead IEC Male to Female | eBay IEC C13 To C14 M-F Mains Extension Cable 1m | eBay Somebody in the Uptone thread mentioned they should be shielded power cables (which I already have with Aussie plugs) Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk Link to comment
r_w Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Agree, mine are double shielded. Are the Aussie plugs fused? If so it will probably sound better if you change the Aussie plug end for IECs, thus removing another layer of unnecessary fuses. Martin Kaiser IEC Connector Audio Grade ... other people sell them too. Nice! This would work well for me for me too, if I could get it with Australian outlets. Source: *Aurender N100 (no internal disk : LAN optically isolated via FMC with *LPS) > DIY 5cm USB link (5v rail removed / ground lift switch - split for *LPS) > Intona Industrial (injected *LPS / internally shielded with copper tape) > DIY 5cm USB link (5v rail removed / ground lift switch) > W4S Recovery (*LPS) > DIY 2cm USB adaptor (5v rail removed / ground lift switch) > *Auralic VEGA (EXACT : balanced) Control: *Jeff Rowland CAPRI S2 (balanced) Playback: 2 x Revel B15a subs (balanced) > ATC SCM 50 ASL (balanced - 80Hz HPF from subs) Misc: *Via Power Inspired AG1500 AC Regenerator LPS: 3 x Swagman Lab Audiophile Signature Edition (W4S, Intona & FMC) Storage: QNAP TS-253Pro 2x 3Tb, 8Gb RAM Cables: DIY heavy gauge solid silver (balanced) Mains: dedicated distribution board with 5 x 2 socket ring mains, all mains cables: Mark Grant Black Series DSP 2.5 Dual Screen Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Agree, mine are double shielded. Are the Aussie plugs fused? If so it will probably sound better if you change the Aussie plug end for IECs, thus removing another layer of unnecessary fuses. Martin Kaiser IEC Connector Audio Grade ... other people sell them too. Good points. Will look into this Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk Link to comment
sandyk Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Agree, mine are double shielded. Are the Aussie plugs fused? If so it will probably sound better if you change the Aussie plug end for IECs, thus removing another layer of unnecessary fuses. Martin Kaiser IEC Connector Audio Grade ... other people sell them too. Aussie plugs aren't fused as we use a different internal mains distribution method. How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 Aussie plugs aren't fused as we use a different internal mains distribution method. Thanks Alex, didnt think so but you saved me an email to Analysis Plus Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk Link to comment
sandyk Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Thanks Alex, didnt think so but you saved me an email to Analysis Plus Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk BTW, often it is desirable to have shorter mains leads. Altronics (in Melbourne too) also has similar M to F IEC leads in 7.5A .75M long. P8422 - Powertran 0.75m IEC C13 - C14 (Male - Fem.) 7.5A Black Appliance Mains Lead - Altronics How a Digital Audio file sounds, or a Digital Video file looks, is governed to a large extent by the Power Supply area. All that Identical Checksums gives is the possibility of REGENERATING the file to close to that of the original file. PROFILE UPDATED 13-11-2020 Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 BTW, often it is desirable to have shorter mains leads. Altronics (in Melbourne too) also has similar M to F IEC leads in 7.5A .75M long. P8422 - Powertran 0.75m IEC C13 - C14 (Male - Fem.) 7.5A Black Appliance Mains Lead - Altronics Good points Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk Link to comment
17629v2 Posted November 5, 2016 Share Posted November 5, 2016 Nice! This would work well for me for me too, if I could get it with Australian outlets. Can you get Panamax? They make one for about the same price. The one you reference should work OK, but the Panamax looks like they give you a bit more for the money. Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 5, 2016 Author Share Posted November 5, 2016 this one has a circuit breaker: http://www.panamax.com/Products/Other/VT-EXT.php#tab_benefits How would the Panapax be better than the RackLink I referenced? I'll definitely look into it I'll use a portable RCD upstream so I'm looking for a board with no circuit breaker, no switch, no surge protection etc Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk Link to comment
17629v2 Posted November 7, 2016 Share Posted November 7, 2016 this one has a circuit breaker: VT-EXT | Other | Products | Panamax.com How would the Panapax be better than the RackLink I referenced? I'll definitely look into it I'll use a portable RCD upstream so I'm looking for a board with no circuit breaker, no switch, no surge protection etc Sent from my Blackberry DTEK50 using Tapatalk When you said that you didn't want all the extra features, I assumed it was a price issue. I didn't realize it was a requirement the features were to be left out. There's not too many products like what you're asking for. Everybody usually wants the stuff that you can't have. If you want better quality, DYI may be a good option. If you can find an empty rack mount case, or even a cheap one where you can remove all of the internals, you can put some high quality outlets, like Furutech, in the box, and wire it up by hand. As long as you can get the right case, it should be easy to do. Link to comment
asdf1000 Posted November 7, 2016 Author Share Posted November 7, 2016 When you said that you didn't want all the extra features, I assumed it was a price issue. I didn't realize it was a requirement the features were to be left out. There's not too many products like what you're asking for. Everybody usually wants the stuff that you can't have. If you want better quality, DYI may be a good option. If you can find an empty rack mount case, or even a cheap one where you can remove all of the internals, you can put some high quality outlets, like Furutech, in the box, and wire it up by hand. As long as you can get the right case, it should be easy to do. I already have a PS Audio Dectet power conditioner. I'm looking to strip back all the filtering/conditioning/surge protection etc. But I want something well built. Yeh I've found out the past week there aren't many that make bare bones power strips. They're usual custom made as you say. Getting them with Australian outlets seems to be the hardest issue. I've sent emails to some of the custom makers recommended by a couple others on this forum, so will wait to hear back from them this week. Otherwise it's the DIY option as you say. Link to comment
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