Leesparkykent
Nearly Esteemed
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Discuss Snake oil? AMR Audiophile Gold Hi-Fi Fuse 13A in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
Hmm that seems strangely familiar. Post #14 perhaps? 
If you want a further laugh have a look at the products on the Russ Andrews site
This little beauty (half a dozen 4mm posts on a wooden board)
Russ Andrews - Hi-Fi mains and cable specialist - http://www.russandrews.com/star-rf-router/
is meant to bring all of your earth connections together. And all for an eye-watering ÂŁ240!!
He also has a one MCB/no RCD -not Amd 3 compliant - consumer unit (made by some unknown company) for ÂŁ249
Russ Andrews - Hi-Fi mains and cable specialist - http://www.russandrews.com/russ-andrews-upgraded-non-rcd-consumer-unit-/
Did you check out his 'Ring main cable'? Looks likes several singles woven together! 20m over ÂŁ1k... and lets not forget the special burn in treatment (whatever the heck that is) for ÂŁ100.
Double insulation (required for installation purposes) is available as a chargeable extra!
If anyone could get me a list of their customers I'd like to try and sell them some bottled Welsh air because my music sounds better here than it did in England. It's available in 2l bottles for ÂŁ100+P&P and requires regular recharging to ensure continued enhancement of the sound created by the sub-atomic vibrations present in the molecules created by the passage of our air over the lovely wild mountains. Any takers?
"Did you check out his 'Ring main cable'? Looks likes several singles woven together! 20m over ÂŁ1k... and lets not forget the special burn in treatment (whatever the heck that is) for ÂŁ100."
Yup! .....Completely bizarre. Basically it's braided like a piece of coax but with the conductors on the outside with earth down the middle. I could 'sort of' get the point if it was 'shielded' mains cable (Belden 19364 for instance). And it's not unknown for metal trunking\conduit or SWA to be specified in tech areas where it would otherwise be unnecessary. But what the hell is wrapping the mains conductors round the earth supposed to achieve? If anything at all you'd think it would be noisier!
Yup! .....Completely bizarre. Basically it's braided like a piece of coax but with the conductors on the outside with earth down the middle. I could 'sort of' get the point if it was 'shielded' mains cable (Belden 19364 for instance). And it's not unknown for metal trunking\conduit or SWA to be specified in tech areas where it would otherwise be unnecessary. But what the hell is wrapping the mains conductors round the earth supposed to achieve? If anything at all you'd think it would be noisier!
I like the implied science capacitively coulping higher frequencies to earth (but then inducing currents in you earth point -has its down sides )
Cable vendor slapped for unproven claims - https://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/01/13/russ_accessories/
"The Advertising Standards Authority has slapped hi-kit supplier Russ Andrews for claiming its super-duper mains cables could reduce radio interference on the power line."
Gosh! What a surprise!
"The Advertising Standards Authority has slapped hi-kit supplier Russ Andrews for claiming its super-duper mains cables could reduce radio interference on the power line."
Gosh!
What a surprise!
Guess I better adjust my claims about our Welsh air
Hiding behind RF transmision line design ,a bit of a grey art in your lounge ! Maybe microwaves from your phone next time ?
But is his stuff made in China.
S
Squid
Books appointment at Specsavers................Hmm that seems strangely familiar. Post #14 perhaps?
S
Squid
It is hand made by Tibetan monks in the heights of the Himalayan mountains as the air is cleaner there. I have also heard that Lama hair form the mountains surrounding Machu Picchu is an ideal insulating material.
The following post is not mine. It was written as part of ongoing e-mail correspondence that I'm having with a friend who works for Bang & Olufsen, and who advised me on my purchase of the Sounds Fantastic mains filter:
"I have said this many times and still stick by it. The world of the audiophile is awash with products claiming to improve sound but, quality of hearing and tolerance of degraded sound is highly variable.
Unquestionably, there are many companies out there selling cables that will make no odds to the end result. Anything that connects hi-fi separates is open to this type of abuse.
If some one tried to sell me a mains cable costing more than a fiver, i`d be laughing at them. It`s not the mains cable but what happens prior to mains entering a component. This is where sensible investment scores with a degree of surge limiting (EMI) Electromagnetic interference filtering and (MOV) Metal oxide varistors within the surge protector.
There should be 3 present with filtering x and y capacitors Cheap ones have one or none at all to assist filtering and to remove noise from the AC sine wave as much a possible before it hits the components own AC filter which in a large amount of cases is sadly lacking, even in many so called audiophile systems.
Interference from other peoples devices like washing machines. Electric lawnmowers. Power tools etc is important as an unprotected system can receive lethal spikes if those things are faulty or in need of maintenance. Remember the sparkles you used to get on TV`s when some one turned on one of those items next door or a few houses away? That situation still exists. You don`t see those on a TV screen now due to LCD filtering technology but be assured, they are still as much there as back then.
Cheap micro wave ovens are one of the worst things when it comes to (RFI) Radio frequency interference.These will cause havoc upon your expensive hi-fi components.
Unshielded power supplies will soak RFI in like a sponge. Consider the price of those ovens now. You can buy them for ÂŁ35.00 in supermarkets. Cheaply made and poorly shielded. The killing soup from Bluetooth and mobile devices is on a level like never before and your HI-FI is wide open to all of it. When it gets in, often through poor quality phono leads and connectors, it will load the signal lines with rubbish which will then be amplified, resulting in clipping and distortion. This causes increased heat on the output stages which in turn will shorten the life of the component.
Mains leads are not the issue at all so as i said earlier. Don`t pay anything over a fiver for one around 2-3 meters. It`s the surge protection. AC and RF filtering that matters, not a power cable."
"I have said this many times and still stick by it. The world of the audiophile is awash with products claiming to improve sound but, quality of hearing and tolerance of degraded sound is highly variable.
Unquestionably, there are many companies out there selling cables that will make no odds to the end result. Anything that connects hi-fi separates is open to this type of abuse.
If some one tried to sell me a mains cable costing more than a fiver, i`d be laughing at them. It`s not the mains cable but what happens prior to mains entering a component. This is where sensible investment scores with a degree of surge limiting (EMI) Electromagnetic interference filtering and (MOV) Metal oxide varistors within the surge protector.
There should be 3 present with filtering x and y capacitors Cheap ones have one or none at all to assist filtering and to remove noise from the AC sine wave as much a possible before it hits the components own AC filter which in a large amount of cases is sadly lacking, even in many so called audiophile systems.
Interference from other peoples devices like washing machines. Electric lawnmowers. Power tools etc is important as an unprotected system can receive lethal spikes if those things are faulty or in need of maintenance. Remember the sparkles you used to get on TV`s when some one turned on one of those items next door or a few houses away? That situation still exists. You don`t see those on a TV screen now due to LCD filtering technology but be assured, they are still as much there as back then.
Cheap micro wave ovens are one of the worst things when it comes to (RFI) Radio frequency interference.These will cause havoc upon your expensive hi-fi components.
Unshielded power supplies will soak RFI in like a sponge. Consider the price of those ovens now. You can buy them for ÂŁ35.00 in supermarkets. Cheaply made and poorly shielded. The killing soup from Bluetooth and mobile devices is on a level like never before and your HI-FI is wide open to all of it. When it gets in, often through poor quality phono leads and connectors, it will load the signal lines with rubbish which will then be amplified, resulting in clipping and distortion. This causes increased heat on the output stages which in turn will shorten the life of the component.
Mains leads are not the issue at all so as i said earlier. Don`t pay anything over a fiver for one around 2-3 meters. It`s the surge protection. AC and RF filtering that matters, not a power cable."
To be fair here JK you do 'sometimes' find certain precautions being taken to provide 'clean supplies' in studio recording/listening environments. About the most extreme of these is to run the A/V side off isolating transformers - and from there take particular precautions about how/where your earth reference is established; but that has to do with managing the potential for 'earth loops' - or rather stopping it being 'managed' by random means (i.e random earth lifting on portable equipment) that compromise safety. 'Sometimes' you'll find MDUs (which are often quite complex things that switch things on in a particular sequence) and there may be 'some' filtering in there... Typically an IEC socket on the input with a similar sort of filter' as you'd find on the mains input of a washing machine built in!
But otherwise? No.... It's just not done for the simple reason there is no real reason to do it!
Funnily enough, in the Glasgow area, most of the 'sparklies' once suffered by those west of Blackhill and East of the airport were generated by its radar! The old system was 'filthy' and had harmonics that blighted both TV and FM transmissions across the city for decades; you'd even get bleed (circa 2Mhz) into closed video circuits! And yes, once upon a time there were some generated by 'spill' from things like microwave ovens. - CB radios even and other crap...
However... Your friend is sadly misinformed if he imagines the end of these sparklies are anything whatsoever to do with "LCD filtering technology"... ( you still got them on LCDs with analogue tuners back in the day) It's simply that we are no longer receiving analogue transmissions; that service is closed! - Nor are we commonly feeding PAL analogue signals from crappy VHS players to scrappy TV sets along inappropriate leads - 'baseline' video required a 75Ω co-ax which was VERY often missing from shitty SCART and Phono leads sold for the purpose...
AND ...It's a very long time since tellies were built with 'live' chassis or they were allowed to sell hoovers and hairdryers that sent out signals to the space aliens than hing aboot Bonnybrige; you won't even find spark plugs and ignition coils for your car on sale that upset your 405 line reception anymore! Even Glasgow airport have a new radar system!
Today - We most often hear of cowboys trying to sell overpriced HDMI leads off the back of these mysterious 'sparklies' along with a load of other complete and utter rubbish about their effect of picture quality.
"This is where sensible investment scores with a degree of surge limiting (EMI) Electromagnetic interference filtering and (MOV) Metal oxide varistors within the surge protector.
There should be 3 present with filtering x and y capacitors Cheap ones have one or none at all to assist filtering and to remove noise from the AC sine wave as much a possible before it hits the components own AC filter which in a large amount of cases is sadly lacking, even in many so called audiophile systems."
Whit? Whose wee dug? For a start - Capacitor "classes" have more to do with the rating of the device... Although there is a relationships between that and how they are used as mains filters.
http://www.seered.co.uk/sunvic_capacitor_information.pdf
...Frankly, if the PSU inside your audio equipment is 'unable' to filter out this sort of thing then it's a badly designed pile of crap and just not fit for purpose! It's a part of basic power supply design!
"When it gets in, often through poor quality phono leads and connectors, it will load the signal lines with rubbish which will then be amplified, resulting in clipping and distortion. This causes increased heat on the output stages which in turn will shorten the life of the component."
Ah! the old half-baked conflation game! - Remind me; is this RF coming down the mains or in through ten-bob-a-dozen phono leads from the Barras? And how does a filter on the mains plug end mitigate that?
...It's seriously doubtful whether any AF stage worth its salt (or otherwise for that matter) can or will amplify RF; it's something that 'should' be designed out of the system as it would cause instability! There are other reasons (EM harmonics at AF being directly induced) why very poorly designed/ancient equipment can be affected by things like 'camp on' signals from mobile phones at close proximity - the 1971 ITT Weekend Automatic we have in the kitchen is a case in pojnt. As are the shitey ÂŁ4.99 Asda computer speakers I have attached to my desktop... But I can assure you, even my refugees from the Antiques Roadshow ain't amplifying RF and attempting to drive the speakers with it!
Seriously - Take some time to go through the Canford catalogue. See what they sell and (more importantly) what they don't sell and then think about the fact these guys are the leading suppliers to recording and broadcasting studios in the UK, Europe and much of the Middle-East, Africa, Asia and the Far-East. - This is the sort of equipment the world's most critical professional listening environments have; and which is specified and bought by actual professional audio engineers...
But otherwise? No.... It's just not done for the simple reason there is no real reason to do it!
Funnily enough, in the Glasgow area, most of the 'sparklies' once suffered by those west of Blackhill and East of the airport were generated by its radar! The old system was 'filthy' and had harmonics that blighted both TV and FM transmissions across the city for decades; you'd even get bleed (circa 2Mhz) into closed video circuits! And yes, once upon a time there were some generated by 'spill' from things like microwave ovens. - CB radios even and other crap...
However... Your friend is sadly misinformed if he imagines the end of these sparklies are anything whatsoever to do with "LCD filtering technology"... ( you still got them on LCDs with analogue tuners back in the day) It's simply that we are no longer receiving analogue transmissions; that service is closed! - Nor are we commonly feeding PAL analogue signals from crappy VHS players to scrappy TV sets along inappropriate leads - 'baseline' video required a 75Ω co-ax which was VERY often missing from shitty SCART and Phono leads sold for the purpose...
AND ...It's a very long time since tellies were built with 'live' chassis or they were allowed to sell hoovers and hairdryers that sent out signals to the space aliens than hing aboot Bonnybrige; you won't even find spark plugs and ignition coils for your car on sale that upset your 405 line reception anymore! Even Glasgow airport have a new radar system!
Today - We most often hear of cowboys trying to sell overpriced HDMI leads off the back of these mysterious 'sparklies' along with a load of other complete and utter rubbish about their effect of picture quality.
"This is where sensible investment scores with a degree of surge limiting (EMI) Electromagnetic interference filtering and (MOV) Metal oxide varistors within the surge protector.
There should be 3 present with filtering x and y capacitors Cheap ones have one or none at all to assist filtering and to remove noise from the AC sine wave as much a possible before it hits the components own AC filter which in a large amount of cases is sadly lacking, even in many so called audiophile systems."
Whit? Whose wee dug? For a start - Capacitor "classes" have more to do with the rating of the device... Although there is a relationships between that and how they are used as mains filters.
http://www.seered.co.uk/sunvic_capacitor_information.pdf
...Frankly, if the PSU inside your audio equipment is 'unable' to filter out this sort of thing then it's a badly designed pile of crap and just not fit for purpose! It's a part of basic power supply design!
"When it gets in, often through poor quality phono leads and connectors, it will load the signal lines with rubbish which will then be amplified, resulting in clipping and distortion. This causes increased heat on the output stages which in turn will shorten the life of the component."
Ah! the old half-baked conflation game! - Remind me; is this RF coming down the mains or in through ten-bob-a-dozen phono leads from the Barras? And how does a filter on the mains plug end mitigate that?
...It's seriously doubtful whether any AF stage worth its salt (or otherwise for that matter) can or will amplify RF; it's something that 'should' be designed out of the system as it would cause instability! There are other reasons (EM harmonics at AF being directly induced) why very poorly designed/ancient equipment can be affected by things like 'camp on' signals from mobile phones at close proximity - the 1971 ITT Weekend Automatic we have in the kitchen is a case in pojnt. As are the shitey ÂŁ4.99 Asda computer speakers I have attached to my desktop... But I can assure you, even my refugees from the Antiques Roadshow ain't amplifying RF and attempting to drive the speakers with it!
Seriously - Take some time to go through the Canford catalogue. See what they sell and (more importantly) what they don't sell and then think about the fact these guys are the leading suppliers to recording and broadcasting studios in the UK, Europe and much of the Middle-East, Africa, Asia and the Far-East. - This is the sort of equipment the world's most critical professional listening environments have; and which is specified and bought by actual professional audio engineers...
Hey TFGtv, you saved me a lot of work there. I was going to broach most of those points but got dragged away.
Those were due to RF interference on the analogue TV broadcast AM video signal. The reason you don't see them now is that the COFDM scheme used by DVB-T to carry an MPEG-encoded video stream simply doesn't react to that kind of interference in the same way.
Only if your equipment is poorly designed. I doubt that the output stage of any practical audio amplifier dissipates a measurable amount of power on account of RF break-in even when drowning in a sea of cellphones. Of course, it's quite possible to design sensitive wideband signal stages that accidentally contain parasitic radio recceivers, I've done it many a time. But a power amp, with chunky silicon with low Ft, RF gain limited by miller caps etc that are required for the amp's own stability, shouldn't propagate a bluetooth signal present at the line-in all the way to the PA.
Or as TFGtv said:
Those were due to RF interference on the analogue TV broadcast AM video signal. The reason you don't see them now is that the COFDM scheme used by DVB-T to carry an MPEG-encoded video stream simply doesn't react to that kind of interference in the same way.
Only if your equipment is poorly designed. I doubt that the output stage of any practical audio amplifier dissipates a measurable amount of power on account of RF break-in even when drowning in a sea of cellphones. Of course, it's quite possible to design sensitive wideband signal stages that accidentally contain parasitic radio recceivers, I've done it many a time. But a power amp, with chunky silicon with low Ft, RF gain limited by miller caps etc that are required for the amp's own stability, shouldn't propagate a bluetooth signal present at the line-in all the way to the PA.
Or as TFGtv said:
Love it!
Made a similar discovery with cheap phono plugs ,
perfectly "AIR gapping" the earth connection ,
till squished oval . (not a fancy project so was ok !)
Reply to Snake oil? AMR Audiophile Gold Hi-Fi Fuse 13A in the UK Electrical Forum area at ElectriciansForums.net
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