Micromark Multi-Way Mains Plug

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-09-16 16:40

Has anyone tested this as an alternative to multi-gang extension blocks?

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/hydra_e.html

It's cheap and looks much tidier.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2009-09-16 18:27

Yes, I have. At the time, I thought it was ok, but not much better than keeping the (Shuko) cords intact and having them plugged into a standard distribution block. Tried soldering them as well, but I'm unsure of what method really was the best soundwise.

I sacrificed 5 cables to make each of these "hydras". About one year later, Linn started supplying a new power cord, which sounded clearly better. I didn't bother making any new "hydras" after that.

One problem is that for systems bigger than four components, you need two "hydras". And normally, that division into two is not optimal.

Another problem is that the cable going into the "hydra" should not be your favourite mains cord. You need something else there, usually thicker.

The best thing about them was that they could be screwed to the bottom of the rack. That made the installation a bit more tidy.

rowlandhills · Post by **rowlandhills** » 2009-09-16 23:21

Fredrik, I'm a bit confused by your reference to "The best thing about them was that they could be screwed to the bottom of the rack. That made the installation a bit more tidy." I thought these plug straight into the wall...

...or does this relate to your comment about using 5 Linn cables for your test? Were you adding a UK socket, then plugging this into that?

In my case, I'll have at least two UK sockets on the wall behind my system, so the "hydra" could go direct into that.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2009-09-16 23:30

Aha, this one plugs straight into the socket? I couldn't tell that from the picture. I used a very similar looking box that had one cable in and four out. All my comments above referred to that.

Please do try it and keep us posted! The best thing would be if you had one good distribution block to compare with. Note that in many systems, it's worse to use two parallell distribution blocks, which is close what you'll achieve with two of these.

One tip: Do NOT cut down the length of your (good sounding) cords when fitting them to this box. The length is a really important parameter for sound quality, and each cord type has it's optimal length.

rowlandhills · Post by **rowlandhills** » 2009-09-17 00:10

lejonklou wrote:Aha, this one plugs straight into the socket? I couldn't tell that from the picture. I used a very similar looking box that had one cable in and four out. All my comments above referred to that.

Yes, indeed it does. The article referenced above refers to one supplied by Maplin, who are a UK electronics shop:

http://www.maplin.co.uk/DiscontinuedMod ... leNo=25365

Unfortunately, as you may guess from the above link, it's now discontinued. Looks like some may be available from other sources:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Multiway-Mains-Pl ... 4833dc18bc

...but I'm never sure about the provenance of things like that on eBay, and whether they are really exactly the same make/model etc.

Quite tempting as a cheap option though, but I'm loath to chop up perfectly good Linn cables to do the comparison. If anyone's got any cables with damaged plugs (UK or schuko) which they'd like to sell me at a sensible price, I'd be happy to try this out. :)

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-09-17 06:15

lejonklou wrote: One tip: Do NOT cut down the length of your (good sounding) cords when fitting them to this box. The length is a really important parameter for sound quality, and each cord type has it's optimal length.

My existing leads use moulded plugs, so I can't see a way of removing the plug without cutting the chord at the plug, shortening cable by around 3-4cm. Is that sort of change in length going to be significant?

Post by **lejonklou** » 2009-09-17 14:23

I'd say audible but not significant. I usually compare power cord lengths in steps of 5 cm, which is no problem at all to evaluate. When making smaller steps than that, there might be other factors that influence more and therefore makes the comparison difficult. Such as how hard you screw the cable or the exact temperature when you solder.

I just wanted to mention it because I did this mistake myself in the past. To achieve a really neat installation, I cut the power cords down to less than 0.5 m. It looked fine but when I switched it on, it sounded really weird. I knew I had done something wrong but initially I didn't suspect the length of the power cords.

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-09-17 17:44

Ok - I've ordered some cheap kettle leads. I'm going to sacrifice these (at first anyway).

First I'll swap the cheap leads in place of the Linn leads on Linto, Lingo, AV 5103 and Kudos - that way I can hear what the cheap leads sound like before I 'hydra' them.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2009-09-17 20:50

I hope you've got enough kettle leads to go back and forth between the "hydras" and the original leads into a distribution block. Otherwise it will be difficult to compare them.

There is another problem associated with the use of unknown quality kettle leads. In my opinion, the plug is a really important part of the power cord, and all good sounding power cords have a rather good plug.

Now, an unknown quality kettle lead could have a really terrible sounding plug. That will lead to the "hydra" solution getting an advantage due to the plugs are being cut off. Which isn't a problem in itself, but it's one example why you can't draw general conclusions from an experiment with bad components.

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-09-18 11:31

The cheap leads have arrived. The cables are the same diameter as the Linn cables and both report 0.75mm2 as (I guess) the core area. They also appear to be v similar in length. I think that MSL is the brand of the cable. The cheap plug is quite a bit smaller than the Linn plug.

I did a comparison of one of the cheap leads with the existing lead on the Linto (both plugged into the same socket on the extension block). To be honest, I really did not expect to hear a difference as I know my hearing is not very acute.

Well, the cheap kettle lead seems slightly thinner and harsher. It has successfully sucked a bit of the enjoyment out of the music. I don't know why I find this surprising, since I really don't know much about the physics of all this and a lot has been written about the impact of power leads, but I was still surprised to actually hear a difference.

When the 'hydra' plug arrives I will butcher the cheap lead and repeat the test - this should provide an indication of the relative merits of the kettle lead plug and the 'hydra' plug (still connected to the extension block).

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-09-18 19:01

I compared the Linn Linto lead, the cheap lead intact and the cheap lead with the 'hydra' plug.

The cheap lead sounded harsher with or without the 'hydra' plug. I also plugged the cheap lead direct into the mains on the wall (bypassing the extension block). It still sounded harsh. I couldn't hear a difference between the 'hydra' plug and the intact cheap plug.

So replacing the Linn leads with a 'hydra' made of cheap leads does not make sense.

Does anyone know where I can get a replacement Linn lead? I don't have any spares so I don't want to cut up one of my existing leads in case the result sounds worse.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2009-09-19 15:44

Your local Linn dealer can order spare power cables from Linn. They sell for $35 in the US. We keep a stock of them on hand in the store as most people don't keep track of their AC cables so trade-in Linn equipment often comes in with a generic (and poorly performing) cable. This allows us to offer customers a true Linn AC cable if they wish. I have also found Rega and Arcam products to work better with Linn power cables.

If you are going to buy a Linn power cable I would recommend getting at least two. Linn have changed power cables a number of times over the years. For over a decade they have used the same plugs on both ends - at least in the US - but the wire itself has changed from Tongyuan to Baohing to Ta Hsing which is what they are currently shipping. There are small but noticeable differences in the different wires. I have posted my findings on another thread about the musical differences in various Linn and other cables so I won't go into detail here. However, my personal ranking of those three cables is:

Tongyuan
Ta Hsing
Baohing

Note that the wire and the wall plug on UK and Euro power cables are different so the ranking order could easily be different outside the US although other UK Linn owners have found the Tongyuan to be quite good too. But to do your comparison you want two of the same exact cables which is why I recommend picking up a couple. And when you have them you can compare any different Linn cables you have and see what you think. Make sure you let us know what you hear. Have fun!

Lego · Post by **Lego** » 2009-09-21 20:58

I used that thingy above in the 80s with Naim amps ....is that star earthing or something ?...I have old Linn amps and always thought that hydra set up wasn't appropriate ..so didnt bother

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-10-02 13:15

ThomasOK wrote:Your local Linn dealer can order spare power cables from Linn. They sell for $35 in the US. We keep a stock of them on hand in the store as most people don't keep track of their AC cables so trade-in Linn equipment often comes in with a generic (and poorly performing) cable. This allows us to offer customers a true Linn AC cable if they wish. I have also found Rega and Arcam products to work better with Linn power cables.

I've spoken to a few Linn dealers here in the UK and I appear to be wading into muddy waters. Of the three I spoke to, one stated categorically that IEC cables make no difference, and the other two said that Linn (unlike Naim) were normally unconcerned about the IEC cables and were unsure if Linn offered them as spares. However, my local dealer (should have spoken to him first but he happened to be closed on the day I called) has ordered two cables.

ThomasOK · Post by **ThomasOK** » 2009-10-02 18:12

springwood64 wrote:
ThomasOK wrote:Your local Linn dealer can order spare power cables from Linn. They sell for $35 in the US. We keep a stock of them on hand in the store as most people don't keep track of their AC cables so trade-in Linn equipment often comes in with a generic (and poorly performing) cable. This allows us to offer customers a true Linn AC cable if they wish. I have also found Rega and Arcam products to work better with Linn power cables.
I've spoken to a few Linn dealers here in the UK and I appear to be wading into muddy waters. Of the three I spoke to, one stated categorically that IEC cables make no difference, and the other two said that Linn (unlike Naim) were normally unconcerned about the IEC cables and were unsure if Linn offered them as spares. However, my local dealer (should have spoken to him first but he happened to be closed on the day I called) has ordered two cables.

I'm afraid you'd run into similar muddy waters here. Most dealers would try and sell you expensive "audiophile" power cables - all of which, in my experience, are worse than stock Linn cables. Others would take the line that they make no difference. This is ludicrous. It is obvious to anyone with ears that there is a difference between different power cables. While in most cases the difference is not an improvement that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

While Linn does not go in for fancy or expensive cables it is not the case that they are unconcerned about them. The power cables used by Linn are made by Volex. Linn uses a specific plug on each end of their power cables and a specific type of wire although the brand of wire used changes from time to time. A friend had a conversation about this with a person at Linn and was told that the right plugs were important in getting a proper cable.

It is interesting to note that Volex does not make a stock cable with the same ends and wire construction that Linn uses. You can get the same plugs with a different wire or the same wire with different plugs but the only way to get them both together currently is to get them from Linn. (This relates to US power cables and may not be the case in the UK or Europe.)

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-10-06 22:12

I picked up a couple of replacement new IEC cables from Linn (£15.01 each) today so I've been able to complete my test of the Micromark plug.

As Thomas recommended, I bought two identical IECs and discovered that they matched just one of the IECs out of my set of six Linn boxes.

If I could detect no deterioration in sound by replacing the Volex plug on one of the new IECs, I planned to combine the IECs for the Linto, Lingo and AV 5103 in the Micromark multi-plug.

As a control I compared my existing Linto cable (which does not have a Volex plug and may well not be a Linn original) with one of the new IECs. The new cable sounded noticeably better, with a bit more and better defined low frequency bass. No great difference in tunedem to my ears, just a better sound (more thunk!)

Comparing the Micromark against the Volex plug on one of the new IECs was much harder. I swapped them quite a few times and there may have been a small audible difference, but I struggled to qualify it in anyway. It was small enough to give me the courage to lop off the Volex from the other new IEC and my existing identical IEC.

I used a second Micromark to combine the IECs for my Kudos, Arcam DVD and Cyrus PSX, all of which had a motley collection of IECs so I was not worried about chopping them up.

The result is a lot tidier than it used to be, and sounds just as good.

Before:

After:

I couldn't compare the final arrangement with the initial because I'd chopped up too many IECs, but I'm very happy with the resulting sound. I was able to move the Linto,Lingo and AV 5103 from a distribution block to a wall socket, which may have had an impact on sound but I didn't check it carefully.

So I'd recommend trying this out if you want tidier power connections without sacrificing sound quality.

Post by **lejonklou** » 2009-10-07 19:56

Nice to hear you're happy with it!

And you're lucky to get rid of that old distribution block with a light in it - they usually mess up the sound quite noticably.

springwood64 · Post by **springwood64** » 2009-10-13 09:06

I've added a third multi-plug that combines the IECs for the power amps along with the extension block, and moved the IEC for my Arcam DV88 to the one with the Linto/Lingo/AV5103 (on the wall socket).

As a result all the kit on the main audio paths (sources CD/DVD and LP12) power directly from the wall sockets - none are on a distribution block.

This has had real audio benefits. The most spectacular improvement has been the CD player. For the first time I now have CD playback that grabs my attention and holds it. The CD is still not as tonally rich or enjoyable as the LP12, but it is enjoyable (this is new :) ). The harshness I associate with CD seems barely noticeable. I put on a test CD and ended up spending the evening playing CDs I've not listened to for ages.

The LP12 has also benefited - I did not do a tunedem comparison because I was not expecting to hear much difference. However listening to an old favourite ("Rumours, Fleetwood Mac") it is clear that the sound is better defined (especially bass) and I am getting more detail as well as a better flow to the music. 'stroadinary!

From Frederik's comment I'm guessing that removing the distribution blocks was the key step, rather than combining the IECs into the multi-plug.

I've been using these blocks for nearly a decade in different setups and houses. I'm trying not to dwell on the possibility that they've been sabotaging my system all this time . . .

Charlie1 · Post by **Charlie1** » 2009-10-13 12:16

Sounds good Pete and looks a lot neater.

Must admit I'm keen to get any mains improvement but don't want to butcher my Linn mains leads, so don't think I'll go down this route. I do wonder if a long bank of mains outlets instead of extension block is worthwhile.

Micromark Multi-Way Mains Plug

Micromark Multi-Way Mains Plug

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