vey happy with my setup looking to tweek things up abit?
arcam cd 73
marantz 7200ki
quad11
rell storm (ilike a little bass)
would quality mains leads help
or would i be wasting my money

Hi,
You are welcome to try a Merlin Power Cord on a 30 days trial with Hificables.co.uk This is the mains power cord that I feel would best suit your system. If you dont think it is worth the money (£76.50 including free shipping) then you can return it in good condition within 30 days with packaging for a refund less £4.00 for our cost of sending it to you.
In my experience a good power cord will often enhance the bass and make it more articulate (though this depends on the quality of your mains).
Try it first on the CD and then the amp to see which gives most benefit.
You can see the Black Widow here:

http://www.hificables.co.uk/ProductDetails/mcs/ProductID/11139/GroupID/708

Your other option would be to try a quality mains block with a power cord inluded to attach to the wall socket and with inbuilt mains filtration. More money but all your equipment gets the benefit.

Good luck!

Hi,
Mains cables do make a difference. I have a few from Russ Andrews .They do a 60 day money back guarantee. I was sceptical about mains leads also.. But they do make a difference.. I agree with Paul Davis, I have a mains block also. And a silencer... All these things make a difference.. In my system the sound is clearer, less harsh and has more detail.. I am using these on my surround system.

Sony 925 amp
pioneer 444 dvd
energy take 5 speakers
MS 909 sub (on order, still waiting delivery)

Give it a go you have nothing to lose!!

Yes they do work in general but some don't and are snake oil.

I'd recommend that you put one on your CD73 first and then go from there if you like what it does.

The Merlin ones work well as do the Isotek. VDH works extremely well and can be had off the roll for 40 Euros (ish) a meter if you look around on the internet rather than the outrageous prices that they expect UK consumers to pay for it when it's made up. It's very difficult to terminate though.

I find Russ Andrews expensive for what they do but you might want to look at their cheapest 'Yello' which will yield an improvememt. The good thing about them is that they're reliable and you can return them if you don't like them. They are also willing to terminate IEC - IEC which others often don't like doing.

I didn't like the Ecosse power cables and they didn't do anything for my system.

Alan
I have a very similar system to you:

arcam cd72
AVC EL34 valve amp
Quad 12L
Wilmslow audio passive subwoofer
chord co cabling.

was also thinking of upgrading the power supplies / dist blocks, but the ones i've tried have had no effect.

maybe it's just me though.....i've found that turning off the display on the arcam has NO EFFECT whatsoever on the sound (despite what arcam say)....so if i can't hear a difference with that i don't see how a mains block will magically transform the system.....

......some convincing needed first :-)

I'm very curious about this one and I'm waiting to be convinced (I'll be honest I havent heard one). My problem is...how can the last two feet of wiring to your hi-fi make a difference as before that (in the house wiring and the street wiring etc) its 100's of metres of normal unscreened, non silver not ox-free bog standard copper wire and switches?

Surely its what you do with the "dirty" power that counts?

ben

Hi Ben
I was really sceptical.. Honest! I agree how can the last few feet make a difference... It does!! Just give it a try. I have been lucky with all my purchases from Russ Andrews, everything I have bought has made a difference.. You have nothing to lose.. you can only gain from giving it a go..

Kev

Hi Alan, ive got a Russ Andrews yello on my rotel rcd 02, before that it ws on my marantz cd6000 ose/le, wanted to hear a difference.... but didnt currently trying a £200 Chord clearway mains enhancer, its already "burnt in" but , after 24 hrs, still cant hear a difference. maybe my mains supply is ok to start with, and thats why i cant hear an improvement.....i want to. i really do!!

Ben, try downloading the free e-booklet;
'The Power & The Glory' from Russ Andrews web site. It makes very interesting reading and should answer many of your queries re. mains supplies

Tony

Hi Alan, I've russ andrews cables on every component in my system, including a mains block, and 2 plug in silencers, I've bought them all one at at time, finding improvements in different areas, they do work for me, however, the difference is not instantenous, it's noticable over time, you can trst this by simply taking the lead(s) off after 3/4 months, then you will realise exactly what they were doing, I would suggest you go straight for the Classic Powercord, has these seem best for performance and price, in my opinion (I started with yellow one's but found the classic do offer that much more)

Alan, i have to echo Ash'sopinion.Go straigh to the Classic,ive got a Yello, and could'nt hear the slightest difference.Im currently awaiting the arrival of a Classic,and heres the good thing with RA cables,you can send the old one back,in good nick obviously,and if its less than a year old, get all your money back.

Had the Classik in the system now for a couple of weeks, lots better than the yello, which is now on the Musical Fidelity X80.

What sort of difference is there in price between the cheaper ones and the classic models?

Hi Jules,
Call RA from the ad on this site for a free catalogue. My first mains cable was the Yello which I attached to an Aiwa portable stereo just to try it. I played a jazz cd and my wife said she could hear the improvement immediately. the Yello is now on my cd recorder and I have a
Classic on my dvd player. I was lucky enough to win a Classic in the free draw on this site last month, just when I was about to order another one. Go for the Classic. I beleive it's worth the extra and you get a 60 day trial period. Gets a
great review in 'What HiFi' mag. as well.
Tony

Currently theres a small amount off in RA's current catalogue, i would urge you to go straight for the classic powercord, which is miles better than the yello,as ive said, i have both, so feel i can recommend with a small degree of authority, if not that , certainly experienc!

All mains cables are shielded, but what you can do is "clean" the mains signal, as they can have "noise" and spikes. As most of our national grid if fairly old you could get dirty mains, so a line filter or surge suppressor could help. You can always find notice if you switch something on and it cause snow on the tv!

Monster Power and Panamamay eliminate some of the backwash.

A couple of posts ago i mention getting all your money back i should have said against a more expensive bit of kit.

So if you decide the lead was doing nothing for the performance of your system, you have no choice but to exchange it for a more expensive one?

No, what i mean is if youre happy with the lead, and have it for say, 10 months, assuming its in original condition, they will allow you what you paid for it against a dearer lead
However, if within 60 days you decide you dont like it, they will refund all your money

Ah, ok. Well I guess that's fair enough. Personally, I simply can't justify spending that much money on what essentially seems to be such a simple peiece of kit.