Hifi sounds better in Europe?

[wonky1969]

Back in 2016 I got a lab12 Gordian mains conditioner that has three pin schuko output,and it was a very worthwhile exercise for me,sound quality was improved in every area.
I had prior to this had a isotek sigmas g2 with UK sockets , which sounded great,but the Gordian with 3 pin schuko was miles ahead.
Wether that's down to the Gordian being better than the isotek,or the use of schuko over UK plugs,I don't know or care.

As for safety,the Gordian has surge protection built-in,and with each component having its own internal fuse,I think it's safe to use,not had a problem in 7 years,and have no desire to change.

I toyed with the idea of a separate mains supply and earth,but as I live in local authority accommodation,this is not possible.

 

[lazycat]

Doh. Of course everything sounds better in Europe.

 

[StingRay]

Why do some European/US/Asian plugs have 3 pins?

 

[rabski]

Build quality in the UK is cheap awful. Ring mains is cheap awful. There, said it.

To be fair, electrical household installations in a lot of European countries are godawful as well.

As for countries further afield, I suggest that actually we in the UK at least have extremely good safety standards for household electrics, and a system that is relatively reliable.

Cheap, however, it sure as hell isn't.

Anyway, at least we don't think mains sockets right next to a sink in a steam-filled bathroom are a good idea.

 

[rabski]

Why do some European/US/Asian plugs have 3 pins?

Most do IME. Two phases (or live and neutral) and earth is normal. On some, though, the earth connection is a strip on the side or something other than a third pin.

 

[DomT]

To be fair, electrical household installations in a lot of European countries are godawful as well.

As for countries further afield, I suggest that actually we in the UK at least have extremely good safety standards for household electrics, and a system that is relatively reliable.

Cheap, however, it sure as hell isn't.

Anyway, at least we don't think mains sockets right next to a sink in a steam-filled bathroom are a good idea.

How else can the wife dry her hair/accidentally kill herself?

 

[StingRay]

Most do IME. Two phases (or live and neutral) and earth is normal. On some, though, the earth connection is a strip on the side or something other than a third pin.

Not IME, most are only 2 pins.

 

[DiggyGun]

I believe that the UK is the only country in the world that uses mains fuses in cables?

There are many countries that use the UK style,

Type G plug has three rectangular pins in a triangular pattern and includes a fuse (usually a 3A fuse for smaller appliances, such as computers, or a 13A fuse for larger appliances, such as heaters). British sockets also have shutters on the live and neutral contacts to prevent the introduction of foreign objects.



The Type G plug is used for currents up to 13 A.

Used in countries:​

Bahrain	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Bangladesh	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type G, Type K
Belize	110V 220V 60Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type B, Type G
Bhutan	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type F, Type G, Type M
Botswana	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G, Type M
Brunei Darussalam	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Cambodia	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type C, Type G
Cyprus	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Dominica	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Gambia	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Ghana	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Gibraltar	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G
Grenada	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Guyana	240V 60Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type B, Type D, Type G
Hong Kong	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G, Type D
Iraq	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type G
Ireland	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Isle of Man	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G
Jordan	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type B, Type C, Type D, Type F, Type G, Type J
Kenya	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Kuwait	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G
Lebanon	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type B, Type C, Type D, Type G
Macau	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type M, Type G, Type F
Malawi	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Malaysia	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type C, Type G, Type M
Maldives	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type C, Type D, Type G, Type J, Type K, Type L
Malta	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Mauritius	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G
Myanmar	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type F, Type G
Nigeria	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Oman	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G
Pakistan	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type G, Type M
Qatar	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Saint Kitts and Nevis	230V 60Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type B, Type D, Type G
Saint Lucia	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
SaintVincent and the Grenadines	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type C, Type E, Type G, Type I, Type K
Saudi Arabia	220V 230V 60Hz	Power socket: Type G
Seychelles	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Sierra Leone	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Singapore	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G, Type M
Solomon Islands	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type I, Type G
Sri Lanka	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type M, Type G
Tanzania	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G
Uganda	240V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
United Arab Emirates	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type G
United Kingdom	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type G
Vanuatu	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type G, Type I
Yemen	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type A, Type D, Type G
Zambia	230V 50Hz	Power socket: Type C, Type D, Type G
Zimbabwe	220V 50Hz	Power socket: Type D, Type G

DG…

 

[rabski]

Not IME, most are only 2 pins.

France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands for starters have plugs with two pins, but a side earth connection or a hole in the plug that aligns with a pin in the socket. Some items that are double-insulated do not have an earth connection, but the same applies in the UK, where you may find equipment with a plastic earth pin on the plug or a two-pin IEC connection to the equipment.

 

[DomT]

France, Germany, Belgium and The Netherlands for starters have plugs with two pins, but a side earth connection or a hole in the plug that aligns with a pin in the socket. Some items that are double-insulated do not have an earth connection, but the same applies in the UK, where you may find equipment with a plastic earth pin on the plug or a two-pin IEC connection to the equipment.

And Portugal.

 

[DomT]

And Portugal.

Obviously I know that these Portuguese plugs will not work in the UK. These have round pins and UK sockets are sort of rectangular. But I went and bought a Dremel; shouldn’t take long to round out this pesky UK sockets to get me some of that EU better sound!

 

[Billz]

As a young apprentice joiner in the early seventies, I was often given the task of repairing blown fuses in plugs for various power tools. The most common way was to use the silver paper in cigarette packets (easy to come by as everyone smoked) and wrap it around the blown fuse. If that didn’t work and the damn thing kept blowing, I would hacksaw a 4 inch nail to length and replaced the fuse with that. It never blew.

Happy to say nobody died.

 

[rabski]

As a young apprentice joiner in the early seventies, I was often given the task of repairing blown fuses in plugs for various power tools. The most common way was to use the silver paper in cigarette packets (easy to come by as everyone smoked) and wrap it around the blown fuse. If that didn’t work and the damn thing kept blowing, I would hacksaw a 4 inch nail to length and replaced the fuse with that. It never blew.

Happy to say nobody died.

Yet

 

[tuga]

There are many countries that use the UK style

You mean the Crown Colonies.

 

[Editor]

In Ukraine, as in all countries of the ex. USSR, there are only two contacts in the electrical circuit - phase and zero. Grounding in apartments is usually absent. Moreover, the location of the phase and zero is not regulated in any way.

 

[JohnyT]

In Ukraine, as in all countries of the ex. USSR, there are only two contacts in the electrical circuit - phase and zero. Grounding in apartments is usually absent. Moreover, the location of the phase and zero is not regulated in any way.

So I guess a bit like a figure 8 cable it doesn't seem to matter which way round you plug it in. Also there's no earh pin populated in the IEC socket of my amp. Would have thought this big bullk of metal and electronics would of needed it

 

[Editor]

So I guess a bit like a figure 8 cable it doesn't seem to matter which way round you plug it in. Also there's no earh pin populated in the IEC socket of my amp. Would have thought this big bullk of metal and electronics would of needed it.

All of our equipment is not grounded. This indirectly affects safety, but does not affect the sound quality of the components.

 

[Editor]

I'll say more. This allows you to choose which plug position will sound best. And believe me, it's a pretty noticeable difference.

 

[DomT]

I'll say more. This allows you to choose which plug position will sound best. And believe me, it's a pretty noticeable difference.

My dealer in Portugal made sure that I understood how to electrically test which way round to plug in the cables to sockets because of sound difference.

 

[uzzy]

So is the upshot of this that a 13a fuse would sound better than a 3a?

They lost me at no fuse in a plug .. if you have a new consumer box with RCDs (or use an rcd device) at your risk you can try a large bolt to fill the fuse holder.

You will need at least three, one copper, one silver and one gold and then let your ears decide which is the best sounding. If something shorts on the house circuit or there is a massive electrical surge perhaps you can pray that your amp has fuse protection built in (lots do). This means for the experiment to be meaningful all internal fuses in the equipment need to be hard wired too (again three types of wire; copper, silver and gold).

If you do not have an RCD fuse box of course the limitations are still there with the fuse wire in the distribution box. If you do have RCDs perhaps the suppliers will then start making them with precious metals (as that is bound to make them sound better according to the proponents of gold and silver wires and fuses)

Or if you remain in your senses you will leave well alone and stay safe and not worry that a fuse might be having any detrimental affect on the amplifier or other pieces of electrical equipment ..

Perhaps Wammers who have changed from a fuse box to an RCD one can report on changes to sound quality by taking one fuse out of the chain (it made bugger all difference to my system).

I must be getting very old to have even read the original posting let alone comment on it