Mains power cables and block.

I had a copperline lead to my CDP (when I owned it) and I don't think there was any improvement. Have always plugged the amp directly into the wall, everything else into a Tacima block; again I can detect no difference with the hi fi or the TV using it, but I need a mains block so it gets used. I have a second Tacima that now sits in a cupboard, in my old house my phone charge and iron were running off it....

I was hoping that it might have had a positive effect on the laptop PSU which is very noisy, but makes no discernible difference.

Did you try the Copper-line into your amp?

interesting steve, it seems mains cables/conditioning works for some but for others does nothin at all. 

merlin tarantula mk6 is another contender.

I think it greatly depends on individual pieces of kit and the quality of the mains.  I have noticed very benefitial effects with Russ Andrews powercords down the years but usually with source equipment.  The best change was using a redundant storage heater circuit for the hifi some years ago.

I am lucky enough to have really good mains, it steps down in a field just behind the house and I think I am getting first dibs at this clean power.  As others have said don't plug amps into the Tacima or any other conditioner blocks, in my experience.

Your ears and gear are the only real test, experiment you may never hear a difference.

Yes tried that, and the TV. Natch.

I'm sure it had some benefit, just my ears and eyes couldn't detect it.

What intrigues me is that few opf us appear to be consistent - some things sound hugely different, for example HQ mp3 files vs CDA is as obvious as night and day to me, I can even tell them apart using a pair £40 logitech laptop speakers + sub, whereas many report they can't. Yet I cannot hear much, if any difference in mains conditioners, interconnects, filter settings on the dacmagic....

I know I have failry sensitive hearing - I can often hear things that others sround me don't, but I also know that my right ear has a deficiency in ther upper midband / lower treble from a recent hearing test. 

Someone posted a while ago an online hearing test, for pitch, sensitivity plus several other characteristics, would be interesting to try that again! I thought I had excellent pitch awareness, being able to tune a guitar with ease for example, turns out I was rubbish!

will my preamp be ok to go into the tacima block? i need the tacima blok to free space to plug both my monoblocs directly into the wall. 

It was me that posted the pitch perception test amongst other hearing tests .

Here is the link if you want to try it again .

http://tonometric.com/adaptivepitch/

I suspect it has nothing to do with your hearing and all to do with the vagaries of the mains supply and how a particular component reacts.

One of my local dealers has told me they get varying results on different instals....from making it Worse -> No difference -> Good improvement.....they never make assumptions before trying it out, and warn accordingly.

I'll suggest what Rick at Musicraft suggested.  Standard mains cables or £3.99 multi-way blocks will be fine for the job.

It would be also worth looking at the Supra Lo-Rad mains cables, which come in 2 versions - Lo-Rad 1.5 (this is 1.5sq mm cable) and Lo-Rad 2.5 (this is 2.5sq mm cable). This cable can be bought either by the metre off the reel for about £15.00 per metre for the 2.5, altough I am not sure how much the 1.5 version is per metre. Both cables can be bought in ready made versions as well for reasonable money, although neither cable is hard to assemble yourself, although you may have trouble finding a 13amp plug that will fit the 2.5 version although something like the MK toughplug or safety plug would do. I believe both cables are available from: www.divineaudio.co.uk

I tried Tacima first and noticed less noise & bit more space but as above sucked out energy out and sounded flat. TV seemed better but suspect our electrics are not very good.

I had home trial with Wireworld block and power cable and this made noticable improvement in my system and I felt well worth the outlay. AMP still directly into mains socket however as found this best.
Try before you buy! Can recommend dealer Signals in Ipswich if by chance you are in this part of the world who are very knowledgable and relaxed about lending equipment before parting with cash.

ok looks like its not a gd idea to plug the amps into the mains block. i now have my amps plugged directly into the wall. 

I just need a mains block for my cd player and preamp, plus mains cords for each component. iv bin offered 2 merlin tarantulas mk6 for 66 for the two. is this a gd price and has any1 had experience of this cable?

Very bad advice. Don't do this. Always have surge protection between your mains socket and your electronics. Nothing to do with mains surge but everything to do with lightning.

Really? Perfectly good advice I'd say. If you are that concerned about lightning strikes, then you should have the surge protection installed at the consumer unit (class I or II), not some plug in device (class III). Class III devices can cause RCD tripping, but you obviously knew this? Also, no plug in class III device (to my knowledge) will protect against a direct strike anyway.

I think you will find that most people on this forum don't use surge protection, and you dont see people complaining of fried electronics on here very often, if at all.
If you know your house is a problem area, then you may need surge protection, but otherwise its not needed.

A good test too see if your house suffers voltage surges is the energy saving light bulb. The compact flourescent type.
These contain electronic components to help them ignite the gas in the lamp, and in an area where surges in power are a problem, these light bulbs blow quite frequently. Saying this, no other electronic components in the house suffer, but the computer is on a ups.