Cheap mains block.

hi,
i'm looking for a cheap mains block, no filtering, suppression, neons, switches, etc. (as my naim kit just doesn't like these things) just a decent mains block. only thing is it, has to be at least 10 way! best i've found so far is a 10 way from B.A.P. for 95ukp. but there must be cheaper ones out there. had a look at olsen (has neons), sounds fantastic (waaaay too expensive and only 8 way), audusa (again too expensive). so can anyone recomend a decently built 10 way block?
cheers


julian

 

There are plain olsons (not sound fantastic). You can take the neon out of circuit very easily.

 

isaac,
you are assuming i have a smattering of ability with electricity. i'm confident that i'd electrocute myself even if it wasn;t plugged in! any idea how much the plain olsens are? i've looked on their website but no price that i can see.
cheers


julian

 

why not wire 3 x 4way blocs to a 4in1 multiway plug. Maplin used to stock these - I think they stopped.

If you can't find one I have a unused spare, but it could take me months to find it [roll on a more sensible job - as I've said elsewhere..]

 

argos do these for 4 quid or so but i really just want to tidy all the wires behind my kit rack. it's getting daft at the moment. a single mains block would go a long way to helping this.
cheers

julian

 

Taking the neon out of the circuit is really easy , as there is no cutting/soldering required, just a philips screwdriver to undo/redo connections (all the connections inside are screw down terminals). I got a 'regular' s/h Olson 4 way block off ebay and 'de-neoned' it, Isaac talked me through it but I could have done it myself, just it would have taken slightly longer as I wouldn't know what to expect when I opened the thing up.

To be honest, I'm not sure it made any difference at all to the sound with my setup, but then again I have my hifi plugged into the same double plug on the wall as my PC setup, and my hifi kit has captive (read: crap) mains leads, so my mains is probably noisy as hell anyway and an unfiltered but good quality block can't be expected to help anything with the sound. But then again, it cost me £12 inc postage, which given the better build quality of the Olson is fine, considering how much a Belkin anti-surge mains block would be.....

 

DIY Mains Block

Julian

I just went to the local electrical factors and bought 6 x Crabtree Dual Mains Sockets with backboxes and their largest diameter flexible wire and two Crabtree Plus. I cut a piece of Oak to the right size (I am replacing on a continuous basis old floorboards) mounted the sockets on it in two rows of 6 (3 dual sockets), wired each row up to a single mains plug and plugged them into a loacl dual wall plug. One for Hi-Fi and One for AV.

Cost not a lot + a couple of hours time.

If you can wire a plug up, then you can wire a small distribution block up.

Mr Perceptive

 

Why not make one? Just get a bit of wood and screw 5 x 2 way unswitched wall sockets to it, wire it all up with 2.5mm twin and earth and the job's done. I've done this before in a studio environment - it works well, and should sound better than cheapo mains blocks as you are simply using what is already in the walls of your house.

Tony.

 

...looks like someone got there before me!

 

My way was easier...

Have a look on fleabay for "olson"

 

Julian, u r unlikely to get anything cheaper than this.

£29.99 from Maplins but no exactly audiophile

http://www.maplin.co.uk/media/largeimages/28214i0.jpg

 

I'm not going to say what that looks like.

 

Your mind works in mysterious ways Isaac.

But hey, it's a cheap 10 way adapter.

 

dev,
ta for that, it probably uses dodgy metal strips inside which are a bit kak really. i've e-mailed olsen about the cost for one of their 12 way blocks with 3m cord and no neon.
cheers


julian