US power conditioners/plugs work in AUS?

[stefan534]

It has dawned on me  (odd that it took this long) that all my stock power cables in my new system (active speakers, digital front-end, power supplies) are native US-based. 

 

In upgrading to better quality power cables, I  am wondering if I can keep it US style - particularly as I am going to be spending time in the US. 

 

However, I want to get a reasonable (second hand) power conditioner for my system while  am here in Aus. Are there any US power conditioners that work here? 

 

 

 

 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Any power conditioner rated at 230 ~ 240VAC should work fine in the US. 

 

Fortunately, you don't need a power conditioner, if you have decent quality equipment.

[JSmith]

Have you noted a "dirty" power supply, transients, noise etc.? Fortunately in AUS the majority of supply is free of these problems negating the need for any power conditioning. Cheap power conditioners can cause further problems than they "fix", so decent quality is key here too.

 

Any US device that requires a lower voltage than AUS supply will need a step-down transformer... best to avoid this if possible IMO.

 

JSmith

[denimhunter]

Rather than power ‘conditioner’ which sometimes rob the music of dynamics. Try quality isolation transformer instead. The better your equipment the more you can appreciate the improvement from isolation.

 

also be careful woth polarity of US plug. It’s reversed of AU plugs. And Yes u can hear it!

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

1 hour ago, denimhunter said:

Rather than power ‘conditioner’ which sometimes rob the music of dynamics. Try quality isolation transformer instead. The better your equipment the more you can appreciate the improvement from isolation.

Nope. The better the equipment, the LESS likelihood that any difference will be noted. Cheap, crappy equipment may require a crutch to work correctly. 

 

1 hour ago, denimhunter said:

 

also be careful woth polarity of US plug. It’s reversed of AU plugs. And Yes u can hear it!

 

Not if the equipment is certified for sale in Australia. There is zero difference. 

[Krispy Audio]

You should qualify your comments with "imo" or "generally", imo. In my experience I've found many exceptions to the theoretical rule across many facets of audio including power. 

 

Regarding the US plugs issue, there is the plug itself, but also the voltage the conditioner is rated for you need to check. Ie a 110v US plug conditioner with surge protector may not operate properly, so ensure you have a 230v rated one. 

[Weka]

If it has a US plug and sockets it is irrelevant whether it is rated for 230 volts or what the plug polarity might be as it will not be certified for sale or use in Australia.

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by Weka

[stefan534]

I don't think the boutique, small sellers necessarily abide by that, Weka....

 

Thanks for the other perspectives guys. I came very close to purchasing a P10. But since it's a new system, freshly burning in, it seems ok to let it settle. 

 

[stefan534]

On 01/10/2017 at 1:24 AM, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Any power conditioner rated at 230 ~ 240VAC should work fine in the US. 

 

Fortunately, you don't need a power conditioner, if you have decent quality equipment.

My system is worth around 8 k (without cable upgrades). Does this automatically put me in the quality equipment arena?

[dbastin]

Maybe this will help ...

Some conditioners with US outlets are rated 240v, and certified for use, and sold, in Australia. Shunyata and PS Audio are two I am aware of. These may not be safe to use in the US.

There are no high quality/audiophile grade AU power outlets but many US outlets. The outlets can make a difference.

There are few high quality/audiophile grade AU power plugs but many US plugs. So generally there are far
more options for quality power cords with US plugs.

Some power cables perform so well you may prefer to not use a conditioner. I use Lessloss Reference power cable's and my system sounds better with them plugged into the wall rather than into a Shunyata Triton V2. The new Lessloss C-MARC power cables perform even better and cost less.

In my experience the Triton not only removed a lot of unwanted 'noise' but also some good qualities ... but in some cases that is still preferable.

Bear in mind I have a seperate 20A power circuit for my hifi ... the best place to start.

Sent from my SM-A520F using Tapatalk

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

9 hours ago, stefan534 said:

My system is worth around 8 k (without cable upgrades). Does this automatically put me in the quality equipment arena?

Nope. Dollars do not necessarily equate to quality. Dollars may, however, buy you a good story and lots of bling.

Edited October 3, 2017 by Zaphod Beeblebrox

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

6 hours ago, dbastin said:

Maybe this will help ...

Some conditioners with US outlets are rated 240v, and certified for use, and sold, in Australia. Shunyata and PS Audio are two I am aware of. These may not be safe to use in the US.

There are no high quality/audiophile grade AU power outlets but many US outlets. The outlets can make a difference.

Is that so? Can you point to any outlets that use silver plated contacts? Any other plating material is substandard. Do they make a difference? Provided the contacts are clean and secure, there will be no difference between outlets. Please note that many of the cheap, Chinese sockets available (notably in power boards) have very poor contacts. Products from companies like Clipsal, HPM and others are high quality and equal to anything available anywhere. 

 

6 hours ago, dbastin said:

There are few high quality/audiophile grade AU power plugs but many US plugs.

What is an "audiophile grade plug"? Do you mean silver plated ones? As for quality, products from HPM, Clipsal and others meet the highest standards and are VASTLY superior to any US plug. 

 

6 hours ago, dbastin said:

 

 

So generally there are far
more options for quality power cords with US plugs.

No. US plugs are not permitted for use in Australia. They're also much lower quality. 

 

6 hours ago, dbastin said:

 

Some power cables perform so well you may prefer to not use a conditioner. I use Lessloss Reference power cable's and my system sounds better with them plugged into the wall rather than into a Shunyata Triton V2. The new Lessloss C-MARC power cables perform even better and cost less.

In my experience the Triton not only removed a lot of unwanted 'noise' but also some good qualities ... but in some cases that is still preferable.

Bear in mind I have a seperate 20A power circuit for my hifi ... the best place to start.

 

 

And that is the only point I agree with. A dedicated circuit is cheap and effective. The rest is not.

[Krispy Audio]

There's way more to an outlet than just the plating material. 

 

 

[Weka]

17 hours ago, dbastin said:

Maybe this will help ...

Some conditioners with US outlets are rated 240v, and certified for use, and sold, in Australia. Shunyata and PS Audio are two I am aware of. These may not be safe to use in the US.
 

Bullshyte... they are uncertified, non-approved and illegal to sell or use in Australia or NZ as they do not comply with the applicable AS/NZS Standards.

 

 

 

 

[Weka]

9 hours ago, Krispy Audio said:

There's way more to an outlet than just the plating material. 

 

And what's the relevance of that clip if those sockets are illegal to sell or use in Australia?

 

 

[Krispy Audio]

It's directly relevant to the OP's question, as well as a response to the comment that anything other than a silver-plated contact will not improve performance. 

Edited October 4, 2017 by Krispy Audio
Additional thing

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

On 10/4/2017 at 9:13 AM, Krispy Audio said:

There's way more to an outlet than just the plating material. 

 

 

 

Points:

 

* Standard US power sockets and plugs are rubbish.

* Standard Australian (Clipsal, HPM, etc) sockets and plugs are built to MUCH higher standards. Material quality is far higher. Safety levels are MUCH, MUCH higher.

* US regulations are laughably low, given the fact that the US operates with 117VAC, which is far less dangerous than 230VAC (approximately 1/10th as lethal).

* Since Australia uses 230VAC, HALF the current is required to generate the same power as a US type socket. Which, incidentally, means that power leads can be much thinner to achieve the same effect. 

* Silver is STILL, by a VERY considerable margin, the best plating material to use on any plug or socket. Gold or rhodium is purely for bling. It serves no useful purpose for power devices. Silver is what you need for power. 

Edited October 5, 2017 by Zaphod Beeblebrox

[stefan534]

Based on your 'slightly'(!) different emphases I am going to start with good quality outlet and cables, without going too crazy. I have noticed that the Australian plugs are thicker and more robust looking ( I am guessing this is relevant to the higher voltages that they convey ) so I might get some affordable but robust power cords.

 

ED: ah, just got your last post ZB, which explains further

Edited October 5, 2017 by stefan534

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

Just now, stefan534 said:

Based on your 'slightly'(!) different emphases I am going to start with good quality outlet and cables, without going too crazy. I have noticed that the Australian plugs are thicker and more robust looking ( I am guessing this is relevant to the higher voltages that they convey ) so I might get some affordable but robust power cords.

It's mostly because, in Australia, ALL plugs and sockets must be able to carry 10 Amps continuously. In the US, when higher powers are required, they use multi-phase appliances. Multi-phase appliances are rare in Australia. Also, Australian electrical standards are SIGNIFICANTLY more stringent than US ones. I've examined some fancy (and very expensive) mains plugs (Australian approved). Their construction quality is as good as what you can find at your local electrical wholesale outlet (not Bunnings) for much less money. The downside? The Australian made product is not plated with (useless) gold or rhodium. 

[stefan534]

Ok, so short quality silver-plated power cable for my delicate SoTm digital front end (powered by a single audiophile power supply) and some quality wholesale outlet cables for my active speakers (LS 50 wireless). These need to be very long so I won't go crazy here.

 

I am blessed with two (x2) power outlets right next to each other. I"ll try the digital on its own and the two active speaker cables with much higher amperage through the other outlet to minimize theoretical interference. 

 

 

Edited October 5, 2017 by stefan534

[stefan534]

On 05/10/2017 at 12:39 PM, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

It's mostly because, in Australia, ALL plugs and sockets must be able to carry 10 Amps continuously. In the US, when higher powers are required, they use multi-phase appliances. Multi-phase appliances are rare in Australia. Also, Australian electrical standards are SIGNIFICANTLY more stringent than US ones. I've examined some fancy (and very expensive) mains plugs (Australian approved). Their construction quality is as good as what you can find at your local electrical wholesale outlet (not Bunnings) for much less money. The downside? The Australian made product is not plated with (useless) gold or rhodium. 

Would you have any specific - or for that matter - broad recommendations for power cable 3-4 metres long. They don't appear readily available, aside from non-name cables off the net for around $50 

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

10 hours ago, stefan534 said:

Would you have any specific - or for that matter - broad recommendations for power cable 3-4 metres long. They don't appear readily available, aside from non-name cables off the net for around $50 

Pop into your local electrical wholesale outlet. They stock quality cables that will do exactly what you need them to. Mains power cable, unlike speaker cable, has only one job to do: To transfer 230VAC @ 50Hz. Thus, any decent quality cable will do the job perfectly well. Your local electrical wholesaler will also stock good quality mains plugs too, at competitive prices. I note that RS Components carry my favourite Australian made mains plug - The Clipsal 56P310:

 

http://au.rs-online.com/web/p/products/4434306/?cm_mmc=AU-PPC-DS3A-_-google-_-3_AU_EN_M_IP_and_E_Phrase-_-clipsal_electrical%7Cindustrial_power_connectors-_-56p310&matchtype=p&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIprnYzv7c1gIV2BNoCh1ZmQ5MEAAYASAAEgJvvvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

Expensive, but easily the equal of those fancy and very exensive branded products from somewhere else. 

 

Edited October 6, 2017 by Zaphod Beeblebrox

[Misternavi]

a cheaper option is the Clipsal 1539HD. i've used it on heater plugs where other plugs got hot and melted. these just got warm and never lost it's shape.

the 56P310 take up too much space on the power boards.

[andyr]

8 hours ago, Zaphod Beeblebrox said:

Pop into your local electrical wholesale outlet. They stock quality cables that will do exactly what you need them to. Mains power cable, unlike speaker cable, has only one job to do: To transfer 230VAC @ 50Hz. Thus, any decent quality cable will do the job perfectly well. Your local electrical wholesaler will also stock good quality mains plugs too, at competitive prices.

 

But, Trevor - my understanding is that only a licensed electrician is allowed to - legally - put a mains plug on a power cable.

 

Andy

[Addicted to music]

4 hours ago, andyr said:

 

But, Trevor - my understanding is that only a licensed electrician is allowed to - legally - put a mains plug on a power cable.

 

Andy

http://www.esv.vic.gov.au/licensing-coes/electrical-licences/restricted-electrical-workers-licence/

 

Do I need a Restricted Electrical Worker’s licence?

Yes – If the equipment is fixed into position, directly connected to mains supply and requires isolation and disconnection to be repaired, replaced or maintained on site, you will require a Restricted Electrical Worker’s licence and are required to issue a Certificate of Electrical Safety (COES) upon completion of the service call.

No – If the equipment is easily transportable and plugged in by a 2 or 3 pin plug and only the power cord is removed from a standard power outlet (power point or general power/socket outlet) this equipment is considered plug in and does not require a restricted licence.

 

This is from the link provided.  

 

Ive been wiring 3pin plugs and 3phase and 30-30A during my entire work life.  We come under the condition “No”because the equipment I work on is portable and can be removed from a standard power point. However in most work environment such as offices, they would have test and tag done every 3-6 or 12mths.

 

However this only applies to Victoria, I also believe it’s different from State to state.