UK 15 Amp round plugs - opinions

I am looking for quality 15 amp UK round plug suitable for hi fi equipment. Wonder any one can offer advice on brand and where to obtain them. Thks

It all depends.

If you are using huge pre/power or monoblock systems, these plugs do make a difference.

If u are using an entry level integrated amp, mebbe not so much difference (if audible at all in the overall system).

A good brand would be the UK made "MK" brand.

Try Farnell or RS Components or some specialty shops at Jln Pasar.

Also, i'd like to add, try to avoid plugs with nickel plated pins as nickel is bad for sound. You might want to find copper pins instead and polish them once they tarnish. But usually the brass pin variety are more common. If you're able to find the ones with copper pins, you might want to consider getting the pins gold or platinum plated at your local goldsmith to avoid oxidation.

As for me, i'm using the hospital grade 13amp MK plug with a silver plated live pin. Also, i've silcleared the pins.

Actually Nickel is fine for AC mains. its not carrying a 20Hz to 20KHz signal.


Generally speaking:
Alot of these power connection stuff are all over-rated by the hi-fi nuts. Of course, don't let anyone stop you if you really feel good about splurging RM15K for a "Shunyata Research AC cable". If you could do that, respect to you !

The only time all these obsession over AC power matters is if you have some huge ass monoblocks that keep tripping the house supply each time u turn on your system or when the spouse uses the hair dryer or someone turns on the electric water heater , then you might wanna consider getting your contractor or electrician to rewire some heavy duty mains wires (big gauge) from the distribution box to the wall socket, and then go ahead and install a 32Amp socket jack system as well.

Anything less, and its a neurosis about AC power joints, boutique fuses, RF ferrite clamps, or worse still... some people getting too smart and deciding to hardwire/jumper over where a normal fuse should be.

Yes, stick with the hospital grade MK plugs and it should be all good to go for anything less than say, a Krell MRA amp (for example).

Get good decent AC cables that won't break the bank (like some Supra LoRad or similar), good reliable AC receptables like MK plugs, all nicely terminated. OK, go ahead and solder the wires if u want to be doubly sure but don't defeat the fuse for whatever reason. The damn fuse is there for a purpose, and dont go around comparing with USA style plugs coz they get 110V, we get 240V. The electrical hazard risks are much higher locally in case anyone is wondering.

Hi Solid snake.....

"LoRad" power cables at 93bucks for a meter and the MK plugs going for RM40 to RM45 ? Is that the standard $$$ ? anywhere to get these items at a lower cost ?

Planning to change my standard power cables for my Amp which is more than 10 tears of age.

cheers

Electricity and how it affects sound is a strange thing indeed and really defies science and conventional wisdom. I placed little importance on the role of power cables in my setup for many years. Why do you need a 20 Amp power cable for your power amp when you fuse maxes out at 8 Amps?

Then recently a friend brought some power cables, receptacles and power distributors of various makes and models to my place for me to audition. What I heard shocked me into submission. I did not hear minor differences that made me question whether it was better or just different. What I heard was real tangible differences in detail, transparency, soundstage etc... I have no explanation as to how a 20AMP cable can benefit an amp that will never actually draw 5Amps in use but what I hear says it does. Then comes the plug that you terminate the cable with. Brass, copper, nickel plated copper, gold plated copper, silver plated copper, rhodium plated copper, cryogenically treated/untreated... They all make a difference. And receptacles, materials used, country type, they make a difference.

Just my 2 cents.

Hi Guys, Thanks for all the valuable reply.

The main reason i go for 15A round plug is because bigger pin in turn provide better contact and fussless. All my equipement do come with case fuse near the IEC socket. in my experience, double fuse (one at the 13 plug and one at equipment) will have detrimental efect on sound and it will limit the dynamic range. I recall some eu plug have the same voltage rating as ours but without fuse at the plug, so it make sense to remove a fuse without violating our current electrical code by using 15A round plug.

Good choice. The round pins of the 15A British plug does resemble the european Schuko plug which has a sound reputation for sound.

You might also want to remove the brass pins and get them electroplated in silver, gold or some other exotic precious metal of your choice.

Hi bimmerman, thanks for your input. Do you happen to know where i could get them electroplated? How would be the outlay?

I've been thinking about doing it but have not enqired. Drove down to Melaka the other day and as I entered Jonker street I came across a goldsmith that offered electroplating services with a large sign that said "ELECTROPLATING SERVICES HERE". Did not have time to enquire but it gave me the idea.

I think any regular ma and pa goldsmith shop nearest and most convenient to you should be able to do it. If cost is prohibitive then just get the live pin plated in silver. I don't think silver plating would cost too much.

check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180335320431&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

If these guys can do it in gold and still sell at a relatively low cost, it should be a good sign that electroplating would not be a very costly process.

my two sen...

i am using a furutech power distributor which has a power cord with us plug which i hv connected to the wall socket with a travel adapter (which has no fuse). From the power distributor to the power amp, i am using a power cord with us plug.
thus from wall to power amp, there is no fuse. so far there has been no problem.
i think the fuse in the uk plug is not necessary (correct me if i'm wrong, but i think it is to abide by some british safety standards) since the mains already has the circuit breaker.
however, if your house or neighbourhood has the tendency to be zapped by lightning or if the power supply in yr neighbourhood often suffers from surges and transients, then the fuse is needed.
the fuse tends to restrict current flow and may affect the dynamic performance of power-hungry power amps.

There's a reason why they put fuses on 240V british style plugs.

This is becoz at 240Volts, the potential for INSULATOR Breakdown is higher than 110V. So to isolate any faults thats are downstream from the wall socket, they designed a fuse into the 3-pin plugs.


Remember, a fuse only protects anything "downstream" of the fuse's location. Those equipment fuses at the incoming IEC socket only protect the equipment itself. The plug's fuse protects the whole cord length from wall to equipment.

Best-quality sound is not everything. Safety is of paramount importance.

hi there...

just did a stroll around pasar road last weekend and came across a shop that were selling power cables the size of a furutech cable and its going at 9 dollars a meter.

And also came across another shop selling power cables in similar dimension and configuration of a furutech power cable. Except that the outer skin is transparent. Selling at less then 10 bucks a meter.

Last few meters left.

Bought the earlier cables and swapped out my old power cables for my NAD3020 with MK Hospital Grade plug.

Any difference, not sure or maybe needs to be broken in. But at least got that stiff power cable swapped out.

Did an audition with various sizes of power cables, expecially the Audioquest NRG series and there was definetly a difference.And this was done with a NAD Pre Amp and CD player.

Do agree with Mugen that safety is the utmost importance. My view is that we do not have to spend an arm and a leg for an item. End of the day its personal preference and choice, not forgetting the audio equipment each individual has that requires this sort of cables.

Maybe unbranded cables may have a similar effect as the branded one as well. ( with similar dimension and configuration as branded)

Got some silver signal cables and DIY-ed some inteconnects.( courtesy of a lift service technician ) There is some difference but all new things needs a burn in period to get to the desired stage. ( sharp and clarity )


cheers

To date I am still wondering whether the initiator of this thread is looking for a round shape UK plug or UK plug with circular pins.

Well, the title of this thread does mention "15A plugs" right ?
And the plugs with round pins are the ones that are rated 15A right ?

My view, if we are able to share all that we know of the various types of plugs and their plus / minus points, the initiator and the rest would benefit.

Making the right choice is made even difficult with the various types of plugs, MK Hospital grade, IEC Audio Grade, Standard IEC.

It is a learning curve for all.

cheers

This is the story of how the three-pin plug found in every Malaysian home came into existence.

From wikipedia:
"British Standard BS 1363 specifies the most common type of domestic AC power plugs and sockets that are used in the United Kingdom, Cyprus, Ireland, Malta, Malaysia, Singapore, and many former British colonies. Of these, Ireland, Malaysia and Singapore have equivalent standards—IS 401 & 411, MS 589, and SS 145, respectively. The standard was introduced in 1946, shortly after the Second World War, as part of a new standard for electrical wiring in the United Kingdom.

This style of plug appeared in 1946, shortly after the Second World War. Britain had previously used a combination of 5 amp and 15 amp round pin sockets, where each had to be wired to the distribution board and each provided with its own fuse. As a result of high wartime demands, Britain suffered from a chronic shortage of copper. Further, as a result of enemy action a considerable amount of housing stock had been destroyed. Britain was in the position of having to rapidly rebuild housing for its population and electrically wire it using as little copper as possible.

The solution was the ring circuit system (often informally called "ring main");, where, instead of each socket being individually wired, a cable was brought from the fuse or circuit breaker in the distribution board and wired in sequence to a number of sockets before being taken back to the distribution board and wired to the same fuse or circuit breaker. This provided considerable savings in the copper required to wire the circuit.

Since the fuse or circuit breaker had to be rated for the maximum current the ring could carry (30 A or 32 A for breaker), it was required that the plugs used to connect to the ring each contained their own fuse rated for the appliance that it connected. At first there were several competing designs of plug, but the BS 1363 design displaced all of the others."

so that is the story of how we ended up with BS 1363 plugs and the 13 amp fuse.

btw many countries have 220V - 230V power supply without fuses in their plugs. Good examples are Australia and New Zealand. All of Europe has 220-240V power supply and their plugs do not have fuses except for UK, Ireland, Cyprus and Malta.
In this region, Indonesia, China, South Korea, Philippines and Thailand have 220V power supply and their plugs do not have fuses.
is safety in these places compromised? The folks in these areas use all their electrical appliances (and hi fi equipment) plugged into the wall sockets and the only fuses you can find are in the appliances (if any) and hi fi components...

perhaps some electrical engineer can clarify...tx

has anyone checked their home electrical DB lately ?

Spoiler:

Question, anyone here knows if (then) Malaya was affected by shortage of copper? Are our electrical wiring also wired via the Ring topology here?

Perhaps some local history professor & electrical contractor can clarify...tx

Hi sflam, good article. This is exactly the reason why i op for 15Amp round plug and socket for my hifi gear. Of course my hi fi main electrical circuit has been upgraded when i did my last renovation. I no longer depend on the original ring main that come with the house, instead i have rewire a dedicated phase to a dedicated consumer unit for hi fi only. I took one of the clean phase and terminated into a consumer unit consist of isolator/ELCB and 6 MCB, the distribution cable then terminated directly from individual MCB to each 15amp socket, thus each socket will have a dedicated MCB to protect the circuit. This is by far the best value for money upgrade that i have and yet i did not violate any electrical code. by having a dedicated phase, my hifi gear is not affected by aircond, heater, lighting, switching power supply etc and it sounded so much cleaner and lower noise without the use of power conditional and special power cable/plug combo.

mugenfoo wrote:
Question, anyone here knows if (then) Malaya was affected by shortage of copper? Are our electrical wiring also wired via the Ring topology here?

Ring circuit topolgy installation is not like found in every home everywhere. It varies from home to home and place to place. I know my old bungalow home didn't have any and they were all looped 2 sockets each circuit throughout. My current home have nearly all ring topology. I suppose its to do with trend and practice at some point of time. Very easy to see for ring circuit at DB, check the socket MCB or fuse holder for double 2.5mm square cable at the termination. If double, then its ring circuit. The distinct advantage for ring circuit is contractor can loop up to 10 individual sockets along the ring, thus saving on cable. IMHO, its not actually very good. Its anticipated that only a few sockets are used at any one time and anticipated for light duty.

Ah ... so some homes here are also wired via Ring topology then ? Hence better to maintain the fuse at the plug as per the BS #### spec, unless someone is willing to sacrifice everything else for ultimate sound quality.

to wingman's query about types of plugs, let me share my experience.

i have used a kimber powerkord with hubbell (hospital grade) US plug, i now own an oyaide tunami which uses oyaide plugs (US and IEC), i have bought MK (not hospital grade) and a shurter IEC for a DIY project and I have bought Furutech plugs (US and IEC) for another DIY project.

i can safely say that the hubbell is better than the supermarket type, but not as good as the oyaide and furutech.
the shurter iec is better than the supermarket type but not as good as the oyaide and furutech.
oyaide (be careful, there're lots of fake oyaide stuff around) is more expensive than furutech. so i would recommend furutech.

some people recommend schuko plugs, but i have not tried them.
bear in mind all these have no fuses, so it's a question of whether you want to sacrifice everything for sound quality....

in that case why not just solder the AC cord from equipment to main bypass all plug n socket ? just an Utopia

Wow ... what an obsession with boutique AC accessories... Respect!

I guess if someone owns a Porsche Cayenne Turbo, getting a set of RM30K 25" Gembala rims to accessorize is no big deal.

I've heard the Schuko plug being mentioned quite alot these days. Something about the cylindrical pins offering superior contact and conductivity compared to the flat pinned Nema. Now since the british 15 AMP plug is also cylindrical pinned and larger in diameter and without a fuse, should this be even better than the Schuko?

Thanks... SF for sharing your experience.

I am still exploring lots of stuff with my HiFI Gear and its made even better as my other half is into it as well. And lots of these are "DIY-ed".

I would stick with the MK Hospital Grade plugs for protection. And if I decide to change to "non-fused" plugs then the other end would be with a "IEC Fused" inlet. Protection is the ultimate for me.

Some basis care I take for the plugs is that I cover the contacts with plastic coverings when not in use. Polish, when the contacts are jaded.

Anyway, these accessories are absurdly expensive. Example the MK Hospital Grade plugs are at RM45 or even higher at most of the HiFi outlets. No, I never purchased mine from any of these outlets.

cheers

wingman wrote:

Anyway, these accessories are absurdly expensive. Example the MK Hospital Grade plugs are at RM45 or even higher at most of the HiFi outlets. No, I never purchased mine from any of these outlets.

cheers

In Singapore MK Hospital Grade plugs retailed at SGD10.00(~RM25) at Sim Lim Tower.

These MK Hospital Grade plugs.. what is 'hospital grade'?

jazzy939 wrote:These MK Hospital Grade plugs.. what is 'hospital grade'?

There were some discussion previously on this topic.

https://hifi4sale.forumotion.com/equipment-discussions-f6/hospital-grade-vs-normal-ac-plugs-t1490.htm

These plugs are actually designed with patients safety in mind.

TY (don't mind)...spot on.

Jazzy....add on to TY's response, the connector for the "Life" wire is different compared to "Earth" and "Neutral" , its silver. (as shown )




Basically its a robust plug, softer outer shell compared to the conventional plugs with harder outer shell.






cheers

Thanks for the info guys!

MK also has a black version which might be more pleasing to the eye and without the "Hospital Property" label.

Can check the RS component catalogue or the website for it.

Thank God, the plugs I have does not have the "Hospital Property" wording.

Seen the black, orange and red at the Hospitals, differentiating equipments.


cheers

solid_snake

to answer yr question that started this thread, i was in ikano the other day and in the diy hardware store (i think it's called ace) i saw some 15amp round-pin plugs made by wonpro, a taiwanese company that makes pretty good plugs.