Need help: US plug adaptor

Hi guys, i need a US plug (Nema) adapter for my power cord. Should i get a good one? or a normal one in Ace hardware (or jalan pasar electrical shop) will do? How much usually they cost?

Another thing is, is it safe if i remove the fuse inside the adaptor itself?

Thank you

i use a wonpro bought from ace hardware. works well. cost shld be less than RM20 - can't recall exact amount.

the adapter has no fuse. hope this helps.

If it matters to you, if you use an adapter for your US plug, you are reversing the polarity of yr cable.

VS126 wrote:If it matters to you, if you use an adapter for your US plug, you are reversing the polarity of yr cable.

Dear VS126,

Mind to elaborate more pelase, i have no idea using US plug will have this 'reversing polarity' problem.

Will it cause pop and then smoke come out from my amp/cd player?

How can i solve it?

Thanks for sharing.

this reversing polarity issue is controversial.

in the us plug live and neutral are the opposite of the uk plug.

however, electricians have told me that it does not matter cos it's ac. but audiophiles say it matters.

i hv been using my us plug (presumably) with polarity reversed all this while and hv been enjoying my music...

Dear Mr. Lam,

Really appreciate for the prompt replies, its very helpful. Im reading your Audio blog now. Its very imformative and educative. I realize you're using some high-end Oyaide and Furutech power cords

Im suppose those are US plugs too?

Wataru,

As I prequalified, 'if it matters to you'.

As sflam mentioned, the live and neutral is at opposite sides of the plug.
So I guess you can figure that out why using an adaptor will reverse the polarity.
It is not an alarming issue, most people cannot tell the difference except the Golden Ears and those with super systems.
But the real difference is that US plugs do not use fuses which degrade the delivery like our local British plugs.

Reversal of polarity is very important for safety. I'm no electrician but I think most equipment have their fuses on the 'live' side of the input. Touch the neutral wire & maybe u will live but if u touch the live wire...not fun.

Regards,
Joe Ling

US to UK plug connection has its live and neutral wire reversed. Both can run but definitely ' NOT ' ideal. No it will not pop or fry your equipment ( different from not running the ground wire though ( this will definitely damage your equipment if there is a short)

But sound will be different, try this yourself, on some cd players with 2 pin plugs try alternating the plug in the connector, there will be an obvious difference.

Thus if you wanna use and adapter its fine but you have to reverse live to neutral and vice versa. If its a sealed plug then its as good as chopping it off and fitting a UK plug on it.

wataru wrote:

VS126 wrote:If it matters to you, if you use an adapter for your US plug, you are reversing the polarity of yr cable.

Dear VS126,

Mind to elaborate more please, i have no idea using US plug will have this 'reversing polarity' problem.

Will it cause pop and then smoke come out from my amp/cd player?

How can i solve it?

Thanks for sharing.

joeling wrote:Reversal of polarity is very important for safety. I'm no electrician but I think most equipment have their fuses on the 'live' side of the input. Touch the neutral wire & maybe u will live but if u touch the live wire...not fun.

Regards,
Joe Ling

I believe the switch is also on the live side. In this case the equipment would also be live even if you switch it off.

When you switch it off, the circuit is broken. So it is not live.

If you want to use an adaptor, buy the HIFI adaptor which reverses the internal wires already. It is available in some local hifi shops. Then you keep the polarity constant.

Hmm, my understanding is 'live' is live. I.e. if u touch the brown wire from the wall, u will dance

Ok I'm not qualified to be 100% sure. Somebody with more electrical knowledge please chime in.

VS126 wrote:When you switch it off, the circuit is broken. So it is not live.

If you want to use an adaptor, buy the HIFI adaptor which reverses the internal wires already. It is available in some local hifi shops. Then you keep the polarity constant.

VS126 wrote:
If it matters to you, if you use an adapter for your US plug, you are reversing the polarity of yr cable.

dixchen wrote
But sound will be different, try this yourself, on some cd players with 2 pin plugs try alternating the plug in the connector, there will be an obvious difference.

sflam wrote:
this reversing polarity issue is controversial.

in the us plug live and neutral are the opposite of the uk plug.

however, electricians have told me that it does not matter cos it's ac. but audiophiles say it matters.

i hv been using my us plug (presumably) with polarity reversed all this while and hv been enjoying my music...

after some experimenting, i am now of the opinion that polarity matters.

u need to get the polarity right to get the right sound. if u use a US plug with a normal adapter, u can just switch the live and neutral wires.

if u use a special adapter that corrects polarity, then u don't hv to worry.

if u use us sockets, just make sure the live and neutral are connected to the right connections.

after much googling, i hv found out tht safety is also an issue cos if the polarity is reversed the circuit inside the component is still live even though the switch is turned off. and u can get an electric shock if u decide to mess around with the circuit with the power cord still attached to the wall socket (with the component switch turned off but the wall socket switch still on).

with the right polarity, u will notice that the soundstage is larger, the sound becomes more spacious and clearer and images are more 'solid'.

Polarity does matter. I experienced it before in in my 2 pins power cord from the Marantz CD63ki. Though I cant remember how you can check which polarity is correct; you can search around the net; there is a method.

For me, I use my ear.

And reversed Live and Neutral feed can be a very dangerous thing. Wont be dangerous enough for 2 pins or US plug equipment itself; but if you ever open up the equipment for repair while the main plug(which is reversed) still attach to the wall eventhough it is off; prepare a spark and fatal electric shock!

Yes, polarity does indeed matter. If your Live and Neutral is reversed you'll most certainly hear it. It does something weird to your soundstaging.

IMO, it falls under the area of psychology or something in those area. I.e. if we are to be subjected to a blind test, of trying to discern if there is any difference between 'right' or 'wrong' polarity, I am pretty sure almost everyone will fail (to hear any consistent differences). But this is simply because our hearing is a very complex interface between our ears and our brain, which does a lot of processing and filtering. So there is belief in the audiophile circle that while the ear is sensitive enough to detect the difference, the brain's processing deems it not of importance and so is filtered from the conscious mind. However, it is detected at the sub-conscious level and so often, people develop a sense of un-ease with the wrong polarity but when cornered, is unable to back up that feeling with solid results from live test.

This is one of the issues related to man and our lack of understanding of the human body. It is the same 'problem' that plagues us with e.g. the redbook CD format because 44.2kHz in theory reproduces up to 22.1kHz tone and is beyond the limit of human listening, pretty much ALL of us here, because in all live tests, human adults MALE, and over 25 years of age will only be able to hear clearly up to 14 or 15kHz, and the sensitivity to frequencies above 10kHz deteriorates with advancing age. And yet, many of us feel uneasy and that something is lacking from the standard 16/44.2. And we almost always can consistently hear improvement with higher resolution sound.

Probably WongKN never own any 2 pin products before~..

WongKN wrote:IMO, it falls under the area of psychology or something in those area. I.e. if we are to be subjected to a blind test, of trying to discern if there is any difference between 'right' or 'wrong' polarity, I am pretty sure almost everyone will fail (to hear any consistent differences). But this is simply because our hearing is a very complex interface between our ears and our brain, which does a lot of processing and filtering. So there is belief in the audiophile circle that while the ear is sensitive enough to detect the difference, the brain's processing deems it not of importance and so is filtered from the conscious mind. However, it is detected at the sub-conscious level and so often, people develop a sense of un-ease with the wrong polarity but when cornered, is unable to back up that feeling with solid results from live test.

For most AC powered equipment, polarity does matter because there will always be one way in which the transformer operates more efficiently. The "wrong" polarity will result in more earth leakage at the shield claddings.

WongKN wrote:
This is one of the issues related to man and our lack of understanding of the human body. It is the same 'problem' that plagues us with e.g. the redbook CD format because 44.2kHz in theory reproduces up to 22.1kHz tone and is beyond the limit of human listening, pretty much ALL of us here, because in all live tests, human adults MALE, and over 25 years of age will only be able to hear clearly up to 14 or 15kHz, and the sensitivity to frequencies above 10kHz deteriorates with advancing age. And yet, many of us feel uneasy and that something is lacking from the standard 16/44.2. And we almost always can consistently hear improvement with higher resolution sound.

Its not so much the limit of audibility @ 20+KHz, but more to do with the signal reconstruction at the higher order freqs that are still audible within human hearing that is the main cause of redbook's failings.
Thats why digital sound has that sort of "glare" or "hardness" that leads easily to hearing fatigue. For example, the 8KHz, 10 KHz when reconstructed via the CD format, is actually quite distorted compared to the original signal. But no mfg will dare publish such figures , so they always just show "0.003% THD @ 1KHz" .
Ever wondered why no mfg ever printed something like "0.02% THD@ 15KHz " for example?

I believe not all equipments are built to tolerate wrong polarity. Like those original 3 pin plug equipment developed in UK. If it is wrongly polarized from the main power in; it will blow a fuse or complete distruction on the power supply unit inside the equipment.

Anyone can verify this?..

Actually I can hear a lot of differences and between a lot of things, more than people might think or even are aware of. But in many cases, I have felt it can be a disadvantage rather than a blessing, because I don't have the financial capability to satisfy that listening aquity.

But the original intention is I thought you guys might appreciate knowing that if you are challenged to prove you can hear a difference in a blind test, the chances are very high you won't be able to prove you can. For e.g., there is one guy on the net, a professional sound engineer, who subjected himself to listening tests and freely admits that he cannot differentiate sound levels smaller than 2/3 dB or frequency change smaller than 3 Hz under ideal conditions. Given that, the redbook CD format is in theory more than enough to meet his listening ability. But as a vinyl nut like me, he (like I) can hear lots of differences between CD and vinyl and like me, he has never heard a digital reproduction that has been able to equal the best vinyl reproduction (high-end TT system playing high grade LPs like direct to disc recordings).

Paper definitions is one thing, proving on blind test is another. The original 16bit 'word size' of the CD redbook format, if I remember it correctly back in the days when it was first introduced (and I was already into hifi at that time), claims that it can deliver a THD way beyond what human beings when subjected to a blind test, is able to hear.

This is an unending debate so my strong advice to everyone is to be aware of what will happen if you are challenged to a blind test. Whether you actually hear the difference and whether it is in your mind or not, that I will leave to you because not everyone can hear the differences. If I am nasty, I might even say not everyone is 'good enough' to hear the differences but that is hitting below the belt la !

In most cases, if there is a fuse and an on-off switch, it will be connected to the live wire. Also the circuitry topology may not be symmetric and it may be designed to expect the live to be one wire so we switch the polarity, it will not work at its optimum. This is all good in theory and many people believes we can hear the difference. Again, the issue is when we are challenged by the sound engineers, whether or not we can actually hear the difference....

Also, do be aware that in so-called 'balanced transformers', like the PowerTran, BOTH supposedly live and neutral wires WILL carry a 'current'.

adrian4454 wrote:I believe not all equipments are built to tolerate wrong polarity. Like those original 3 pin plug equipment developed in UK. If it is wrongly polarized from the main power in; it will blow a fuse or complete distruction on the power supply unit inside the equipment.

Anyone can verify this?..

Power supply units, not so much if it was built to accept an AC power source, as AC is by nature alternating back and forth. And at least for single-phase circuits, should be quite standard.

Equipments supplied with a 2 prong plug and with no earth connections, definitely would be polarity tolerant. But there would still be a more advantageous polarity compared to the other.

For 3 prong plugs, usually the problem is not so much mixing up the live vs. neutral, but usually if the earth gets mixed up with live or neutral. This is when shit hits the fan.



But there are safety hazards to connecting via a wrong polarity. Because the fuse is suppose to always be on the "live" side. so if anything goes wrong, the fuse blows and isolated the AC power source. If the polarity is flipped and the fuse ends up on the "neutral" side , then even when there is an overload and the fuse blows, but the remaining link of the live connections would still present an electrical hazard.

WongKN wrote:Also, do be aware that in so-called 'balanced transformers', like the PowerTran, BOTH supposedly live and neutral wires WILL carry a 'current'.

even the neutral line in a normal home situation will also carry current.

Whats more important is what is the VOLTAGE potential of the supposedly floated Live and Neutral in a Balanced configuration.

In this case, instead of the Live being swinging +/- 240Vrms when reference to ground, it can be that both the live and neutral will swing +/- 120Vrms when measured to the ground. So the "neutral" line has a higher potential to ground as well. This is easily measured with a voltmeter by probing one end to true ground, and the other probe at live and neutral of the Powertran's output section to see whats the line's voltage potential to ground.

WongKN wrote:This is one of the issues related to man and our lack of understanding of the human body. It is the same 'problem' that plagues us with e.g. the redbook CD format because 44.2kHz in theory reproduces up to 22.1kHz tone and is beyond the limit of human listening, pretty much ALL of us here, because in all live tests, human adults MALE, and over 25 years of age will only be able to hear clearly up to 14 or 15kHz, and the sensitivity to frequencies above 10kHz deteriorates with advancing age. And yet, many of us feel uneasy and that something is lacking from the standard 16/44.2. And we almost always can consistently hear improvement with higher resolution sound.

Not true ! It is not just about the high frequencies and dynamic range. The best way to convince yourself is to downloaded a file of the same music of both 16/44.1 and 24/96 and listen to it on your PC with a pair of headphones.

The music file need to be recorded in 24/96 natively and NOT upsampled.

Your PC need to have hires DAC, capable of 24/96 and 24/192 (most newer PCs, even the low-end, have this now built in the motherboard). It need not be a high-end DAC. Any decent headphones will do...again no high-end models needed.

The difference is not so subtle at all. Once you've heard it, you'll realise how lacking redbook is.

Wong,

Listen to a well setup 24/96 or 24/192 native and you will be singing to a different tune.

Not those upsampled from 16/44.1 or played thru home theater or wimpy systems.

Of course you will need to use proper USB or firewire cable and asychronous DAC which can handle the HIREZ file..

carz wrote:

WongKN wrote:This is one of the issues related to man and our lack of understanding of the human body. It is the same 'problem' that plagues us with e.g. the redbook CD format because 44.2kHz in theory reproduces up to 22.1kHz tone and is beyond the limit of human listening, pretty much ALL of us here, because in all live tests, human adults MALE, and over 25 years of age will only be able to hear clearly up to 14 or 15kHz, and the sensitivity to frequencies above 10kHz deteriorates with advancing age. And yet, many of us feel uneasy and that something is lacking from the standard 16/44.2. And we almost always can consistently hear improvement with higher resolution sound.

Not true ! It is not just about the high frequencies and dynamic range. The best way to convince yourself is to downloaded a file of the same music of both 16/44.1 and 24/96 and listen to it on your PC with a pair of headphones.

VS126 wrote:Wong,
Listen to a well setup 24/96 or 24/192 native and you will be singing to a different tune.

Not those upsampled from 16/44.1 or played thru home theater or wimpy systems.

Of course you will need to use proper USB or firewire cable and asychronous DAC which can handle the HIREZ file..

Hahahahaha .... people now are very brave to "Tembak" WOngKN more and more now !

VS126 wrote:Wong,

Listen to a well setup 24/96 or 24/192 native and you will be singing to a different tune.

Not those upsampled from 16/44.1 or played thru home theater or wimpy systems.

Of course you will need to use proper USB or firewire cable and asychronous DAC which can handle the HIREZ file..

I have been waiting for quite a number of years now. So far I am not convinced. But those I hear at KLAVS I discount as perhaps not set-up to the best. The most intriguing so far is Jo Ki's vouching for the Brystons. I would like to hear a proper one in a high-end system and compared to a similar level turntable, in order to discount all variables.

Let me put the question in another context. Have you listened to a very good turntable playing a very good LP before ? Say Clearaudio Statement using Goldfinger and playing a direct to disc or half-speed mastered LP ?

carz wrote:

WongKN wrote:This is one of the issues related to man and our lack of understanding of the human body. It is the same 'problem' that plagues us with e.g. the redbook CD format because 44.2kHz in theory reproduces up to 22.1kHz tone and is beyond the limit of human listening, pretty much ALL of us here, because in all live tests, human adults MALE, and over 25 years of age will only be able to hear clearly up to 14 or 15kHz, and the sensitivity to frequencies above 10kHz deteriorates with advancing age. And yet, many of us feel uneasy and that something is lacking from the standard 16/44.2. And we almost always can consistently hear improvement with higher resolution sound.

Not true ! It is not just about the high frequencies and dynamic range. The best way to convince yourself is to downloaded a file of the same music of both 16/44.1 and 24/96 and listen to it on your PC with a pair of headphones.

The music file need to be recorded in 24/96 natively and NOT upsampled.

Your PC need to have hires DAC, capable of 24/96 and 24/192 (most newer PCs, even the low-end, have this now built in the motherboard). It need not be a high-end DAC. Any decent headphones will do...again no high-end models needed.

The difference is not so subtle at all. Once you've heard it, you'll realise how lacking redbook is.

Once again, AS I WAS TRYING TO EXPLAIN, the original redbook CD format is based on quite solid principles. From what I remember reading, the selection of 16bits is based on achieving a level of THD that is supposedly beyond the ability of the human ear to discern. And the selection of 44.2kHz sampling rate is supposedly able to reproduce up to 22.1kHz at a quality the human ear cannot differentiate, even ignoring the question of how many of us can actually hear up until so far.

As I indicated, I am probably one of the most UNconvinced person with regards to current digital technology in whatever commercial format that is available (which I understand is up to only 24/96, anything above is not commonly available commercially) and I maintain LP still sounds better. I was the original person to point out the supposedly new theories concerning the inherent limitations of the redbook CD format. And I am one whose music preference is quite wide but quite mainstream. I certainly was one of the loudest protestors of 'audiophile recordings'.

So again, what I am trying to explain is how when subjected to blind test, there is a likelihood that many of us will fail to consistently and convincingly prove that we can hear a difference, given the typical tightly controlled conditions of such tests. Saying you can hear a difference is one thing. Proving so when put to the test is another thing. We are convinced we can hear, but again as I have pointed out before, the actual experience of hearing includes all our other senses as well. So in isolation, when our ears alone are subjected to the test, how many will be able to deliver ? I believe one forumer has raised this issue before and a blind test was once proposed but nothing came out of it.

Once again, these are all for everyone's considerations. To expand one's horizon in a way. To accept and listen or not, is up to the individual la.

http://hi-fi-avenue.blogspot.com/2010/11/polarity-matters.html

Yes, that is one guy's opinion. All of you guys have your own opinions as well. Including a professional audio reviewer who says he can't hear a difference. The only technical arguement for correct polarity is the issue of safety, i.e. the same as what I pointed out, where the fuse and switch is put. Anything further, the writer says 'seems' to be different. He can hear the improvements in stoundstage and other things. Actually I can hear even more differences than what he heard on different systems of course. But I am well aware to be wary if they are all pyschological (i.e. in my head only). So you guys get my point ?

It could be the equipment that's very well built in the PSU side. So this may also make the impact of sound from different polarity becomes minimum~

I tend to also think one factor could be circuit topology. Some circuit might be symmetrical enough that the 'direction' of current travel does not matter. Some might.

i hv also noticed that there is static build up on the components when the polarity is reversed. for e.g. i get zapped when i touch the volume control.

can anyone explain that?

Yes, I have always wondered about that. But with many of those japanese branded DVD players with two pole/prong power cords, the chassis of the player itself often is charged and I often had to earth them using a separate wire tapped to the ground pin. At one time I had thought it was because of polarity but I tried reversing the plug but the chassis remains charged. In your case, you only get zapped in a certain plug orientation ?

I admit I wasn't terribly behaved in basic electronics back in university plus I took only just 1 course as elective. But I think I remember some electronic devices are directional. Diodes are directional of course but I am not sure if they are commonly used in hifi components or not. Anyone knows about the other commonly used components ? I believe resistors are bi-directional. As are capacitors and inductors.

when polarity is reversed, i get zapped when i touch volume control or control buttons or chassis.

with correct polarity, i don't get zapped.

i don't know why.

I believe it has to do with the circuit topology inside your equipment. Maybe the way it is grounded, either for negative or for earthing.

sflam wrote:when polarity is reversed, i get zapped when i touch volume control or control buttons or chassis.

with correct polarity, i don't get zapped.

i don't know why.

WongKN wrote:I believe it has to do with the circuit topology inside your equipment. Maybe the way it is grounded, either for negative or for earthing.

WongKN, a good and sincere guess, but here's the real reason behind it:


All transformers (in the equipment) have an optimal polarity of operation.

With the correct polarity, the earth leakage is much less compared to the wrong polarity.

This is because the coils in a transformer are never really perfectly symmetrically wound.

The polarity where u get zapped less, or don't feel zapped, is the correct one.
And the transformer would operate at higher efficiency as well. Less eddy-current losses.

For the anal-retentive audiophile who can't feel the "zap" factor in testing out either polarity, then the use of a simple multimeter (set to measure AC volts) can also determine which polarity is better. The one where the "chassis to earth" reading has a lower voltage would be the correct polarity. Of course, got to temporarily disconnect the chassis' ground wire to take this measurement. Otherwise the multimeter wouldn't read anything. If unsure, don't try this at home and just stick to what the mfg has already pre-wired from factory if its already with a 3-pin connection.

Resistors are non-directional, at least 99% of them in the real world that i can think of.

Same for inductors. It's just a coil of wires from one end to another.

Capacitors are where it gets interesting. The answer is "it depends".
Film and paper capacitors are non-directional.
But eletrolytic caps (those which have a chemical paste in them and like like mini coke cans) are DIRECTIONAL. And these are usually used in power circuits like to smooth out the ripples of a diode-bridge rectifier or similar. U see alot of these in pre-amps, power amps, as part of the power stage/supply circuitry.

But for the signal stages, coupling caps in the signal path are non-directional.

All caps used in speaker crossover units need to be non-directional, as they are dealing with AC signals throughout. AC signals make a loudspeaker emit sound. DC signals don't translate to anything (except perhaps burnt driver coils and therefore subsequently burn a hole in your wallet also).

another reason to get polarity right - i found this in the edifier website. reversed polarity can cause humming and buzzing.

http://www.edifier.ca/english/sup_faq.htm

Hum or Buzz

Electric Polarity: In many countries, the US being one, the electrical power grid is polarized. In these countries, the power plugs are designed so they can only be inserted into the wall socket in a single direction. For example, in the US one of the plug blades is larger than the other.

To avoid humming and buzzing, both your computer and speaker system must be properly plugged into polarized outlets. If your wall outlets do not have polarized plugs, as in the case of many older homes, and you are using adapters to plug these power cords into the wall, it is possible that the polarity of either your computer or your speaker system is reversed. In many other countries, such as most of the European Continent, wall sockets are not polarized at all - making it even more difficult to properly match the computer and speaker system.

To solve the problem you will need to remove the power plug from the wall outlet, rotate the plug 180 degrees, and re-insert it into the wall. Try this for your speaker system power cord, your computer power cord, or both. You should be able to find a combination that will eliminate the humming and buzzing.

Sorry Mugen,

Even non-polar caps r directional, this is because of the inner foil and outer foil of the cap to signal output or to ground do make a big different in an audio circuit. Ie: for output coupling cap I normally put the outer foil of the cap on the receiving end. As for decoupling cap, the outer foil should be to the ground. Its quieter bydoing this.

noodle88 wrote:Sorry Mugen,

Even non-polar caps r directional, this is because of the inner foil and outer foil of the cap to signal output or to ground do make a big different in an audio circuit. Ie: for output coupling cap I normally put the outer foil of the cap on the receiving end. As for decoupling cap, the outer foil should be to the ground. Its quieter bydoing this.

ok, how do u identify which leg is to the "outer" foil and which leg is to the "inner" foil ? It seems pretty palindromic either way...

Mugen,

U need to have the equipment to measure it. U can use scope or ac volt meter to measure the noise level. Do take your cap to my place n I can measure for u...

noodle88,
Can you describe the process using a scope? tq.

wah .. i didnt know AV voltmeter can measure noise level one ....

noodle, u must bring and show me soon ! serious one ya!

and please please please, i want to tag along too, you guys can do the measurebating. I'm only interested to listen to them Westminsters. Ohhhhhh yeah!!!

I am in the process of renovating my apartment.

Is it legal to install those US type wall plug in our house hold? I notice the specification of a typical US wall plug is 20A 125V and our home voltage is 240V. Does it matter?

WongKN wrote:

I have been waiting for quite a number of years now. So far I am not convinced. But those I hear at KLAVS I discount as perhaps not set-up to the best. The most intriguing so far is Jo Ki's vouching for the Brystons. I would like to hear a proper one in a high-end system and compared to a similar level turntable, in order to discount all variables.

Hi Wong KN, I do not want to misled you or anyone here. Prior, I was in your camp! And I paint the wall blue said I was in "heaven". I wish I could convince myself again when I sit in that room now and yet not any poorer!

Back to the original post, I would suggest you should change the connector to US plug. Polarity reverse or not, omitting an adaptor is anytime sounding better eventhough I do believe in Wongpro products. Having said that, polarity is important.

Jo Ki

Yes, I don't think 192kHz can be better than Clearaudio Statement, Goldfinger & Goldmund phono or our friend's, spinning direct cut or 45rpm virgin vinyl, when it is set up well (I guess this is what Wong KN was trying to say here).

Quite a price margin between them though.

One point to note: there are alot of new material on vinyl now that are actually mastered (or remastered digitally at 24/96 or 24/192 resolution studio equipment). Then only converted to some analog mastertape for for vinyl cutting.

Direct ADC to Harddisk studio recorders are super commonplace these days.

So if a Clearaudio statement is playing a modern 180gm vinyl that was originally digitally mastered ... how then ? Interesting question to ponder on...

ecoli123 wrote:I am in the process of renovating my apartment.

Is it legal to install those US type wall plug in our house hold? I notice the specification of a typical US wall plug is 20A 125V and our home voltage is 240V. Does it matter?

Personally, i do NOT recommend fitting US style plugs in a UK style grid system.

US runs 110V, this means the plastics and insulation material used do NOT need to be rated to a higher voltage. (higher voltage required higher rated insulation materials) But since now you're pumping 240V over some plug/socket thats only rated for 110V, you take your own risks.

Also, because our British style electrical grid runs at a higher voltage, hence the British-style plugs are fused for additional protection "in case sh!t happens". You get no such protection from using US style plugs. OK , so the sound might suffer abit due to the fuse in the AC line. But heck, are you willing to put your entire home & family's safety in jeopardy just to get that "extra bit of sound quality" ?

Only you can answer that. You weigh the pros and cons, then u make your choices. But whatever the choice u make, you will have no control over the consequences. Good luck.

Oh and BTW, yes its actually illegal to use US style plugs/wallsockets (or any other AC receptable thats not SIRIM approved) in MY homes. So god forbid, should your house burn down due to an electrical fault, and the Jabatan Bomba fireman discovers some US style plugs installed in your home.... the Insurance company wont pay you as much as 2 rusty nails for compensation.