IEC inlet surgery - is it worth the hassle?

Argonaut

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If it involves any cut or permanent change to the casework IMHO it is a serious issue. BTW, are you addressing the Furutech FI 06 NCF?

Particularly where ones equipment retains the manufacturers warrenty, invariably such a modification rendering said warrenty null and void.
 

microstrip

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I should put my hand up to being the devil on Marc's shoulder willing him to do this based on my own experiences. Some people may be sceptical about the gains however they go well beyond upgrading a wall socket / outlet to NCF from an existing audiophile model since 99% of equipment uses cheap generic iec sockets.

The NCF FI06 inlets are pretty cheap and have screw terminations, with the only wrinkle being that the chassis aperture needs to be opened up by @2mm on each side to accomodate. The chassis screw spacings are otherwise unchanged.

I repeat my question - if the NCF inlet stays in the outside secured with long screws and cylindrical spacers for experimenting it affects its performance?
 

Sablon Audio

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Particularly where ones equipment retains the manufacturers warrenty, invariably such a modification rendering said warrenty null and void.

If done properly, the work will be visually almost indistinguishable besides the ncf logo.
 

Argonaut

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If done properly, the work will be visually almost indistinguishable besides the ncf logo.

I suspect that would still cut no ice with the majority of manufacturer Mark, I have had that conversation with both ARC and Martin Logan.
 

DaveC

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If done properly, the work will be visually almost indistinguishable besides the ncf logo.

Not only that, but in the USA it is not legal to nullify a warranty unless the modifications done are responsible for the failure. Since there's no possible way an IEC inlet can cause a failure unless something crazy is done there is no issue with installing an upgraded IEC inlet affecting the warranty.
 

Sablon Audio

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Not only that, but in the USA it is not legal to nullify a warranty unless the modifications done are responsible for the failure. Since there's no possible way an IEC inlet can cause a failure unless something crazy is done there is no issue with installing an upgraded IEC inlet affecting the warranty.

I suspect that could be the same legislation which relates to modifying cars where the manufacturer would need to prove the mod has caused the warranty claim
 

Sablon Audio

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I suspect that would still cut no ice with the majority of manufacturer Mark, I have had that conversation with both ARC and Martin Logan.

Roger, I guess it depends whether they want to be dicks about it. If the work (and it is a rather simple task, not much more complicated than changing a fuse or tube) is done by the supplying dealer like Marc is doing, then there shouldn't be any cause for complaint.
 

Sablon Audio

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I repeat my question - if the NCF inlet stays in the outside secured with long screws and cylindrical spacers for experimenting it affects its performance?

i would imagine that it might impair performance slightly as the inlet would be more prone to vibration though you should still hear a decent improvement. Feel free to experiment and share your experiences as others have done ;-)
 

Argonaut

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Roger, I guess it depends whether they want to be dicks about it. If the work (and it is a rather simple task, not much more complicated than changing a fuse or tube) is done by the supplying dealer like Marc is doing, then there shouldn't be any cause for complaint.

Mark, in that particular instance Manufacurers rubber stamp and authorised engineer no worries, a swift email to ones manufacturer / Dealer in order to check ones ground would seem prudent, at least to me.
 

Sablon Audio

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Mark, in that particular instance Manufacurers rubber stamp and authorised engineer no worries, a swift email to ones manufacturer / Dealer in order to check ones ground would seem prudent, at least to me.

Agreed, CYA!
 

DaveC

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I suspect that could be the same legislation which relates to modifying cars where the manufacturer would need to prove the mod has caused the warranty claim

Yes, mfg'ers can't just deny warranty for any reason, it removes consumer's right to do what they want with what they own.
 

Uk Paul

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Argonaut

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Yes, mfg'ers can't just deny warranty for any reason, it removes consumer's right to do what they want with what they own.


Sorry! What on earth are you talking about Dave, manufacturers around the globe, and most certainly in the EU, will offer their warrenty upon an item of equipment that they have manufactured to their specification and componant construction alone.

A number of manufacturers would regard warrenty as void were one to merely open the box! let alone start replacing components that they have no duty of care and compliance upon.
 

spiritofmusic

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I'm out of warranty, so not relevant in my case, although obviously a consideration otherwise.
This thread is really whether there's a variety of guys on this forum who've gone ahead and done this proceedure and have had an "OMG!" moment.
It's a no brainer that if you're concerned about warranty or risk to resale, you might not risk it.
I'm just experienced in the impvts in sound and how they manifest themselves.
 

microstrip

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Sorry! What on earth are you talking about Dave, manufacturers around the globe, and most certainly in the EU, will offer their warrenty upon an item of equipment that they have manufactured to their specification and componant construction alone. (...) .

Yes, in EU distributors have the task of supporting warranty work and do not authorize people to modify their equipment. Any technical modification or repair carried outside the official distributor circuit or without his permission invalidates the warranty - it is usually clearly written in the papers. Even replacing speakers connectors invalidates warranties.

It is also a question of confidence. I have got a lot of expensive used equipment - a pair of mono amplifiers is arriving - but I would never buy equipment that has been modified. If the owner changed the power connector who knows what else did he modify? :)

Surely if I was posting in the great and enthusiastic diyaudio forum www.diyaudio.com I would say differently ... There I would warn people to be careful with the metal particles produced when enlarging the hole, they can be quite dangerous if they fall in the circuits.
 

Uk Paul

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Sorry! What on earth are you talking about Dave, manufacturers around the globe, and most certainly in the EU, will offer their warrenty upon an item of equipment that they have manufactured to their specification and componant construction alone.

A number of manufacturers would regard warrenty as void were one to merely open the box! let alone start replacing components that they have no duty of care and compliance upon.

Absolutely; replacing any part will void your warranty, and most manufacturers would rightly suggest you do not modify. FWIW Marc, I do not think it is worthwhile.
 

spiritofmusic

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Micro, yes that is a concern, and I've had my fair share of bad luck over the years disabling components accidentally.
No matter how good these Furutech NCF IECs are, I'd rather find one that doesn't require buggering about w the chassis metalwork.
Also, I'm unable to address the Zu sub amps IECs since they are soldered direct to the Lundahl transformers, and part of me thinks if I can't do the whole lot I might not bother at all.
Re warranty concerns, this is less of an issue for me w my gear all being well past expiry of warranty.
 

DaveC

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Sorry! What on earth are you talking about Dave, manufacturers around the globe, and most certainly in the EU, will offer their warrenty upon an item of equipment that they have manufactured to their specification and componant construction alone.

A number of manufacturers would regard warrenty as void were one to merely open the box! let alone start replacing components that they have no duty of care and compliance upon.

In the US there are laws that do not allow a mfg'er to void a warranty without reasonable evidence the repair or modification caused the warranty issue. It doesn't matter what the mfg'er states or how many seals are applied, laws are laws... I didn't write them!

I have no idea what laws are like in other countries.
 

Folsom

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Are you saying that the NCF makes changes deep inside the equipment?

My apologies if I over estimated your electronics knowledge; I thought it was fairly in depth.

If they NCF is mounted to the enclosure it can reduce the parasitics between the incoming AC and the enclosure. Basically it can surpress the transfer of RF from the enclosure to power, as the gap between the two in a schematic appears more like a tiny capacitor.

Also the IEC plugs and jacks have funny shapes on top of being the 120v, which exerts a larger field that other stuff can pick up on. Once the wires come off the back of the IEC they can be tightly twisted to surprise those fields.

You cannot get those benefits a few feet away. If the NCF parts are no where near the enclosure then they can only merely burn off a little RF from skin effect.
 
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