Bocchino US Mains Socket

[Jambo]

As I mentioned somewhere else, I was planning to see Carmine Bocchino - well since I’m on two weeks break, I thought this would be good to see him on Macleay Island which is about an hour’s drive from Brisbane/Australia. It was a lovely sunny day and with a nice cool breeze and a nice car then ferry ride. Anyway, Carmine picked me up from the Ferry terminal on Macleay.

I had a listen to his home-made speakers (very nice) then of course saw all his connectors/Main plugs/Main sockets and IEC connectors. Since this forum already has pictures of most of his items except the new Main socket - I though I share with you the pictures I took. I also took a picture of the US main plug, but he dismantled it to show me how to connect the cables – so the picture is of the dismantled item so it looks small because it’s just a small part of the whole assembly, when in reality it is similar in size to the ICE connector once fully assembled.

The Mains socket is very substantial and well over engineered/ specified. I think he said it can easily handle 100 amps. Now if I recall correctly, he said that it made from Teflon with glass (or was it glass fibre) reinforcement – it weights a fair bit.

 

[Folsom]

Msrp?

How do the wires connect?

 

[Jambo]

Msrp?

How do the wires connect?

Please don't quote me (as I may not be 100% correct) - but if recall correctly he said the socket is between US$400 - US$500. I think you can only buy from OEMs - so to ensure that it is installed correctly by a qualified electrician.

The wires connect from holes on the short side of the body (sorry I did not take a picture of that). Then you tighten the screws on the back as seen in the picture.

 

[Folsom]

In the US you don’t need an electrician to install. In fact many would refuse since it isn’t a normal product.

It’s very easy to do, but don’t do it unless you’re very sure you understand what you’re doing. People do make mistakes like nicking the wire.

Thanks for pics and possible msrp.

 

[Sablon Audio]

Thanks for sharing Jambo and I’m glad you made the visit after our earlier chat. Those are ‘my’ iecs in the photo and hopefully Carmine has now shipped them!

 

[Jambo]

Thanks for sharing Jambo and I’m glad you made the visit after our earlier chat. Those are ‘my’ iecs in the photo and hopefully Carmine has now shipped them!

Lol, Yes, they are ‘yours’ he actually said so when I asked him to look at all his different connectors, said these are destined for Mark !

 

[Uk Paul / Z:Axis Audio]

Great to see, and hear about your visit to Carmine Jambo.. His parts may well 'appear' over engineered, but when you hear what they do you realise their true worth, which is significant in my experience..

Are you planning on using his mains socket?

Rgds,
Paul.

 

[Jambo]

Great to see, and hear about your visit to Carmine Jambo.. His parts may well 'appear' over engineered, but when you hear what they do you realise their true worth, which is significant in my experience..

Are you planning on using his mains socket?

Rgds,
Paul.

I meant the over engineered part as a great compliment - it is truly impressive, and I can only imagine the sound quality ! He had his rca and various connectors in his system and his system sounded lovely !

My trip was also for selfish reasons, one I wanted to see the US socket in the flesh but mostly to try and twist his arm to make us Australian audiophiles an equivalent Australian mains socket (because we don’t even have furtech ones). Alas he said he can’t modify the US socket as the pins are are angled on Aussie mains socket, so his design only works on parallel pins such as US mains socket.

So US audiophiles are very lucky to have such a fab mains socket - I can only dream for a local version.

P.s it’s against the law here to use Non-Australia mains sockets.

 

[Uk Paul / Z:Axis Audio]

I meant the over engineered part as a great compliment -

Sure, I read that as a positive knowing how his products sound.. Shame you can't use the US outlet there..

Rgds,
Paul.

 

[Joe Cohen]

PranaWire Sukhavati Power Cable with Bocchino plugs. PranaWire power conditioner under construction now with Bocchino elektra outlets.

 

[Folsom]

What is the grip like on the receptacles?

 

[pjwd]

What is the grip like on the receptacles?

I have only used IEC plug and receptacle but the grip is fantastic , Carmine is very particular about tolerances

Cheers

Phil

 

[SCAudiophile]

PranaWire Sukhavati Power Cable with Bocchino plugs. PranaWire power conditioner under construction now with Bocchino elektra outlets.View attachment 47251View attachment 47252View attachment 47251

Very impressive looking power distributor! Is there a version with more outlets in the works?

 

[DaveC]

Please don't quote me (as I may not be 100% correct) - but if recall correctly he said the socket is between US$400 - US$500. I think you can only buy from OEMs - so to ensure that it is installed correctly by a qualified electrician.

A qualified electrician would not install these unless they are UL approved. I'm all for better parts if indeed they are better, so if that's the plan a UL approval is a must. If these are used in power distributors then the power distributor manufacturer is taking a chance and the entire unit cannot be UL approved. However, UL approval is not generally necessary for residential applications, but it is for any commercial application.

I also hear grip is "fantastic" but the issue with that is the receptacle cannot damage the plating on the plug. I would never use a receptacle that will immediately damage the plug, but this is the case with many receptacles unfortunately, including all "hospital grade" ones, and it is mainly because the grip is far too much and the receptacle just gauges through plating and into the base material.

 

[Folsom]

Well, grip isn't a problem is your plug doesn't have plating. If you are using NCF, then it's obviously just throwing money away.

I'm really sick of UL/CE issues, as they aren't applicable to everything but you get people like the guys you see that are ignorantly fearful and totally misinformed. I can tell you however that in my area any master electrician will decide for himself whether something is safe or not, and not just look for a UL stamp. I've had two in my place recently. We talked some about it. (one was for a new furnace and the company sends them... in this case he changed a 20A breaker to a 15A breaker and never said a word about my Lillies)

Your cables aren't UL listed, Dave... Just saying, it's an out of control monopolizing beast.

 

[DaveC]

Well, grip isn't a problem is your plug doesn't have plating. If you are using NCF, then it's obviously just throwing money away.

I'm really sick of UL/CE issues, as they aren't applicable to everything but you get people like the guys you see that are ignorantly fearful and totally misinformed. I can tell you however that in my area any master electrician will decide for himself whether something is safe or not, and not just look for a UL stamp. I've had two in my place recently. We talked some about it. (one was for a new furnace and the company sends them... in this case he changed a 20A breaker to a 15A breaker and never said a word about my Lillies)

Your cables aren't UL listed, Dave... Just saying, it's an out of control monopolizing beast.

Grip is a problem if it gauges the material the plug is made out of, and this is often the case. All hospital grade units do this, right through the plating and into the plug material. I don't understand how increased grip... to the point it damages the plug... is seen as a good thing. It's not... it's a BAD thing.

Also, most AC power plugs these days are plated, not just the top end plugs.

I agree UL is a bit out of control as far as being a financial barrier to small manufacturers, but it's probably better than nothing. UL is not required for most home-use appliances, and home owners are allowed to create their own electronics and repair their own power cables, etc... so for me not having a UL approved PC is only an issue if they were used in a commercial application. For your Lillies, I believe a homeowner would be able to install these in his own home with no issue just as I did, but a licensed electrician could not.

However, the plan to have licensed electricians install non-UL-approved receptacles is a total non-starter. Just because you may find an electrician willing to break code and be personally responsible for any issues it causes does not mean this is anything close to normal, I'd bet a huge majority of electricians will NOT install non-UL-approved parts.

 

[Folsom]

It's not code. It's liability decisions that are put in place by the business being operated. Frankly a lot of electricians don't know all the code so they just assume UL is all good. If you get a master on site they'll decide for themselves because they're the guy who teaches classes to everyone else to hopefully get them to know the basic codes.

I agree that I've run into some sockets that have too much grip. I recently tried a cable end by Lex that has a clamp system - it's 100% garbage. So you can get both ways. If your cable ends are silver, they have a plating. If they are brass colored it's not so likely. Almost all premade-molded cords have silver.

I can also tell you I've noticed some hospital grade plugs are not worth poo, as they only work on fewer strand count wire. They'll get loose on lots of fine strands. I've had several types and took them back apart to check and was a little horrified that they can become loose so easily. My biggest disappointment is the IEC form factor. It's just too loosy-goosy. It's a dumb one that we're stuck with and the clamping systems are marginal at best on most.

The only thing I'm happy about with UL is that China has to follow it because no distributor will sell basically anything from the China that hasn't got UL approval. That's where it's the most valuable.

 

[DaveC]

It's not code. It's liability decisions that are put in place by the business being operated. Frankly a lot of electricians don't know all the code so they just assume UL is all good. If you get a master on site they'll decide for themselves because they're the guy who teaches classes to everyone else to hopefully get them to know the basic codes.

I agree that I've run into some sockets that have too much grip. I recently tried a cable end by Lex that has a clamp system - it's 100% garbage. So you can get both ways. If your cable ends are silver, they have a plating. If they are brass colored it's not so likely. Almost all premade-molded cords have silver.

I can also tell you I've noticed some hospital grade plugs are not worth poo, as they only work on fewer strand count wire. They'll get loose on lots of fine strands. I've had several types and took them back apart to check and was a little horrified that they can become loose so easily. My biggest disappointment is the IEC form factor. It's just too loosy-goosy. It's a dumb one that we're stuck with.

The only thing I'm happy about with UL is that China has to follow it because no distributor will sell basically anything from the China that hasn't got UL approval. That's where it's the most valuable.

The worst offenders are Chinese gardening equipment imo, they have lighting controllers with receptacles that can take either 120 or 240V plugs at the same time. I've designed multi-zone lighting controllers for certain industries in Colorado that had to be UL approved and pass inspection, so I do have some relevant experience and have talked to both local inspectors as well as people from UL. It was also an issue with some things on the factory floor when I was working for Vestas wind turbines... I designed custom assembly devices for wind turbines that fell in a UL grey area and had to be dealt with. In any case, I managed to come up with a fairly complex lighting controller that can handle hundreds of amps using UL approved parts, but in a way where the complete assembly didn't require UL approval, thus saving my clients big $.

On wire clamps, they all come loose to a certain degree over time, even when used with solid-core wire. They should maintain some pressure on the wire of course, but I've never seen one that maintained the exact same pressure as when it was first assembled. What I do is torque the connector a few times leaving some time in between torquing to allow the wire to settle in the clamp. IME this ensures a slightly higher clamping pressure over time and much less chance of the pressure decreasing to the point it will be dangerous.

Silver AC plugs are nickle plated, this stuff is tough and will resist gauging but sounds bad. Higher end silver colored plugs are probably rhodium.

 

[Folsom]

I do a similar thing where I tighten the screws and then go back to them. There are a few styles that seem to stay pretty tight. Ferrules really help, but they only fit in one type of wall plug and one type IEC, so they're useless basically (too bad).

 

[Joe Cohen]

Very impressive looking power distributor! Is there a version with more outlets in the works?

Once we complete the first build we will know if that will be possible. The receptacles are huge. Four of them can fit in the face plate but there are other issues to consider.