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DIY Power Distributor

Posted by pixelphoto (A) on May 18, 2017 at 20:43:20

DIY Power Distributor

BUILD

With encouragement and guidance from Duster I have built a high quality power distributor (my ears tell me so) for a modest sum of U.S. dollars. I'd like to share the build with you; especially with those of you who have never considered doing it yourself. Like I always say if I can do it so can you. After reviewing Duster's suggested high quality parts (links listed below) I ordered them. However for a moment I did balk at the cost of the distributor box; but then decided I deserved it. Parts arrived from near and far over a ten day period. I'm thinking this is going to be an easy project.

Finally all the necessary parts and tools are on my work/dining table. Here we go. For wiring the three outlets I used one foot of VH Audio cryo'd Unshielded Twisted Pair (Flavor 2 type) 12 AWG bulk power cable, and a 10 AWG mil-spec SPC/PTFE Teflon ground wire for ground. I kept it simple by daisy chaining the three outlets to the IEC inlet. This wiring scheme worked well in my previous power bar project and as I said its simple. You'll be stripping the wire apart to get the pieces you'll need. Use an X-Acto tool or razor blade for this. If you use VH wire be advised that it is very stiff. I suggest you lay the outlets in the face of the cover plate and measure the length of wire you need to cut. Once you have the three outlets connected via the links you just cut place them in the box. Place the cover over them and hold the one nearest the IEC connector in place while removing the cover plate and estimate the length of wire you need to cut for connecting to the IEC connector's L, N and GRND prongs. If you use the VH Audio wire, too much will make it difficult to mesh the outlets to the face plate because the wire is so darn stiff and space between the outlet and IEC connector is limited. Cut the necessary lengths of wire and attach them to the outlet. Now bend the wire as in the image above. Place the three outlets in the box and solder the three wires, L, N and GRND to the corresponding prongs on the IEC connector. Note that the outlets and the IEC inlet have markings indicating L (live), N (neutral) and the ground symbol or maybe GRND. These can be difficult to see but they are there.

The WIMA caps are for noise suppression and will require a short extension to be soldered to the stubby wires at the base of the caps. I used pieces of the popular Western Electric 16AWG for this purpose. It might be frustrating to align the two wires together so I suggest tinning the wires with solder to assist in the connection. Once done with soldering you'll want to mount the caps across the live (L) and neutral (N) of each outlet (see image).

A few final details. Before buttoning down the cover plate wiggle those wires, you don't want any loose ones. Get your multimeter out and check for continuity between connections. Attach the cover plate. Attach a PC to the finished product along with a Sperry (or similar) three pronged outlet checker; double yellow lights, good to go. Oh, one last thing; affix your choice of footers to your new high quality power distributor.

Well that was easy; see I told you so!

RESULTS

After 160 plus hours of burn in I sat down for an extended listening session. Streaming Tidal I listened to one of my favorite Aron Copland albums; "The Copland Collection". I have always thought of his music as colorful and visual and this time even more so. The sound was relaxed and flowed with ease and had greater clarity and a roundness I'd never heard before. The soundstage was wider and taller. There was more separation between instruments. There was also a more natural sounding decay. I also could hear more detail at all levels. Above all the sound was very musical and emotionally involving. So for several hours I floated along on a magic carpet of audio bliss savoring the colorful images Mr. Copland's music creates.

This project has really brought my system to life. I can say that of all the tweaks I've installed into my system this one is amongst the top four.

I imagine there will be some of you who disagree with the use of caps for noise suppression and the wire scheme I chose to use and that's fine. If you decide to build this project build it your way. There's more than one way to build a power distributor and this was one of them.

Thanks to Duster for his sharing and guidance in this very enjoyable project.

Parts and Sources
Copy & Past Links

IEC: ($15.00)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Furutech-Power-IEC-Inlet-G-Input-Power-Connector-24k-Gold-Plated-/401242155340
Distributor box: ($86.88)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HIFI-US-AC-Power-Strip-Bar-Distributor-Aluminum-6-Outlet-Box-HIFI-Chassis-/291971834028
Outlets: ($68.97)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/162360092708?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&fromMakeTrack=true
VH wire: ($21.28): One foot of VH Audio cryo'd Unshielded Twisted Pair (Flavor 4 type) 12 AWG bulk power cable, and a 10 AWG mil-spec SPC/PTFE Teflon ground wire for a low-impedance path to ground. https://www.vhaudio.com/wire.html#bulkacwire
CAPS for noise suppression. WIMA MP3-X2 0.1uf 250V 10% Metallized Paper Capacitor: ($12.00)
http://www.ebay.com/itm/232230169078?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT
#10 Terminal Rings for 12-10 AWG wire. Used to attach the ground wire to the outlets. Found at your local hardware store.

Reference: ‎www.10audio.com/diy_power_conditioner.htm

This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors:

The Cable Cooker

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