Upgraded power cord for those that care.

Can you open the plug or is it sealed?
This is the interior of a standard UK plug - MCRU claim a "bespoke internal filtering system" for their own which sounds rather dubious given the limited space.
Screenshot 2024-11-10 at 16.03.15.png

...the centre screw which holds their plug together can just be seen in their image, hidden behind the 'live' pin so yes it can be opened.
Screenshot 2024-11-10 at 16.00.50.png
 
This is the interior of a standard UK plug - MCRU claim a "bespoke internal filtering system" for their own which sounds rather dubious given the limited space.
View attachment 13944

...the centre screw which holds their plug together can just be seen in their image, hidden behind the 'live' pin so yes it can be opened.
View attachment 13945
Found this on the Naim forum. It says the wires have ferrite rings on them.
 
If they have put ferrite rings inside the plug top then they will be so small as to do virtually nothing except at VHF/UHF frequencies. Also whoever wired that mains plug doesn't have a clue as all good practice taught (including me 50 years ago) was that the earth wire must always be the longest, so if the cable gets pulled and the retainer doesn't hold, the earth will detach last.

Now, here's a confession. I don't believe in all this mains cable foo that is talked about - but I have changed the cable on my Ultra. Why? It just doesn't fit correctly and it's easy to disconnect the power if you have to move the unit. Therefore the socket or the plug doesn't meet the required Spec as they should give a tight fit. But, that's what you get when things are built to a cost and all manufacturers build down to a price not up to it as I have had the same thing on some quite expensive kit supplied with cheap buy in bulk mains leads.
 
Also whoever wired that mains plug doesn't have a clue as all good practice taught (including me 50 years ago) was that the earth wire must always be the longest, so if the cable gets pulled and the retainer doesn't hold, the earth will detach last.
Ha, never thought about that, but it makes a lot of sense. :D At least the ground wire seems to be longer than the hot wire, even if that's not perfect.
 
Sorry for the rudimentary question, but is there any chance that using an external power cable will cause the device to fail?

I have never replaced the cables on my audio products before because I am concerned about that. (I have, however, replaced the included charging adapter with a GaN one.)
 
If it’s one of those super-duper mega thick audiophile cables won’t it let too much electricity through and damage your equipment? :unsure:

A cable - even gauge 0 - will not deliver too much current, as a cable does not decide how much electrical current to carry. Current is limited by the load, in this case a WiiM device. A thicker wire will have lower resistance and as such will reduce mains voltage drops to the load (and that is not bad).

I am not suggesting the need for a replacement power cable; only replying to clarify technical statements that are not correct.
 
A cable - even gauge 0 - will not deliver too much current, as a cable does not decide how much electrical current to carry. Current is limited by the load, in this case a WiiM device. A thicker wire will have lower resistance and as such will reduce mains voltage drops to the load (and that is not bad).

I am not suggesting the need for a replacement power cable; only replying to clarify technical statements that are not correct.
I think @dangermouse made a naughty joke here. ;) He knows ...
 
Anyone replacing power cables also rewiring the internals? If they cheaper on the power cable they probably used cheap internal wiring too.
 
Potential benefit of changing a power cable is to filter RF/EMI from entering or leaving the unit, with a cable that accomplishes that. That can be done with the WiiM cable attaching to it near the plug attached to the unit a properly sized ferrite bead.
 
Potential benefit of changing a power cable is to filter RF/EMI from entering or leaving the unit, with a cable that accomplishes that. That can be done with the WiiM cable attaching to it near the plug attached to the unit a properly sized ferrite bead.
What is the proper size of the ferrite bead to attach?
 
Try it and you’ll find out for yourself. It doesn’t matter what I think.
I tried many cable including rca, speaker cable, optical and coax. None was ever made improvements. To back my claim, read aidioholics about cable using audio precision. If you could hear it you could measure it. They should not changed the sound otherwise it’s coloring the music. Cable job is garbage in garbage out.
 
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