13 Amp 250 Volt plug for amp

[nandac]

power issues seem to be my bane when it comes to amps!!!

i recently bought a musical fidelity b1 amp from ebay uk which has a 13 Amp 250 Volt plug. will this plug cause an issue when used in india?

because at a very low level there is a hint of harshness in the sound.

this is a screw kind of plug which seems to be replacable. so can this be replaced with an appropriate indian plug?

appreciate any insights.

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Any plug can be replaced with any plug. Knife... pliers...

As a lot of my gear, household and computing as well as hifi, came to this country from UK, I have plenty of British-style plugs. They fit well in British- (or Singapore-) style sockets --- but I do not have good experience with the MK "universal" sockets that I had fitted in my house. They fit badly, and bad goes to worse until there isn't even enough grip to hold the plug, let alone contact for electricity to flow. This can lead to sparking: electrically bad, and physically dangerous.

You might be ok with an adapter, but if I were you, and if you have no other British kit (in which case you could use a British power strip wired to an Indian plug), I'd go for the knife and pliers.

I speak in purely practical terms. Many will disagree, but I do not believe that a plug is going to make your sound harsh. A bad connection, on the other hand, could do far worse than that.

 

[nandac]

> bad connection, on the other hand, could do far worse than that.

a bad connection where? with this setup i only have the amp and cd player hooked to the socket with a multi plug. that plug is a 5 amp plug - will that cause an issue considering that the amps plug is 13 amp?

i have used other stuff on the same plug point without any negative effect.

btw there is a small label at the back of the amp which reads that the amp is permanently wired for 240 volts and if used at 220 volts it will produce 15% less power. not sure if this is related. india is 230 v right?

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

Bad connection in the socket itself. Prongs not being gripped properly.

Plugs and sockets are rated according to how much current you can draw through them before stuff starts to melt. That is the only issue. Your plug may be a "13-amp" plug, but that just means it is the same as almost every other British electrical applicance has. If you look at the bottom, you'll see a holder for a fuse. The rating of the fuse is the real rating, and it may be lower than 13 amps.

Can not comment on the deeper technical aspects of voltage and power output.

 

[nandac]

sometime last week i had been to a shop selling mx spades. at that time checking out mx multiplugs i had just bought a 15 amp one - just in case ...

yesterday i suddenly remembered i had this stashed somewhere and so got it out and put that one one.

and the proverbial 'veil being lifted ...' !!!

mx is currently one of my favorite entities on the planet

power, power, power ...

if you are using a multiplug (say the amp and cd player hooked up from the same socket) you might not be getting the best out your hifi, if you are not using the right plug.

 

[venkatcr]

sometime last week i had been to a shop selling mx spades. at that time checking out mx multiplugs i had just bought a 15 amp one - just in case ...

As Thad has already mentioned, a multiplug is not a good option. Simply replace the plug with a Indian 15 amp plug. MK, Anchor are all good plugs. If you are very particular, you can make a new power cord using a good plug, an IEC, and a respectable three core power cable. MX make reasonable IEC plugs that are available for around Rs.100 or even less.


Cheers

 

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm very patriotic about British-style plugs! :lol:

They have safety built into the design (contact should have been broken before you can get your fingers round the back and touch the metal part of the prongs) and are made of really chunky brass. However, they need British-style sockets to function properly.

Having said all that, Indian 15-amp plugs are pretty chunky too . It's grip and contact area that count: 15-ampers should give plenty of both.