AC Outlets

[Early B.]

Anyone ever experiment with one of those "audiophile" quality AC outlets ?

I'm wondering if it's a wise investment to replace the cheap $1 AC receptacle on my 2-channel system with one of these and what kind of difference it could actually make.

[Frank Z]

I doubt that you'll actually hear any difference but you might see a slight decrease in the amount of current being drawn due to better contact between the new outlet and the power cord.

[F1nut]

I agree that you'll most likely not hear a difference, but there is no doubt in my mind that a high grade outlet is worth the money, just for the peace of mind that the connection is solid. I use the ones from PS Audio.

[Early B.]

Thanks, fellas. If it ain't broke, I won't try to fix it.

[bknauss]

My 2 cents: what's a couple of inches of nice conductor going to really do? Not much consider the miles and miles of noisy power lines outside of your house.

[Frank Z]

Oh man...you had to open up that can-o-worms!!:eek:

You'll be sooooorrrryyyyyyyyy! Got your flame proof skivy's on?;)

[PolkThug]

Don't tell me you guys have been using bad sounding power outlets?!!?


;)

[Frank Z]

High-End outlets only sound better than standard outlets when listening to the AC side of an AC/DC CD/Tape/Vinyl/8 track.....

[F1nut]

It's got nothing to do with a couple of inches of nice conductor, it's got to do with the connection between two points. As in, NO oxidation and a tight fit. Now, we all know there's nothing like a nice tight fit!

As far as noisy power lines, that's what power conditioners are for.

[Vr3MxStyler2k3]

1 dollar??

LOL

I think your giving those things a bit more credit than deserved. Unless you installed them yourself or someone else did, I'm willing to bet they cost below 40 cent a pop...

We install 32 cent outlets :)

[rskarvan]

Nothing better than a nice tight fit when I lay conduit.

[Tilepro04]

I just changed my A/C outlets with hospital grade outlets i got from Lowe's. $9.50 each. Did I hear a difference? Maybe.I do feel my video improved a bit.But you cant beat the solid conection they give.

[Early B.]

Looking at doing this cheap tweak again and had a question:

The current is gonna be filtered through my power conditioner, so if I get cleaner power from a higher quality receptacle, how will I notice a difference in SQ? Just means the power filter has less work to do, correct?

(For the purposes of this discussion, let's just assume there's potentially a small sonic difference in receptacles.)

[disneyjoe7]

Early,

Have you considered Hospital grade outlets over Audio grade ones? I believe there will be an upgrade over standard either way, but the Audio grade you will be paying a premium the slight improvement over the Hospital grade ones. IMHO

[marker]

In a few years when everythings all wireless connections, are we going to argue over air quality then? "My air's cleaner than yours!"

What will Monster do then, start selling air purifiers?

[ezc]

Early,
Yes I use audio grade outlets in my systems. At the store we use the less expensive Fim outlets. They sound good & have very good contact but still are copper contacts. I use Wattgate in my main system, the outlets are audio grade & have very good conductivity / current flow. Due to the plating on the contacts the Wattgate outlet takes up to 1 yr. to fully be broken in as to the fim sounded good in a week. The 381 contacts are gold plated & the ends on the wattgate 330 are also gold plated & also takes time to break in. We have been doing our electricity upgrades & once completed we will have a dedicated circuit & outlet for each piece of equipment. Every time we add another dedicated circuit & move another piece of equipment to its own circuit the system improves & as the outlet & circuit starts to break in the sound just gets better & better. Your system is only as good as its weakest link! We spend hundreds or even thousands on better power cords & equipment; why not upgrade the electrical path with dedicated circuits & better outlets & maximize your system.

[dorokusai]

I believe in the dedicated circuit, and the hospital grade outlet....after that it's BS to me.

I also subscribe to the theory that unless you have similar metallurgy at all those subsequent contact points, it makes no difference. Congratulations, you just spent money on something useless. If it makes you feel better, than it's worth every penny.

I trust Copper, and Copper is King.

Cryogenic's? LOL, don't get me started.

[polkatese]

Originally posted by dorokusai
I believe in the dedicated circuit, and the hospital grade outlet....after that it's BS to me.


second that, but after that, I would say it's nice to have. I use PS Audio power port, it's not that expensive.

[dorokusai]

PT - I use a PS Audio strip, but it was more due to the steal price than the application. I agree, it's nominal for a single outlet, but for most ppl it's simply ridiculous. There are hospital grade outlets available for much less than $50+.

I don't buy anything at retail, and that's where most ppl get lost in the shuffle.

[Early B.]

Alright, I guess I'll try it. I'm looking at a Furutech FP 15A for $40 from www.cryo-parts.com. Hadn't decided yet. Still kinda skeptical, so I don't wanna spend too much money on it. I prefer audio grade over hospital grade. I have used hospital grade power cord plugs as well as the Furutech audio grade plugs and there's a definite difference, IMO. The Furutech receptacle is copper plated. Cool.

If I proceed, I'll post my results.

[dorokusai]

Audio Grade = Marketing

It's your money, trailblaze.

[polkatese]

same here, I thought MSRP is a starting point, divide the number by 2, and start negotiating up to about 3/4, and start walking above that? :)

btw, anytime you got tired of your S3 Shotgun I/C, please let me know....dibby dibby bang bang..

[dorokusai]

PT - Joe Abrams(Audiogon) is THE MIT man. If you want to try a set of S3, just email me....I have an extra pair.

[F1nut]

I have a nickel plated PS Audio power port going to a nickel plated PS Audio Statement cord to a nickel plated IEC in the PS Audio UPC-200. From the nickel plated power ports in the UPC-200 are nickel plated MF power cords to nickel plated MF IEC's. That's a lot of nickel. :D

[polkatese]

doro, thanks, will email you. I bought my S3 speaker cable from Joe, and I've been going back and forth on the I/C, not convinced yet as far as its merit against Transparent Musiclink plus that I am using right now.

ok. sorry for the hijack, Early. Back to the original programming of Nickel vs. Copper! :)

[dorokusai]

F1 - You latched onto a concept fully that most just grab onto as a passing thought, and it works for you. I'm seriously cool with that, but complete the process and you will reap the benefits completely.

PT - Transparent wouldn't exist if it wasn't for MIT and Bruce Brisson, they are a copycat, wanna-be MIT. There's some great historical information on MIT, and the eventual departure of a couple folks from MIT, available on the internet. PLease make your own decision, but I wouldn't buy a cable from Transparent if you gave me the money. Thanks for the PM.

[F1nut]

As soon as Paul makes a damn power cord with a 20 amp IEC end! It's only been promised for the last 2 years and I was turning blue holding my breath that long.

[dorokusai]

Originally posted by F1nut
As soon as Paul makes a damn power cord with a 20 amp IEC end! It's only been promised for the last 2 years and I was turning blue holding my breath that long.

Yea, WTF is the hold up on that shite?

[F1nut]

PT, the MIT I/C's go with the MIT speaker cables like PB&J. UMMMMM...GOOD.

[F1nut]

Mark,

Paul's response to me about 2 weeks ago.

"Yeah….you’re right I did promise that. I am sorry. I’ll move it up on the list."

I'm not holding my breath any longer.

[dorokusai]

I guess it's low priority....man, the business that they are potentially losing is even more weird.

[F1nut]

ED Z

[polkatese]

thanks, guys! - email on the way.