Furutech AC Receptacles

Refrigerators and Chest Freezers are still the best home option for burning in receptacles. Has much more to do with the surge when the compressor kicks in, which will very often exceed 15 amps for a very short period of time. This will get you much better results than continuous operation of an appliance that might draw 5 amps continuously. 

2 weeks on each half of the receptacle should get you pretty good results. 

Something like the Audiodharma Cable Cooker will be even better; if you have a dealer that has one it is a no brainer to pay a few extra bucks to have them burned in before shipping. 

Doing well Lak-mainly just enjoying my system and listening to records at this stage. Doing the odd minor upgrade or cartridge change every year or two. Did a mono setup with a 2nd arm on my table late last year which I'm enjoying.  

I switched over to an Oyaide R1 with wall plate as the main receptacle feeding my system a number of years ago but am still using an older line conditioner with cryoed Hubbells for the balance. 

I might splurge and have Steve Huang build me a basic power distribution unit using either Furutech GTX's or Oyaide R0's to replace that conditioner in the next few months. 

@crazyeddie:

Yes, it is a very good idea and the beer fridge, particularly if it is an older beast, will work probably better than anything else short of something like the Audiodharma. 

Plug the fridge into one half for the two weeks before you leave and then into the other half just before you leave on vacation and you'll be in great shape when you come back. 

FWIW, I did some pretty extensive experimentation with receptacles about 15 years ago, some of which is outlined here:

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/review-world-power-receptacle-cryoed-hubbell-5362-tweak

I can assure you that break-in is very real, and particularly noticeable on cryoed items like the Furutech. I'm less interested in the "why" than the result itself, which has been clearly audible to many. 

Different receptacles offer up very different sound qualities; it's a subjective hobby with different listeners preferring different presentations, so there will always be disagreement on what is "best" but the better receptacles out there offer vastly superior performance to the run of the mill contractor grade receptacles found in most houses. 

No apologies necessary. Rest assured that those who have actually done the work, done the listening and made the comparisons take almost as much amusement, perhaps more, from those insistent on it being a fraud, having no effect, etc., 99% of whom have never made even a token effort to investigate. 

They just know better LOL. Not much has changed in the forums over the years. 

@pbnaudio:

Peter: I spent the better part of 18 months experimenting with receptacles about 15 years ago. I found it interesting and it was not particularly costly with decent quality stock receptacles from the better manufacturers. 

You have some decent equipment and I would expect a decent ear as well.

Here's a simple suggestion for you and the best way for you to get to the bottom of this issue: buy 3 Pass & Seymour 5262's and 3 Hubbell HBL 5262's (make sure they are the HBL 5262's and not CR 5262's or other non HBL prefix Hubbells-they are very different). 

Total cost to you will be about $75-$80 for those 6 receptacles. I suggest purchasing 3 of each because (I know this from experimenting and doing this)

a)  the effects are cumulative
b) very few systems run off 1 receptacle
c) the sonic character of the receptacle is much more readily discernible when it is not in a "mix and match" situation. Logical, actually when you think about it scientifically, and clearly audible when you do it and approach it that way. If you need to buy an extra couple of receptacles to run the whole system off the same receptacle, that is certainly the way to go, but running most of the system off 3 receptacles should give you a very decent baseline. 

Leave the 3 P&S receptacles in for a month or two and then switch them out and replace them with the HBL's. 

Notwithstanding the effects of burn-in, if you don't hear significant differences with your system between the Levitons you are currently using and the Pass & Seymours & HBL's, I will buy the 6 receptacles from you including shipping and your experiment will have cost you nothing. 

If you do hear differences, you can thank me and go down the receptacle rabbit hole. 

You should, of course, report your findings here. 

Otherwise, it's just as easy for me to say you don't want to believe that it is possible as it is for you to say I want to hear a difference and therefore I do. 

Right now, the difference is that I've done it and you haven't. I'll leave it to others to ascertain as to how much faith one should put in one "opinion" vs. the other. 

"PS It's really not difficult. You listen to them. It's not rocket science."

Bingo. Preferably the same receptacle running the whole system as I mentioned. Long term listening. 

Quick switching back and forth using single receptacles interacting with others is, generally speaking a waste of time. 

It is time consuming, but it needs not be costly (to establish that there are indeed sonic differences) and, as you say Geoff, it is not rocket science.