AC Outlets

RichardStacy, I'm not sure if your post is meant for me, but I thought you were in your sixties now. I'm not trying to make you sound older, but you do post a lot, at times. Maybe there are two Richard Stacys on Audiogon? Please don't take offence about the age part. I think one of my friends bought some cables off of you. I believe he was pleased with them. I think you and him spoke about retiring, that's why I mentioned it. I sure could be in error, and have the wrong person in mind.

Anyways, I started using better interconnects possibly before my teen years. A lot of people called them patch cords back then. They had a lot of poor ones that caused noticeable loss, and deterioration in the highs. So, I'm not one of those people that don't believe in good interconnects.

I do have dedicated power lines. Years back, my one home had an over 70 foot run to the outlet. The lamps dimmed with heavy bass passages, and there was noticeable distortion due to the power sag I believe. So dedicated runs can help, in my opinion. I have done a lot of experimenting with highly qualified Electrical Engineering friends, and talking about that would be too long for now. I'm saying this for those who think my friends, and I haven't tried all kinds of products, with no knowledge before commenting.

I also have Hubbell outlets. I've mentioned it in past threads. I have the 5362 series, and the 8300 series. I think I paid well under $10 for mine. The outlet on my refrigerator got almost hot, even though it was a 20 amp outlet. I put one of these on it, and it stays cool. That tells something itself, meaning it may have been generating noise from the poor connection. Possibly unsafe too. These are good outlets, and do grip the plug tight. I think you can find them for under $10 online at some places yet. I don't know about these sellers, but I think they are the correct ones. You could check your local area, it may vary a lot it appears. I don't recommend the under $3 ones either. There still are a lot of those around. They may not grip tight, wear fast, and are made cheaply in my opinion.

Rja,
You are absolutely correct. Experts are to be found everywhere. The proof of the pudding is in the eating. If you have a high end system, all you need to do is install a Synergistic Research Tesla Plex SE and open your ears.

I am with Richard_Stacy on this one. R-1 outlets for me over the half dozen other units I have tried. Maybe the Oyaide's have a tighter fit but I think there is more to this power struggle than meets the eye. I don't believe in measurements all that much anymore and just trust my ears. If something sounds better to me it stays in the chain. Too many cords over the years have changed the sound characteristics to even begin to start thinking about looking into the electrical measurements. You are much better off spending time analyzing room treatment which dwarfs anything else.

I have heard a couple mid priced systems in great rooms that would have you scratching your head. WAF becomes a huge factor in most homes however. Like mine!

THE GREAT AC OUTLET SHOOTOUT.

Just to satisfy my own curiosity and because of the very passionate debate by some relating to this issue, I have decided to perform a controlled listening test of AC outlets, basically most of the ones suggested in this tread that I could get a hold of. I’m basically putting my own money where my mouth is.

I have procured the following AC outlets, all are new and unused.

Audio Magic NanoStream, $ 69 and WattGate 5266i AC Plug $10

Porter Port by Albert Porter, $41 and TBD AC Plug $ ?

Furutech FPX-G $95, and Furutech FI-11M-G AC Plug $55

Pass Seymour CR6300 Cryo $44 with Pass Seymour 5366XCCV4 AC Plug $10

Teslaplex SE by Synergistic Research $95 and TBD AC Plug $ ?

Hubbell HBL5362-I Heavy Duty Spec. Grade Grande Duplex $16 and HBL5266C AC plug $10

Levitron 5362-W Industrial Heavy Duty Grande, Straight Blade, Self Grounding Duplex $7 and AC Plug Levitron 5266-C Industrial grade $10

El Cheapo HomeDepot Outlet $0.54 with “regular” Cheap moulded power cord $5

Technical Description of the Test:

To ensure that all the outlets will be equally represented in this test they will be mounted in a test fixture evenly spaced. They will all be fed via a single piece of 12 gauge romex cable directly hardwired to a dedicated 20 amp breaker in our main panel. The wire will be uncut when wired between the different outlets - basically simulating a “single run” dedicated line as only one outlet will be energized at any time.

As you can see if have ordered AC Plugs of the same manufacture and grade as the outlets, I have asked the suppliers of the Audio Grade outlets what AC plug they recommend to get the best performance from the outlet, that way there should be synergy within the - connection point - that is to be evaluated.

The AC plugs will be wired with 3x12 Gauge SJOOW about 12” long these will be hardwired to each their own 3 pole 20Amp relay that will be controlled by a PLC (programable logic controller) this to enable remote controlled switching between the 8 different outlets. The control will be programmed so that the next circuit will energize prior to the past one is de-energized to ensure uninterrupted current flow to the system that will be used for the test. The Complete Audio system will be fed from this one test jig, one outlet at a time. The individual power cords for each piece of equipment will be hard wired into a common terminal strip that is fed from the output of the relays. With this setup the ONLY variable is the AC outlet and its associated AC Plug. The test jig with the outlets will be run in prior to the test for at least 24 hours to insure “break in” for the ones that feel that this is important.

I want to run it as a blind test at first to ensure a completely unbiased result. As each outlet is energized it will be represented by a LED indicating that now outlet “A” for an example is energized, enabling the test panel to identify which outlet they deem the “best sounding”. Many of you have stated that the AC Outlet a Audio System is connected to profoundly changes the sound of the Audio System, so it should be beyond obvious to the test panel which one “sounds” the best. Later on the same test jig can be used for testing AC Cables should the opportunity arise.

We will use a Audio System similar to the system I have listed here on AudioGon for the test, it may change a bit by time of the test based upon what I have available at the time. The total current consumption of the system is in the range of 6 - 8 Amp at idle I estimate at this time but a complete listing of the system used, with actual current draw will be published here on this forum, along with the results of the test for those interested. System

The Test Panel:

On December 2nd. we will host the San Diego Music and Audio Guild here at our facility from 2P to 5P. We host that great group of folks here about every two years or 3 years, usually in December so this coinciding presents a great opportunity to do the AC Outlet test as there will be plenty of Audiophiles available for a unbiased opinion. I ran it by the President of the group this morning and he thought it would be a great thing to do along with of course auditioning our demo system in our factory show room, see and hear our new offerings, discuss audio etc. For more information about our facility you can go to our website and take a peak at the video, there is footage there from our showroom as well. Website

Everyone is welcome to participate in this catered event, there will be food and beverage served. Slider Burgers, Finger Sandwiches, Draft Beer and Soft Drinks etc. If you want to attend just shoot me an email so I can plan ahead with the caterer making sure we will have enough for everyone.

If any of you have any suggestions on on how to conduct the actual test, ie how long do you think each AC outlet should be “on” for, how many times the test should be repeated etc. suggestions are more than welcome. Also, if you have any suggestions to as how the test jig could be technically improved, let me know and I’ll be happy to discuss further.

As Always, Good Listening

Peter

Sounds interesting! Maybe 20 hours of burn-in time on each outlet before the test? Let us know how it goes.