One day curiosity got the best of me


One day curiosity got the best of me,
I decided to switch out my cheap $3 receptacle with a spec grade Hubbell IG5362 receptacle just to see if it could make a difference to my system, Well it did.. the sound seemed to have more weight to it, Bass had more impact, mids had more body and oomph, and highs loosened up blending in with the rest of the spectrum. These changes weren't huge, but were defiantly there.
Now realizing that something as simple as a receptacle could have such an influence, I decided to see how deep this rabbit hole really goes.
Having spent some time with resonators and cables that couple metallic powders to conductors to alter the sound, I came to realize that electricity flows more mechanically than I ever thought possible. My theory is that whatever material(s) make contact with an electrical path (or circuit) this alters the resonant frequency of the circuit; which-in turn influences the sound. This is why the silver, gold, and copper resonators seem to have the same sound characteristics of conductors made of the same material. I found that brass has the most influence, backed-up with the theory that brass transfers vibration most efficiently than any other material. With that in mind and hearing the results for myself I decided to look for a heavy brass cover plate that I could couple to the receptacle and device box housing it. After searching for quite some time I came across this (Lew Electric RRP-2-LR) solid brass cover plate.
After installing this plate I was expecting to hear more of a difference than I did, so it's not a night and day difference, but after spending some time listening it all came back to me... I knew what I was hearing were subtleties brass coupling.
-The edges seemed to smooth out, yet became more focused.
-The background became darker, subtracting and only allowing predominant signals through.
-Speed seemed to increased.
-Highs began to sparkle with a hint of brightness, but were less fatiguing.
-Dynamic range seemed to compress but had an overall contrast higher than originally.
-I gained some vertical stage. Each range seemed to segregate them-selves more instead of being mishmashed into one focal point. The low-end migrated down, mids stayed at ear level, and highs slightly pushed its self up.
-The entire range became tighter, especially the low end.
-The sound seems to be less pixelated and more organic.
-There is just an overwhelming sense of control that wasn't there before!
The only real downside of this plate is that it seems bloat the mids quite a bit.
I guess I could go on and on, but as I see it; it's a cool little tweak that has some effect. I'm glad I had an open enough mind to try this, hopefully I'm not the only one.

http://postimg.org/image/hkxcndwub/
128x128matt_carter
Seriously? I don't mean to rain on your parade, but the things you claim to hear beggar belief.

-The background became darker, subtracting and only allowing predominant signals through.

So the signal to noise ratio increased? This should be fairly easy to measure. I'm betting there was no change whatsoever.

-Speed seemed to increased.

Huh? The speed of what? I'm afraid this just doesn't make any sense at all.

-Highs began to sparkle with a hint of brightness, but were less fatiguing.

So, the frequency response was tipped up? Again, easy to measure and, again, I very much doubt it.

-Dynamic range seemed to compress but had an overall contrast higher than originally.

These are mutually exclusive statements. Please elucidate.

-I gained some vertical stage. Each range seemed to segregate them-selves more instead of being mishmashed into one focal point. The low-end migrated down, mids stayed at ear level, and highs slightly pushed its self up.

I'm not sure this could be measured, but it seems like this is wishful thinking. But maybe you got something here.

-The sound seems to be less pixelated and more organic.

I have *no* idea what this means, sound has no pixels.

Again, not trying to rain on your parade, honestly. But I believe you are suffering from expectation bias of an extreme sort. But hey, if it makes you happy so be it!! The bright side is that you did not have to spend much money to get your results.

Best Wishes,

-RW-
Maybe you can have a friend swap these parts out for you a few times and not tell you which one you're listening to. See if you get the same results.