When a power cord could obviously affect SQ

@cruising44 

FYI, it may take for ever to burn-in/break-in a power cord by just using a piece of audio equipment to burn it in. Especially a piece of low powered equipment like a DAC, transport, or even most SS preamps.

What works great is to use refrigerator or a dehumidifier. You will need to buy a NEMA 5-15R to IEC C14 adapter. 

Plug the power cord into the wall power outlet. Install the adapter to IEC female connector on the power cord. Plug the refrigerator into the adapter. Leave the power cord connected to the refrigerator  for 4 or 5 days. 

Example of the NEMA 5-15R to IEC C14 adapter:

https://tripplite.eaton.com/nema-5-15r-to-c14-adapter-10a-125v-black~P002000 

As for this:

He also recommended a power outlet that the Hospitals use as a foundation which will grip the plug without fail.

You have to be careful what you buy today. Most hospital Grade duplex receptacle outlets made today have a galvanized steel supporting back strap. Bad for the sound of audio equipment plugged into it. That includes Hubbell.

FWIW, you can buy an extra heavy duty commercial/industrial grade duplex outlet that has the same contacts and body as the hospital grade outlet minus the green dot and a beefed up ground contact. And you can find one that will not have a galvanized steel supporting back strap. 

Look for an outlet that has not nickel plated brass contacts and a non nickel plated brass back strap. 

 

Going from stock cords on my power amps to heavier gauge/better insulated cords made an audible difference. Replacing the stock cords on my Streamer, DAC and Preamp also made a difference, just not as dramatic.

My experience.

Just recently while running 5Hz - 3500 MHz sweeps using a field strength instrument, I noted substantial differences in radiated EMI from various audio power cables. Some emitted surprisingly strong magnetic fields that radiated well beyond the cable jacket, whereas others had undetectable emissions. This implies some cables are clearly better suited for use in close proximity with sensitive digital components (e.g. DACs and streamers) and interconnects.

From an internal perspective, a power cable is not a one-way street, and the better way to view it is not as the last few feet of power feed, but rather as first few feet of what the component "sees" when propagating away problematic internal noise generated by the component itself. This noise exerts direct influence on audio performance, and cable characteristics determine how efficiently it is removed. When one views it from this perspective, it's not a stretch to understand why power cables can "sound" different.

Cut a piece of garden hose slide your over size pure copper cable in then inject peanut butter. It’ll function as an electrical insulator, a dialectic material of sorts. Stay tuned ideas on wire burnin coming...lol

Cheers 
 

@cruising44 

Examples of duplex receptacle outlets:

https://leviton.com/products/mri83-r

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https://leviton.com/products/5362-w

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Not this one.

Galvanized steel supporting back strap.

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Hubbell duplex outlets . 

Two Body types. Deep and Slender/Compact style body.

Deep body: Go to page 6.

Note the picture of the outlet.  Non plated brass contacts, non plated  brass Yoke. (supporting back strap.) 

HBL® Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Series. 

Hubbell, HBL 5262 (15 amp.) 5362  (20 amp.)

HBL 5362  (20 amp)

HBL 5262  (15 amp)

From my personal listening experience of the HBL 5362 outlet on my audio system it tends be a little to the side of warm.

Shunyata Research SR-Z1 ( Is a Hubbell HBL 5362 duplex outlet)

Good video comparison of a Hubbell HBL 5362 outlet to a cheap residential grade outlet.

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HBL® Compact Extra Heavy Duty Industrial Series 15 and 20 Ampere 125 Volts

Go to page #10 and look at the picture of the Duplex Receptacle. There again non plated brass contacts and non plated brass back strap.

HBL Extra Heavy Duty MAX Slender/Compact, Side Wired Only, Duplex Receptacle 

Pricing example:

Don’t know exactly why but the Slender/Compact body outlet is more neutral sounding than the deep body Hubbell outlet.

Years ago this outlet was one of the best outlets for audio equipment.

Porter Port Porter Port outlets Cryo various colors

The photos of the outlets are of the actual original Hubbell HBL 8300 (20A) Hospital grade Slender/Compact body style duplex receptacle. Hubbell discontinued the outlet many ,many years ago.

I still have several of the HBL 8300 Slender/Compact hostpital grade outlets. Cyro and non cyro. 

.

This is what Hubbell makes today. Not good for feeding audio equipment. It can sound bright and grainy sounding. Magnetic ferrous materials. Galvanized back strap.

Hubbell HBL8300HW Duplex Commercial/Hospital Grade Receptacle Nema5-20R White

Spec sheet.

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