Tweakers' Asylum Tweaks for systems, rooms and Do It Yourself (DIY) help. FAQ.

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Yes, outlets make a sonic difference.

Posted by bartc (A) on January 21, 2006 at 16:08:20

In Reply to: Receptacle Query posted by Monroe on January 21, 2006 at 15:24:22:

You're not imagining any of this, but you do have to allow time for any AC changes to burn in, power cords to outlets including terminations, etc.

From what I've read, I don't see that Levitons are very good at all, while many swear by the Hubbells. So you should hear some improvement, certainly some changes.

I replaced the crap in my old walls with P&S and really liked the change. Then used P&S for DIY outlet strip/PC and further liked the change. With P&S plugs on DIYs the sound was very compatible and smooth but detailed and punchy to my hearing.

I made an alternative strip using Hubbell outlets and plugs and was dissatisfied in my system. Did not test the various components singly, so it could have been a synergy issue or something other than the Hubbells. Later when I DIYed more PCs with the Hubbell plugs I found that they worked fine. Still have not reused the Hubbell outlets, however, as I prefered the P&S every single time. YMMV

YOu also need to consider the following factors beyond burn in:
1)The metals used and coatings used in each outlet or plug make a difference, with some being harder in sound.
2) Star wiring your duplexes makes more sense than singly wiring the 2 outlets together into the line.
3) Mixing digital and analog on the same circuitry doesn't help your sound one bit! The farther up the chain that there is separation between the 2, the better. So #2 comes into play if you have one duplex outlet for both digital and analog, for example; does in my system for sure!
4) Treating outlets works, just like treating plugs and other terminations, so CAIG them all and consider using something like Silclear on your plugs (or the higher priced stuff).
5) Better AC will result in more detail, but that's also potentially more revealing. Some things you might not want to know....
6) RFI is such an omnipresent factor that you seriously need to consider RFI treatments carefully and separately for each part of your AC train. There are RFI treatments that help outlets, but since there's a danger factor, I won't recommend them, just alert you to them and you can research that yourself.

Nothing I've said implies that this has to be expensive; it doesn't. As long as you can DIY AC stuff safely - did I emphasize SAFELY - you can do so much on the cheap that will sound like a million bucks!

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