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The Brainerd Liberty Model 126453 heavy cast metal frame (likely zinc) with stained wood insert AC wall plate is simply the best sounding and looking (Satin Nickel & Dark Caramel finishes) out of a number of hardware store variety duplex wall plates that I’ve evaluated.
Having spent big dollars on an Oyaide WPC-Z wall mount unit (machined aluminum bracket with carbon fiber faceplate system) for use within my main audio system, two separate second systems in my charge are cost-limited as to obtaining a SOTA AC wall plate solution for their needs.
A cool thing about the Model 126453 is that it’s designed a bit like the WPC-Z but instead of a carbon fiber faceplate, there’s a 1/16-inch thick wood inlay faceplate (resonance free, in fact the wood faceplate dampens the metal frame a bit -- plenty of tweak potential here, including dampening the back of the wall plate). Most notable is that the cast metal area around the socket and screw openings is 3/16-inch thick, so the wall plate can achieve a very solid interface with the AC outlet when installed at the wall. Did I say it sounds good, too?
The Brainerd Liberty Model 126453 is available at Lowe’s and Amazon.com
see link:
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They also used to make a version that has a ceramic top overlay, and that is a very good one too. Add on a layer of carbon fiber cloth and you have a very cheap but quite nice DIY of the Oyaide.
Brainerd Liberty no longer lists it, and the plate that meles linked to at Home Depot is made of nickel which (I THINK) is magnetic.
I looked thru Brainerd's duplex-outlet plates and couldn't find anything in nonmagnetic metal plus wood. Found many made of zinc, but none had wood inlays.
Oh well...
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Tin-eared audiofool, large-scale-Classical music lover, and damned-amateur fotografer.
William Bruce Cameron: "...not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
Duster similar model is still available from Home Depot:
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Liberty-Wood-Insert-1-Duplex-Wall-Plate-Espresso-and-Satin-Nickel-W10585-ESN-U/205555742
Not sure if its quite the same, but in any event I need double duplex ones and Liberty appears to have never made those.
Any suggestions or updates on the diy wall plate front. I can get non-magnetic stainless steel double gangers extremely cheap and damp, but doubt they have the rigidity. Seems like a lot of cast ones have a completely flat back so not as forgiving nor as much room for damping.
Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00368CI1C
I've installed another Brainerd Liberty 126453 AC wall plate for my computer audio system and find it to sound just as good as when installed for my bedroom system. Also found out that the wood inlay actually does a really good job at vibration dampening the cast metal from audibly ringing (like a bell) as compared to another cast metal AC wall plate that does not feature a wood inlay.
The 126453 vs. the other cast metal AC wall plate: the top end is substantially more open and airy, sound stage is deeper, tonal bloom is decreased so the presentation sounds faster, bottom end is tighter, too. I'm quite tweak diddly pleased ;-D
I don't think it needs any treatment other than perhaps pushing a small ring of Bluetack around the slight rim that runs along the back edges. Maybe, but I don't think it's even a vital consideration.
> >
It seems to me the cheapy plastic ones you can pick up at a box store for $.69 are totally non-magnetic, when fastened securely are non-resonant and are non-conductive.
At less than $8 that's a decent price for a decorative outlet cover but how's it sound compared to the el cheapo plastic?
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
There is no comparison to a cheap plastic cover. The Brainered blows it away. I use a brass screw and dampen the groves in back with Mortite. That is after I subject the Mortite to a de-mag field and imbed it with kryptonite particles. Got that last part from Geoff. T456
"The Borg is the ultimate user. They're unlike any threat your Federation has ever faced."
- Q, 2365
What happens when you add a heavier plate is that you mechanically damp the outlet/plug interface. That is a vibration control that effects microphonics.
If you use a non-magnetic heavy metal plate you also provide some electrical field shielding.
What it sounds like is clearer, just like most other audio tweaks. The degree of that is on the more subtle side, IME, but it's notable none-the-less.
If you have a non-magnetic outdoor cast zinc or aluminum plate, try it. You may indeed like it.
On the other hand a heavier cover or one that has more mass can also resonate more with more mass being set into motion, no?
This also means more stored energy, this stored energy has to be released on top of incoming AC.
I'm not sure that a relative small increase in mass equals vibration control. I would argue that there is just more to vibrate or it could just vibrate more or at a different frequency.
Seems to me that you'd want low mass that is securely fastened to the outlet box which in turn should be securely fastened to the wall stud. Less mass to resonate etc....
Never attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity.
Yes, I would theorize something similar. Such experiments have been tried and posted here years ago. You can look up the posts and their results, which varied, in the Tweaks archives.
You simply won't know until you try this. It does work as I said it works. It's not astounding in its sonic impact, but it is notable and positive in my system.
While the performance level of an audiophile quality AC wall plate may not be experienced as “utterly jaw-dropping” in effect (the Oyaide WPC-Z comes pretty close, though), the sonic betterment is profound enough to be considered a “must have” tweak, IME.
The primary notion of its function is to dampen contact surface vibrations of an AC outlet/AC plug connection. The elimination of a flimsy plastic AC wall plate which only serves as electrical protection with a replacement AC wall plate that actually improves sonic performance can be of obvious benefit.
A few aspects among a list of what one might expect from an audiophile quality AC wall plate vs. a typical plastic AC wall plate are improved coherency, more fully fleshed out images, greater delineation of all micro and macro level listening cues, more vivid and stable sound stage. It’s really a no brainer notion considering how easy it is to swap-out an AC wall plate for experimentation.
Whether it’s a basic $2 non-magnetic stainless steel AC wall plate or a SOTA $200 Oyaide WPC-Z wall mount unit, it’s well worth the effort to replace a mundane plastic AC wall plate with a simply better sounding option.
Link to Brainerd Liberty Model 126453.
Thanks,Duster...
Do you know if the base metal is magnetic or not, Duster? If not, it's got plenty of tweaking potential.
nt
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