Upgrading wall outlets

Shadorne, thank you for your careful explanation. But what, exactly, constitues this "unreliability" of high end audio power supplies that you mention? And how would simlpy changing a household power outlet cause a significant change to the sound (via a change in output to the speakers) from said high end audio equipment?

I'm not saying that no one ever heard a real difference after changing out an outlet. I'm simply suggesting that the real reason for the change is most likely not (as in almost certainly not) the reason that several of you have stated. Bad contacts, yes. Dirty, oxidzed or corroded connections, yes. Magical power genies, no.

I was only saying that the opinion of someone who had never listened to something should be given its proper value. By coincidence I was looking at the HIFICHOICE for this month in which Paul Messenger points out that in regard to outlets:" I've still found it possible to make quite dramatic changes in sound quality , using numerous usually mutually exclusive techniques of wildly varying prices." This has been the experience of most of us WHO HAVE ACTUALLY TRIED IT. Of course, we simple folk lack the wisdom of those who are able to know without actually having to go to the trouble of listening themselves. They live in the world of Aristotle and not of science where pure logic can tell you what will happen without messy experiments.

1. I'm sure that most of you guys understand that NONE of your gear actually runs on AC power - that the job of component's power suply is to convert AC to DC. Having said that, have any of you ever measured the AC in vs. the DC out? If you have, have any of you seen a measurable difference in the DC out after making of the above recommended changes? If yes, you have a defective power supply.
08-12-09: Br3098

Especially Part 2
http://www.conceptorg.com/techlibrary/PowerTechnology/AC_and_Audio.pdf
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2. Hospital grade outlets - I'm also sure that you guys who are using them understand that so called "Hospital Grade Outlets" are designed for safety purposes, and have nothing to do with quality of power delivered.
08-12-09:

Hospital grade receptacles? The little green dot.... means the ground contact of the receptacle is beefed up and makes a tighter contact with the inserted ground pin of the plug than a regular spec grade recept.

The Hubbell HBL8300H hospital grade receptacle seems to be a very good receptacle for feeding audio equipment though.
Features:
*Non plated brass contacts.
*Great contact holding pressure.
*A brass yoke, connecting back strap. Not steel.
*Non nickel plated brass back strap.
*No ferrous materials used.
*The body that holds the contacts in place, a narrow nylon body design. Not cheap plastic.
The HBL8300H does not color the sound, is neutral sounding.

Another good Hubbell receptacle is the HBL5252 and the HBL5352.
Hard to believe but this recept will cause a warmer sounding audio system. Works great for some digital equipment.
See page #10

I have experimented with both the HBL8300H and the HBL5352 receptacles. My findings match what others have found using the recepts.

Br3098, you should take some time and check the archives here on Agon and on Audio Asylum regarding how a receptacle effects the sound of an audio system.
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In fact, there are thousands of Mil-Spec power connector types that are much more efficient at providing a stable, cold current connection than the NEMA 5-15 plug.
08-12-09: Br3098

Ya but the NEMA 5-15P plug is the norm for audio equipment sold here in the US..... And NEC says that the receptacle used in residential occupancies for 120V convenience outlets shall be NEMA 5-15R or 5-20R receptacles.

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Unless your existing electrical outlet is very old (25+ years), you will probably see the same improvement by simply cleaning the outlet with Deoxit and adjustng the receptacle contact gap (shut off the circuit first or unwire the receptacle first, please).
08-12-09: Br3098

Bad advice.... The contacts loose their memory over time due to heating and just plain wear out from usage. Recepts with poor contact pressure should be replaced. They can be a fire hazard.
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This thread is a hoot I must post the following short reminders...

...all amplifiers sound the same...
...all cables sound the same...
...all (insert ignorant statement) sound the same...

AND: ALL DOUBTING THOMAS'S SOUND THE SAME

fwiw: this one's been here for all of 90 days; what more would you expect? They come & they go. We've seeen it all after 10+ years on these boards.

Hmmm, so now all of the psuedo-experts and engineers come out. Guys, by all means believe what you want to believe. By all means discount physics and electromagnetic theory.

Stanwal - I never claimed that I hadn't tried ever tried changing an outlet. Nor had I claimed that there could not be an improvement by do so. What I DID claim is that I don't believe that, in and of itself (and barring some major issue with the power delivery in an average home, which should be addressed at the source of the problem), changing an outlet will make a substantial difference in the sonic signature of an amplifier (or any other piece of analog and/or digital) audio gear.

Jea48 - Interesting article. It starts out with some good factual information, then concludes with some personal examples and advice which has little or no correlation with the factual information.

Bob_bundus - 'nuff said.

One last word: if "hospital grade outlets" are so important, why doesn't any high-end audio equipment manufacturer recommend this necessary upgrade? If super-expensive rooty-tooty power cords are so necessary, please advise me of which high-end audio equipment manufacturers design, build, sell and/or recommend this essential part? Can you explain why CJ, or ARC, or Krell, or McIntosh amongst others would both compromise their expensive systems and leave money on the table?