AC Outlets

Leaving aside hook up, burn-in, etc.,
is there some way you can log listener reactions to match what
receptacles/plugs they are responding to?
are listeners allowed to share their comments as a group in deciding what
sounds 'better' or 'worse'? (There is often 'groupthink' where people's
attitudes are influenced by the views of peers);
duration of playing on each outlet - the fast "a/b" type switch doesn't tell
much sometimes or can be misleading, partly because of the source
material that may be playing at any
given time, so some thought should be given, not only to duration of
listening on each receptacle/plug, but on the kinds of source material that
will be used- I would think a range of stuff that shows mid range, simple
acoustic instrument recordings, human voice that is not over-gimmicked in
the recording process; piano- critical, at least to me in assessing what is
going on in a system, etc. I will look at your system re source equipment,
but would assume the more revealing the source and program material, the
more obvious the differences, all other things being equal. Just out of
curiosity, are you doing vinyl or tape?

Thanks Peter, i'm hardly an expert, some of this comes from basic
behavioral 'testing', i.e. when you do polls or try to get an honest opinion
from a subject; some of it, just my experience as a listener, i.e. i think i
have pretty 'quick ears,' in the sense that i can detect differences, but
deciding which is better or worse takes longer, not only in time, but over
various material.
It sounds like you have a Leviton, a Hubbell, a Porter (which may be a
tweaked Hubbell?) plus a total cheapola? I think that's a little too much on
the low end,* I'd vote for including a couple of top dog receptacles, I don't
know the model of the recherche Furutech and i thought a lot of folks
switched to that from the Oyaide, but if you could make room for that too, it
might be good. If it is a question of expense, I'm sure you could get several
of us to send you 25 bucks each to buy some of the fancier ones. I'm happy
to contribute if others are too, i know you weren't soliciting- but it's a
minimal investment for the sake of science. :)
I participated in a similar test years ago to pick the best exhaust for a
hepped up Porsche turbo. (Had a GT2 at the time). I agreed to buy the Ruf
exhaust if it tested best, paid for it, Ruf delivered it to the shop that ran the
test and lo and behold, a cheapo exhaust actually delivered more power
than the Ruf. Ruf graciously took the exhaust back from the test shop, and
refunded the money to me (it was a pretty expensive muffler). I bought the
el cheapo one that won the test. Hated it! It was so fking loud i couldn't hear
myself think.
*PS not implying the Porter is low end, that's actually what's in my current
room right now.
PPS: I have to believe there are some scientists here who know test
methodology, including some behavioral science types who could help you.
I know, over the years, I've read various articles about blind testing.
Here's a link to one, i am not endorsing it, but you'll see that the description
of the methodology, as well as some of the letters criticizing the approach,
can stimulate your thinking.
http://www.stereophile.com/features/113/index.html
FWIW, having listeners familiarize themselves with the pieces of music first
is a good idea. You also have the issue, not just of listener fatique, but of
'vinyl fatigue' for lack of a better word- you shouldn't be playing the same
cuts over and over- it will kill the record and probably not sound as good
after several back to back plays. I know the AES also has some papers,
Floyd Toole, etc. but I'm out of my depth here, and the first to admit it.
Interesting to see what others can contribute on the test methology. I will
note that having folks listen to 8 different options is going to make it pretty
tough to choose, by the time you are on choice 8, can you remember what
choice 1 even sounded like? Maybe that's taken care of by repeat testing
and averaging it out, but the sample population then becomes an issue too,
I think- is it a big enough sample to be significant?

I don't want to skew what people want tested but here's my offer- I'll put up
$50 bucks toward the purchase of some additional outlets -whichever they
are, I don't care, let the folks here pick em by consensus for the test. Send
me a PM Peter, or just go
to my media business website and email me from there: it is
flyingreptilemediagroup. Let the people decide what they want 'tested'- I
have no vested interest in the outcome, and those who know me here know
i'm not a shill for anybody, whether it's Peter (who I don't even think I've
chatted with before this thread), or any other manufacturer or dealer. (I do
know Albert and have bought stuff from him, but if you decide that the X
outlet kicks Albert's ass, so be it. ;)
And it may be that more folks want to see a battle royale between the
cheap or pretty cheap stuff and the 'super audiophile grade' stuff, just to
see if a standard part from the hardware store can live up to, or even beat,
the high priced spread.
I'll give some thought to some recordings that might be revealing but part of
it, aside from good quality recording, is simply that you know it well enough
that it 'becomes' a reference- -you know what to look for. Unfortunately,
once you've listened to the same record a million times for that purpose,
you begin to hate it! (The Records to Die From Syndrome a/k/a 'No
Stairway to Heaven' sign in the Wayne's World movie).
Glad to help with ideas if I can,
but I still hope we get some behavioral scientist types for methological
suggestions. I'm kinda of running around for the next week in Austin, so I'm
not sure how much I'll be on the board, but I'll try to stay plugged in. (sorry
for the bad pun, but one other issue- some of these outlets have different
coatings, don't they? Even from the same brand? So, what about that as a
factor? Don't mean to add to your headaches...).
Best,
bill hart