Any one try the new Synergistic Research BLUE UEF Duplex receptacle?


Looking for comparsons to other high quality outlets.
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xlak
Anyone who wants to see if customizing a wall socket makes a difference or not, keep your current wall outlet, but stick some strips of fo.Q TA-102 (from Japan via eBay) tape on it. Cover it as much as desired. Total cost about $10 worth of the piezoelectric tape, for your jaw on the floor.
Google search turned up this.

Background and features: fo.What?

fo.Q was developed by Kiso Industry Co., Ltd., of Japan, through its affiliate Titecs Japan Ltd. According to Kiso’s website, the company develops and markets “industrial chemicals, materials for civil engineering, and environment-related instruments and devices.”

fo.Q is a piezoelectric material -- i.e., it generates an electric charge when subjected to mechanical stress -- and was designed to improve the performance of audio and video equipment by converting solid-surface resonances into heat. Unlike, say, Stillpoints ERS paper or Shakti Stones, it is not designed to absorb, redirect, or diffuse electromagnetic interference (EMI) or radio-frequency interference (RFI).

Kiso states that fo.Q has at least twice the damping power of conventional damping materials. They say that, as resonances increase, conventional materials become less effective, but that the opposite occurs with fo.Q: as resonances increase, so does the degree of damping.

Kiso also states that fo.Q won a funding grant from the Japan Science and Technology Agency, a Japanese governmental agency responsible for the development of science and technology. The material gets its name from principles of acoustical engineering (i.e., physics): f stands for formant, o for zero, and Q for quality factor, or resonance.

https://www.soundstageultra.com/index.php/features-menu/opinion-menu/106-uncategorized/529-fo-q-damp...
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Anyone who wants to see if customizing a wall socket makes a difference or not, keep your current wall outlet, but stick some strips of fo.Q TA-102 (from Japan via eBay) tape on it. Cover it as much as desired. Total cost about $10 worth of the piezoelectric tape, for your jaw on the floor.


$32 on ebay.  $95 at cableco.  Sounds about right.
Use of small strips of fo.Q material is highly recommended. As the top plates of US spec receptacles are usually held by only one screw the edges will unavoidably resonate. Adding strips of fo.Q across the edges of the top plate to the wall or outlet frame will damp this resonance. Be careful not to overdamp however as this can deaden the sound. This phenomena may also be why slightly loosening the top plate screw can sound better the having it fully tightened
@whostolethebatmobile  Thanks for bringing the fo.Q TA-102 to my attention. I just placed an order.

Question to you and folkfreak and others who have used it:  Advice on the 'Thick' 1mm tape vs the 'Thin' 0.33mm tape? Thanks.
Thin definitely. The thick is only for use in large blocks damping top plates and the like
@folkfreak   Do you see application (for the thick version) in the main electrical panel? Thanks.
I’m not a fan of damping the main electrical panel. I tried this and it killed the sound dead. My preference for the panel is to remove the door or leave it open. The thick fo.Q is useful on large capacitors, transformers and the like. But overall use fo.Q sparingly, less is more!
@folkfreak   A major Thank You for your guidance and application recommendations.

Hello there fellas, I have a question for you. I listen to 70 percent Metal-punk-Classic rock and 30 perecent what i'll just call audiophile recordingds for the sake of time. The 70 percent obviosly wins out for me. Would the latest red,black or new blue be the best outlet for what I like to call Metallically tinged noize. A huge thank you in advance to anyone who can offer me any insight
ht.

There is a recent thread in Tech Talk where I list the best uses I have found for fo.Q TA-32 (thin tape) and TA-102 (thick tape). Generally the thin tape works best on cables and connectors, thick tape on components and chassis. I’m generally more on the side of "more is more" when it comes to fo.Q. But it boils down to personal taste and your sensitivity to coloration produced by low amplitude vibration.

You have to realise what is happening with fo.Q. It is reducing the amplitude of already very low amplitude mechanical vibrations. As the amplitude decreases, the effectiveness increases. It’s not a conventional damping material like rubber or Sorbothane. It will effectively reduce the amplitude of vibrations that have such low amplitude that you may not realise they exist. Until they are gone.
I am interested in the Blue after doing some research but 285$ is hard to swallow for a frickin' duplex. Anyone knows if SR will come up soon with a promotion where if you buy the blue duplex, they will throw in a blue fuse for free?
I currently have a Shunyata SR-Z1 outlet that I am looking to upgrade. I am looking at two options: 1- cruzeFIRST Maestro or 2- synergistic blue. The maestro is qualified as neutral, clean and natural. These are qualities I am looking for to match my Yamaha and Bryston gear. The problem with the Blue, there is not much that have been written on it yet. No professional reviews that I am aware of. In this situation it is difficult to know how it would pair with my gear. I know we always have to try but that would be nice to know some attributes when compared to other outlets. And, there is a 200$ between both. Is the Blue that great to justify the 200$ Increase? Did anyone compare these two outlets?
parabellum:
I have the Synergistic Research Blue outlets in my three systems. They really are worth the price. Buy one and try it for 10 days. By then it will be fully broken in. Send it back if you do not think it is worth the cost. They give you 30 days to decide. The Blue outlets are superior to the Oyaide and Furutech outlets I have bought.
David Pritchard
Hi. I use an MIT duplex. Instead of installing it into the wall, I put it into a junction box and plug the box into the wall and plug my gear into the duplex in the box. Am I losing anything by not having it wired directly into the romex in the wall? Thanks
to thezaks:
I have done exactly what you asked. I replaced the SR Tesla Plex outlet with the SR Blue and the improvement was definitely worth it. It will be fully settled in after 10 days. I think you will be happy with the upgrade.
David Pritchard
The Blue duplex is no longer the sheriff in town.. The new Orange outlet is out!
  I did a search and couldn't find anything on a new orange receptacle. I was fully expecting a new orange receptacle after the new orange fuses which I switched to

 Any idea when the orange receptacles will be on the market ?
I saw this new duplex on SR own website. I visit this site regularly and just noticed today so it’s fairly new. My guess is that it won’t take long before you can buy one. The price is the same as what was the price of the Blue, at 285$. The Blue is now 225$, and the black at 200$.
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What is that? Like 500 words of pointlessness? The point of the Orange is the sound. What is wrong with audiophiles?

How about, instead of reading NEC try reading whostolethebatmobile? That’s what I did, and just ordered some f0.Q thick and thin for my turntable, speakers, and other stuff. Which I will be applying with such utter disregard for NEC you can’t even begin to imagine.
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jea,

Respectfully, I think you miss the point. I speak for myself but I don't care much about the why, why, why.. Thing is, I f***** don't know how they achieve a better/different/worse sound with different outlet. All I care, as an audiophile, is does it sound better to my ears? Does it synergize well with the rest of my system? One has to step outside own's pre-conceived ideas. You seem to think too much like an electrician; plug one of those and listen for yourself. Then come back report.

It's not because I do not understand the science behind the product that I cannot appreciate its merits. I cannot explain why a cleaner power signal feeding my gear ends up with my gear to sound better. Why is this, I don't know and cannot find an actual answer. But I do appreciate the improved sound though.
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After about 1 year or so of using the blue duplex I switched to the orange. .man what a big improvement. .low end has way more heft and tonality is much more lifelike and accurate. .everything seems to be more focused with larger sound stage followed by more details coming forward. .well worth the money. 
Hi Johnny,

Was the new Orange outlet installed at the wall feeding all equipment specifically? 
Here is why buying these high priced outlets is not good. It gives the owners free money and intices others (like Audioquest) to do a similar advertisement and sales tactic. 
I have a few of the earlier ones, Oyaide, Teslaplex, Cruz first, Furutech, and others. Recently I purchased an Audioquest Edison. I was so pissed off after seeing their wall plate was cheap plastic and not flat, the whole assembly is made in China, and the internal metal prongs had a scraping feeling when I plugged a cord into it, that I decided to send it back. The $179.00 price was screaming "price gouging", another fool, load their bank account, jump on the marketing bandwagon, etc. And their claims of their silver plating "driving away RF frequencies".  
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