If power receptacles make a difference (and I doubt it) you would be better off using ones designed for high current high voltage applications, like you stove or clothes dryer. These have contacts with much greater contact area, and some have a twist-to-lock feature that provides a wiping action for the contacts. |
Saki70..There isn't any shielded conductor in common 12/3 wire used in houses. What makes you think that green tape will stop "interference" better than bare wire? (Have you tried red tape?) Why not use the bare ground wire? This conductor carries no current except for leakage resulting from a fault in the neutral (white) wire. A safety issue.
Quality outlets are desirable because the elcheapo ones wear out and the contacts get loose. If the contacts get loose, so that the plug tends to fall out, then you do have a problem. |
"Trust your ears"?
Have you never experienced an optical illusion? What makes you think that the sense of hearing is not subject to being fooled. I do believe that people (well some of them) hear various sonic effects when wires are changed, or the like. It's just that I believe that these sensations, which may be very real, stem from psychological factors. If they were real changes in the electrical signals going to the speakers, they could be measured, and they would have a technically identified cause. |
Albertporter...
Please do not pronounce that one who has scientific training and experience is not also capable of creative thought and artistry. Remember Leonardo Da Vinci?
You still do not grasp that I am not talking about specs on an amp. I am talking about the electrical signal that ends up applied to the speaker from whatever amp you like.
If you apply an identical signal to the speaker, will it not sound the same? So if the electrical signal is the same for two power cords, is it not reasonable to say that the resulting sound is the same? The sound is hard to measure objectively, but the electrical signal, or the difference between two signals, is capable of unambigious and precise measurement. |
Tbg...In keeping with your suggestion to make observations, I went outside and looked around. I observe that the earth is flat. |
Albertporter...Come now: you know that two audiophiles will never agree completely. My comment of 11/14 sums up my opinion. |
Albertporter...Measuring tube characteristics is not the same thing as measuring the audio signal applied to a speaker. Note that I talked only about the electrical signal applied to the speaker. Parameters that are defined and measured for tubes (and other components also) are intended to identify faulty items, or to monitor production quality, not to cover every characteristic that might affect sonic quality in some relatively small way. The speaker can only respond to the applied electrical signal. If the sound changes it must be the result of a change in the electrical signal. Do you agree that if the electrical signal is identical, the sound is identical? |
What was this thread about? Oh yes, receptacles.
My closed mind did not prevent me from making a careful comparison of cryo'd vs uncryo'd outlets. I neither heard not measured any difference. Too bad, because, as some have mentioned, the cost is relatively small.
Don't deny that you are rich! If you weren't the cost of your system would be enough evidence to have you committed. |
Albertporter...OK I will try again.
I am not talking about component specs describing audio quality.
I am not talking about measurements of the electrical signal describing audio quality.
All I say, which no rational person can deny, is that a loudspeaker's sound is completely defined by the electrical signal applied to it, as processed by the particular loudspeaker's sonic signature. If the identical electrical waveform is applied to the speaker two times the sonic output is identical, and we don't have to actually listen to the sound to know that. As a result of this the EXISTANCE of any sonic effect due to a tweek, including outlets and power cords, can be determined objectively by observing the signal waveform.
EXISTANCE. EXISTANCE. EXISTANCE. I say nothing about whether any sonic effect is good or bad. IF, IF, IF, the electrical waveform does change THEN THEN THEN it is time ro roll up your superb system and give a listen. |
Irvrobinson...How did the orange color affect the sound? |
Albertporter...The notion that a degree in physics inhibits thought takes the cake. |
Albertporter...Two kinds of insults are being thrown about here.
(1) Because you HAVE formal scientific training you cannot maintain an open mind. (By the way you never got back to me about Leonardo da Vinci).
(2) Because you DO NOT HAVE scientific training you cannot make sense.
Both wrong, of course.
Where do I come from? Well, I was a most awful student, but did manage to escape college with an engineering degree. Hired as a tech writer, and then moving into real engineering I gradually picked up the stuff I should have learned in school. I was quite successful as an engineer, not because I was technically savvy, but because I was famous for thinking "out of the box". I had people working under my direction who had masters and PHD degrees. I would never discount their contributions to my work because they often put my crazy ideas on solid ground by analysis that I personally could not do. Also, I always valued the technicians in the lab, some with little formal training, who made the ideas work in the real world.
From the appearance of your system I conclude that expense is no issue for you. Most people, on the other hand, need to trade off cryo'd wires and outlets against better speakers, and hype doesn't carry much weight in this process. Someone commented, above, that your superb system would not exist were it not for some fine engineering. Don't forget that.
One other minor point...when you cite your Grammy-winning friend who likes your equipment, you should make clear at the beginning that the guy is a classical musician. Pop musicians are mostly half deaf: an occupational hazard. |
Albertporter...When the dog barks the guy hears something else, because he wants to. He is happy. So am I with my dog who doesn't need human speach to communicate.
Let's move on :-) |
I know a guy who claims that his dog can talk. He has all the nitty gritty details...the dog speaks Spanish, and with a Cuban accent, and often quotes poetry. The damn dog just barks at me, but the guy swears it's true. Should I believe him? |
Irvrobinson...My dog says "woof, woof". Make what you want of this. |
Hdm...I don't think that it is valid to compare a 115 vac wiring change with the Underwood mod to the Denon player. The mod involves replacement of a lot of active circuitry, and it is entirely to be expected (on a purely scientific basis) that the sound characteristics will change, for the better we hope.
When I tested the cryo'd outlet I put on my objective experimenter's hat. Believe me it would have been much more interesting if the test results had come out the other way. If anything, I was biased towards hearing an effect. |
Tbg....An example of "impure science" is...
1. Resistance in speaker wires is bad. (true).
2. Therefore, a resistance of 0.01 ohm will sound better than 0.02 ohm. (absurd). |
