Looking to Upgrade Outlet

The SR Black outlets would seem an obvious choice given you like the SR line. It’s a very layered, rich and musical outlet that I have in my system and was a good step up over the TESLA Plex outlet I had previously

I use the outlets made by Shunyata.  They were around 100.00 and are cryo treated.

Hello ronrags,

I'm having a dedicated 20 amp circuit installed tomorrow by an electrician that happens to be into high-end audio.  This electrician owns Threshold STASIS series amps designed by Nelson Pass (Pass Labs) who lives not too far from here.  He also knows Nelson personally.

Anyway, during his evaluation of my home's layout and electrical panel, he mentioned that I didn't need to install hospital grade receptacles.

My system currently consists of an Audio Note OTO Phono SE Signature, Nottingham Analogue Interspace Jr. and Magnum Dynalab MD102 FM tuner.  I plan on adding a CDP in the near future.  

I don't know how long you've had your dedicated circuit installed or if the hospital grade wall receptacles you have now are old or recently installed (you don't mention) but many A'goners here have suggested listening to your system for a while before pulling the plug on expensive outlets for example Furutech's, FPX or GTX, Shunyata, etc.  or even expensive power cables.

I did purchase 4 Porter Ports because the wall outlets I have now were installed by the builder when the home was built 11 yrs ago.  Porter Ports are Cryo treated Hubbell 5362, 20 amp rated wall receptacles by the way.

I realize people will hear what they hear and that's fine but I'm a bit skeptical of folkfreak's (No offense folkfreak) comment about an electrical outlet being "layered, rich and musical."  It's a wiring device designed to provide connecting points within the power distribution chain.   Allowing current to flow more freely to devices connected to it, that's one thing but imparting musicality, well - that's a bit of a stretch in my book.

But that's me. 

People are gonna hear, what people are gonna hear.

Just something to consider.

I have used the Porter Ports, however, I now use and recommend the Oyaide R1 outlet.

Well I can also observe  that applying small strips of fOQ material to the oyaide face plates on my outlets also markedly improved the sound. At a certain level of system just about everything makes a difference ...

I have to agree with folkfreak, he is on to something.  His system is of extremely high resolution and thus, enables him to more freely hear minute changes in the sound, compared to a guy like me with a much more modest system.

Thanks for you comments. I'm trying to get a general consensus whether or not those expensive outlets are that much better than hospital grade. It often becomes a trial and error which equates to spending more than I planned. I tried 4 different fuses before deciding the one I liked best. 

In my system, I have close to 50K invested, so I figured two $100.00 outlets were worth it.  I have 2 dedicated lines, on 15 amp and a 20 amp.  I did the wiring myself and had it checked by the city where I live.   Back when I did it I spent around 600 on materials including the 2 outlets.  It was about a 4 hour job, not a bad way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

I had a very good result with the Afterburner outlet, and it was fairly reasonable. Audible results.

All of the above suggestions are good and all of those products will produce a slightly different sound. Basically what it comes down to is what type of sound do you want to hear, and how will they perform in your home with your system?
A simplification is:
Smooth = Gold plated.
More detailed with more bass slam = Rhodium plated.
And then there are the flavors in between.
My suggestions would be Furutech GTX-D Gold, Furutech GTX-D Rhodium, or Furutech NCF (R) Rhodium Plated.
Unfortunately, you won't know what you really like or the sound that will be produced until you audition any outlet and allow for break-in.
I'll bet you would be happy with whichever outlet you select as long as its a high-end outlet.

@lak   Thanks for your post. Are you saying your 'simplification' is generically applicable or is it specific to Furutech outlets? Thanks.

@david_ten, generic for most outlets that fall into the gold-plated vs the rhodium plated catagory.

Thank you.

@lak  that's the type of response I was hoping for so that's why I mentioned my equipment and my preference of sound. Based on what you stated I would favor the gold plated. I converted to a tube amp especially with the GL KT77 for a smooth, warm sound. My sub gives me enough slam that is not overwhelming. Another factor is my small listening room and I sit less than 8 ft from the speakers. 

Since I would most likely favor gold plated, how would that compared to the brands mentioned above?

@ronrags I really believe all the above brands mentioned in this thread are good, and many others that have not been mentioned.
I personally have switched to all Furutech outlets. So if you wanted gold plated I personally go with Furutech GTX-D Gold.
If you aren't in a hurry, do a search on Google or eBay to find your best price, I've noticed that the Furutech GTX-D Gold is currently receiving a discount by many establishments.

ronrags:
I am glad you will be improving your outlets. They make a big difference.
I have used Oyaide R-1, Furutech GTX Gold, Furutech GTX Rhodinium,
PS Audio Premier, Synergistic Research RED, and Synergistic Research Black.

I would suggest trying the Synergistic Research Black. Big soundstage, great detail without being etched, a wonderful sense of flow to the music.
All of the above mentioned outlets need at least 10 days of electrical current to fully settle in.

The SR outlets do come with a 30 day return policy which is nice. My Furutechs did not. I spent approximately 6 months evaluating outlets without other changes to my system.

I hope this can be of help.

David Pritchard

@ronrags your post had me digging through my store room and I have a pair of SR Teslaplex SE "Red" duplex outlets that I replaced with Blacks in my system. They are about 4 years old and have less than one years use on each one and look in nigh perfect condition. PM me if you are interested and I’ll send them to you gratis so you can try them out and see if they work in your system (as they're not doing anything in mine!)

I appreciate everyone's responses and suggestions. I understand that any component is system dependent and based on personal tastes. I also understand some are skeptical concerning outlets, but I found that changing power cords and fuses had a dramatic impact to my system. Additionally buying a companies higher priced cables doesn't necessarily mean it sounds better. As I stated, it's a matter of tastes.

I'm leaning towards the SR black since I use and I'm happy with SR cables and tweaks as folkfreak suggested and the fact that SR has a 30 day return policy as David suggested. The 30 day return policy has worked for me several times previously. If I'm not satisfied with the blacks I may consider the Furutech Gold since I found it 33% off list at the cable company.  Since I'll order the outlet thru the cable company, I'll ask their opinion between both outlets.

Thanks again for everyone's input and I'll post my findings. Ron

I have the NCF and the GTX Gold installed in my power conditioner. I find the Gold receptacle to be a little warmer, not a night and day difference in my situation. I will say that when you upgrade to a higher quality receptacle you will get more detail, so be conscious of that. I have heard from people that this is a warm sounding receptacle>> https://www.vhaudio.com/oyaide-swo-gx.html

I would also consult with Chris from VH audio and get his opinion for the comparison between the GTX Gold and the SWO-GX. I would also consider buying from him as well.

To me the NCF is the best I have heard. I would not really call it analytical, but if you have the wrong ingredients as you know, it can expose things in your system, that might make it sound analytical. My system does not have tubes and I am using 3 NCF's and I do not have brightness at all. As a matter of fact, the first thing people say when they hear my system, is how warm it sounds. So I would say to play it safe, get a gold plated receptacle.

Best,
tom

Tom,

You know my tastes best since we swapped tubes and communicate often. I checked the VH website and noticed they also carry SR so I'll give a call tomorrow.

Regards, Ron

ronrags, please let us know what you end up purchasing, and eventually how you like it. 

@lak I'll post it here and thanks again

I decided on the Furutech GTX-Gold after speaking to my dealer. I'm debating if I should break-in the outlet first or just apply Total Contact during the installation. 

I would choose to put TC first, this way you can hear it sound its best. You would be taking care of the curing process as well.

Sounds good, thanks