Outlet - Shunyata vs Hubble 20 amp

@jumia

 

The Shunyata SR-Z1 is a Hubbell HBL 5362 Extra Heavy Duty Specification grade 20 amp Duplex Receptacle.

Specifications
Face Nylon
Base PBT
By-Pass Power Contacts .036". (.9) Brass
Ground Contacts .031 in. (.8) Brass
Clamping Plate Nickel plated brass
Terminal Screws Plated brass
Mounting Strap .050 in. (1.3) Brass
Automatic Self-grounding Clip Stainless steel
Mounting Screws Zinc plated steel

https://www.graybar.com/hbl174-straight-blade-receptacle-duplex-extra-heavy-duty-industrial-20a-125v-2p3w-gray/p/88127181?pcode=88127181  

 

Shunyata - SR-Z1 AC Outlet - Music Direct

 

Hubbell makes a hospital grade outlet HBL 8300 for about $30-$40.

  Hubbell HBL 8300 20 amp Hospital Grade outlets  built in resent years are not good for the sound of audio equipment.

Specs for the deep body outlet:

Wiring HBL8300 Specification Sheet

Note: Contacts and supporting back strap are nickle plated. Both can cause graininess in the sound.

Slender/Compact design Hubbell 8300 hospital grade outlet.

 

 

 

Same problem. Nickel plated brass contacts.

 

.

onlinecomponents.com - Octopart

Go to page 6:

HBL5362 outlet. Brass contacts. Brass supporting back strap. Not nickel plated...

/ /

Next go to page 8:

HBL8300 Hospital Grade outlet.

Nickel plated contacts.

Nickel plated supporting back strap.

 

@erik_squires Said:

What exactly is the alternative and is it rated for residential use??

Yes it meets, exceeds, NEC requirements.

Constructional Feature:

Impact Resistant, Tamper Resistant

 

Also, nickel plated steel is extra protection against corrosion.

Not good for feeding audio equipment.

 

.

 

https://www.leviton.com/en/products/8200-sgw

Not a good choice, imo.

From the specs:

Line Contacts: Nickel Plated Phosphor Bronze

Strap Material: Nickel Plated Steel

^ ^ ^ ^ Ferrous steel Not Good.

 

/ / / / / /

Better Leviton outlet:

 

 

 

From specs:

Line Contacts: Brass Triple-Wipe
Strap Material: Brass

 

 

 

stringreen

6,206 posts

11-30-2022 at 01:43pm 

The best one I found after trying many.....Maestro

@stringreen 

Does it look like this?

 

@dekay said:

I use both 5362 and 8300.

Two 5362’s in wall and 8300’s in my power conditioners.

They were all manufactured 20+ years ago.

The HBL5362 Extra Heavy duty industrial deep Body outlets are still the same.

https://www.graybar.com/hbl174-straight-blade-receptacle-duplex-extra-heavy-duty-industrial-20a-125v-2p3w-gray/p/88127181?pcode=88127181

The 8300 20A hospital grade Deep Body outlets are not, as I describe above in various posts. And worse Hubbell makes an even cheaper 8300H hospital grade outlet that uses a galvanized steel supporting back strap. Any one buying Hubbell outlets today really needs to do their home work. AND DON"T assume the picture shown is what you are buying...

They were all manufactured 20+ years ago.

When trying them in wall the 5362 was slightly richer sounding with the 8300 sounding a little lighter/brighter.

A lot of audiophiles posted HBL5362 Deep Body outlets had a slightly warmer sound to them. As for the 8300 hospital grade outlet the ones I used had a neutral sound to them.

20 years ago Hubbell was manufacturing two types of 8200/8300 hospital grade outlets.

The Deep Body HBL8300 and the Slender/Compact body HBL8300H. Just going from memory the Deep Body HBL8300 hospital grade outlet used nickel plating on the brass supporting back strap as well on the brass contacts. Imo, and others, the outlet sounded a little grainy which probably sounded bright.

The Slender/Compact body HBL8300H Hospital Grade outlet did not use nickel plating on the brass supporting back strap nor nickel plating on the brass contacts.

I tried both and the Slender/Compact HBL8300H hospital grade outlet won hands down.

The HBL8300H hospital grade outlet is the outlet that Albert Porter used in his Porter Ports until Hubbell stopped making the non nickel plated outlet version.

Scroll down to page 10. Page 10 is a picture of the old, (no longer made), Slender/Compact HBL8300H outlet. Is this the hospital grade outlet you use/used?

 

I find it odd Hubbell still shows the old HBL8300H outlet but when you look at the current Compact 8300H hospital grade outlet you can see the supporting back strap is not unplated brass.

Here is the current Compact design HBL8300H hospital grade outlet:

Here is the spec sheet. Notice the supporting back strap is galvanized steel.

 

 

 

@dekay said:

I recall that Albert also used 5262 & 5362 as a base for the Porterport. 

Ya, I recall after Hubbell changed the HBL8300H Hospital Grade outlet Albert had to find something else that sounded as good. He ended using the Hubbell Slender/Compact body IG5362 outlet. There were threads on AA from members stating the IG5362 was a good sounding outlet that sounded the same as the HBL8300H outlet. I tried one and I couldn't hear any difference between the two. You can still buy the Slender/Compact body Hubbell IG5362 pretty cheap on eBay. Just wire the outlet as regular non IG grounding type outlet.

Example of the Slender/Compact body Hubbell IG5362 duplex receptacle:

 

 

 

 

 

Not this one though... The photo shows the supporting back strap is galvanized steel... Look at the box. It's not a Hubbell, it's a Pass & Seymour.