Porter Ports or Cabledyne Cryo Hubbell 5362


Just as I was about to purchase 3 Porter Ports yesterday, a friend of mine drew my attention to a new offering on the market, cryoed HBL 5362 by Cabledyne (www.cabledyne.com). Price wise there is considerable difference (as it appears to me): Porter Ports sell of $36 ea. + $12 shipping (for up to 3 units) against $25 each with free US shipping currently being offered by Cabledyne. My heart says Porter Port, but my mind -possibly biased by my friend - says Cabledyne.
Would greatly appreciate the advice from and personal experience/comparison from fellow audiogoners.
thank you in advance.
lall

Showing 13 responses by lall

Details of my shootout and findings:

System Used:
- CD player – Audio Aero Capitole Ref SE
- Preamp – de Havilland Mercury 2
- Power Amp – KR Audio VT 8000 monos (push pull using GE 6550A tubes)
- Speakers – Kharma 1.2 CRM with Revelator tweeters
- Power cords: A pair of Kharma Grand Ref (on CD and Preamp) and a pair of
Harmonix Studio Master (on mono amps)
- Interconnects – CD to Preamp: JPS Labs Superconductor 3
Preamp to amps: various (JPS Labs Superconductor 3; Fusion
Audio Romance IC2 & Harmonix Golden Performance SUS)
- Speaker cables – Jorma UNITY & Cardas Golden Hexlink 5C

- Dedicated Audio Room 16 ft x 24 ft; sloping ceiling height 8ft to 20ft

- 3 Dedicated power lines each connected to a duplex receptacle.

- Walls are in concrete with some room treatments. Fully carpeted room.

- Caveat: my room is quite lively; my Kharmas are known to be bright, hence I consider my system to be more bright than neutral.

- All outlets were burnt in for at least 15 days immediately prior to the tests.

- Music played during the tests: Diana Krall; Alison Krauss (Jacobs’ dream); Vivaldi (four seasons "Winter" by Iona Brown); Eric Satie (solo pianos); Nils Lofgren (Acoustic Live); Carmen sings for Kharma; Naim CD sampler; Kenny G (saxophone); and various other classical albums.

Prior to the shootout, I was using a separate FIM Gold 880 duplex receptacle to power each mono amp; and a Legrand duplex outlet for my CD and Preamp.

The shootout comprised four different sets of tests:

Test 1: I successively replaced the two FIM Gold outlets by the test receptacles [Porter Ports, Cabledyne Cryoed Hubbell 5362; Hubbell 8300 (non cryo)] while keeping the source equipments plugged into the Legrand outlet

Test 2: Same as Test 1 with the only change being the source equipments now connected to a third Cabledyne Cryoed Hubbell 5362 duplex outlet.

Test 3: Same as Test 1 except that the Legrand outlet was replaced by a FIM Gold 880 outlet.

Test 4: Same as Test 1 except that the Legrand outlet was replaced by a Hubbell 8300 outlet.

RESULTS & OVERALL FINDINGS

FIM GOLD – Big and powerful bass, but soft rounded up sound and somewhat bloated bass and at times lacking liveliness and dynamism especially in large orchestral swings and female vocals.

PORTER PORTS – Clean and powerful extended treble and generally very good on vocals and piano. A tad thin but I noticed its aggressivity and glare on a number of tracks especially classicals. Nearly bled my ears out during Vivaldi’s Four seasons violin track performed by Iona Brown and at high volumes.

CABLEDYNE HUBBELL 5362 (Cryo) – Good overall outlet, with powerful solid and generally tight bass, with a sweet top end. Non fatiguing, natural sounding and very listenable during extended periods of time and high volumes. On some tracks, the bass was a bit bloated and lacked some liveliness compared to the Porter Ports.

HUBBELL 8300 (non cryo but all copper version old stock item) – Surprisingly good outlet at times very close to Porter Ports and at other times closer to the Cabledyne 5362. Good bass and treble, non fatiguing, less aggressive than Porter Ports (on same tracks) but definitely without the sweet top end of the Cabledyne 5362.

LEGRAND – Very lively but also with considerable glare hence considered as being bright in my system. When replaced by the FIM Gold on my source equipments (CD & Preamp), the sound became too laid back and flat and not enjoyable at all. When replaced by Porter Ports and Cabledyne, and Hubbell 8300, my system got back a good portion of the liveliness but without the glare. This outlet may do wonders in awakening a dull system.

In conclusion, in my system and room acoustics, I found the Cabledyne 5362 outlets to be a considerably better match for taste than the other outlets used. My system is now completely wired through these three Cabledyne outlets. I like the honest sound, not overemphasized bass or treble, sweet top end and also its ability to remove glare from my system. Is the Cabledyne the ultimate or perfect outlet for my system? Certainly not as at times I would have preferred a tighter bass on some tracks but at the end of the day I really liked the sweet top end it added to my listening.

The Hubbell 8300s (non cryo – all copper version) deserve a special mention and I could have easily lived with them. Considering the price I paid ($2.50 each on ebay), this should be one of my best ever purchases. I will therefore use these two outlets in my second system.

The Porter Ports are a good honest outlet which may probably outperform the other outlets in a less brighter system and for those looking for a neutral sound.

My overall ranking based on the above tests are as follows:-
1. Cabledyne Cryoed Hubbell 5362
2. Hubbell 8300 (non cryo) – old stock all copper version
3. Porter Ports
4. Legrand
5. FIM Gold 880

I wish to stress that the above findings & conclusions are the results of my own, independent, unbiased, honest and personal tests in my specific system at my home place. I have absolutely no connections whatsoever with any of the above tested products or their manufacturers/marketers.

Thank you
Sonic genius, Hdm and Lak: i sincerely appreciate your comments but i have to give credit to you guys and your previous posts on this site which pushed me into trying out new outlets. I must say that with the addition in my system of the 3 new outlets, as well as the Fusion Audio Romance IC2 & JPS 3 interconnects and the GE 6550A tubes, i have now achieved the level of performance i was aiming for a long time.

I have to say that the Cabledyne 5362 is the HBL 5362 cryoed which cost me $25 ea. including shipping & paypal fees.

HDM, the two Porter Porters i used were well broken in as they had been in use for more than a year by a friend who loaned them out to me for the shootout. On the other hand the HBL 8300 and the Cabledyne HBL 5362 were brand new but with some 15 days break in. I would be perfectly happy if i find no further change in performance of the Cabledynes with time as i already like what i am hearing.

Also, yes the Porter Ports and the Hubbell 8300s (non-cryo) are almost identical, physically speaking. Also they have identical gold (or copper) coloured back straps. No silver/nickel colour back straps. It may well be that the only difference between the two is the cryo treatment.

But the Cabledyne HBL 5362 is much thicker and heavier than the Porter Ports, HBL 8300 or the FIMs. Almost 50% bigger (deeper) and heavier. From the front however, they are of the same dimensions and thus the same faceplate fits nicely into each and every outlet tested.

My Kharma Grand Ref. power cords are very thick and terminated with ultra big US type plugs/connectors. The bigger/deeper Cabledyne outlets certainly provided a tighter grip for them. With the FIMs, these powercords were quite lose in the outlets and the only way to prevent them from coming out was to put a small vertical stand/support under each Kharma plugs. No such problems encoutered with the Cabledynes. Withe the Porter Ports and the Hubbell 8300s, the grip was tighter than the FIMs probably because these outlets were still new and their grips worked well though not as tight as the Cabledynes.

The Cabledyne is a cyoed version of the standard industrial grade Hubbell HBL5362, according to what i read from their website.

Also for those using 6550/KT88 tubes in their systems, i would strongly recommend trying out the GE 6550 tubes before splashing out serious money on other equipments. In my system, the performance jump compared to my Gold Lions and the very expensive KR KT88 was nothing less than phenomenal. The music became so clean clean clean... refined, with a bloom in the midrange.. almost orgasmic sensation...and am not kidding! It costs nothing to try.

I was about to spend come $10K on new speakers (the Kharmas weere giving me serious head and ear aches) but the addition of the Cabledynes, JPS 3, Fusion Audio and GE 6550 tubes have now helped me to better appreciate my Kharmas.

I will shortly update the equipments list of my system on my audiogon page to to listed above in this thread.
For your info, i've just ordered three cryoed HBL5362 from Cabledyne and am awaiting delivery. A friend of mine will loan me his Porter ports.
Will keep you posted
Yes, I hope so. It will take some time as the receptacles have to be well burnt in to enable a decent comparison with my existing outlets.
Thanks for your inputs, but i was hoping more in the direction of any first hand experience with the cryoed Hubbell HBL5362 sold by Cabledyne and/or whether anyone had a chance to compare these with the Porter Ports.

By the way currently I have dedicated a/c lines with an FIM 880 receptacle for each of my mono amps, while my CD and Pre are plugged in standard Legrand receptacles.
Hdm
i always appreciate your enlightening contributions in such threads and will buy both (Cabledyne and Porter) for comparison.
I have also just purchased two HBL8300H (non cryo) and will do a comparison of my FIM 880, the Cabledyne HBL5632 cryo, the Porter Port 8300H cryo and the standard HBL8300H (non cryo). Will post results of my findings in my system/room.
Hdm, i honestly feel you are an asset to the audiogon community.. keep up with the good contibution of imparting your experience and first hand knowledge.. better than any Hubbell catalogue.. imho

Theaudiotweak, I believe you make a very interesting and possibly very valuable suggestion. ... need some more research and comparative experience from fellow audiogoners to test this hypothesis.... contributions cordially invited..
For your info, this is what I just purchased and received.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-NIB-HUBBELL-HBL8300HW-8300HW-8300-HW-WHITE-DUPLEX-RECEPTACLE-HOSPITAL-GRADE-/130919080504?ssPageName=ADME:X:AAQ:US:1123

Is it the same receptacle used to make Porter Ports after modifications ? (i.e. the cryo; brass contact materials etc. (non nickel plated)? confusion, confusion ....
Hdm
thanks again for your insightful suggestion. Just inspected my newly received Hubbell 8300H (with a green dot). Oddly though, on the box its written Hubbell 8300H and nowhere i can find the wordings "HBL8300H" whereas those used by Porter (http://new.audiogon.com/listings/porter-port-20-amp-porter-ports-cryo-ivory-or-white-color--11) has the wordings Hubbell HBL8300H clearly written in the ads. In my case the letters HBL is missing.
Is Hubbell 8300H with green dot different from Hubbell HBL8300H? Why can't Hubbell simply use straight forward model identification numbers to label their products? Why are they creating confusion? And their catalogue does not offer much help in terms of differentiating between these models?
I've even seen on ebay Hubbells clearly with writings "made in China" being advertised as genuine Hubbell US products.
HDM, Old or new stock 8300H, I don't mind as long as they sound good to me and, in my case, free from edge and harshness, and i certainly don't mind a touch of warmth if at all that's possible from an outlet. The revelator tweeters of my Kharmas are known for their aggressiveness in the highs and particularly in female voice.

Sonic genius, i read somewhere that the H versions of the Hubbell 8300 (i.e. ending with an H) are slimmer and are of unplated brass. If that is true then fine but, again, I've read conflicting descriptions in different Hubbell catalogues, some stating that the contact materials of 8300H are Ni plated brass, others stating they are of brass, and also same conflicting descriptions I've read regarding Hubbell HBL5362.
Theaudiotweak
I have pondered over your last post, .. your hypothesis does make sense to me along the same line of thinking taken forward by Hdm... less resonance hence less noise in the system. Don't know if this would apply in my case though.. I have 4 duplex receptacles (each one feeding my mono amps, cd and preamp separately) but only one plug goes into a duplex receptacle.. that is only one of the two outlets of each duplex is utilized and the other one remains empty. Would the resonance factor in my case be as prominent if both outlets of each duplex were fully being utilized at the same time...
Results: my shootout is almost complete with 5 different outlets (a pair of duplexes tested in each case)
- Hubbell 5362 Cryo (from Cabledyne)
- Porter Ports
- Hubbell 8300 (non cryo)
- FIM 880 Gold
- Legrand
Am in process of writing the detailed findings. Will post them within a day or two.
Hdm, thanks for your suggestions regarding moving up to the Oyaide/Furutech outlets. During my shootout, I found out that almost each and every piece of equipment/cable/outlet etc. imparts its own character/flavour to the final music i was hearing. Since my system is quite revealing, i could make out the difference whenever i changed equipments or cables within seconds. In my system I have now achieved a very satisfactory level of performance with a nice balance between resolution, bass, tonality, sweetness and glare (or lack of it).
So I am apprehensive in trying new things at this stage as I am certain that the outlets you suggest will change/alter what i am presently hearing. In my system and for my taste it may be a good or not so good thing. So am not prepared to take that risk at least for some time.

Let me tell you that I have two speaker cables (Cardas Golden Hexlink 5C and the ultra expensive Jorma Unity but on most music i am playing, I prefer the Cardas to the Jorma. This is my taste and maybe the special aspects of my room acoustics and overall system make that combination sound great to me and my taste.
Hope you understand.