Replaced all my Living Room Outlets


Just wanted to share that I spent about $50 and an afternoon replacing all the outlets in my home with Eaton / Arrow Hart commercial grade outlets. I don't think it sounds better, but I sure feel a lot more peace of mind.

This house is about 16 years old and a rental for most of the time.  Several outlets showed signs of wear, they either didn't grip a plug well or had too much movement when pressed.  In addition all of them were back stabbed which is a fire hazard due to the ability of them to make poor contact, which is also bad news for a stereo. 

I am lucky enough to have a dedicated circuit to the living room but with all the outlets daisy chained it made no sense to replace just the outlet at the stereo.  They all had to go.

For about $50 I think this was a sound (haahahaha, I'm funny) investment.

I wrote about it more below:

 

 

erik_squires

Something I recently discovered. I needed a 90 degree angle plug for a power conditioner to make it easier to hide the cables and got a hospital grade plug. Wow.

In combination with the contractor grade plugs it’s a vice clamp.  I had to fix the outlet with a flush-fit adaptor because the insertion force was too much.

 

My living room with PS Audio had to change face plates to gray white plates to tacky. My Aragon Power amp with PS Audio cable

fits nicely into outlet tightly.

Happy Listening, Jim 

I use the Leviton 4550-IG wall plugs and Leviton 4570 locking power cord plugs in my audio system. They exhibit excellent conductivity and very tight grip. I am very pleased with the results.

Mike

 

Pass and Seymour 5242 are very good, inexpensive outlets for those on a budget. These are the same outlets that Acme Audio silver plates and cyros for around $48 each.

@shosugi  I didn't either, another A'goner recommended them to me, whose name I've forgotten.  I end up using them in about half of my outlet replacements in this home, audiophile or not, but especially around the kitchen.

Great move I have been using FIM outlets for 20 years big upgrade for sure.

Erik - thanks for the blog post.  I did not know about drywall spacer plates.

It will be funnier as the evening goes on. When I replaced all of the outlets in my house it sure felt like everything was running better. Nice and new and securely fastened.

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