Replacing generic RECEPTACLES

@elizabeth .......... That sounds good. That warm one would probably would be the easiest to hear as a difference. After my 3 burn in and install them i will let you know what i hear. 

@elizabeth ........ Sounds like you have a good plan going on.. I am still burning in my first of my 3 Furutech GTX D-Rhodium duplex on my Ref line. Top and bottom each 15 days burn in time. I have about another week left for the first on to be burned in and then i will move to the 2nd. And then the 3rd . 3 months total for the 3. Then i will install one with the Oyaide carbon fiber cover and the other 2 with the WPZ -Z 2 dual duplex Oyaide carbon fiber . I will be using one with my Rega Isis cdp and my other 2 with my ARC Ref 6 And Krell FPB 600. That will be on the duplex.  

I've always done a Google search to locate the least expensive place to purchase my Furutech outlets from, seems like the best price and place to purchase from always changes over time.

Elizabeth, I don't blame you.
I've been able to find good prices from some Audio stores that are very legitimate in Japan. The only drawback is the long wait for shipment.
If one doesn't want the wait time and is afraid of a fake item I suppose for peace of mind one can pay top dollar and buy from a trusted store in the good old USA :-)

Last night i just installed my first Furutech GTX -D-R with the Oyaide  WPC Z - Aluminum base with the carbon fiber cover which has been burned in for 30 days on my refig. I installed it for my cdp. The minute i put on my first cd the improvement in sound was very rewarding to my ears. The sound from my cdp was more dynamic, crisper ,  clearer , cleaner with very nice natural highs that are very revealing .It sounds like i installed a power conditioner. A VERY noticeable difference than a cheap Leviton receptacle. BIG IMPROVEMENT ....I am now burning in my second Furutech GTX-D-R for 30 days and after that one more Furutech GTX-D-R which then i will use both for my amp and preamp on my dedicated 20a line double gang box and put on the Oyaide WPC Z 2 double aluminum base with double carbon fiber cover... Cant wait to hear what those 2 will do for my amp and preamp... 

The minute i put on my first cd the improvement in sound was very rewarding to my ears. The sound from my cdp was more dynamic, crisper, clearer, cleaner with very nice natural highs that are very revealing .

So, tattoman:  How much did each of these receptacle kits cost total?  And how is the world can a face-plate, that is not connected in any way electrically, do anything acoustically and be worth over $100?  If it is the looks, I get that.  But, otherwise.....

@dynaquest4......Off the top of my head the cost was about $235 for each of the Furutech GTX-D-R .  The Oyaide WPC-Z Aluminum base with carbon fiber cover $235 ? And the Oyaide WPC-Z2 double Aluminum base with carbon fiber cover $350? And even though they are and look and feel very industrial and look great i did not buy them for the looks. To me and my ears between the Furutech GTX- D-R and the Oyaide WPC covers is like adding a $2500 power conditioner. It really does some incredible positive things to the sound. My next tweek is the Herbies tube dampers for my ARC Ref 6 preamp... 

Oyaide WPC-Z and Z2...... High performance mounting frame and panel....The appearance of the WPC-Z attracted audio enthusiasts and created a strong impression of mounting frame for wall outlets. In 2007, the long awaited double type base, WPC-Z2, has come on the scene. The most important function for high performance mounting frame is attenuating vibration dampening property. The hybrid materials , each of them has different resonance frequency, perform passive vibration suppression to maximize performance of the Furutech GTX -D-R .Furthermore, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the material of face plate, has functions of static protection and electromagnetic shielding WPC-Z series are the ultimate optional accessory for unlocking unlimited potential of the Furutech GTX D-R. 

Well it sounds like you are having fun with your hobby and I suspect there are other hobbies in which people spend gobs of money on tweeks that are of questionable value. I have no problem at all with hobbies and spending your money as you see fit. What I do have difficulty with (as I’ve mentioned before) are rave reviews (like yours) that tout a tweek as if a deaf person could hear the dramatic improvement. This, I think does a disservice to new, inexperienced readers of this forum.

If a "special" plug (OK....receptacle sounds better) did squeeze out any actual improvement, I submit it would be:
1. Very subtle (like with exotic cables, interconnects and power cords); not to the over-the-top degree to which you claim.
2. Nearly undetectable unless you could switch back and forth between plugs (probably electrically impossible) in an A/B type test. Audio memory, as I hope you know, is so perishable, it is almost impossible to remember the nuances of an audio track unless the transition is near instantaneously.
3. Expectation bias. The more you spend, the higher the expectation.

I’ve been into audio for a long time and never thought I see a day that good equipment would sound so lacking that you would have to spend $900.00 on a plug. But considering what cables have done, I should have suspected. Next? Pressure suits you can wear so that after you suck all the air out of your room you can listen in a vacuum?

BTW....not looking for a debate; just posting a counter-opinion for the record. Like with politics, no one is going to change their mind but we can influence those who have not yet reached an opinion.

@tattooedtrackman while the Oyaide CF faceplates are great their weakspot (endemic to the design of US outlets) is the single screw fixing in the center leaving the edges free to vibrate. Try applying small strips of FoQ damping material across the edge of the CF plate onto the aluminium surround and you will be astonished at the improvement. When it comes to managing vibration everything matters it seems.

Also the screws have a tendency to strip so changing faceplates can be a pain, this may be an interaction with the underlying outlets (I use SR Blues, Reds and Blacks and the stripping has happened with reds)

Oyaide WPC-Z and Z2...... High performance mounting frame and panel....The appearance of the WPC-Z attracted audio enthusiasts and created a strong impression of mounting frame for wall outlets. In 2007, the long awaited double type base, WPC-Z2, has come on the scene. The most important function for high performance mounting frame is attenuating vibration dampening property. The hybrid materials , each of them has different resonance frequency, perform passive vibration suppression to maximize performance of the Furutech GTX -D-R .Furthermore, carbon fiber reinforced plastic, the material of face plate, has functions of static protection and electromagnetic shielding WPC-Z series are the ultimate optional accessory for unlocking unlimited potential of the Furutech GTX D-R.

I recently replaced my old $5 hospital grade outlets with $100 Oyaide R1's and replaced my old dedicated line comprised of 13 ga Romex with cryo'ed 10. The improvement; minimal. "Minimal" as in de minimus.  I have resolving gear-ARC Ref 6 and Ref 150 SE, Cardas Beyond cabling, etc. Carbon fiber face plates and tuned mounting boxes? C'mon Dude. Why not go the next step and replace the stud the mounting box is attached to with some harmonically tuned 2 by 4 made of ancient dried ebony wood? And the drywall should be replaced too before it introduces bad resonances since the box and plate are mounted flush with the drywall. Maybe it ought to be carbon fiber too. This sounds like the parody of Madison Avenue ad copy; " the ultimate optional accessory for unlocking unlimited potential of the Furutech GTX D-R.". I have an open mind and have implemented tons of tweaks, but this is Tice-Clock goofiness. 

@fsonicsmith .............. First of all i am only giving you MY opinion on what i did hear. And the result was ALOT more than minimal. I wrote my findings as mentioned above. I too have resolving gear. Arc Ref 6, Krell FPB 600, Rega Isis cdp. Straightwire Crescendos from speaker cable quad wired to my B&W 800 Matrix , Straightwire Crescendos XLR ICS. Shunyata Sigma HC PC , Shunyata Sigma Digital PC. Shunyata King Cobra CX. Second of all i am also using Furutech GTX -D-R with my Oyaide aluminum base and carbon fiber plates. You are giving you opinion on yours as minimal.. Thats what you are using as i am not using what you are number 1. And i dont have to keep switching outlets and plates back and forth to my judgement ....I know what i have heard before i switched. And what i am hearing now. You sound like a skeptic about those who are using SR Blue fuses  Some of those people make judgments and have not even tried them. Does that sound familiar DUDE? 

@dynaquest4...... Yes i am having alot of fun... I am trying to get the cleanest purest sound that i can and to bring out the very best in all my equipment like we all try to do. I am only telling what i have heard to my ears. And that was more than very subtle... I dont have to keep switching duplexes back and forth to hear the difference. Besides It is a small job to keep wiring and rewiring duplexes and the Alum case and plate and keep going back and forth. Like i said i know my system and have been hearing it before i installed the Furutech GTX D- R and the Oyaides.... I heard the more than minimal improvement the first time i put on a cd. Sounds really unbelievable but its true and i will put my life on that.  I also am not looking to or for a debate.as every one hears things different and every one has their own opinion... All i am saying is this is what i heard... 

@folkfreak ..........Dont know what you mean about your carbon fiber face plate vibrating... I had no problem with the center hole screw tightening or stripping.... It tightened very well and very secure with no vibration. I also used the Furutech GTX D-R.. Not the SR. Maybe they are somewhat different. 

@tattooedtrackman agreed it feels tight but the fact is the only thing supporting the faceplate the screw in the middle and the pressure against the frame around. The faceplate can vibrate relative to the surround at the edges and damping this is worth a try if you have some materials on hand. Glad the Furutech outlets have better screws then SR however

I bought 2 power cords for my phono preamp. Both OFC stranded 12 gauge. One has gold plated pins, the other rhodium. The latter has a *slightly* steely black clean sound -more dynamic with less hash- with blacker chromium silences. The gold version does not have those qualities and is a touch warmer. It is as if the rhody is clean water while the gold has a drop of burbon in it.

A few mins after I posted the above, I thought I’d swap back in the rhodium power cord to check if what I wrote from memory was correct.
Put it this way, it’s not the same stereo it was earlier. It is louder and fine detail is much enhanced...illuminated even. Cymbals and delicate percussion are much clearer. Bass is tighter and snappier. The music seems to have taken on more drive, coherence and nuetrality. I swapped back to gold to check. This is ridiculous. I’ll have to listen to the collection again. I'm glad I read your post!

I think you will notice an even greater positive effect from the Rhodium connectors in 10 days to two weeks. During that time you may well have some days where the system sound 'tight' or even just plan bad.

David Pritchard

I use  "hospital grade" receptacles for my audio equipment.  Hospitals are always plugging and unplugging equipment at patient beds. Ordinary household receptacles are not meant for this type of abuse, the receptacle blades lose their "spring" in no time at all.  The electrical industry came up with extra heavy duty/sprung receptacle blades, tested with pull out weight tension, for the hospital industry.  This construction is also beneficial to audio equipment, assuring a good solid connection.  I use "20 amp" receptacles regardless of whether the receptacle is on a 15 or 20 amp circuit, as I would expect the 20 amp receptacles to have more copper and offer a better connection.  There is a limit to what can be achieved by a receptacle and a good tight connection is about all that is reasonable to pay for, so I don't buy "audio grade" receptacles.

degnanje

I use "20 amp" receptacles regardless of whether the receptacle is on a 15 or 20 amp circuit ...

That is definitely a code violation in many places, and potentially hazardous.

@elizabeth 

Two othr duplex in the Technical power section run the plasma TV, the power for Kuzma TT motor, and two DVD players. things I do not think need the Furutech touch!        

Actually power supplies for turntable motors are just about one of the most sensitive parts of any setup -- please do try upgrading the power cord and the outlet for your Kuzma, you may be very surprised at the impact

Elizabeth:
Welcome to the exciting world of outlet swapping! Isn’t It amazing the amount of change one outlet can make!
when things have settled in a while I hope you will try an upgrade outlet for your TV.
My Sony 4K and the LG- OLED TV’s both improved when attached to a Synergidtic Research Blue outlet. I think you will be impressed with a Fututech outlet for your TV.

David Pritchard

I cheated - -  and bought six hospital grade plugs. If they're good enough for the electronic equipment in an operating room, I'll trust them with my audio electronics. 

Those hospital rooms have ideal acoustics for 2ch audio as well. : )

brayeagle:

As an Anesthesiologist I spend all day in the Operating Room, and hospital grade outlets impart a far worse sound to a system than any of the audio grade outlets such as Synergistic Research and Furutech outlets. And david_ten is correct - the acoustics in an OR are terrible.


David Pritchard

Rhodium is often frustrating to use. I think you will hear it settle in but it may take 3 - 10 - or 14 days. I appreciate your efforts and your reports.
I have had positive results with coating the connecting wires with the Total Contact by Perfect Technologies. It seems to “tame” some of the harshness of rhodium.
Best wishes for a good weekend.

David Pritchard

Exciting developments. I am confident your system will only improve over the next 4 to 6 weeks. I applaud your hard work and drive to improve your system.

David Pritchard

Put an SR red in the outlet powering my mono blocks. I have a little over 50 hours on it now & all I can say is it's the absolute best upgrade I've ever done for $100. Now I'm going to have to get the blue one for the outlet feeding the exactpower transformer, which feeds the rest of the system (LOL, kind of). 

boxe12:
Congratulations on the upgrade. Your Synergistic Red outlet will continue to improve over the next 100 hours. Adding a SR Blue outlet o feed the rest of the system is a great idea. The Blue will sound already partially broken right out of the box, really good after 3 days and reach it's maximum improvement after about 10 days. The combination of using a Red and Blue outlet in a system is working great for me.

David Pritchard

Good to know David. Thank You

Elizabeth,
How do you like them (sound-wise) after putting some hours on them?