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THE GREAT AC OUTLET SHOOTOUT.

Just to satisfy my own curiosity and because of the very passionate debate by some relating to this issue, I have decided to perform a controlled listening test of AC outlets, basically most of the ones suggested in this tread AC Outlets that I could get a hold of. I’m basically putting my own money where my mouth is.

I have procured the following AC outlets, all are new and unused.

Audio Magic NanoStream, $ 69 and WattGate 5266i AC Plug $10

Porter Port by Albert Porter, $41 and TBD AC Plug $ ?

Furutech FPX-G $95, and Furutech FI-11M-G AC Plug $55

Pass Seymour CR6300 Cryo $44 with Pass Seymour 5366XCCV4 AC Plug $10

Teslaplex SE by Synergistic Research $95 and TBD AC Plug $ ?

Hubbell HBL5362-I Heavy Duty Spec. Grade Grande Duplex $16 and HBL5266C AC plug $10

Levitron 5362-W Industrial Heavy Duty Grande, Straight Blade, Self Grounding Duplex $7 and AC Plug Levitron 5266-C Industrial grade $10

El Cheapo HomeDepot Outlet $0.54 with “regular” Cheap moulded power cord $5

Technical Description of the Test:

To ensure that all the outlets will be equally represented in this test they will be mounted in a test fixture evenly spaced. They will all be fed via a single piece of 12 gauge romex cable directly hardwired to a dedicated 20 amp breaker in our main panel. The wire will be uncut when wired between the different outlets - basically simulating a “single run” dedicated line as only one outlet will be energized at any time.

As you can see if have ordered AC Plugs of the same manufacture and grade as the outlets, I have asked the suppliers of the Audio Grade outlets what AC plug they recommend to get the best performance from the outlet, that way there should be synergy within the - connection point - that is to be evaluated.

The AC plugs will be wired with 3x12 Gauge SJOOW about 12” long these will be hardwired to each their own 3 pole 20Amp relay that will be controlled by a PLC (programable logic controller) this to enable remote controlled switching between the 8 different outlets. The control will be programmed so that the next circuit will energize prior to the past one is de-energized to ensure uninterrupted current flow to the system that will be used for the test. The Complete Audio system will be fed from this one test jig, one outlet at a time. The individual power cords for each piece of equipment will be hard wired into a common terminal strip that is fed from the output of the relays. With this setup the ONLY variable is the AC outlet and its associated AC Plug. The test jig with the outlets will be run in prior to the test for at least 24 hours to insure “break in” for the ones that feel that this is important.

I want to run it as a blind test at first to ensure a completely unbiased result. As each outlet is energized it will be represented by a LED indicating that now outlet “A” for an example is energized, enabling the test panel to identify which outlet they deem the “best sounding”. Many of you have stated that the AC Outlet a Audio System is connected to profoundly changes the sound of the Audio System, so it should be beyond obvious to the test panel which one “sounds” the best. Later on the same test jig can be used for testing AC Cables should the opportunity arise.

We will use a Audio System similar to the system I have listed here on AudioGon for the test, it may change a bit by time of the test based upon what I have available at the time. The total current consumption of the system is in the range of 6 - 8 Amp at idle I estimate at this time but a complete listing of the system used, with actual current draw will be published here on this forum, along with the results of the test for those interested. System

The Test Panel:

On December 2nd. we will host the San Diego Music and Audio Guild here at our facility from 2P to 5P. We host that great group of folks here about every two years or 3 years, usually in December so this coinciding presents a great opportunity to do the AC Outlet test as there will be plenty of Audiophiles available for a unbiased opinion. I ran it by the President of the group this morning and he thought it would be a great thing to do along with of course auditioning our demo system in our factory show room, see and hear our new offerings, discuss audio etc. For more information about our facility you can go to our website and take a peak at the video, there is footage there from our showroom as well. Website

Everyone is welcome to participate in this catered event, there will be food and beverage served. Slider Burgers, Finger Sandwiches, Draft Beer and Soft Drinks etc. If you want to attend just shoot me an email so I can plan ahead with the caterer making sure we will have enough for everyone.

If any of you have any suggestions on on how to conduct the actual test, ie how long do you think each AC outlet should be “on” for, how many times the test should be repeated etc. suggestions are more than welcome. Also, if you have any suggestions to as how the test jig could be technically improved, let me know and I’ll be happy to discuss further.

As Always, Good Listening

Peter
128x128pbnaudio
pbnaudio's avatar
pbnaudio OP
1,613 posts
 
Rja,

I'm still contemplating how to conduct the actual test, I'm hoping that someone that have some insight on this will contribute to this tread.

As far as an outlets compatibility with a certain piece of equipment, maybe, don't know. First things first, the test is to determine if there is any difference at all between the outlets.

John, What a great idea, I'm definitely going to incorporate the "ByPass" option into the test jig.

Good Listening

Peter
jallen
502 posts
 
You may want to talk with vhAudio and speak with Chris, or someone you know who has access to a lot of these. He is familiar with many of the outlets mentioned here, and has auditioned many of those used here. His opinions and conclusions have thus far been very accurate with those products I have bought from him. Perhaps he will share how he auditioned them. Apparently from my discussions with him, the materials and plating process are a very important factor. Thus, mixing different materials in the path from AC outlet to IEC female, and male receptacle, and into a component, will be difficult to distinguish what is contributing to the changes in sound, if any. If you test copper, you should test a copper AC outlet in the wall all the way to the preamp, amp, etc. Not having all the materials or even the brands similar would in my mind make a better understanding more difficult. There is always the mix and match philosophy, but knowing what a material does versus another is intriguing in itself. Silver interconnects or speaker cable sound different than copper. Will other materials in another part of the audio chain be as significant or less, or not at all? I too am intersted in this shootout. I have talked with Chris about these outlet upgrades, but not pulled the trigger yet.
lifeengineer
55 posts
 
If you believe in break-in or know it to be true from experience, then a 2-3 day cook on the Audiodharma would be in order for those who haven't been broken-in already.Maestro,Afterburner 8, Ps audio power port premier,Oyaide R1 should probably be added to this list as members have previously suggested.The same music should be played with each outlet consecutively.Probably a 5 minute take should give a good idea.Listening sessions should be no longer that 50 minutes at a time.Take a 10 minute brain break and back to the music.Number the outlets and provide paper score sheets.Position who you feel are the most experienced listeners in the same sweet spots for the entire test.Keep all listening variables to a minimum,have fun and enjoy.
trelja
3,223 posts
 
Thank you, Peter. This should prove one of the more interesting threads we've seen here in a long time. I'm going to watch attentively.
ivan_nosnibor's avatar
ivan_nosnibor
1,047 posts
 
FWIW Peter, one other thing you might also consider is that one of the duplex choices be an ordinary household duplex for comparison's sake. I know, I know - the number of slots available for testing everyone's preferred duplex is necessarily precious few as far as most everybody is concerned and, on the surface of things at least, we may feel we can all dispense with the garden variety duplex since everyone is already familiar with it. But, to me, that's exactly why it should be included, really. Doing so would establish a true, and essentially repeatable, "baseline" not just for this test, but with any other tests to follow, whether yours or anyone else's, if they were to be done the same way. It may be especially useful for those of us who'd like to play along at home and who've not yet taken the plunge on a designer duplex. The best test results are the ones that correlate to what we already know or are familiar with. But, having both the baseline and the ceiling provided by the "bypass" for system performance for this test may make for a more universal frame of reference for everybody - both for anyone viewing the results and for the individuals participating in such a test as well. If you like, for pre-selected sonic categories it could even invite a numerical rating system (like 1 representing the standard duplex and 10 [or a hundred, or whatever] representing the bypass) along with notes of general impressions. But in general, if you at some point in the future for example, did a follow-up test covering duplex/male-AC-plug combination comparisons, or just a whole new batch of duplexes, you could do the test the same way and have that much more of a meaningful basis for comparing the results for each of the entire tests, side-by-side, with the others. True, for other people following in your footsteps on this, none of this removes the biggest variable involved - the system itself, but that's something that just can't be helped at this point, of course, but the closer to a given standard the better, I would say. Food for thought, maybe. Regards. John
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