cfinchrist
God bless America.
I've never tried plug improvement, but I know my line conditioner makes an audible improvement.
World's BEST AC Outlets.....MAESRTO AC Outlets ???
- Thread starter HiFiSoundGuy
- Start date
- Status
rifftrax
mix-meister
Hmm... this is actually pretty interesting to know. I would wonder how much potential resistance many of these cheapie outlets show when placed under a near full 15a load? Cool thing to note, and yes - much safer as well... :yes:
Uncle Paul
Super Member
:yes:
Uncle Paul
Super Member
I can argue that little or nothing is gained beyond a nice tight fitting connection such as a hospital grade receptacle, but our enjoyment of this hobby is not limited simply to what our ears enjoy.
Take, for example, two amplifiers, same make, model, price, and performance. One is highly cosmetically challenged, the other mint. Your ears will hear no difference, but I can safely assume that we would all choose the one with perfect cosmetics.
If it improves your enjoyment by all means buy the neater, cooler, receptacle (or any other gear). I'm definitely on the techie side of the fence, but I will still buy nicer (but not stupid) accessories because I enjoy the intrinsic value of owning nice things and taking pride in them.
Take, for example, two amplifiers, same make, model, price, and performance. One is highly cosmetically challenged, the other mint. Your ears will hear no difference, but I can safely assume that we would all choose the one with perfect cosmetics.
If it improves your enjoyment by all means buy the neater, cooler, receptacle (or any other gear). I'm definitely on the techie side of the fence, but I will still buy nicer (but not stupid) accessories because I enjoy the intrinsic value of owning nice things and taking pride in them.
Positive-Feedback is going to do a review on these Maestro outlets.....
Tangent
Sweet nightmares!
Hey, Unc!
Obviously you are not married - believe me, I'd hear plenty because of the low WAF of the cosmetically challenged unit! :sigh:
Ed in Tx
Super Member
I ran for many years on the old original outlet that came with my 1953-built house. One time I unplugged the main plug to the system from that outlet and noticed the plug was warm to the touch! Not good. The whole system pulls about 200 Watts idling as per my Kill A Watt meter, so I knew there was a problem. Replaced that old outlet with the $3 Leviton 20A commercial grade outlet, and zero warming happens now, not even a 1/10th degree difference detected with my laser thermometer after 12 hours.
dogscanskate
Super Member
You can argue under which premise exactly? Or is this just an assumption on your part based on common sense?
Who would be stupid enough to buy an a/c outlet because it looks nicer than the ordinary 99 cent outlet? You think a guy pays 79$ for cosmetics on outlets when you never see them once they're in use? Could there be a chance that this guy actually heard a significant difference to part with his hard earned dollars?
As you move up the ladder, it should be normal that the law of diminishing returns should apply. I do agree that hospital grade outlets should suffice in most applications. As I've stated, not all highly expensive components represent an upgrade. There are dogs at all levels. Listening to items is where the final decision lies no matter how it measures.
A healthy dose of skepticism is much needed and it seems to me it should go hand in hand with an open mind. Then a 'techie' can explore the possibilities as to why there are audible differences in components. This to me represents a good engineer/technician, people who base their professional opinion on facts and repeatable procedures and dare to devise new tests as the technology advances.
In audio, everything matters and everything that is in the audio signal path (this includes room acoustics) can/will alter the final outcome that reaches your ears. Much of it can be measured.
For those who want to go beyond the hospital grade outlets, I would be the first to say 'buyer beware', listen to the product and decide for yourselves if you consider this an upgrade. That goes for any component.
I don't think it has a lot to do with cosmetics, I'm actually naive enough to believe that most will upgrade to get drawn into the music.
Stereo_type
Active Member
Interesting viewpoint, followed by some great countering points that were stated very well :yes:
It's probably difficult to tread the fine line between healthy skepticism and an open mind, at least that's been my experience at key times in the audio world...
Nothing "naive" IMHO, about upgrading to get drawn into the music, if in fact, that is (should be) the result of a worthy upgrade...:yes:
Me? I dunno, I might be the one who goes for the ugly, "dog" amp, especially if it performs as well as the good looker; presuming of course that it should cost a whole lot less!:thmbsp:
Seeing as how that AC receptacle probably doesn't show anyway, ummm, maybe the same goes for that too, right?
Uncle Paul
Super Member
Get a grip. It was a rhetorical statement. I'm not here to tell anybody they are wasting their money - going down that road would be rude in this particular forum. By all means, keep purchasing whatever makes you happy!
My point was more along the lines of appreciating the intrinsic value of equipment and accessories. I wouldn't pay extra for a cooler looking receptacle, but I might pay extra for one that is of better quality, even though the electrical performance is the same.
Case in point - I'm currently building an addition to my house. I could buy the cheap blue plastic electrical boxes, but instead I bought the more expensive fiberglass ones. Both meet code, and the electrical performance is identical between the two. Once the sheet rock goes up, nobody except me will even know the difference. The fiberglass box is just simply a better made product than the plastic box, and that's a level of detail that I pay attention to.
AC outlets are one of the most over looked things in a stereo system and one of the weak links in a system too. When you get really good outlets for your (whole stereo system), its like taking a blanket off your speakers, its that big of a difference for some systems!
electroking
a- v- karma member
But understanding what makes a so-called 'good' outlet better than
another one is also part of the game. Otherwise, how would someone
setting out to design a good outlet know what to do?
whoaru99
Epic Member
"Open mind" is an interesting term with respect to audio. Often, it seems, it doesn't really mean that at all.
I'm afraid I don't share this opinion. It infers that if we hard wire our gear to a wall junction many of us will experience a dramatic difference in audio quality. Just my opinion, but I don't see a tight electrical connection being made even tighter, changing the sound at all.:scratch2:
There are those that don't approve of wire wrap connections, in favor of solder. Both sound the same to me.
Here's a good thread on ac outlets.... http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?raccs&1065488253&openfrom&1&4#1
ducati_EL34
Addicted Member
dogscanskate
Super Member
A lot of us used to post there and we don't anymore. Post something negative about a product there and tell me what happens to your post.
Please take it with a grain of salt
!I have never seen anything like that going on there on audiogon but I don't go over there very much.A lot of us used to post there and we don't anymore. Post something negative about a product there and tell me what happens to your post.
Please take it with a grain of salt
The forums that I would never ever post on anymore are the avsforum !!, audioholics !!, audio review forum !, ecoustics forum !
whoaru99
Epic Member
Dunno about all of them, but yes, claims of fabulous results will generally be met with an equally, or greater, fabulous level of scrutiny on AVS (Audio Video Science, btw) and likely Audioholics too. Not meant to be a bash or a promotion, just is what it is.
Last edited:
- Status