Why did changing a wall outlet make that big of a difference?

Just installed an Audioquest nrg edison duplex wall outlet. It was like unleashing the flood gates of Sonics. What gives? Spent a ridiculous amount on power conditioners and wires/cables and this thing sounds like it unleashed the full potential of something. Anyone else have a similar experience and can explain?

 

Better electrical conduction. There can be no other answer.

 

Guessing you had a bad connection or faulty outlet

or

You are experiencing a powerful expectation bias (placebo effect)

 

Same thing here. Replaced the cheap 15¢ outlets the eltrician put in when they installed a separate line. With some hubbell 5362’s and it was night and day dinnerence. Makes me want to buy some more “audiofile “ outlets , but that’s a rabbit hole for another year.

 

I noticed a difference when I changed to some "hospital grade" outlets. Maybe the tightness of the connection and the new terminals made a difference? Also the bare wire ends I cleaned and treated. Even though oxidation is hard to see on a minute scale it is still there. Any of that can add layer(s) of "sonicc grunge" to the signals.

 

You guys finding good results with just changing the outlet and leaving the household wiring behind it as before? I have an electrician coming in next week for some other stuff and might have him install an outlet or two for me at the same time.

 

It couldn’t hurt. I had a dedicated line put in a while ago when we were run in 220 for washer and dryer.
I didn’t notice a difference until I put in the hubbells

 

What if the Placebo Effect Isn’t a Trick?

 

I never thought of it before but I am now going to change my wall outlet that I use for my sound system

 

Polish the metal bits that go into your new outlet and you will hear a difference there too.

 

Interesting article. I agree and believe it to be very powerful.

 

Expectation bias can really improve a setup! The trick is tying those expectations to cheap upgrades.

 

Heck, I heard a difference after changing the outlet cover from plastic to wood.

 

If you do any serious experimentation with receptacles (not many people do), you will find that the receptacle that feeds "most" of your system will be the one that has the most effect. For anyone that is using a power conditioner to feed the majority of their components that will be the receptacle at the wall as it is indirectly feeding all the components connected to any line conditioner or power bar.

That is not to say the receptacles in the line conditioner or power bar will have no effect; they without a doubt will as the improvements in sound that can be wrought with receptacle changes are cumulative in nature.

I see you use Shunyata line conditioning so it is more than likely that conditioner has "Shunyata" receptacles, which are essentially cryoed Hubbell 5362's, which are on their own very good receptacles.

The Audioquest, at quick glance appears to be a Japan based receptacle and is probably more similar to something like the Oyaide R1 or R0, which is a clear step up from the Shunyatas and an incredibly large jump up from any $1 builder grade receptacle.

There is no placebo here. Anyone with a decent ear and reasonably resolving system will hear improvements with better receptacles and, as I stated, those improvements are huge, cumulative (ie. you will reap more and more benefit by replacing any standard builder grade receptacle in the system including those in line conditioners/power bars) and more apparent when moving from something like a builder grade to a really upmarket receptacle like the Audioquest appears to be or the Oyaides and upper range Furutechs.

The difficulty is that it is indeed a bit of a rabbit hole as these receptacles can and will have very different "sounds"; what may work in one system may not work in another and subjective listening preferences can clearly come into play. And they can get pricey.

Some of the newer receptacles are becoming very expensive as well and at a certain point you have to ask yourself if you are getting good value for money. I personally draw the line around $100 for a receptacle and only have one of those in use (an Oyaide R1) in my system as the main receptacle at the wall that feeds my integrated amplifier as well as my line conditioner.

The receptacles in my line conditioner have been replaced with a couple (of the best) cryoed Hubbell variants that I experimented with many years ago. Every once in a while I think about replacing those with either Oyaide R1's or trying out an Oyaide R0, but I just don't seem to get around to it.

 

Wood is so old fashioned. Go with carbon fiber for the ultimate sound.

https://www.amazon.com/Furutech-104-D-Carbon-Hi-Performance-Duplex/dp/B00P25D12W

 

If the outlet or connections were bad, you will find marked improvements.
If they weren't, you will find more subtle improvements.

In fairness, though, not ALL domestic recepticles are of the .15 variety. If you have those throughout your house, you should replace them ALL.

EDIT : I forgot this - If you are replacing the Outlet for your system, you should map out your leg/circuit and replace (at a min.) all of the outlets BEFORE the outlet in question/ stereo use, too. Unless you have a dedicated leg to your stereo, of course.

 

We renovated our house last year. I asked the electricians to do a dedicated circuit for my stereo gear. They did a 20 amp circuit with 12 gauge romex. Not sure how much effect it had on sound quality, but I'm still glad I did it. At least it's somewhat isolated from the all the other electrical junk we use in the house. I have been considering trying a different outlet, either audiophile or hospital grade, and will probably get around to it this winter.

 

It most likely is due to line noise caused by something that shares that circuit. The most amazing sound change I made was getting a line cleaner. I bought the Furman PL-Pro DMC. What a difference it made. The bass tightened, the 20 year hum in the subwoofer is gone and the highs are so clean and opened up. With the volume loud and turntable on it's perfectly quiet. Well, I added a Vincent PHO-701 and that has a non-irritating tube hum I doubt I can get rid of. Cheers!

 

Love it!

 

Carbon cover provides a very "organic" sound.

 

This thread got me thinking... and I have some spare time this week for some tweaking!
Only question is:
Oyaide?
Jena Labs?
Furutech?
Shunyata?

 

I'd recommend:
Balvenie
Bowmore
Laphroaig
Oban

Had good results with all of them.

 

I prefer the smoother presentation provided by Yamazaki or Hakushu.

 

Do it, I had to run my line myself. If all else fails it isolates the audio circuit.

M~