[DanG]

It arrived yesterday at my door! I'll be installing a new power outlet this weekend, but after that I'll run the cable in and type up a review for next week. Stay tuned...

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by DanG It arrived yesterday at my door! I'll be installing a new power outlet this weekend, but after that I'll run the cable in and type up a review for next week. Stay tuned...

Good to hear, might be best to add your review to existing Empowered thread so all reviews/comments are in one place.

What type of wall outlet did you get? (this is always a great upgrade to do for little money)

 

[DanG]

I'll probably pick up a hospital grade today at Home Depot, unless someone can suggest something better that I can get for no more than $20.

I don't feel like spending $100 on a wall outlet.

 

[DarkAngel]

Quote:

Originally posted by DanG I'll probably pick up a hospital grade today at Home Depot, unless someone can suggest something better that I can get for no more than $20. I don't feel like spending $100 on a wall outlet.

Acme silver plated wall outlet $30 from Boulder Cable:
Acme

Cable company has many different AC outlets for @$30:
Cable Co

The stock hospital grade outlets will be a little better vs stock cheapies at home/apt, but you will get much more sound by spending $30 to get superior metal/polished surface etc of special audio models above.

 

[DanG]

Hm, I'll think about it. I'm still not crazy about spending so much on an outlet.

After all, I doubt my Monster unit has such wonderful outlets itself.

 

[grinch]

i got an isolated ground hospital grade outlet from home depot for about $15. it's bright orange and the faceplate is bright orange as well and has "isolated ground" emblazened on it.

i think it's pretty cool looking but i could imagine some not liking it much. i installed it, but didn't really hear much of a difference. my system was quite different then though. i have since moved it to another outlet (and switched every component in it), so recently i bought another one of these outlets but haven't taken the time to install it yet.

anyway, i'm just saying it might not be all that worth it to spend $30 on an outlet. i guess it depends on whether or not you hate orange though.

 

[DanG]

Well, I decided to buy from Chris Venhaus and got one of the Seymour & Pass 5262AI outlet's he's selling for $12.99 a piece.

Spec sheets:
http://venhaus1.com/bo4.pdf
http://venhaus1.com/sec_B.jpeg

Quote:

The 5262A series has ALL brass construction with .040" brass triple wipe power contacts, and the "grip of death" audiophiles love. Yes, even better than the Hubbells, Eagles, and Levitons... DON'T CONFUSE THIS WITH THE REGULAR P&S 5262 OUTLETS. The "A" series is vastly superior, with all brass construction vs. a good deal of steel in their regular series. This receptacle is considered by many to be the BEST non-plated AC wall receptacle available, regardless of price. Until now, the 5262A has been extremely hard to find, and usually had to be special-ordered from an electrical wholesaler.

I found some other 5262As on eBay but didn't want to go through the hassle of the auction. I'll let you guys know if I hear a big improvement, but the outlets in my house's walls are no good so that might be the reason.

 

[DanG]

I've been able to listen a bit to the cord, and so far it's great. It's even reduced most of the hum I've been getting lately in my system which I hope will be fixed by putting in that new power outlet and by stripping the wires behind it. I'll try to hold off on more-detailed impressions until the outlet is installed and I have more listening time!

 

[AC1]

Quote:

Originally posted by DarkAngel Acme silver plated wall outlet $30 from Boulder Cable: Acme Cable company has many different AC outlets for @$30: Cable Co The stock hospital grade outlets will be a little better vs stock cheapies at home/apt, but you will get much more sound by spending $30 to get superior metal/polished surface etc of special audio models above.

The Acme Silver I have now have made a fairly big difference to opening up the sound. It was very close to the same effect of getting power conditioning. There was just more inforamtion coming through.
Though my original outlet was a cheap Levinton where the wires were inserted straight into holes in the back of the outlet, so it did not use the screw binding post on the side as they ususally do. Don't think the way they had it was very good since the contact to the wire was far more minimal.

Hope you are liking the Empowered so far, and let us know what you think.