Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Audio Grade Electrical Outlets 15amp

I'm wondering if changing the outlets in my room to Audio Grade ones is worth it? There seems to be a endless supply of them. Any thoughts on where to start?

Todd

The only non snake oil reason I can give is that they tend to have a much tighter grip on your plugs, so they never fall out or get loose. Our friends in the UK don't have these issues, with their sturdy 220v plugs. I bought a bulk set of the psaudio ones and the electrician though they were well made.. Certainly no downside relative to the stock Home Depot special.

Friend from the UK here.

The quality of the electricians who fits the sockets is very important. When I had my home cinema room rewired, I told them what I wanted and why. All sockets were specified as premium grade M&K (a UK brand) which have a much better internal switch mechanism (we have individually switched sockets) than the basic cheap ones. The electricians were very careful about terminations and checked each socket individually for good voltage, earth leakage, phase, etc. Anything that wasn't to spec. was re-terminated and remeasured.

They also rewired some light switches, giving extended light bulb life, and replaced two very dodgy cheap sockets in domestic areas (kitchen, office) that were overheating internally and just waiting to cause a disaster. Money well spent.

So my advice: buy quality outlets but prioritise the spend for the best electrician you can find.

I think I might try the Furutech GTX-D gold outlets, I've heard they are very good and there is a sale going on right now. Was told by Furutech to use metal gang boxes instead of plastic ones for better sound.Does this really matter that much?

Todd

Another friend from the UK.

Firstly, we have our own problems, in that we're obliged to fit fuses, unless you use EU regs to get around this like I do and use Schucko euro plugs, which sound better.

I disagree it's 'all snake oil apart from the clamping force' having tried various solutions. The ability to take larger gauge wire and provide a constant clamp force on the bare cable ends internally is equally important (ever revisited wall sockets a year or so after installation? The screws will almost certainly need 'nipping up') and also plated plugs offer benefits in terms of never needing a clean (corrosion increases contact resistance).

For all these reasons and because in my system they sound significantly better I use Wattgate plugs/sockets where I can (although I can't use the mains outlets here as they're not rated for UK mains). Definitely worth a look, better than Fururtech IMO - they are carefully plated so as not to introduce corrosion under the plating, have 'Permaclamp' large gauge terminals for the inner wires, and very high pressure contact clamps for the plug connections. The IEC plugs/sockets are also excellent and easily retrofitted.

By the way, some people prefer silver plating, personally I think Gold is better, superior corrosion resistance (although allegedly silver oxide is more conductive than silver anyway) YMMV.

Cheers,

James

By the way, although MK sockets definitely sound good and are well made, using the un-switched flavour will sound better, unless you have a very specific reason for needing a switch on the actual socket.

Hi gents

As an electrician I have to agree with a lot of the above comments. I have always found that a good dedicated supply for the system and MK sockets is well worth it! Would I go as far as to spend a lot on a single outlet plate to add to the existing cabling. No. A good dedicated supply will be a better investment. Unless you do both at the same time. Something like a 32amp 6mm supply to a quality unswitched outlet plate in my eyes is vital to good quality mains.

Kind regards
David

Gold is wonderful but very expensive.
Silver has an affinity to sulphur hence the oxidisation. This oxide layer is very smooth and also thin.
At voltages below 5 volts and with current below 5 milliamps gold would be my recommendation.
Above this level the potential applied to silver plated contacts will to a great degree overcome the increase in contact resistance and detrimental effect of the oxide layer.
The home environment is not particularly aggressive as far as silver oxidisation is concerned and if contacts are well designed I cannot see the need for gold plating at mains voltages or even silver for that matter.
Gianni is correct terminations and decent switched sockets are the most important points to consider. Applying the correct torque to screw terminations is very important.
I do not agree with "nip it up" after a period of time theory as too much torque is just as bad as too little.
If you want the best results for termination of stranded copper wires in screw terminations without wire support use a crimp ferrule or at minimum solder dip the stripped wire.
Just my thoughts
Hector

+1

I use a dedicated ring main, and unswitched double socket (although mine are now 'schucko' previous to this I used unswitched MK) with 6mm twin core and earth and a 32A MCB. Made a huge difference.

Agreed about terminations and torque - however, I wasn't suggesting you over-tighten, hence just 'nip up' because they actually work loose over time and lose the original torque, unless you use something like the Wattgate Permalock terminals, which have a self-locking mechanism to prevent this loosening of the original torque applied. I disagree about using switched sockets, I would always use unswitched unless I had a very pressing need to have switches on the actual sockets for some reason - personally I leave the system on 'standby' most of the time I'm not listening, and if I'm leaving it for any period, or in a storm, I just switch off the gear and physically pull the plug from the wall - it takes no more time to do this than switch it off at the wall, honestly.


I like the idea of a crimp ferrule, might give that a go on my non-Wattgate schuckos - WBT sell ferrules in various sizes for use with different gauges of speaker cable and they might work well? Again if you use the Wattgate connectors, they have this well thought out, and it's not just the screw which tightens down on the wire, separating/damaging the strands, they have a whole plate which tightens down to prevent this. Honestly, they really are well thought out and engineered, and not at all 'snake oil' IMO.

You mention a dedicated ring main...

My electrician recommended a star solution from a dedicated consumer unit. That way (he said) each point-to-point mains-voltage circuit is isolated from others all the way back to the circuit breakers.

Of course different components powered from different sockets are connected at audio voltages. Plus there are electrical links outside the dedicated audio consumer unit via ethernet, TV and radio aerials and shared satellite LNBs.

+1 on the dedicated ring main and MK un-switched sockets