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Dave,I have the original 27 year old outlets in my house. There has been lots said about this one and that regarding outlets, with apparently different members touting their particular favorites. What are your thoughts concerning upgrading the standard outlets in the house. Upgrades appear to vary from $7.50 to $250 per outlet. Also, how does cryo treatment affect outlets and sound?Scott
Thanks for all suggestions. I can't find the Hubbell 8200H available and have a cryoed P&S 5262 on the way - courtesy of Dave . I'll find a source for the plain ones then and report back comparing the cryo effects
Why don't you just get an uncryoed P&S duplex from Dave?
From going online, it's unclear to me whether the 8200H would be a good choice at this time. If you want to source a decent Hubbell (which would also be an excellent candidate for cryoing) simply order an HBL 5262. Be sure you order that specific model from an electric supply house; Hubbell has other cheaper receptacles with different prefixes-for example CR 5262. The HBL 5262 is a very good receptacle and IME has a sonic signature quite a bit different than the P&S.
I settled upon the Pass & Seymours for reasons that will probably be why you did not prefer them. The non-cryo Pass & Seymour are a bit bright and forward in presentation in comparison with the non-cryo Hubbell. After the cryo process the Pass & Seymour is much more relaxed after break-in. The Hubbell is very round sounding with great bass and LF articulation. After extended break-in, the P&S and HBL are closer with the edge in detail going to the P&S and sweetness going to the HBL. It is for this reason that I use the P&S: they sound better with less than stellar interconnects in the system. When the entire system is brought up a couple of levels all bets are off and I recommend different receptacles entirely based upon the rest of the system and the musical preferences of the listener.I'm with you: nickel plating is not musical. I dont like the PS Audio standard Power Ports for this reason, but I do like the gold plated versions in some applications.The reason that I do not use the Hubbell units is twofold. One is that I have a stocking distributor for the P&S that can always tell me the origin of their units. Second, the Hubbell distributor here does not have consistent stock with quality being variable depending upon the manufacturing plant origin. Some of them just plain suck and you don't know until you listen to them. As a small businessman, I cannot afford to produce inconsistent product.A very effective tweak for the P&S is to replace the nickel plated steel Neutral screw with a brass one. That pretty much mitigates the brightness of the unit. Be SURE to mark the Hot screw with a black marker or paint to keep the polarity straight.Thanks for the excellent input. Positive posts are always a very good thing when it comes to sharing knowledge and experience.Dave
It absolutely continues to amaze me how everything affects sound. Even for those of us with old ears, so much of what makes music sound more real resides in these little details. What a fascinating world we live in.
No problem Dave. Ultimately I don't think there is any right or wrong choice in terms of receptacles; in the end it will boil down to system synergy and quite possibly the type of sound that a listener desires. This is a pretty subjective hobby and what's great for someone is not so great for someone else.I did a lot of experimentation but it was pushing 8 years ago; when it got down to the nitty gritty, I did listen to both the Hubbells and the P & S, both cryoed and stock. I remember now avoiding the nickel plated screws; my current installation of the Hubbells has avoided them as well.The effects of receptacles are cumulative (as I'm sure you are aware) so it's hard to get a handle on what a receptacle is doing unless you slot the same receptacle into the whole system (ie. multiple receptacles that the system is drawing from, line conditioners, etc.). This is something that most people never even think about.I understand your position clearly and time has marched on; it appears that Hubbell is no longer doing the slimline 8200H with generally non ferrous materials and non-plated contacts. I know that Gene at Takefiveaudio has moved to the P&S MRI receptacle because of this and I respect his opinion on things and that one does hold a bit of fascination for me but at this stage I'm reasonably happy with my system and don't have the time to start ripping the receptacles out of my line conditioner and replacing them, as well as burning in new receptacles etc. It is surpising , though, for many people just what receptacles can do. I view cryoed receptacles as one of the bigger bang for the buck tweaks in the hobby.
You are the MAN, Dave!!!
Scott, wish I could conduct that comparison. I'd blindfold yer hiney. My God, is there no point where there isn't a discernable difference? And if there is, what of it? What does it mean to where you sit, listen, and commune. We need help.