First, some genuinely great products under $100:
the 3.0-channel SACD reissues of performances by Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony on Mercury Living Presence. It's really a pity that the technological primitivism of music encoding systems of the time (vinyl) reduced stereo down from its intended three channels to just two, because good 3-channel reproduction is so much more lifelike and palpable than even excellent 2-channel reproduction. It's also a pity that so many recordings in the twenty-teens do not capture the force and spirit of the performance as well as these recordings from the 1950s.
(It's telling that people who sell a category of scam parts go all ballistic when someone questions the scam, but
in 42 posts nobody's yet mentioned the reason we ostensibly care about audio: music. Most recordings are under $100, after all!)
The
Neutrik Speakon speaker connector. It is abjectly superior to audiophool kludges such as binding posts in every respect that a speaker connector can be superior: it's multipolar, insulated, quick-disconnect, positive-locking, and cheaper than alternatives despite being produced in the middle of Western Europe. (Notice I didn't mention any "sound" touchy-feeleys. That's because I am writing about a speaker connector, and have a functioning brain.) It's not worth modifying commercial projects to replace the current kludge interface with Speakons, except maybe in cases such as surround speakers hanging on walls (to give an extra margin of safety). But anyone building speakers or amps with lesser connectors (such as binding posts) is overpaying for an inferior solution.
Demented electrician ? Absurd expenditure ? Placebos ? Scam parts ? Please respect others opinions.
Why should one "respect" abjectly disreputable scams, such as people peddling mere power outlets as "audio upgrades" to the analytically-challenged fetishist? That is certainly worthy of blatant disrespect from anyone capable of thought.
Let me put it another way: if someone were selling a device for x cost that stuck onto the outside of your car's intake manifold, and claimed to offer more linear throttle delivery, should one "respect" that "opinion" or should one cursorily dismiss the "product" as a scam part, dismiss the seller as a conman. Also, a thinking person would consider someone with the gall to write, "My thought was that since it was under x and there are several out there for well over x it would apply as cheap and cheerful. I'm actually recommending a product that competes with the expensive ones," a co-conspirator in the con.
Notice how I didn't write anything about the guy selling his felt cutouts. The reason is that they can actually make a difference, and even make a difference using the claimed mechanism. (Some of that would depend on the grade/wool-content of felt used, but one wouldn't expect the gentleman to simply reveal what SAE F-grade the felt he uses is; that's legitimately a trade secret.) With a good speaker, I would expect it to be negative difference, as the diffraction signature is addressed in the crossover. But with many less expensive or "designed by ear" type speakers I could see it offering an improvement.
However, it might be worth considering when it's actually worthwhile to change a power outlet.
1) If the original one fails. In this case, it will probably require more advanced troubleshooting to see why, as outlets generally are an install-and-forget kind of thing. A prudent homeowner will probably engage a licensed electrician for the job. That will cost more than the $35 of this scam "audio-grade" outlet, and that's neither cheap nor cheerful. However, prudence is sometimes a higher virtue than cheap or cheerful, and potentially unsafe conditions should be remedied.
2) If you need to do so in order to meet modern code in the course of a renovation, i.e. installing GFCI outlets near water-sources.
3) If you're doing a renovation on an old home and and upgrading two-pole knob-and-tube wiring to modern separate-ground stuff. Then upgrading to modern commodity outlets is an obvious need.
4) If someone accidentally bashed in the outlet with a chair leg or speaker stand base or something, and it's physically marred.
5) If you repaint the room and the color of the outlets makes them stick out very much.
6) If your amplifier requires a 20A circuit. Then a licensed electrician should be engaged to install the circuit and the requisite power outlet. (Otherwise there may be homeowner's insurance issues if something goes wrong. Policies generally frown on homeowners doing DIY modifications to home electrical systems.) This rationale will basically never apply in the context of a cheap and cheerful system, but it might in more exotic setups.
Can anyone think of another
sensible reason for a rational music lover to swap out one power outlet for another?
