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[jesseinsf]

Using a "Hospital Grade AC Receptacle" will have anyone hear the difference. That is the only and the most inexpensive audio system upgrade that I would recommend to anyone. It's about the amount of current that is readily available. The tighter the connection, the more current becomes available. The more available current the more accurate and responsive you system becomes. You hear the difference in the amount of Bass and subtle detail. Spaciousness is also massively improved. It costs under $10. As for myself, I use a 20 Amp Isolated Ground Hospital Grade AC Receptacle. You will never know if you don't try it. The green dot in the image will tell you that it is a Hospital grade outlet.
http://cfnewsads.thomasnet.com/images/large/525/525189.jpg

Understanding The terms of electricity:
Watts= Consumption
Volts= Pressure
Amps= Quantity of that pressure

Please don't argue with me if you haven't tried it. I don't have time to argue with ignorant minds.

[Sandy B Ridge]

a "Hospital Grade"

Means it's cleaner right? Means that "O.R." grade is even better?

[Hendrik]

You do realize that its not the outlet that controls the current, or anything like that, right?

An outlet is just a connector between the cable in the wall and your power cord. Maybe it comes with a fuse, maybe not, but all in all, its just a connector.
But i bet you also believe that a $3000 power cable can make your audio sound better!

[jesseinsf]

You do realize that its not the outlet that controls the current, or anything like that, right?

An outlet is just a connector between the cable in the wall and your power cord. Maybe it comes with a fuse, maybe not, but all in all, its just a connector.
But i bet you also believe that a $3000 power cable can make your audio sound better!

You would probably never try it but take a 9 volt battery and test it with your tongue. You will get a bigger jolt as you put more pressure on the contacts. It's not the $3000 power cable that is making the difference. It's how tight the contacts make the the connection with the inner wiring of the house that makes the difference.
Understanding The terms of electricity:
Watts= Consumption
Volts= Pressure
Amps= Quantity

[Hendrik]

I'll let you believe what you want and equip your home with shiny green lights on the sockets, if it makes you feel better 
Maybe you put your tongue one time too many against a battery? :d

[MrC]

This has little to do with Media Center?

You've made your point, multiple times.  Please don't spam the forums, or feed the troll.

[jesseinsf]

This has little to do with Media Center?

You've made your point, multiple times.  Please don't spam the forums, or feed the troll.

I'm not giving links to outside websites or mentioning brand names. I just want to share my knowledge with the community. Tell me, you are a beta tester, wouldn't you want to test the software on a solid system? And yes I posted in 3 location, Is that a crime?

[jesseinsf]

I'll let you believe what you want and equip your home with shiny green lights on the sockets, if it makes you feel better  
Maybe you put your tongue one time too many against a battery? :d

I dug the picture off the internet. They don't have shinny green lights. lol. I would guess the picture is just showing the green to highlight the detail. Dude, you don't have to try it. I was just giving a recommendation for people to consider, that's all. Damn, when wanting to educate the public one should be prepared for an argument.

[pcstockton]

"Hospital grade" only means they are outfitted with anti-spark coating to prevent sparks in a potentially explosive environment.

If anything this can only serve to make things worse, not better.

If you are REALLY worried about the quality of your mains (or get pops and clicks when someone starts a hairdryer).  Call a licensed electrician and have them install a "dedicated spur" to your hifi using bog standard industrial receptacles.  

This will do much more than a fancy main's cable, power conditioner (music killer), or outlet.

Good luck!
Patrick

[pcstockton]

They don't have shinny green lights.

many have lights, hospital or otherwise.  It is simply so you can find them in a dark place, like an xray room or storage room.

[jesseinsf]

"Hospital grade" only means they are outfitted with anti-spark coating to prevent sparks in a potentially explosive environment.

If anything this can only serve to make things worse, not better.

If you are REALLY worried about the quality of your mains (or get pops and clicks when someone starts a hairdryer).  Call a licensed electrician and have them install a "dedicated spur" to your hifi using bog standard industrial receptacles.  

This will do much more than a fancy main's cable, power conditioner (music killer), or outlet.

Good luck!
Patrick

Actually the contacts are tighter. You wouldn't want to trip over the life support system's power cord and accidentally unplug it now would you?
Defining Hospital grade receptacle:

Hospital grade receptacles must meet all the requirements of general use receptacles, and they must also meet additional hospital grade requirements which include grounding reliability, assembly integrity, terminal strength, impact resistance and durability. So, hospital grade receptacles are much more durable and are constructed to accept a higher level of abuse than general use receptacles. The hospital grade receptacle is required in areas of a hospital where reliable medical equipment function is critical.

[pcstockton]

And yes I posted in 3 location, Is that a crime?

Certainly not a crime but seems a little over the top, no?  One post would seem to suffice.

-p

[pcstockton]

Actually the contacts are tighter.

Nope.  They are in no way tighter than any other non-residential socket. 

And come on..... there is no "Plug" from a wall socket to a "life support machine"  Think about it.  Just for a sec.  You seem intelligent.

EVERY crucial system designed to keep people from becoming dead in a hospital, or other dangerous place, will be hard wired with generator(s) and/or battery backup.

Seriously?  This must be a wind-up.

Anyway, nothing wrong with decent receptacles seriously dont worry about the "hospital" mil spec.

[jesseinsf]

Nope.  They are in no way tighter than any other non-residential socket.  

And come on..... there is no "Plug" from a wall socket to a "life support machine"  Think about it.  Just for a sec.  You seem intelligent.

EVERY crucial system designed to keep people from becoming dead in a hospital, or other dangerous place, will be hard wired with generator(s) and/or battery backup.

Seriously?  This must be a wind-up.

Anyway, nothing wrong with decent receptacles seriously dont worry about the "hospital" mil spec.

Read this http://www.mockett.com/furniture-hardware/hospital-grade
understand that the tighter the contact the better the current can pass through at a more constant or on demand rate. Keep in mind that a basic 15 amp receptacle doesn't mean that it will provide a constant current flow of 15 amps or even 10 amps. Amplifiers draw power in an on demand basis. Just try it and then tell me your discovery.

[JimH]

One post would seem to suffice.

I removed the duplicates.

[jesseinsf]

I removed the duplicates.

Thanks :-)

[Sandy B Ridge]

Using the same logic, then sound in the UK will always be better than Europe and US because the pins on our AC plugs are so massive. Tough luck guys! Yay for UK sound!

SBR

[pcstockton]

sound in the UK will always be better than Europe and US

Yup! But not because of your mains.  You have Naim, Linn, Rega, Cyrus, Proac, Harbeth, Neat, Chord, Quad, ATC, Creek ad infinitum.

-patrick

[jesseinsf]

Using the same logic, then sound in the UK will always be better than Europe and US because the pins on our AC plugs are so massive. Tough luck guys! Yay for UK sound!

SBR

Incorrect. Rectangular pins has a better surface area. Electricity flows on the outer surface of metals. UK has 2 small round pins and a large rectangular ground pin.

[Sandy B Ridge]

Incorrect. Rectangular pins has a better surface area.

My physics tells me that surface area has nothing to do with it.

Conductance is proportional to cross sectional area , not surface area.

Electricity flows on the outer surface of metals.

I assume you are referring to 'skin effect'. Skin effect is only relevant at high frequency. At 60 Hz the effective skin depth is about 8.5mm making your assertions irrelevant.

UK has 2 small round pins and a large rectangular ground pin.

Round pins? Darn, I've been using the wrong plugs all these years!


SBR

[newsposter]

Please don't argue with me if you haven't tried it. I don't have time to argue with ignorant minds.

That pretty much sets the tone for this thread......

Sounds as though the OP had some poorly installed outlets and the simple mechanical process of installing new boxes cleaned up loose connections (or fixed reverse polarity, etc).

[MrHaugen]

Haha. Good reading!

[PaulBD]

I second that.  Following Alan Maher's suggestion I installed most AC outlets in my home with Hubbell hospital grade and witnessed improvements in audio and video performance.

[hulkss]

Go all the way with a new power cord too. Only $11,000.00.
http://affordableaudio.biz/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=644

The Odin Power Cord applies Nordost's latest TSC (Total Signal Control) technology to significantly advance the audio performance AC wiring. It uses six close tolerance 16AWG, 99.99999% oxygen free copper conductors, each covered by an 85 micron layer of extruded silver, suspended in a dual micro mono-filament matrix and enclosed in the TSC shield. The result is a new level of power transmission efficiency coupled to superb mechanical damping and rejection of external RFI/EM interference. The separate, solid-core conductors eliminate strand interaction, hot spots and other artifacts that can degrade performance, while the extreme precision with which the TSC tubes are manufactured and arranged ensures complete consistency in performance. Let Odin feed your system and get ready for improved noise floor and resolution, increased transparency, dynamic range and freedom from grain, more believable sound staging, more natural life and musical dynamics, a breathtaking range of tonal colours. Suddenly the music will step away from the system producing it, taking on a life of its own, becoming a real performance, all because the power on which your system depends is cleaner and arriving quicker.

That's effen amazing!

[nwboater]

Go all the way with a new power cord too. Only $11,000.00.
http://affordableaudio.biz/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=644

The Odin Power Cord applies Nordost's latest TSC (Total Signal Control) technology to significantly advance the audio performance AC wiring. It uses six close tolerance 16AWG, 99.99999% oxygen free copper conductors, each covered by an 85 micron layer of extruded silver, suspended in a dual micro mono-filament matrix and enclosed in the TSC shield. The result is a new level of power transmission efficiency coupled to superb mechanical damping and rejection of external RFI/EM interference. The separate, solid-core conductors eliminate strand interaction, hot spots and other artifacts that can degrade performance, while the extreme precision with which the TSC tubes are manufactured and arranged ensures complete consistency in performance. Let Odin feed your system and get ready for improved noise floor and resolution, increased transparency, dynamic range and freedom from grain, more believable sound staging, more natural life and musical dynamics, a breathtaking range of tonal colours. Suddenly the music will step away from the system producing it, taking on a life of its own, becoming a real performance, all because the power on which your system depends is cleaner and arriving quicker.

That's effen amazing!

The amazing thing is there are people that will actually pay 11k for a power cord! Wonder what they plug it into?

Happily yours with default power cords plugged into a standard 15 amp household outlet listening to mighty good sounds,

Rod

[Ancient_Audiophile]

But i bet you also believe that a $3000 power cable can make your audio sound better!

Go all the way with a new power cord too. Only $11,000.00.

It's interesting how nearly all posts arguing against the idea that anything can make audio sound better, never actually talk about physics, or acoustics, but instead always talk about finance and economics.

This is because opposition to audiophiles is entirely emotional, and not scientific.

The fact that some shark tries to charge thousands of dollars for a wire, does not prove or disprove that there are sound quality differences between wires.

Just because someone tries to sell a $500,000 car, doesn't automatically mean that a $30,000 car can't be faster than a $10,000 car.   Just because someone tries to sell a $4,000 bottle of wine, doesn't automatically mean that a $20 bottle of wine can't taste better than a $3 bottle of wine.

[DarkPenguin]

This is because opposition to audiophiles is entirely emotional, and not scientific.

This made me laugh so hard I almost got over my Christian Ponder hatred. (Which is to say that I laughed a lot.)

[hulkss]

Urban Dictionary Audiophile: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=audiophile

[gvanbrunt]

Incorrect. Rectangular pins has a better surface area. Electricity flows on the outer surface of metals. UK has 2 small round pins and a large rectangular ground pin.

You are wrong. You obviously have been reading way to many "audiophile" magazines. What you are speaking of is the skin effect. It becomes an issue at radio frequencies. 60 or 50hz is just slightly below that. The "skin" is 8.5mm at those frequencies, so there is 0 skin effect in most home receptacles. In my house I couldn't find any with pins that were nearly 2 cm's large. Yours might be different though, you audiophiles do tend to do things your own way. Furthermore, basic physics suggests that if current flow is impeded somewhere (Resistance) it will be dissipated in the form of light/heat etc. In general, sockets that get hot are really not a good idea since that leads to fires and other things that are really bad for good audio. Pick up a book on basic electricity someday and you will find out why everything you stated is completely inaccurate other than the wizbang "more open and spacious" that obviously can't be qualified. You might also want to pick up some books on audio theory as well. Once you find out how room modes work etc, you will likely find good reasons for spending money on things that actually do affect the sound of your listening area. By gosh you will even learn how early reflections etc vastly reduce a stereo image and how to correct it. Hint: It isn't taping pretty colored rocks to you cables.

[InflatableMouse]

Story reminds me of a friend of mine, he brought some CD's and he had put this green marker line on the edge. Puzzled I asked him about it he said just put it on, you'll hear and he smiled enthusiastically. Obviously I couldn't hear a thing different about it. He told me someone else told him that the spinning nature of the CD makes bits fly out of the sides and cause the sound to suffer. The green line was there to keep the bits from flying out. I don't think I ever laughed so hard about audiophile science.

[gvanbrunt]

Ah yes the good old magic pen. I remember it well. I knew a few audiophiles (or at least they were until I showed them how to educate themselves) when this scam came out back in the early days of CD's. What a joke. There were ads in many audiophile mags. Even a few articles about how "airy" and "open" they made this discs sound.

[sKiZo]

That would explain the green line around the case of my "audiophile grade" hard drive ...

"Back you bits ... BACK!!! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!!"

But back to the original topic. I had also heard that the hospital grade receptacle <could> improve audio performance and was pleasantly surprised to find it did make a difference. It's all about connectivity, as the OP stated. In my case, yes ... I was replacing a standard "strip 'n click" stab connection. If you think about it, all your power is flowing thru two tiny points where the clip hits the wire, and that will corrode and glaze over time. So, the simple mechanical process of replacing the socket - even with a standard socket - wrapping the wire around a screw and compressing it - would tend to improve the surface area of the connection allowing for increased throughput with less resistance. The hospital grade DOES have much better materials, design, and construction, which would also tend to make for an even better connection. So ... couldn't hoit, as they say ...

Worth mentioning, there's also some hocus-pocus in the HG receptacles that isolate the ground. My system runs quieter on idle now ... either that or my hearing ain't as good as it once were. One of the hazards of several hundred watts per channel ...<G>

Anyway - try it ... you might like it. Realistically, we've all spent much more on much less.

PS ... about the green line ... it's not about bits escaping, it's about stray light getting in around the edges. I figured ... why half step ... and tried dipping mine in flat black paint so NO light can get in ... can't say I'm all that happy with the results ... 

[gvanbrunt]

But back to the original topic. I had also heard that the hospital grade receptacle <could> improve audio performance and was pleasantly surprised to find it did make a difference. It's all about connectivity, as the OP stated. In my case, yes ... I was replacing a standard "strip 'n click" stab connection. If you think about it, all your power is flowing thru two tiny points where the clip hits the wire, and that will corrode and glaze over time. So, the simple mechanical process of replacing the socket - even with a standard socket - wrapping the wire around a screw and compressing it - would tend to improve the surface area of the connection allowing for increased throughput with less resistance. The hospital grade DOES have much better materials, design, and construction, which would also tend to make for an even better connection. So ... couldn't hoit, as they say ...

Sorry, no basis in reality. If an amp is drawing 20 amps, its drawing all 20 amps no matter what receptacle is there. And I do mean exactly. Look up Ohms law to find out why. The only thing dirty contacts may do is cause resistance which would create heat. This resistance would be in series with the amp so it could technically affect the voltage, however it would cause a fire LONG before you would be able to notice the difference at your amp. Furthermore, even if the voltage were reduced the ONLY thing it could do is cause less output. I.E. wouldn't be as loud. The is no possible way it could affect "the sound". If your amp is affected by small voltage variations in the supply, you wasted money since even a rank amateur could design a power supply to deal with it. And there are CONSTANT fluctuations in the supply voltage that are much greater than anything dirty contacts could create. So that would "swamp out" any benefit that clean contacts would provide.

And I could go on about how science can easily prove how other factors of your listening environment would make it impossible for someone with perfect ears to tell such a change apart.

Let me ask you some questions to ask yourself? Who do you think designed auditoriums in which classical music is recorded in the first place? Hint: it wasn't audiophiles. What do you think they used to design them? Hint: it wasn't' guessing or trial and error. Do you think the recording crew brought along magic power cords with $11,000 price tags with them. I assure you they didn't. Or how about the studio it was mixed down in? Do you think it was a bunch of audiophiles they let in there off the street or was it engineers who went to school for such things. Finally, why is it the professionals have no need of such mumbo jumbo, yet the instant you try to play it back in your house science needs to be thrown aside? Are you under the impression that science never bothered to test what people could or couldn't hear, or what kind of factors affected good sound etc? I assure you they did and are still constantly doing so.

I'm not saying things don't affect sound. They certainly do. However if you do some reading you'll find how much money you have thrown away instead of spending it on things that could make a big difference. That is the issue I have with the whole audiophile thing. Most of them will spend thousands of dollars on things without even hiring an acoustical engineer to design the room it is played back in etc. My point, is do some learning so you can spend your money wisely and actually get better sound.

[gvanbrunt]

Worth mentioning, there's also some hocus-pocus in the HG receptacles that isolate the ground. My system runs quieter on idle now ... either that or my hearing ain't as good as it once were. One of the hazards of several hundred watts per channel ...<G>

Actually forgot to address this. This isn't hocus-pocus. Ground loops account for a lot of noise in some setups (most from what I have seen). There are many ways to deal with it, some more effective than others. So this could actually reduce noise in a setup.

BUT, if you didn't replace the wiring in your wall, it isn't isolated and so would make 0 difference. I'm assuming you didn't rewire your house did you?

[sKiZo]

Oh, so this is the room for arguments?

If you're saying that improving the mechanical connection isn't going to have potentially positive effects on how well your equipment operates, I have to respectfully disagree. Noise, resistance, and other such badness can occur anywhere along the feed. What's outside the house is out of your control, but anything you can do to improve the mechanics of passing power from the panel to the system is a good thing.

... and I think I've already mentioned I'm not an audiophile ... I just know what sounds good.

And ya ... I did add a dedicated circuit for the stereo system (real cannister fuses too - not circuit breakers which have their own issues), tied that in before the main panel into a separate service box, and put in an isolated ground field just for that. That was overkill maybe but good exercise pounding all that copper into earth. Isolation is good, but in my case it was more like not trusting the original wiring in my 100 year old farm house to handle it. I've got a LOT of toys plugged into it ...



... and that's all I got to say about that ...

[gvanbrunt]

If you're saying that improving the mechanical connection isn't going to have potentially positive effects on how well your equipment operates, I have to respectfully disagree. Noise, resistance, and other such badness can occur anywhere along the feed. What's outside the house is out of your control, but anything you can do to improve the mechanics of passing power from the panel to the system is a good thing.

Never did I say that. What I did say was that switching out a regular receptacle for a Hospital grade one will make no difference whatsoever on how much current is delivered to your amplifier and hence would make no difference in the sound. I also backed it up with scientific fact and well established theory as another had stated that non audiophiles can't or won't do it. I design my own tube amplifiers so I have an understanding in that area.

If you constantly plug and unplug something and may possibly bump gurneys into it, a Hospital grade receptacle may be a good choice. In a home that makes little difference unless you do some rewiring to have an isolated ground. Hospital grade are for harsh environments and sensitive equipment (if an isolated ground is used). In a regular receptacle if the contacts are loose there will be vibration and arcing and there will be a fire. So that isn't happening in a regular receptacle - period. I also worked as an electrician for several years, so I also have some understanding in that area.

And ya ... I did add a dedicated circuit for the stereo system (real cannister fuses too - not circuit breakers which have their own issues), tied that in before the main panel into a separate service box, and put in an isolated ground field just for that. That was overkill maybe but good exercise pounding all that copper into earth. Isolation is good, but in my case it was more like not trusting the original wiring in my 100 year old farm house to handle it. I've got a LOT of toys plugged into it ...

Ok, so in that case it does sound like you have an isolated ground. The way you wrote your other post it left the impression to others that simply switching out the receptacle as the original poster suggested would give you that. My guess with all your wiring it probably did make a big difference in the noise level - if you don't use a power conditioner. That is what I would have done instead and spend the money wisely on other things to improve the sound. Then again, 100 year old wiring may be worth replacing the circuit anyway...

And circuit breakers causing sound issues? That's going to be pretty hard to fix. Every studio I've ever been in used them. Auditoriums too. So the recordings you play back already have that "problem". How do you fix that?

I'm not saying you shouldn't spend money to enjoy optimal sound. Please do, it can make a big difference. What I am saying is learn to spend it wisely. If you enjoy sound so much, read books on acoustical design etc. If you had, you would have realized that spending that money on the room itself would have made a much bigger difference than in that huge rewiring job - especially since you could get the exact same thing with a decent power conditioner.

From the picture I could point several things out in your setup that are not optimal acoustically. Take my advice and read a book on acoustical design. It will blow your mind. The amount of things that interfere with sound in a typical room are astounding. They will make a HUGE impact on sound if you have well developed listening skills, and it sounds like you do. In fact they are so large they will likely swamp out many of the other things you have done to try to achieve the optimal listening environment.

Anyhow, this is all just advice aimed at helping you. You can take it or leave it. I learned how to design my own amplifiers (among many other things) in my quest for good sound. I'm trying to pass that on to others. You can "throw darts" to improve things, or you can make educated decisions.

[pcstockton]

From the picture I could point several things out in your setup that are not optimal acoustically.

Agreed.  Setup will bring you many more dividends than a dedicated spur (although i fully endorse you doing whatever sounds good in your system).

You are sitting about 5 feet away it appears.  The speaker are jammed up against that cabinet.  You have all kinds of junk on top of your speakers.  Your gear is far from ideally placed.  Give everything some space.  But if it sounds best this way I guess I should shut up.

-p

[<°)))))><]

Urban Dictionary Audiophile: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=audiophile

Muuaahh... This link made my day :-) You gotta love those good wired audiophiles.

[sKiZo]

All food for thought ...

And I totally agree ... there's absolutely positively nothing optimal about my setup, but ... ya works with what ya gots. I had to break all sorts of rules to get the system working, and I might add, working well in my environment. Looks can be deceiving. Thing is, you ain't seen the half of it.

<AUDIO PURISTS - LEAVE THE ROOM NOW!>

- The actual "room" is an 8x8 cube - as bad as it gets for standing waves. The rear wall is all thickly insulated which helps reduce the bounce. The room behind is open arched and expands the stage significantly, adding another 1100 some odd square feet for the sound to develop. That stage would basically suck without some serious EQ courtesy of a 31 band eq AND a McIntosh passive eq to take care of the big lumps. From there it's been voiced with pro grade equipment.

- The speakers and chair are more or less optimally placed for a holographic system, allowing for equidistant adjustments for the room's volume. Laugh all you want, but Bob Carver had something going with that - even considering the ridiculously small window of perfection it creates. I also have a Hughes AK100 which has a wider window and is more adjustable, but falls flat IMHO on soundstage and instrument placement compared to the Carver. It's the grandaddy of SR3 that I kick in for the old stuff that doesn't have a whole lot of stage working for it in the first place. Add to that dbx expansion, bass synth and other assorted what nots that make most audiophiles cring. Just having 46 interconnects can be enough to induce vomiting with those whose concept of music is five boxes including a turntable. The big MC16s on the front can make the room hover, yet I still hear nice detail on the bottom. Addressing the comments on being too close to the cabinet - they're isolinear with minimal toe and stand proud of the cabinet face so there's no notable obstruction that the Carver doesn't address. Add to that quadraphonic - no - make that sexophonic as I have two sets of speakers running in out of phase balanced pairs - one overhead at the back of the "listening area" and another at the far back of the "room" courtesy of a Wurlitzer quad adapter, which makes for some amazing depth of field. Not to mention that the two rear speaker sets are Bose 201s which do the Bose thing with reflections and all ... horrors! By now you may get the impression that my system isn't ... uh ... ordinary.

Or even in good taste, but hey, I had fun building it, like the results, and I've managed to blow quite a few pairs of socks off those who've had a listen ... who could ask for more?

Interestingly enough, with all that happening via hardware, I use NONE of the MC addons for post processing, or any of the "environments" available with the sound card on the HTPC. Tried em, didn't like em. Go figure.

Could it be better? Of course it could! The search for the elusive "brown note" continues ... and that's the fun part.

Dear OP,
Sorry about the lengthy detour ... I'll go away now ...

[pcstockton]

Wow.... that is a lot going on.

I have two words for you, Naim Uniti

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/pdt-type/naimuniti


Patrick

[gvanbrunt]

And I totally agree ... there's absolutely positively nothing optimal about my setup, but ... ya works with what ya gots. I had to break all sorts of rules to get the system working, and I might add, working well in my environment. Looks can be deceiving. Thing is, you ain't seen the half of it.

No argument there. I think I what I was suggesting is the cost of the wiring could have been better spent elsewhere. But then again I'm not in your shoes and I certainly don't know all the details. I see nothing wrong with adding whole service panel and dedicated spur for your listening enjoyment. In fact that's kind of a manly cool thing to do. Like hooking a pressure washer up to your dishwasher, some may laugh, but it's defiantly going to get the dishes clean. It certainly is cooler than what most people have in their kitchen

My big concern was the impression some would have about the isolated ground working just by replacing the plug. I think we have more than cleared that up and your design is well thought out even if you have some technical details wrong. We may differ in where to spend your money, but in the end it's your money, not mine. I'll just shut up about that now.

<AUDIO PURISTS - LEAVE THE ROOM NOW!>

- The actual "room" is an 8x8 cube - as bad as it gets for standing waves. <snip>

- The speakers and chair are more or less optimally placed for a holographic system, allowing for equidistant adjustments for the room's volume. Laugh all you want, but Bob Carver had something going with that - even considering the ridiculously small window of perfection it creates.

Or even in good taste, but hey, I had fun building it, like the results, and I've managed to blow quite a few pairs of socks off those who've had a listen ... who could ask for more?

Wow, that is a limited space. Would be a real challenge to work within it. The speaker and chair are in the correct locations relative to each other from what I can see. And you are correct. In any room there really is only one perfect listening spot - might as well be your preferred one.

I could make a couple of suggestions, but I'm not sure you can do it in the space provided:

Move the cabinet from between the speakers. It's better off somewhere else as far as imaging is concerned. I would also move them away from the wall as much as you can. About 2 feet of space is a good general rule, but in your case might be difficult to achieve. Those two things alone would normally make a big improvement without spending any money.

Dear OP,
Sorry about the lengthy detour ... I'll go away now ...

Not a detour at all. In fact your posting helped clear up details about an isolated ground and how it can reduce noise.

[gvanbrunt]

Oh I also should mention, your setup sounds pretty cool actually. You seem to do a lot of experimentation and not just parrot what is gleaned in "purest" forums. Good for you. Attaining perfect reproduction of the original source is not possible, nor even necessarily intended. So you might as well do all you can to get what sounds best to you.

[sKiZo]

Wow.... that is a lot going on.

I have two words for you, Naim Uniti

http://www.naimaudio.com/hifi-products/pdt-type/naimuniti


Patrick

Think of my setup as a 600 pound iPod ... I will keep that Naim in mind tho ... getting too old to be juggling 100 pound amps ...



Couple other minor issues addressed in my system ... replaced all the windows and plumbing, with careful attention to potential rattling and disintegration ... I also nailed the big comfy chair down as it kept drifting off center. Details, details ...

[erniemit]

It's just sad when the "Audio by numbers" guys speak up and trash the Audiophiles.  A receptacle can have current limiting capability if the connections adds ohms.   I use milliohm meters to test connectors for electronics and even one 0.4 ohms in series can play a role in power delivery.   Now, I am not an avid fan of Furutech power cables at $1,000 each, but let them have their way.  Audio Research and Furutech can't stay in business by selling nice green dots and making false claims regarding $25,000 tube amps that the "Audio by Numbers" guys would never justify spending money for.  Don't try to argue with me either if you have not heard what you are talking about,,,,no time for that. 

[DarkPenguin]

 Hey, it's your money.  Or at least it was.