Day eight.
Today it is wafer thin, all of the low end gains are gone. No deffinition at all, just mud! Top end is darker but not bad and the upper mid is gritty as sand. The mid bass is clogged as bad as my drain! Talking power snake here, but not the Shunyata kind. The balance now is more like my LS3/5a's, rather than my full range/sub set up. Sort of a fake mid hump and no real bass, laid back and sort of polite throught the top.Mids sound as hollow as an old Beech tree. Very weird sounding!I may cry "uncle" and put them somewhere else for the rest of the burn now as this phase is gross. |
Day seven.
A week has passed. Todays update is late due to a fun plumbing chore. Today is better than yesterday, not as bright. Overall quite pleasant. The bass is slowly coming back. What will tomorrow bring? |
I resisted commenting because I wanted to give other Audiogon members an opportunity to post their results without my input. I had a huge head start on this project as my outlets were installed months ago when my sound room was completely rebuilt. It was about 45 to 60 days when my outlets showed NO additional changes in break in.
A few years ago I cryo treated the transformers in my Soundlab Ultimates. The break in period took over 7 months. At one point I completely gave up on the project. I ordered two new back plates from Soundlab in anticipation of having to dispose of the cryo treated ones. Just as I was ready to pull the plug, in the weeks that followed, changes came about in the function of the crossovers where they literally blossomed to life. There was almost unbelievable transparency and balance and the bass finally came back. If not for all the members in my audio group hearing and agreeing with this sudden change, I would doubt myself, especially after all that time.
Considering the benefit received from my cryo outlets, in a (relatively) short break in time of 45 days, they may be the biggest bargain in my system. Equal in some ways to expensive cables and power cord swaps.
Your experience with break in is not out of line with mine and your comments may benefit those who face break in of other cryo treated products. I know of no product that cryo treating does not screw up at first, regardless of type or application. The worst ever was a Benz moving coil phono cartridge. That experience would be a thread in itself.
It will be worth it, just needs a little more burn in time. (Luckily not 7 months). |
Ok, tonight it sounds different again? great in the mids, woffy, poofy, wooly bass, and smoother highs than this afternoon? This is a real thrill ride like a roller coaster of up and down. Perhaps some of it is that the new outlets let me hear the real quality of my AC better than before which explaines the different sounds at different hours of the day?(it always seemed a bit better at night before anyway)
Albert, anything you can add? You have been through this, what comes next? perhaps getting on the contraption that spins me around till I toss my cookies instead of the roller coaster? At 6'4" I hope I'm not tall enough to get on that ride! Don't get me wrong I am confident that things ARE getting better overall. It's just that they seem to be toying with me at times, by giving me something then just before I grab it they snatch it back! |
I let it run a few hours while I was gone with the CD on repeat. As the bass comes back, seems so is a bit more of the harshness. I hope this is a short phase that may be gone even tomorrow. |
Day six.
120 hours of burn in.
Happy to report that my friend, the low bass is returning nicely now and things are smoothing out in the mid bass as well. The good things I mentioned before are becoming even more pronounced. Sounds sort of super charged! Very precise with amazing clarity, focus, and detail! Can't keep writing,I need to shut this damn PC off and listen to another tune quick! |
I have been following Maxgain's reports with some interest. We had our outlets installed at roughly the same time and my experiences have been roughly parallel. I have left the 2 channel system alone. I intend to give it a week to break in.
I have instead concentrated on the HT. Day 1, the bass was very muddy. Day 2 and 3, I noticed a great deal of pixelation coming from the satellite. This has now smoothed out rather nicely. The sound continues to get tighter and more focused. I agree that the bass will probably be the last thing to settle down.
Once they are properly broken in, I plan to run dedicated lines. |
Day Five.
96 hours of burn in.
Now we are getting somewhere! The system seems to be able to negotiate complex passages better than ever. Everything is more focused than before and can sort things out that blured together with the old outlets. Extension of the high end is back to normal. I can hear more breath of the vocals and more decay of ambiance. Imaging is locked in with more specific space for individual instruments and voclas. I am hearing a gain in transparency that connects me to the space the music takes place in more than ever. These improvments are letting me get to the emotive, affective aspects of the music like never before. The low bass still lacks a bit of weight though. The bass in general doesn't yet have quite as much punch and the mid bass is still a bit "poofy" compared to the old outlets. I am beginnig to think that this (the bass) will be one of the last aspects of the burn in to fall into place.
As I listen the changes are getting more subtle as time goes on. This may be the last of the 24 hour interval updates. I will keep reporting as things happen. I hope the rest of you have as much fun with these as I am having.I hope to read some of your findings even if you don't hear it as I do, as always. Thanks again to Albert. |
Listen to the Psychic...
USE YOUR REFRIGERATOR!!!
Make a jig with an electrical box and run your fridge through each receptacle at least four days. The fridge draws a lot more current than a fan and each time it starts it sends a decent spike. |
First, Thank you Albert Porter for working with everyone in getting the "Porter Port". Or maybe the "Al-tlet"?
Thanx Maxgain for your daily updates, I look forward to reading them. I have had mine in for about 24 hours, it replaced a stock outlet. Right off the bat, much better than stock. There is a harshness about it, but I can already hear better dynamics and soundstage. Looking forward to going through the burn-in process to hear it keep getting better, until it is s-m-o-o-t-h!
Matty |
Day Four.
72 hours of burn in with the fans and or equiptment running.(I used a calculator this time!) Good news, the bass is coming back, not fully yet but getting better all the time! What else is happening is a 3-D sound that, hell may be 4-D! They do blow away my old outlets now. May be, just a hint of grain or roughness, but I won't call it harsh anymore. I can't wait to hear the next phase of burn in. The textural subtlties and delicate spacial cues are starting to come through like never before. I hope some of you other guys are burning yours already. I want to hear what you think. I am going to leave the fans running 24/7 for a while yet. |
Doh! Day three is 48 hours of burn in, not 36. Unless one of those days way only 12 hours for some strange reason. I know that the days are short up here in the frozen north, but this is one of my right brainer math screw-ups. Let's see 2+2=? Anyone? Need help here! |
Day three.
Things have setteled down quite a bit with 36 hours of the fans and or the equiptment running. At this point I have to say that they now are starting to show their stuff. They already sound better than the old ones in many ways. The change in sound is similar to what happened when I put the aftermarket PC on my CD. The space seems to be opening up with lots of dimension and precision.Harmonic richness seems wonderful and there is a relaxed feel about the pace. The low bass still is missing in action(still poofy) which makes the mid bass seem a bit thicker and clogged(I tried turning up the woofer level a bit which may have made things worse in this regaurd). Highs may still be a bit cropped on top as well but there is a nice delicate texture and decay to what is there. The harshness is reduced to a point I can tolerate and not much more than the standard Levitons that were there. Not bad after this short period of time. I am sure that they will mature nicely from this point like a good bottle of Bourbon. I'm glad I put them right in so I can get the full experience. Anyone else with any thoughts? As always, you are welcome to tell me I am nuts if your findings are different from mine. |
Boy! I never thought of that:-) |
Lak, I hope you don't mean that all the vocalists with have an accent like Arnold Swartzanager? |
I’ll bet when the cryoed outlets finally break-in, whatever component you plug in {to the outlet (s)} will sound as if they got a shot of steroids (which should be a good thing in this case)! |
Day two.
Much better than yesterday. After 24 hours of burn in with as much listening as I could tolerate(not much) and the rest of the time running fans as Lak had suggested and leaving the equiptment running , the sound has relaxed quite a bit. Much of the dryness and shrunken soundsatge is gone. The extension is improved. There is still a bit of hardness, grit,slight edge, mid bass congestion,and the low bass is still poofy for lack of a better word. Even with these warts,I am, able to get a better picture of what is to come. There seems to be an improved clarity emerging and a richness that I like very much. Stay tuned! |
Anytime I purchase any audio item new or used I clean the contact points with Kontak.
Since most of you don’t have a cable-cooker I suggest running a house hold fan in your outlets for about 30 days to help break them in and get rid of the harshness. Listen to them on occasion to hear how they mature. That’s why I prefer to purchase mine from a place such as http://www.audioexcellenceaz.com/ after cryogenically treating them they will use their cable cooker for several days on the outlets. This process will make the outlets sound the way they should, or only require one or two days of use for them to mature fully.
At any rate I hope everyone hangs in there, they will sound better. Have a great Thanksgiving.Remember the USA, home of the free and the brave! |
Drubin, the weather this time of year in Texas is pretty humid. Even though it was a couple of days travel for the outlets to arrive after treatment, they were still cool to the touch.
Possibly some condensation formed, and the Hubbell factory cardboard box may have sluffed off some debris during shipping. There is no harm in using Deoxit or ProGold to make them look nicer. I have even heard of manufacturers using food grade spray silicone to dress up product before shipping. |
I got mine today in California, thank you Albert. The outlets look like perhaps they might benefit from a cleaning before installation. Deoxit? ProGold? Any thoughts on this? |
Greetings from San Francisco Mr. Porter. Thank you and happy holidays everyone! |
With respect to burn in, my experience is that it will happen and be complete somewhere around day 25-35 running your gear on it. No real experience with running vacuum cleaners, high power generators, etc! If you are replacing standard/stock receptacles, they should sound very good right out of the box, but they will really shine after burn in. But for those of you with multiple receptacles, you might want to plug your TV into one and use it there. For those skeptical of burn-in, you should actually see your TV picture sharpen up and become much clearer as the burn-in completes. Seeing is believing! Have fun! |
Lak is right about harsh so far. Anyone that says there is no difference in the sound of outlets needs a hearing ear dog! So far it sounds like old an old Crown DC300 hoked up to ESS AMT 1's. This is only to let the rest of the group know what to expect for the first few hours anyway! Like I said there is a glimpse of something in there that has a real ease about it if you can find it through the nasty, thin, dry, part. I will keep updating this as it goes. They may come out and go into the basement for a while to "cook". I am still confident that things will get much better! |
Mine got here in great shape yesterday. They have been in for an hour or so. I wanted to get the full experience by hearing them right out of the box. I was going to hook them up in the basement and cook them for a few weeks. I am getting a glimpse of what is to come.
Thanks Albert, I will keep you posted on the burn in. |
Mine apparently arrived today in the office (I'm out of the country till Sunday); can hardly wait to get them installed. Thanks Albert! |
What's the recommended break in procedure for these? |
Mine arrived last Saturday. Had them installed yesterday. Can't wait for them to break in. Left positive feedback. If you decide to do a second run, put me down for 2. Thanks again for doing this community service. I'll make it a point to look you up the next time I'm in Dallas. |
Mine arrived yesterday, Tuesday, Nov. 26. Thanks again Albert for doing the community a favor! Happy Thanksgiving and God bless. |
Happy Thanksgiving Albert. Ports arrived wed cant wait to hook them up. I have left positive feedback for you here at the gon. Thanks again and happy holidays. P.S Will there be a second run?? |
Porter ports have arrived in Charlotte NC. Whoo hah! 7pm delivery. Thanks Albert. |
Just received mine out here in VA (Tues 26th). They look great & a super packing job. I have an electrician coming tomorrow to install some dedicated lines & will put these into service.
Thank-you very much for all your efforts Albert! I'll post an update on the new porter-ports after awhile. |
Got mine today Sat 11/23. I will be looking forward to hooking them up soon.
Kind of redundent but thanks again, very cool, very nice.
charles (bbtuna)
PS Look for positive feedback... |
The Porter Port........really like the sound of that.
For more than ten years now, my CES badge reads category RETAILER: "PORTERHOUSE Dallas, TX."
CES exhibitors always look at badges of whoever is visiting. When they read mine they always smile and ask,
"PORTERHOUSE.......is that REALLY your store name?"
I say, "Yes, and we steak our customers to a good deal."
You can hear eyes rolling, even over the music demos. |
Maxgain, that's great! Grandpoobah, lest we forget, thanks much for starting this thread. |
hope I can do the same some day...THANKS SO MUCH
cd |
O.K., Albert, and the rest of you what do you think?
"The Porter Port"
Sort of derivative or hell, even appropriated, but it's to the point and will sound cool listed in my virtual system as well as sounding cool in my real system! |
Thank you Albert. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving ... remember to kick that fine system of yours up a notch to counteract the post-turkey drowsiness ;-) |
Thanks again, Albert, and happy holiday! |
Albert- You da man ;~). Happy holiday. |
Giving of Thanks to you Albert! I can't wait to start "cooking" these frozen turkeys. I have made a couple of changes as of late and my system sounds better than ever. If these improve things further my ass will be glued to my listening couch for months. Thanks again, Albert. |
The shipment of cryo treated Hubbell outlets arrived here Wednesday, November 20th in the afternoon. I finished labels and print outs via FedEx on line very early Thursday AM.
Everyone's shipment will go out at the same time, Thursday, November 21st. I'm hoping several of you will receive your shipment by Thanksgiving.
I have a print out of all ship data by my computer. Anyone not receiving their order in a reasonable period, please email me for your tracking number. Those who included their email addresses with payment are already linked to FedEx notification system . |
I will be giving him positive feedback and would of course like the same if he felt it was positive for him too. But I understand if he doesn't have time and I will give him positive kudos either way.
charles |
I would think so. I know I will be doing so. As far as Albert, that would be alot of time for him as far as him leaving feedback for all of us, as I believe there are quite a few of us that participated in this transaction. I personally would not be upset if Albert did not have time to leave me feedback. But he truly deserves positive feedback for undertaking this huge project, in my honest opinion. |
Does this transaction qualify for positive feedback? I am inclined to do so if it does. |
Here is a progress report for all that have participated.
I contacted Hubbell about two weeks ago and ask about the variation in specifications for the 8300HI (20 amp Hospital grade, Ivory color).
I have samples of three versions, each have high quality construction with same electrical specifications, but are constructed from completely different materials and plating and various ground strap designs.
Not commonly known, there is a special version of this outlet that is ALL copper construction, including the back strap, mount ears and current and ground clamps. This particular version has NO plating whatsoever. It is 20 amp, heavy construction and true Hospital grade and is marked as such.
I had a brief argument via email with a manufacturer that told me these were in fact plated, and even though I had a sample, I could not convince him otherwise.
I now have everyone's outlets in hand as of 4:30 this afternoon and they ARE NOT plated. I did have to UPS in a special order, as these were not in stock at any supply houses in Dallas.
I will ship everything Monday the 11th for treatment, and will post here as soon as I know the turn time for the immersion tanks at NASA to complete the process.
Thanks to everyone for remaining patient with me. Needless to say I am excited that the quality of this project is absolutely on target. |
Thanks Albert
I really appreciate all you are doing to make this a reality
Tom |
Thanks a lot Albert. I can't wait to try them out. |
|
The thanks should all go to you Albert! |
This is now officially closed, please do not send any more payments.
If there are enough people, maybe there can be a round two.
For now I must get the local distributor to fill the order based on today's order count and ship them off for treatment.
Thanks to all you Audiogon guys and girls for making this successful. |
