2. cables
  3. 128702-10110

Quality of outlet not directly powering equipment important?

My new room that I have dedicated to music Has 5 outlets. They are all daisy chained around the perimeter of the room. They share nothing else on the circuit.  From left to right of the room, the power goes from 1-5.   The system is powered by outlet 4, which is an SR black.  The house was built with very poor outlets, the kind that literaly bite down on the wire using a hole for insertion and a quick release tab, not even screw down terminals.  

Upon seeing these POS outlets, which are in my "chain", I replaced outlets 1-3 with my collection of audiophile grade outlets. 1, with a wattgate 381 silver cryo, 2, with a teslaplex SE, And  3 with a furutech gtx-d (r).  I did this to at least have high quality links for the Romex to feed the SR BLACK (4).   I would assume that even with this "mix" of outlets in the chain, they must certainly be better than the absolute garbage outlets that were links in my electrical circuit.  I would imagine less voltage drop at the very least.
 
Now, outlet 5 remains a contractor POS outlet. Its technically past the system, but being that this AC, and not DC, wouldn't it technically also be part of the AC chain feeding the stereo? Would it behoove me to change that one out even though it's past the stereo and not before the stereo?
audiolover718
billbartuska
83 posts
 
Disconnect the last one and see if you can hear a difference?
almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Now, outlet 5 remains a contractor POS outlet. Its technically past the system, but being that this AC, and not DC, wouldn’t it technically also be part of the AC chain feeding the stereo?
No, it wouldn’t. Assuming that nothing is plugged into outlet 5 no current will be present in the wires between outlets 4 and 5. I suppose it’s a remote possibility that the wiring between outlets 4 and 5, or outlet 5 itself, could pick up RFI (radio frequency interference) that might find its way into the system via outlet 4, conceivably with audible consequences. But that seems highly doubtful, and even if it were occurring it would seem probable that it is mainly the wiring that is picking up the RFI, meaning that upgrading outlet 5 probably wouldn’t help.

It could also be argued that the capacitance of the wiring between outlets 4 and 5, and the capacitance of outlet 5 itself, would have a slight loading effect (and therefore a slight filtering effect) on RF noise that may be present on the incoming AC, that is drawn by the system via outlet 4. That too seems very unlikely, but the point is that even if the presence of outlet 5 and the wiring to it from outlet 4 makes a difference, it’s possible that the difference could be for the better rather than for the worse.

Regards,
-- Al


charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 

Al's reply is well written with clarity and knowledge that has become par for the course and is admired on this forum.


billbartuska,

 excellent brevity with its implied wisdom and logic.

Charles

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