AC Outlets

Interesting story that feels relevant to this discussion...

I met one of my closest friends here on Audiogon a few years back, Jim. A side note, this is one of the reasons the new format troubles me. It's not possible to develop relationships like the one I have with Jim here. Really too bad. Anyway, Jim is one of the smartest guys I've met in my life. I'm 50 years old and have been around many pretty smart guys in technical/medical fields so it's saying a lot. He's an electrical engineer, currently pretty high up in military/defense research, construction and supply. he designs very sophisticated power supplies etc and also spent many years in the audio industry. When I met Jim he swore to me that cables and power devices were nonsense/snake oil. Over time he began to trust my ears and was open minded enough to take my suggestions to try some. Since then he has replaced all of his cables with pretty costly MIT stuff, designed and built elaborate power cables and rewired his entire electrical supply chain. He also has one of the outlets I mentioned in my previous posts, Furutech, borrowed from me to audition. Despite all of his training pointing otherwise, he has been openminded and humble enough to understand that there is wisdom beyond what he has been taught and because of that his system is significantly better for it. I have a great deal of respect for guys like him. On the other hand, guys that think they have all the answers because they can't get from A to B in their skull....well they are going to stay stuck. That is a pretty grandiose position to take, actually. The reality is that outlets sound different. It's not a theory, belief or feeling...it's a fact. I'm sure there is some technical reason why but I don't know it nor do I care. If your the kind of dude that needs to know then rather then mislead people with your limited knowledge/experience and research this further until you have all the facts. I don't want this to come off as disrespectful, please do not take it that way. I know sometimes it's hard to be direct on a forum without sounding like a d..k :)

Hifitime wrote,

"For anyone other than Rja, save your money on these high priced audio grade outlets, and upgrade something else in your system that can be heard, and measured."

I can certainly understand your point of view as someone who has not tried audio grade outlets but is reacting to the notion that outlets are important and audible. It should be pointed out that, in fact, wall outlets can be heard AND measured. Also note that audio grade outlets are not high priced... they are actually what you would probably call cheap. I mean, unless you've been on unemployment for the last three years.

Well, it's been entertaining so far. Now as far as doctors, or even lawyers, let's be honest. They are giving us opinions, hopefully educated and erudite opinions, but opinions nonetheless. That's why many people get second and even third opinions because as humans errors can occur and it's really not that uncommon. In fact many people are killed by these errors every year. Check the statistics.

I'm not exactly sure why you think I have no respect for those who design and produce high quality audio gear. That's a conclusion that completely eludes me, drawn from thin air and couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact I admire what many have accomplished. What fun would this hobby be without the many contributions that have been made starting with the wax cylinder?

There are many very knowledgeable folks on Audiogon who frequently offer their opinions and technical explanations. Almarg comes to mind. He's always helpful and respectful even if he doesn't agree with a post. He explains why he doesn't agree but never belittles anyone. I happen to respect the guy for the way he handles himself in a class way and I always try to read his responses.

I also appreciate Richard_stacey's approach. He keeps an open mind and experiments with some of the possibilities, drawing his conclusions from what he's heard. Isn't that approach closer to the scientific method than simply declaring "a priori" that all outlets sound the same?

My beef with you two is your sarcastic attitude about this topic and because you seem to know it all.

Rja

Seems like you cooled off a bit, probably a wise thing to do before posting anything on the internet. I don't see where any of my posts on this subject can bee seen as sarcastic - I have tried to explain why I have the opinion I have, compare that to others that just state, try X outlet it's fantastic, or the ones that just state X outlet is garbage, just statements not backed by any explanations as to why that conclusion was reached by the person.

Belittlement is a state of mind that is reached by a person by him/her self, if you don't let it get to you it will not bother you.

You calling me an idiot I simply don't care about, if it got to me that mean I'd be insecure about my person or what I stand for, I'm not, I assure you.

As always, Good listening

Peter

My apologies to the original poster for sidetracking his thread.