2. tech-talk
  3. 1040961591

Best upgrade ever: cryo outlet for my refrigerator

This is the weirdest thing that has happened to me in all these years in audio:

I won a Dutch auction for a 20 amp silver plated, cryoed ACME receptacle. I decided to burn it in by running my refrigerator through it--fine. So I went on and replaced the old outlet, thoroughly cleaned the leads and ground wire and applied some Pro Gold.

When I listened to my stereo I could not believe the improvement in the sound! It was so powerful, three dimensional and w/ such a quiet background it was spooky. How could this be? I had cleaned the leads leading to other receptacles in the circuit and my equipment was being fed through a brand new PS Audio Power Port! Without a doubt this has been the most noticeable upgrade in my system--ever. Even when Deano came w/ his spare class A monoblocks did the difference in sound was this huge. The same goes for adding a top notch Clear Image T4 line conditioner I got recently--not even close.

I asked the maintenance guy and he told me what I had cleaned before were the return wires and receptacles in the circuit. It turns out the fridge goes first and my power Port is two receptacles downstream...

The bass was MUCH deeper, the musical presentation way more relaxed and the high frequencies detailed and w/out a hint of harshness. This is freaky.

Can anyone out there explain this?
psychicanimal
albertporter's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
albertporter
4,949 posts
 
What you are hearing is part of what you get by using one breaker and dedicated line for each component in the system. This is exactly why I have 14 dedicated breakers.

The cost to have dedicated wiring (assuming you own the place) is reasonable, compared to what many of us have invested in our equipment.
twl
3,251 posts
 
Motors are notorious for throwing out hash, and they have large power swings during cycling. There may be 2 motors in your fridge working at different times.

Poor contact on the fridge outlet could cause increased draw or even small arcing. Smooth power delivery to the motors in the fridge can cause the motors to run smoother, and maybe put less hash on the line.

I don't know exactly what was happening in your case, but it is clear that the fridge was affecting your powerline negatively, by some kind of outlet contact flaw. Perhaps the fridge is cycling less often, and it will not affect the audio system when the motors are off.

If you like this kind of upgrade, you should try battery power. Battery takes the whole power feed thing into another level entirely.
maxgain
526 posts
 
Psychic, RUN don't walk! Go get yourself a cryoed outlet to plug your gear into too! Put the PS on the TV or something. I think you have read some of my rantings about what these did for me. They are amazing! Get more!
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
PS...I have experienced the effect of replacing an outlet in another room that came right before the outlet the TV is plugged into. The TV picture got a little sharper, so I can believe what you say.

Many home outlets for ease of installation reasons are designed so that the installer just has to insert the wire into the back of the outlet. There are no screws to tighten; the wire is just clamped. I can believe this is not the most ideal connection.
garfish
1,840 posts
 
Psychicanimal; thanks for sharing your experience with your fridge. I gave up long ago trying to explain some of these things, but like you have discovered the value of good outlets-- and they all sound different, cleaning contacts, good contacts, better power cords with better plugs on both ends etc. etc. etc. I haven't tried cryoed outlets yet, but plan to soon.

It can seem pretty goofy, but it's fun too. I have 5 dedicated outlets that have made a significant difference in my whole system, ie much, much lower noise floor, and as Albert noted, the cost of running dedicated lines is not that much relative to many other high end "things". Cheers. Craig
More to discover