Albertporter only needs 50

December 31,02

I just have a bit to add now that the outlets are setteled in and sounding amazing. I did find that the outlets did change the tonal balance. They got rid of some colorations in the bass and mid bass as well as smoothing out everything else. I had set up the speakers prior to the outlets for this, unknown to me at the time,to compensate for this colored bass. Now that I have re-positioned the speakers for the new and improved tonal qualities I am getting smoother and more defined bass with greater drive and better pace. I find that I can also move the speakers farther apart and still retain the kind of focus and image that I was looking for. This opens up the soundstage to an even greater degree than ever before. Very Cool!

I have to say that this has been an unqualified sucess for me and has been a great learning experience. I have always been a firm beliver in set up and having the fundamentals of the system in place before you try to evaluate what you have as far as components. I do think that most audiophiles give up on speakers and electronics far before they know what they can sound like given the right set up. I will say that these duplexes are at the very least a great set up tool that anyone wanting to improve system their needs to install before they spend one more dime on anything else. I am planning future improvements in this area of AC power by upgrading my electrical lines and my other stock power cords and some sort of line filter that I can use these outlets in(perhaps a Chang or an Audio Magic). I am close to where I want to go with what I refered to as set up fundamentals. I have some reasonable isolation form vibration for my gear now and would like to work on my room a acoustics a bit before I ever consider buying a new pair of speakers, wires, or components. These outlets are a MUST have item for any serious listener.

Once again thanks to Albert,Lak,Brian,and the other Audiogon members for sharing in this experience and sharing their knowledge with me. I may never have stumbled on to these with out your help. I would like to ask once again for a few reports from the others of you who have installed these in their systems. I would like to find out what you think?

Max, Thanks for your updates. My guess, is that many of us who bought these outlets have not installed them yet. I am currently using a Tice outlet, and will A/B it with the Cryo treated ones soon. I finally installed them in a wall next to my reptile tank. I chose this location for the outlet because there are lights, filters, and heaters that are constantly on. I have chose not to go through hearing the "Whole" break-in experience and will wait a couple of months. If you think the spike from the fridge is better let us know.

Okay Max, I heard your request for more of us to participate in our findings of the Porter Ports. I hope I am not premature, but nevertheless they're great.

I am comparing these with outlets from Tice Audio, which have been in my system for the last 6 years. Tice treats their outlets with high current,(TPT-Tice Power Technology)rather than our Cryo'd treated Hubbells with low temperture.

I Chose not to listen to the whole burn-in experience of the Porter Ports, so it was used elsewhere. I figured after a week or so it may be time to check these babies out. I knew as soon as I heard them, it was not burned in yet. It sounded very thin, cold and very clean, not bright, not warm, Clean.

I have been very satisfy with Tice Treated outlets for years. They have a good soundstage,layers of full warm mids and decent bass. The Porter Ports changed daily from a thin clean sound to a very focus soundstage, with layers of warm accurate mids, highs and a tight bass to boot. The detail and extention on vocals are amazing. The Tice and the Hubbell do share the same intimate soundstage. I understand the Hubbell 5362 is a tad more laid back than the 8300.

As I write this, of course I believe the outlet has stabilized and I it will remain in my system for years to come.

Thanks again Albert and you too Max!

I had to reread my post from 11/26 which says, "have an electrician coming tomorrow". I just got the lines put in today. The first electrician cancelled on me a few times & then has his wife call me to say I should look for another electrician. He's semi-retired & I guess he had other things to do. I find another guy & set up an appt. My schedule fluctuates, so I worked the night before he was scheduled. Of course, I overslept & missed him. My dog didn't bark-I never heard him at the door. We reschedule, then he has some family problems. We reschedule again, then he has a wart dug out of his foot & can't make it. Well, I was lazy & it all worked out for me, meaning all this time I could have been burning in the outlets & didn't. A few weeks ago I installed one of them in the garage & ran a receiver & TV 24/7. I also ran some power tools from it like a shop vac, grinder, dremel and ran a 100' extension cord from it & used a halogen light under the house while I used my roto rooter drill to clean out the drain pipes. Yeah, that was fun! I think I got all the initial burning in done & swapped it earlier today for the other Porter Port. I already had a Virtual Dynamics cryo'd in the wall & put it on the front end & the Porter Port on my amp.

I only had time for about an hour listen today & started off with an MFSL of Aja. Not bad. Then I put on Norah Jones "Don't Know Why" and had a massive attack of chills! Whoa, it was great! I played a few more female vocals & could definitely hear more detail. Things like decay were extended, vocal reverb was more noticeable & bass was tighter. The overall presentation was really wonderful.

I'm going to leave the other Porter port in the garage for a few months & swap it out for the one already installed, to see if there's any difference. Once I've decided they're doing the same thing, I'll swap out the Virtual Dynamics. After I do that, then I'll swap them out for some regular outlets for a true comparison, as I made two changes today.

I'm sure that the sound will improve & todays test drive shows great things ahead.