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The AC Plug Thread / The Benefits of Upgrading to Hospital Grade AC Plugs! |
Maxxwire
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Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25735
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
 |  Posted: 2009-02-21 01:48
Welcome to the 20th Page of the
"Benefits of Upgrading to Hospital Grade Plugs Thread"
~Maxx~
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
Explore The New Sony MaxxPix
[ This message was edited by: Maxxwire on 2010-04-25 18:57 ]
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LordX
Rank: Sony Buff
Joined: Feb 06, 2009
Posts: 13
From: USA
 | Posted: 2009-02-21 10:01
3 years and 20 pages. You really have something going here. 
Do you by chance have a link to obtain those awesome banana plugs you pictured? Or are they something I pick up locally (e.g. Radio Shack)?
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Maxxwire
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Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-02-21 16:44
LordX- Yes, this Thread has been going strong ever since November 10th 2006 under the power of the truths as set forth in the AC POWER PRINCIPALS and power they have to transform everything we see and hear from our A/V Systems through essential Power Delivery Upgrades!
Ultimately our Audio equipment uses the signal from the front end to modulate the AC Power into a much lower voltage signal to power our speakers with and we must find commensurate quality connectors to faithfully deliver that signal to the speakers. Locking Banana Plugs are one of the best ways to accurately get the signal to the speakers. Unfortunately Radio Shack does not sell high quality Locking Banana Plugs, but they are only $9.89/ pair-
At the other end of the spectrum is the WBT 0600 UBER LOCKING BANANA PLUG with its
highly efficient double split manderel and world class gas tight TORX clamping mechanism which sells for $50.99 each-
Somewhere between these 2 extremes you will find the (Goldi)-Locking Banana Plugs you are looking for. You may be able to find them at a brick and mortar High End Audio Shop in your area, but your best bet would probably be to search online until you find the ones that are a perfect match for your end use and your budget.
~Maxx~
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
The OCCC Furu-Charged Sony DB 930
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rgsgww
Rank: Sony Enthusiant
Joined: Feb 13, 2009
Posts: 32
From: Iowa
| Posted: 2009-02-21 18:31
LordX, it would be a good idea to start a new topic dedicated to the wiring of your unit.
I don't know how you are going to fit 10 awg into the original holes and solder. What I would at your soldering experience, is keep the plug that plugs into the board, solder your wires together, put a wire nut on it them, and put a zip tie just below the nut.
Are you entering the unit with solid or stranded?
[ This message was edited by: rgsgww on 2009-02-21 18:32 ]
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Maxxwire
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Joined: Aug 29, 2002
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-02-21 19:59
I've noticed over the years that there appears to be a general misunderstanding among Audio Enthusiasts about how our Audio equipment uses AC Power and what it uses it for. My first understanding of how the Audio signal is literally made from the AC Power that is delivered to it came when I first read Doug Blackburn's writings in his Soundstage articles back in 1999. Here's an excerpt from one of his Soundstage articles which is included in the AC POWER PRINCIPALS ...
AC Power IS the Signal!...
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If you are still skeptical it may be because of this emerging 'audio truth': AC power is so important because it becomes the audio signal. AC is not just used to run a component.
The audio signal that exits from every component used to be AC from your wall. Anything that gets into the audio circuit from the AC power will be audible in the audio signal that is output from the circuit.
The audio signal coming out of a CD player used to be AC in your house wiring. That signal goes to a preamp. The preamp uses that CD player signal to create a brand new signal using the input from the CD player as a scale model for the new larger signal leaving the preamp.
The original signal from the CD player disappears inside the preamp. What exits the preamp is a brand new signal that used to be AC in the wiring of your house.
Same goes for amplifiers. None of them actually make the input signal larger. They all use AC power from the wall, turn it into DC then modulate the DC with the relatively tiny input signal.
So the preamp's output more or less disappears inside the amp. What comes out of the amp is a brand new signal with a lot more power in it. The signal from the preamp was used as the model for the new bigger signal.
Is it becoming clear why AC power quality and quantity is one of the most important factors in achieving good high-end system performance?
*********************
~Maxx~
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
The OCCC Furu-Charged Sony DB 930
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rgsgww
Rank: Sony Enthusiant
Joined: Feb 13, 2009
Posts: 32
From: Iowa
| Posted: 2009-02-21 20:51
Thank you for the valuable information you have provided in this thread! I now understand more about ac and signals.
Makes me wonder...even things like the age of the transformer at the pole, or age/thickness of the kv power lines may affect audio quality. Your circuit breakers and their age. And the distance your house is from the pole transformer.
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Maxxwire
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Joined: Aug 29, 2002
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-02-22 16:25
rgs- To some degree relative to their great distance from the nexus of pulse power delivery in the power supply of the equipment itself there is a possibility that outside factors may contribute a correctable amount of degradation to the supply of power, but by far the majority of RFI and EMI pollution in the AC Power our equipment uses is generated within the System itself. Just plug an Analog Preamp into the same unfiltered duplex with a CD Player and you will instantly hear the degradation in sound quality from the EMI contamination by the Digital Hash being spewed back into the outlet right next to it from the CD Player's power supply.
Of all the wire between the point of power generation and the point of delivery to an A/V System the power cords on the equipment are by far the most influential lengths of wire because they are literally part of the equipment's power supply and each piece of equipment sees the entire Electrical Grid and all of its components through its power cord and plug.
Here are some interesting points from former US Government Research Scientist and founder of the esteemed Shunyata Research Company, Caelin Gabriel...
The Power Points-
Point 1. Components sit between hot and neutral electrical legs that oscillate back and forth at a 50 to 60 Hz line frequency; consequently, electricity is delivered to audio components in a series of pulses¯ rather than in a constant stream.
Point 2. Power cords aren't the last but the first six feet that a component sees.¯
Point 3. Electrons can't be contaminated; the EM wave, however, can be modulated with other frequencies.
Point 4. Full wave rectifier bridges (FWRB) in the equipment's own power supply degrade the sound more than outside EMI. As long as they're FWRB or switching power supplies, even the finest power supplies will need high-quality AC cords.
Point 5. Power cords are effectively part of the primary transformer winding.
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~Maxx~
PS- A top quality Line Conditioner will undo any harm that had potentially been done to the AC Power's waveform and render it in a way that is of a quality that is far superior to any state it had EVER been in before and will make a profound improvement to both the equipment's performance and sound quality!
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
The OCCC Furu-Charged Sony DB 930
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Maxxwire
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-02-23 01:31
I wanted to put this here for future reference. I was hoping to capture the 30,000 th view, but I was way too slow!
Thank you to everyone who has shown an interest in this Thread. Because both the Audio and Video signals are created from AC Power within the equipment I believe very strongly that an A/V System can not operate at performance levels greater than its Power Delivery System will allow it to and that a $7 investment in a Leviton 8215-C Hospital Grade Plug is the first step in upgrading the captured power cord of any piece of Sony A/V equipment taking it closer to reaching its full performance potential.
~Maxx~
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Maxxwire
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Rank: Sony Adept
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Posts: 25735
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-02-28 20:56
Once the Weak Links in the critically important AC Power Delivery System are found and upgraded a very noticeable improvement in both Audio and Video quality will result for a mere fraction of the original cost of the equipment.
~Maxx~
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Maxxwire
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Premium Member
Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-03-09 02:05
I first read DOUG BLACKBURN'S SOUNDSTAGE ARTICLE about how the AC Power that runs our A/V equipment is modulated into everything we see and hear from it back in 1999 and every time I saw any of the many molded plugs on my equipment I knew that I should replace them, but the sheer volume of OEM plugs that needed to be replaced discouraged me from even starting the project.
Eventually I decided to start small by making a modest investment in 4 Leviton 8215-C Hospital Grade Plugs and see for myself if Doug Blackburn was right about the improvement that upgrading the AC Power Delivery System would make.
I decided to begin at the source so the first nickel bladed molded plug that I replaced was on my Sony CX 300 Megachanger pictured above. The result was that after the upgrade the Music sounded much smoother which I attribute to the combination of the improved screw tight wire connections (replacing the machine crimped connections on the molded plug) and the 87% higher conductivity Solid Brass Blades on the Leviton 8215-C Hospital Grade Plug which combined to deliver the all important AC Power much more efficiently and as a result removed a layer of Digititus from the sound of my Sony Megachanger. I can't remember ever getting so much bang for the buck in an equipment upgrade as when I took a few minutes to install that first $7 LEVITON 8215-C HOSPITAL GRADE PLUG.
~Maxx~
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
Explore 15 Pages of Sony MaxxPix
[ This message was edited by: Maxxwire on 2010-04-25 19:02 ]
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SonySeller
Rank: Sony Devotee
Joined: Jan 28, 2008
Posts: 85
From: calgary
| Posted: 2009-03-18 18:01
Greetings Mr. Maxxwire,
I have successfully installed 3 Leviton 8215-C, One on each my Reciever, Playstation 3 and HTPC Media Center. I just wanted to share my experiences with you as you alone (as well as the other posters in this forum) have inspired my ordering and upgrading to these plugs.
It must have been over a month ago, I fired off an email to PortLighting.com after I could not Locate a local retailer. After a long while we were finally able to arrange the shipment of Five Leviton 8215-C Plugs, at a cost of $35.00, I was pleased to finally get the bill on my Visa.
The American conversion worked out to over $50.00 CAD and shipping and Tariffs added on an Aditional $50.00 The grand total was about $98.00 CAD.
I put the first Leviton plug onto a brand new OEM power cable I found at work that wasn't even broken in.
When I first replaced the cable of my 5300ES with this new one, the difference was rather dramatic and very noticable, although I wondered still if it should be better than it was?
I unplugged the cable and looked in the end, I was suprised to notice nickle or tin plated contacts on the IEC connection end, This coupled with the fact that it was a new cable prompted me to install another 8215-C on the origional OEM power cable from my 5300ES(which was broken in and also had brass termitations on the IEC end)
When I plugged this cable in and powered it on I was imediately blown away and would gladly spend another $100.00 to do it over again.
Thank you so much for impressing upon us all that the AC plug principals are as important as they are.
I was so impressed with this I replaced the AC plugs from my HTPC and my PS3 immediately and each was a very dramatic improvement.
After realising such an improvement merely by switching out the AC plug I have decided to fabricate custom power cables for each piece of audio equipment I own, using the same Leviton 8215-C connetions that I have installed now.
Last night I picked up some 12Gauge AWG Power Cable from Hope Depot. I just grabbed 25FT it only cost about $30. This I can make 5 AC plugs with.
I had a couple questions for you though.
Firstly: The cable I bought is not sheilded individually, nor are the outer layers. I wanted to pick up some Heatshrink, Braided Sleeving, Braided Shielding and Foil Shielding and do a couple layers each shielding then shrink/sleeve the whole thing. I began to debate the cost/time effectivness of this, esp considering I have no way of know the Purity of the copper used in this Cable which I have purchased. The question is this- is RFI and EMI as much an issue with power cables as it is with other interconnects? Would all the trouble of shielding be worth it?
Secondly: Do you know of a wholesaler or retailer that can guarantee copper purities for 2-3 Way 8-12 Gauge AWG wires... I would assume not, and if you did they would likely be American, perhaps you can recomend a specific brand or type of cable that would be ideal or atleast point me in a general direction for this type of construction 
Thirdly: As for the wire/cable involved, I am having a little trouble locating the actual wire but I am wondering if in your oppinion it would be easier/less expensive to buy shielded/double shielded lengths of 2c/3c wire at various guages, I am having a heck of a time finding any retailers for this wire at all so I prospected building my own custom wires, and then I wondered if I would be able to find 99.9% copper wire with or without gold/silver plate.
Congradulations I am inexplicitly and irreversibly addicted to AC upgrades.
One more question is, about the IEC connection, I know you have made a recomendation in the past, and that soldering the wire directly to the board is ideal, howerver do you have any experience with a similar quality product to the 8215-C that is an IEC plug.
Thank you for this thread!!
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Maxxwire
Moderator
Premium Member
Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25735
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-03-18 20:02
SonySeller- I'm very happy to hear that you have experienced for yourself the startlingly substantial sonic improvements that upgrading to the simple $7 Leviton 8215-C Hospital Grade AC Plug can bring. You are asking all of the right questions and the answers are leading you to build your own AC Power Cords for the simple reason that all though as DIY Jon Risch points out that upgrading the Plug is the most critical because it can introduce more resistance than the wires nevertheless the purity, wire geometry and sheilding of the conductors also contribute significantly to the overall performance of the Power Cord.
When it comes to bulk AC wire my first recommendation is always DH LABS POWER PLUS STUDIO REFERENCE Bulk AC Wire at $6.50/ft which our Canadian Member RB used in the AC wires that he made for all of his Reference Audio Gear.
Another ubiquitous name in all things related to Audiophile Quality DIY Power Delivery is CRYO PARTS...
These wires use the same kind of High Purity Copper that Caelin Gabriel uses in Shunyata’s own high-purity CDA-101 cryogenic copper conductors so they should be able to do justice to the fine craftsmanship that you put into your Power Cord Project.
~Maxx~
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SonySeller
Rank: Sony Devotee
Joined: Jan 28, 2008
Posts: 85
From: calgary
| Posted: 2009-03-18 22:20
Very interesting,
Thank you so much for the recomendations. I may consider these alternatives but at the moment I'm just looking for high purity copper sold as 1c in various colors or sold in pairs or trios for custom fabrication, Then I will be able to make sure I have it shielded the way I want...
I notice that the CryoIII cable has mylar/aluminum shielding... but as I have recently learned this is good for shielding from high frequency interverence but for low frequencies the meshed copper shielding is best. I speculate that I could build a cable with a 2 stage shielding of mylar/aluminum and copper mesh... it would provide more adequate shielding im sure but this would mean I have to find a simple retailer for high-purity copper...
The only thing I am left wondering about is how important this cryo freezing treatment is... I'll have to delve deeper into this subject but for now I am left believing that I could make a cable as good or better than the cryo III for less than the 9.90 a ft like they're asking. (mainly because they dont use gold coated wire and they dont have both high frequency and low frequency shielding, which I think is very important
Thanks again for all your info and I'll post updates on any breakthroughs I have!
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Maxxwire
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Joined: Aug 29, 2002
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From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-03-24 18:59
SonySeller- Due to the fact that Gold only has a conductivity of 65% IACS you may want to consider wires with Silver Cladding in that Silver has a conductivity of 106% IACS (International Anealed Copper Standard).
~Maxx~
[ This message was edited by: Maxxwire on 2009-03-24 19:11 ]
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Maxxwire
Moderator
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Rank: Sony Adept
Joined: Aug 29, 2002
Posts: 25735
From: Portland, Oregon - USA
| Posted: 2009-03-24 19:22
I've been using AC Power Cords with Silver Clad 6N Fine OFHC Long Grain Copper conductors in Teflon Dielectric with great success for many years now in fact my entire A/V System receives their AC Power through them. Although I have re-terminated them with highly efficient aftermarket AC Plugs the fact remains that the build quality of the entire Power Cord including the conductors is essential to obtaining optimal Power Delivery.
~Maxx~
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A Satisfied Sony Fan Since 1974!
The OCCC Furu-Charged Sony DB 930
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