Are High-End Receptacles Worth The Money? | Power Port Classic

I will provide an overview of the Power Port Classic design which is sold by PS Audio. This receptacle is designed for audio and visual applications with a focus on audiophiles. I will open up the $50 receptacle and show you the internals in addition to comparing the design to a $6 Leviton commercial-grade receptacle.

Additionally, we will discuss the actual manufacturer of this receptacle and what model is closest to the PowerPort Classic as a possible alternative.

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[EverydayHomeRepairs]

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DISCLAIMER: This video and description contain affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a small commission.

[badlighting]

I spent $55 on a hospital grade GFCI AFCI receptacle a couple years ago. I bought it more out of curiosity to see how good a hospital grade outlet is, and I got to say it’s amazing. Still grips like new, despite being constantly plugged and unplugged with high current loads.

[MarkLawry]

Wow! Another simple video that lights up a firestorm! I'll remember this for a topic of conversation when 3 electricians walk into a bar...

[chrisrichard]

I have come to the inescapable conclusion that most "audiophiles" are completely out of their minds. Kudos to you for spending that kind of money just to show us what was inside. For that kind of money, I was hoping to see some suppression caps or some other gimmick to make it "audiophile" grade as opposed to $8 worth of receptacle with $42 worth of silk screening and marketing wank.

Thanks as always!

[brianlittle]

Thanks for doing the cut-aways of the electrical switches and outlets.



PowerPort Classic: A lot of money for an outlet. This outlet costs more because it has so many layers of nickel plating and its low production volume.



In aerospace, we do have connectors that have more than one layer of gold plating to help the connector to survive the high vibration environments (aircraft/helicopters). The connectors allow a layer of gold plating to wear through while still having a gold layer to make good contact.



The PowerPort Classic is used in the home, a low vibration environment. The comments about the improved audio performance were lacking details. For example, did the isolated ground help? Did cleaning connections help? There were no measurements to show the difference. Need to do a double blind test with multiple outlets and ground configurations to know what is going on and why.



For most systems, making sure that the stereo has its own dedicated 20 amp circuit provides the biggest bang for the buck. Most of us, can’t hear the difference an outlet could make.



Industry Engineer: Your viewers might like to hear from an engineer from one of the big electrical component companies to talk about the differences between grades of outlets and switches. The engineer should talk about things at an industry level – not bash the competitors.



The engineer could also discuss the effect of volume on design. For example, the residential grade should have a much higher unit volume compared to the spec and higher grades. The residential grade would have the volume to make it economical to have its own tooling to save money. I suspect that the spec grade housing is used in higher grades to make the cost of the tooling (tooling is expensive).



Most of us buy the brand that is available at our local store. Hubbell is normally available at a supply house or on line – the big box stores don’t normally carry Hubbell because of the higher cost. Hubbell makes some good stuff – Hubbell is one of the few companies that makes a spec grade 15 amp decora outlet.

[nigelsmith]

I installed 4 dedicated circuits on a line power conditioning device with isolated grounds, after the dedicated surge device we installed in the garage! This was for a friend of mine and was mostly installed to protect his expensive equipment as he worked from home making commercial jingles for the audio industry. (Who knew) Everything was fine but he called me a few weeks later saying, every now and again some of the recordings would have noise, came to find out his wife was plugging the vacuum into one of the new spare “handy sockets” by his desk! Didn’t notice as he wore headphones when working! So we added one more socket in the hall to keep the Mrs very happy! Only used $6 sockets, but I was taught to use pigtails to each socket and not let the socket be the path to the next socket in line.

[brandtfj]

The nickel plating will prevent contacts from being tarnished such as brass and copper do

[markphilpot]

I’ve used hospital grade plugs and receptacles for this purpose for years with no complaints. It’s an extremist hobby and lots of marketing hype. The key to using hospital grade is the grip that it has. That positive contact is paramount to those guys. I’d run 10/3 from the box on all dedicated runs for gear. Most electricians aren’t going that far. I’m a specialist and I handle this type clientele. They pay for it and they get it. Both for mains and low voltage work. If you got the bucks, you can have it also! Stay safe mates!😊👍🏻😷

[MrTrashcan]

I spend several years on message boards interacting with audiophiles and they ranged from being practical, frugal, and resourceful at one end of the spectrum to insane at the other end--and they would buy this.

[gynarchyrules]

Audiophile AC Receptacles DO make a difference in both power quality & sound - here are some measurements using an EXTech model# CT70 AC Circuit load tester - the standard AC Outlet I just replaced in a 60yr old home (not on a dedicated circuit) had an ASCC (measurement of Dynamic Instantaneous current) of 0.29KA ( KiloAmps N-G) - the Voltage Drop on that circuit was 113.2V with a 7.2% on 15A Just replacing this ONE outlet with a Custom OEM Hubble (model SR-Z1 from Shunyata Research) ASCC went up to 0.35KA and Voltage drop to 114.1V or 6.1% Peak voltage test when from 169V to 173V - sound was MUCH Better...especially low frequencies .. even from the PS Audio in this video.. The OEM outlet had been cryogenically treated, triple wipe solid brass, extra space inside for heat dispensation & designed for high current though low impedance . Now is it worth $99 ? we are talking ONE outlet in your home.. NOT all of them.. obviously it would be better to run a dedicated Circuit but that requires hiring an electrician, permits etc when just replacing an outlet makes a Power Amps also need high ASCC to perform well 1.17KA is good) a cheap 14AWG Power cord lowers ASCC to 0.59KA some Audiophile power cords of the same AWG are 1.01KA they also have noise filters that reduce electromagnetic signal polarization & reduces common-mode noise by up to 12dB at 1 MHz - so can you HEAR the difference between a PS Audio or Hospital grade outlet.. yes I can.. & it can be measured..

[billhandymanbill]

I am not an audio person, so I would buy the $2.00 outlet. But putting all of that aside, it is most important in the way the outlet is wired. In order to get a very secure electrical connection, “pigtail” each outlet rather than relying on the 4 screw method. “Push in” or “back stabbing” an outlet can create a weak point in the electrical connection especial when using a heavy electrical load such as an electric iron or vacuum. It can also cause electrical failure in the future for that outlet or other electrical outlets downstream. GFCI where they enter the back of the device and use the screw “plate squeeze method” are also good as they provide a good, secure electrical connection.

[TechTimeWithEric]

Audiophile grade is a lot like gamer, marine, or RV grade; a few letters drives the cost up.

[stephenpulver]

I’m an audiophile, And I only believe in build quality 3 to 10 times fold. Absolutely right all the tinplating at the very end how does that make a difference? All I want is for the Electrical system to hammer proof, waterproof, and fireproof. At least 12 gauge solid wire or stranded 10 gauge wire stranded all in a steel pipe. And ‘ absolutely no voltage on the ground’. No ground loops.
No snake oil. Just the integrity (build quality) of the system. I’ve been wondering about these recepsts for years, thanks for taking the time to show us all!

[scotttod]

I had to install isolated ground recepticals for a bunch of vaccine coolers in isolated communities. Was a huge rush years back during SARS scare. These coolers were temperature monitored and called for isolated ground for all the fancy electronics on them.

[damirhlobik]

after the electricity travels hundreds of kilometers through the transmission line, passes through the transformer and reaches your house, an audiophile socket and the last two meters of power cable will make a drastic difference.
Certainly, I was with Armstrong on the moon, but I don't brag about not ending up in a madhouse

[gme-time]

Even though the info in the videos are next to useless to me (different electrical standards, so different plugs, ...) I really love watching those more detailed analysis of the hardware. Keep up your great work :)

[palmettokid]

I am an extreme audiophile that designs and build my own amps (vacuum tube) and preamps. The quest is for an AC connection that makes a good connection. That can be done with the cheapest outlet there is. The problem is extraneous noise or ripple in the 120 volt sine wave, This is usually caused by as little as 5 millivolts of potential between the ground connections, that are usually tied to the neutral wire. Amps are designed to have the purist DC volts that you can get because the DC is used for component (tubes, capacitors, mos-fets...) biasing to carry the AC audio signal. If the power supply (AC to DC) has any of the afore mention ripple; it will be amplified through several gain stages and manifest itself as a hum. It will be at 60hz, 120hz, or any multiple of 60 or the amp can through aural and spatial exciters cause the hum to be any harmonic frequency of the original 60 cycles. Conclusion: Keep your AC plugs clean and polished and have a dedicated ground for your amps, preamps, EQs, turntable, and so on. Any voltage potential between components is bad. Just have dedicated circuits and ground all your HiFi stuff from a single source; or just use clip leads from metal housings to the other. BTW, All half decent turntable have a ground wire just for that purpose, because a turntable cartridge has a high gain input that will make poor grounding louder than the music. Myth busted.

[BikesBobbers]

I'm currently getting a BA for audio production and I can say that the amount of snake oil in the industry is laughable. any half decent receptacle does just fine for edison connectors, but most of our stuff on tour is IEC. while genuinely more expensive, IEC is locking and water resistant- both really important for us.

[CB_ChaosLove]

As a musician and recording engineer, the scenario that is important here is the ground isolation preventing ground loops. Also getting 'clean' power ( without excess humming) are what you would be looking for. I don't see what the extra cost of the A/V plug is getting you.

[chetbart]

I personally would go with Hubbell; I frequently buy their stuff when quality is important. Much of the “audiophile” stuff (cables and cords) is in my opinion as electronics engineer mostly snake oil. To my ears a basic Belden $10 power cord sounds the same as a $250 power cord made from special braided high-purity unobtanium. But many “high end” audiophiles claim to hear a difference. By the way, PS Audio and is a excellent and well regarded company in the audio field.