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Any idea how it compares against the SWO-XXX? I'm thinking of getting one to try. TIA.
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Quint,i copied my AudiogoN post below from April 1st. since then it has just improved. i still have enough of the Jena labs outlets to allow myself to switch back and forth quickly for an A/B. i have had a few more visitors that i've done the A/B for since that that are as impressed as i was.
********i have been struggling today with my reaction to some newly installed products. my reaction is quite over-the-top......it's one of those "i gotta re-listen to all my reference music" kinda situations. i'm pretty excited because of the degree of improvement is coming from an unexpected source. my current focus is on power conditioning (i'm only using the in-line conditioners in the Jena power cables) and active isolation (see the last few posts above for details).
a couple of weeks ago my friend Joe (who has started his own 'audio tweak' business) brought over some 'hot shot' Oyaide duplex A/C outlets and two piece outlet frames and covers to replace my Jena Labs cryo'd outlets in my room. the Jena's had been installed a few years back with my dedicated lines and #10 guage Romex wire. i had been very happy with the Jena's and was not looking to change. at that time we only had time to try one frame and cover......and we could not hear any difference. Joe agreed to come back over and install the whole thing when he got enough in stock. this morning he installed five Oyaide R1 Beryllium duplex outlets ($125 retail ea), and five Oyaide milled aluminum bases and five carbon fibre plate covers ($199 retail ea). $324 retail X 5 = $1620 worth of duplex outlets. seems pretty crazy even for me.
the duplex outlets are labled 20A 125V. the body is made of PBT with glass filler. they feature polished beryllium copper, paladium on platinum plating contacts, heavy duty triple wipe contacts, and 24K Gold-plated brass band. none of that info means jack to me. what is different is that to get my Jena Labs plugs into these babies you gotta push hard and there is a very solid snap when it locks in. unlike anything i have seen......i wish the damn IEC connections on the back of all our electronics could be made to work like that.
then there is the Aluminum base plates; which attach to the in-wall box. once the base is attached; the duplex outlet is connected to the electrical lines; the duplex outlet is then attached to the base plate (very solidly) and then the carbon fibre cover is attached over the duplex outlet. all in all, very solid and really beautiful looking. excessive audio jewelry at it's finest.
but these things ROCK!!!
these expensive outlets have the best price/performance ratio in my system. from the first note; every aspect of the sound was improved. lower noise floor, better sense of space and more extended boudaries of the stage, better macro and micro-dynamics, better clarity and textural nuance, and more natural extended high frequencies. if i had to add up the differences; it would come down to the system sounding less reproduced and more like music.
i did not listen to the duplex outlets without the base plate and cover plate; so i cannot say what part is most significant. my guess is that the clamping power of the duplex outlet is most significant; followed by the elimination of resonance by the base plate-duplex outlet connection. if you look at how a normal dulplex outlet is attached to the wall box.....it's pretty flimsey and likely amplifies resonance. the drama here is simply how significant the wall attachment of power cords is in system performance......it's huge.....at least in my system.
after the last 6 hours of listening i'm still under the spell of these little jewels.....and i just had to share.....
i'll be listening late tonight......and that is no April Fool's joke.
*********further Oyaide thoughts; after more consideration it seems clear that the degree of performance change is likely due to the fact there is an additive factor at work. except for the battery powered dart pre; all my gear is affected equally. both ICE digital bass amps in the MM3's are plugged in, as well as the dart amp, both EMM Labs boxes and the tt. so depending on the source; 4 for analog and 5 for digital; there is an accumulative degree of affect.
i've been listening to high energy classical for the last hour. big scale orchestral stuff. the combination of ease and dynamic energy is addicting. the more i listen the more i hear how the bass has extended and tightened; become real and alive.
it's really silly how plug connections on power cords can be such a big deal.
i would like to caution that however real my experience might be it could be unique to the context of my system and is no proof of equal benefit without listening for yourself.
YMMV,
now back to Mahler.....
*********
I'm glad you also find the Oyaide R1 Beryllium & WPC-Z wall mount unit to perform as great as described (I fully agree). It's a winning combo :-)
"...i wish the damn IEC connections on the back of all our electronics could be made to work like that."You can wrap a small length of 3M Transpore medical tape around the end of a IEC connector if you find that it has a too-loose fit when plugged into an IEC inlet. The small wrap of tape will enable the plug to grip the IEC inlet slot quite snugly and might even provide a small measure of microphonic vibration damping, to boot. 3M Transpore medical tape is a porous polyethylene product with a very thin layer of medical grade adhesive that provides excellent adherence but won't leave a thick, gummy adhesive deposit like electrical tape often does after removal (if it matters, PVC electrical tape has an inferior dielectric constant vs. PE, anyway).
3M Transpore medical tape is available at Rite Aid drug stores, etc.
The R1 is killer. I have much to opine about, but several more days of burn-in & observation is needed before I post a report in Cable Asylum (I'll post a heads-up to it here).
Who stocks them?
I have a set of speaker cables and ICs hand built for me by Joe Mazzaglia of Auricle Audio Design (on A'gon). Best sound I can afford! So when I read that they're switching to Be/Cu, well....that sounds really interesting.
Not much info out there on the R1 but what I did find certainly looks like it will be a stepup from the SWO series.The metal has been changed to Beryllium copper instead of the Phospher bronze and the coating is Palladium over gold from what I gather.
Even still, I would recommend one install the WPC-XXX before dropping coin on a new outlet. Just might be cheaper too :-)
Cheers,
I don't know what the electrial properties of Beryllium copper are, however, Phosphor Bronze is composed of 97% copper, 2 % tin, and 0.10% phosphor to retard oxidation.
I think I'm gonna pull the trigger. I have a lot of spare outlets in my main rig, so I'll replace one of my Jena Labs outlets with an R1 and do an A/B. If worse comes to worse, and I prefer the Jena, I certainly have enough Jena outlets to handle the system. It's probably worth experimenting with, as I'm thoroughly sold on the dramatic impact a good outlet can make. BTW, I'm also using the carbon-fiber wallplates. They do make a difference, but IMO they're horrendously overpriced for what they do.
....the outer plating is PLATINUM, over the beryllium copper substrate. Word has it that the tonal qualities are somewhere in between the GX and XXX (a touch more warmth than the XXX), having all the micro-detail of the XXX as well, but "more illuminating" than the others. I've yet to hear the unit for myself, but will very soon.
Be/Cu...twice polished...Platinum...PalladiumJoe Cohen
The Lotus Group
Body is white...20 amp rated
Joe Cohen
The Lotus Group
....would you say that the white is a "bright white", a "soft white", an "off-white", or a "creamy white"????And be specific....I can't remember exactly what I saw at CES. :--]
Hi alan,The R1 has a matte finish plastic like the SWO's, so the white color comes off as being "off-white" at first glance, but eyeballed next to a typical shiny white AC outlet, it's still white and nowhere near the almond or even cream side of the color spectrum. Folks should at least use a non-magnetic stainless steel wall plate with it, so no worries about color schemes, IMHO...
Thanks, Duster....I was just teasing Joe.Good idea about the wall plate, something more people should address. A carbon fiber wall plate would be wonderful as well, albeit more $$. Did you find the R1 to have greater overall refinement in comparison to the XXX?
nt
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